New Delhi, July 15
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has decided to increase the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) by 50 per cent for building new industrial sites as per the Delhi Master Plan 2021, according to a communication addressed to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham)which had put up a proposal to the DDA to this effect in February this year.

The communication says that the DDA would process applications submitted to it by industrial units before February 7, 2007 with layout and building plans and allow them to re-build industrial sites with 50 per cent increase in FAR as per stipulations of Delhi Master Plan 2021. 
However, the DDA would charge appropriate levies for increased FAR over and above which was permissible in 1996 from the beneficiaries as per prevailing orders.

The communication clarifies that the local body will accept the proposals only when the industrial units surrender land to DDA free from financial and physical encumbrances within the framework of the orders of the Supreme Court.

In the event of development of retained land as an individual plot, the FAR will be increased by 50 per cent as per the permissible land use of the plot.

The communication clarifies that the industrial units covered in Category H (a) and H (b) as per MPD 2001 were to surrender a part of their land to DDA for maintaining as Recreational or Green. The formula was worked out in which a portion of land was to be retained by the industrial units as per land use provisions of Master Plan for Delhi.

The proposal of Assochamwas put up previously in the technical committee meeting twice where it was decided that the advice of Chief Legal Advisor (CLA) be taken to discuss the increase of the FAR.

The CLA has informed that the land retained by the industries should be developed as provisions of MPD 2021.

The Assocham has also demanded that cases which are submitted to local bodies subsequent to February 2007 to develop new industrial locations should also be considered as per provisions of Delhi Master Plan 2021.

New Delhi, July 15
After a series of incidents involving motorcycle riders shooting and looting people indiscriminately, the Delhi Police has asked all its police stations to intensify mobile patrolling in their respective areas.

Simultaneously, senior officers have directed their staff to launch concerted efforts to trace the suspects who have unleashed fear among the residents of many colonies.

The incidents have occurred in the South, East and West Delhi areas of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The incidents and the inability of the police to nab them have evoked public protests and demonstrations from traders and residents in the Kalkaji and Madangir areas of South Delhi.

Residents said that there was a sense of insecurity among the public, as they did not know when the criminals would strike again.

In most of the over half a dozen incidents, the suspects were armed with country made pistols and were wearing helmets which made it difficult for witnesses to identify them or even describe them.

In most of the cases, the registration numbers on the motorcycles were either illegible or fake.

Meanwhile, the police said that several teams had been constituted and efforts were on to trade the suspects. Physical checking of motorcycle and their owners was also being undertaken at various locations.

New Delhi, July 15
Believe it or not, while the majority of Indians above 45 years of age are giving up alcohol, those between 19 to 26 years, including women are taking to the bottle.

The fact came to light during a recent survey conducted by the Social Development Foundation of Assocham. The survey revealed that alcohol consumption among youngsters had risen by as much as 60% in the last few years while that among the elderly people had dipped by 80%.

It revealed that most elderly people quit consuming liquor either due to health reasons or to fulfill their familial and social responsibilities more effectively.

The reasons for the rising liquor consumption among college and university students include easy availability of resources (more pocket money), increasing western influence and lack of supervision.

More than 3,000 hostelers in the age group of 19 to 26 years and professionals over the age of 45 years were interviewed. It was found that even women had started taking to drinks to overcome their fatigue and isolation. Women between 18 to 35 years were drinking more units of alcohol than in 1998.

The survey also found that eight out of 10 students living in hostels have become the worst victims of the drinking menace whereas, among those living with parents and guardians only four out of 10 took to alcohol and that too in discreet hideouts.

Releasing the survey, Assocham secretary general D.S. Rawat said that 40% of students in age group of 18 to 24 years drink five or more drinks on one occasion and 24% consume liquor once a week or more. Among those between 25 to 38 years, the average consumption was around five drinks. The survey also found that universities and college population has higher and heavier episodic drinking rates than the general population.

Noida, July 15
The body of a 23-year-old woman was recovered from the drain near Sector-82 in Noida Phase-II yesterday. The body could not be identified.

The police has sent the body for autopsy. It is suspected that the woman was murdered after rape.

The police said the deceased was a married woman as she was having ‘sindoor’ in her hair, a ring on finger and SKS was tattooed on her right hand. She was wearing a salwar kameez suit.

The body did not bear any injury mark. She appeared to have been killed on Sunday night, police said.

According to SP City, Ashok Tripathi someone passing from that side had informed the police about the body lying in the drain. She might have committed suicide by jumping into the drain from the bridge last night, SP City said.

The investigation is taking into consideration all other possibilities. Only on receipt of autopsy report, the cause of her death would be known, SP City said.

It may be added that only last week the bodies of two women were found in Greater Noida area who had been killed in Delhi and their bodies dumped in GNIDA later. 

New Delhi, July 15
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi today felt honoured after a delegation of Rajya Sabha secretariat officials led by its secretary general V.K. Agnihotri, called upon the chairman, standing committee Vijender Gupta seeking space for its offices in the MCD’s new office coming up at Civic Centre on Minto Road.

Vijender Gupta said that the delegation has sought 20,000 square feet space in the MCD’s new office, which will be paperless.

Gupta added that the Rajya Sabha is ready to pay any amount that the corporation demands for the space. The initiative has been taken with the prior approval of the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, the vice-president of India.

Appreciating the state-of-the-art design and construction of Civic Centre, the visiting officials informed that the Rajya Sabha secretariat needs nearly 20,000 square feet of space in view of the fact that the number of committees has gone up from 18 to 24.

The delegation also mentioned that Parliament and the Centre is connected through Metro rail and it will take hardly five to ten minutes to cover the distance.

The Rajya Sabha secretariat has requested to provide the space as early as possible. 

New Delhi, July 15
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has fined police stations, hospitals, government schools and various other establishments for not taking appropriate preventive measures to control mosquito breeding.

Medical health officer Dr N.K. Yadav said that during a random checking the Municipal Corporation of Delhi teams found mosquitoes breeding at police stations in Hauz Khas, Prasad Nagar, Lodhi Road, Sriniwas Puri; hospitals like GTB, SDN, Escorts, CGHS dispensary, Sriniwas Puri; BBM bus depot-workshop, central workshop at Okhla depot in South Delhi and BSES office at Prasad Nagar.

Yadav said that during rains water gets collected in various pots lying on roofs and open areas. Normally, residents do not take care but the collected water serve as the breeding place of mosquitoes that cause diseases like dengue, chikungunya and malaria.

Since the mosquito causing dengue and other vector disease breeds in clean water like coolers, uncovered overhead tanks and old tyres, a special communication was made by the commissioner, MCD to all administrative heads for taking necessary preventive measures regularly in their offices and residential complexes.

Cross checking teams of National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme and the MCD have recently reported high breeding indices from Model Town, Shadipur Depot, Gulab Vihar Appartment, Rohini, Sarvodya Kanya Vidyalaya Deputy Ganj, New Kondali, Saini Enclave and Sinduran Kalan Quarters.

Delhi, this year, has experienced early unprecedented rains after a lapse of many years. Early onset of rains has led to fall in temperature and increase in humidity, which are conducive for mosquito breeding.

The health department has already initiated number of activities for the prevention of vector-borne diseases including sensitisation of the community members in the form of workshops, lectures and advertisement. 

New Delhi, July 15
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will organise a special camp on July 25 for the sanction of building plans, regularisation plans and issuance of completion certificates at its office behind Ambedkar Stadium from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

These camps will bring efficiency and transparency in the system of sanction of building plans.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has advised all citizens whose application for the sanction of building plans are pending either at the zonal level or at the headquarters to visit the special camp with the necessary documents for the disposal of their matters. 

New Delhi, July 15
Around 200 children participated in a large-scale plantation drive at Shikarpur under the Najafgarh block today where a city forest is being developed by the Delhi government.

The forest will cover an area of eight acres. Over 5,120 trees will be planted there. About 70,400 saplings of Hared, Bahera, Aonla, Neem, Arjun, Jamun, Amaltas, Desi Kikkar, Kajalia, Imli, Pikhan, Peepal, Khejri, Sojana, Dhak, Bail Pathar, Berna are being planted in the area during the current season.

This is the fourth city forest in the row that is being developed by forests department in the current year. The department of environment and forests, Delhi government, is committed to develop another five city forests this year. This will take the number of city forests in the Capital to 32.

Schoolchildren have contributed a lot in making Delhi a green city.

The forest will combat problems like – pollution and mitigate the effects of urban islands. It will also purify the city’s atmosphere and reduce pest and disease in and around the area.

The forest can also be a source of carbon sinks and green machinery for carbon sequestration. 

New Delhi, July 15
Payal Mathur, a class IX student of Amity International School, Noida, today set a new record of staging a Kathak performance for continuous 24 hours. Payal danced from 6 a.m. on July 14 till 6 a.m. today (July 15) at the D Block Auditorium of the school.

Before beginning her record-breaking stint she invoked the deities at 5:45 a.m. Kathak exponents and her Gurus Nalini and Kamalini ji were present from the beginning to encourage her.

The little challenger, with the blessings of living legends such as Pt. Birju Maharaj, Ustad Iqbal Ahmad Khan, was able to carve her name in the prestigious Limca Book of Records (LBR).

It is for the first time in the entire Uttar Pradesh and Delhi /NCR region that such a young student has performed continuously for 24 hrs.

Dr Amita Chauhan, chairperson, Amity International Schools, Mohina Dar, principal, Amity International School, Noida and her parents and siblings were also present to motivate her.

Payal started learning dance in Hong Kong, when she was just five years old. Her formal Kathak Shiksha began two years ago with Kathak Kendra, a Kathak institute here.

Apart from dancing, Payal has many more artistic interests. She is a good painter, an approved drama voice for All India Radio and has anchored many shows on television.

Faridabad, July 15
Hundreds of residents, mainly women of Subash Colony in Ballabgarh near here, today blocked Ballabgarh-Mohana Road for about two hours in protest against the indifferent attitude of the authorities to their civic problems.

The flashpoint for the agitation of the residents was waterlogging at a number of places in the colony as there was no proper system for outlet of storm water.

In the wake of torrential rains, there has been a problem of waterlogging in the colony for the past one week.

The sewage and storm water have an exit through a nullah along Malerna Road which remains choked round the year. The water from various colonies like Adarsh Nagar, Kirti Nagar, Hari Nagar gets accumulated on the road. The residents of the nearby colonies have taken up the problem with the authorities, but of no avail.

The nullah along the Malerna road is already choked, so storm water gets accumulated in Subash Colony. As the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) allegedly remained unattentive to the problems of the residents, they came out on the street.

The blockade was lifted only after the joint commissioner, Ballabgarh, MCF, came to the spot and assured them of redressing their grievances.

The blockade created problems for the commuters as Mohana Road is one of the three important roads that connect Ballabgarh township with the rural areas falling in Ballabgarh Assembly constituency.

New Delhi, July 15
Bansal Hospital is holding a six-day free camp to detect kidney-gall bladder stone at its centre in New Friends Colony here. The camp is open till July 19. In this camp India’s renowned urologist and laparoscopic surgeons are conducting the necessary medical examinations of the poor patients to detect stones in kidney and gall bladder.

Dr Sanjeev Bansal, CMD of Bansal Hospital, while inaugurating the camp, said that the main objective of this camp was to examine the suspected cases of stones in kidney and gall bladder of the poor.

“Our aim is to make patients aware of the cause of this disease and recent advances in Minimal Access Surgery and a demo of state-of-the-art Siemens Lithotripsy Machine for removing kidney stone,” he said.

New Delhi, July 15
India has the most closely knit society globally and Indians are most concerned about balancing their professional and family life, a survey conducted world wide has revealed.

“Despite westernisation, India is still a close knit society and 20 per cent (maximum globally) of Indians are most concerned about maintaining work-life balance,” said Sarang Panchal, of Nielsen Company which conducted the survey.

The respondents in 51 countries named the state of economy as their chief concern but for Indians it is the second biggest concern with 13 percent respondents voting for it.

“Demanding careers have dominated the lives of many young Indians for sometime now and it takes a toll on their family life. It is not a surprise then that most Indians consider work-life balance as their biggest concern,” Panchal told reporters here.

The survey found that parents’ welfare and happiness emerged as the third biggest concern for Indians, the highest for any country in Asia.

“Unlike in the West, children in India do not start their own life the moment they reach adulthood; people grow old living with parents under the same roof. It is in the Indian culture to care about ones’ parents,” he said.

“We see that people in America have more monetary concerns while in Asia-Pacific there is more worry about emotional and physical well-being. Europe is concerned about the environment and the Middle East and Africa are grappling with issues concerning politics and terrorism,” Panchal said.

In the list of biggest concerns, 11 percent Indians are worried about their job security. Six percent mention health. But crime and terrorism rank low with just 2 and 3 percent respectively calling it their top concern.

The global online survey was conducted in April 2008 among 28,253 Internet users in 51 countries from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East. — IANS

New Delhi, July 15
The Delhi High Court today came down heavily on the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and asked it to furnish appointment letters over 100 senior resident doctors who were already working with the institute.

While hearing two petitions filed on behalf of the AIIMS Resident Doctors Association (RDA) Justice S.N. Aggarwal said, “Everyone knows what was happening for the last two years. Don’t harass resident doctors without any reason.”

The judge was referring to the face-off between Union health minister Anbumani Ramadoss and former AIIMS director P. Venugopal, who retired this month.

Nishakant Pandey, one of the two lawyers arguing the case on behalf of the RDA, said, “The honourable justice gave a dressing down to AIIMS counsel Mukul Gupta for creating confusion among the resident doctors about their career and asked the institute to give appointment letters to the medicos.”

He quoted Justice Aggarwal as saying, “Don’t wash your dirty linen here, remove the dirt from the court.”

Pandey said unless AIIMS furnishes the appointment letters, it would give a clear-cut final direction to the medical college on Septembr 5.

“Our senior residents, who were facing an uncertain future since they were being given extensions every month instead of an appointment letter for three years, are relieved today,” Kumar Harsh, president, RDA said.

“To be honest, these professional hassles were affecting our efficiency. The court observation will benefit 104 senior resident doctors. We are grateful to the judiciary,” he added. — IANS

Noida, July 15
A sensation was created in Noida Sector-20 last night when a property dealer rained bullets on another property dealer in F Block market of Sector-20. Some people quickly rushed the property dealer to the Kailash hospital in Sector-27 in a serious condition.

Police from Sector-20 police station had quickly reached the spot, but by that time assailants had fled away. Police said the murderous attack was made due to some dispute over a property deal between the two realtors.

The doctors in the Kailash hospital said the wounded property dealer who had been shot at in the stomach was responding to treatment. Police is investigating the matter. Some raids have been conducted to nab the assailants.

According to information available, Naresh Yadav of Sarfabad was living in G-92 Sector-20. He had an office in D-86 Sector-12. Naresh Yadav had gone to F- Block market, Sector -20 to meet another property dealer, Madan Singh Rana, alias Maddi. Both the property dealers reportedly had an argument pertaining to an old deal. Naresh Yadav had soon gone away.

But at 10 p.m., two assailants fired at Naresh Yadav twice near the market from a .315 revolver. Yadav was hit in the stomach. The assailants fled away after wounding Naresh Yadav.

According to eyewitnesses, Naresh Yadav was shot at by Madan Singh Rana and another person. Noida police is conducting raids to nab Madan Singh Rana. 

Noida, July 15
Two students, Ankur Chawla, 25, and Punit Rana, 24, on a motor bike, were crushed by a dumper coming from the wrong side in sector 3 Noida. The dumper after hitting the bike head-on had ploughed into the motor bike in the wee hours of Sunday.

Ankur Chawla is son of Rakesh Chawla of Karnal (Haryana) while Punit Rana, son of Manohar Lal, was from Panchkula, Chandigarh. His father is an officer in HUDA

According to police, as the students who were returning from Delhi at 2 a.m. entered Sector-3, they were hit by the dumper coming from the wrong side near HCL office.

Punit is perusing a masters course at Amity University while Ankur Chawla was a final year student of engineering. The police said the students did not appear to be under the influence of liquor.

Punit was rushed to the Kailash hospital in a critical condition while Ankur’s body had been sent for postmortem.

Police is trying to nab the driver of the dumper who had fled, abandoning his vehicle.