Fire department officials remove debris of the building that collapsed.

New Delhi, September 27
Five persons died and 27 injured when a 50-year-old building collapsed in the Chandni Mahal area of Old Delhi, around 8 pm today. However, according to unconfirmed reports, the death toll is eight.

The injured have been admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital.

The deceased have been identified as Tabassum, Shaukat Bi, Munni, Fatma and Arshad.

According to a Delhi Fire Service (DFS) official, the three-storey building (No. 833) was in a dilapidated condition and six families resided in it. When the incident took place, most of the residents were inside the building.

Thirteen vehicles of the Delhi Fire Service were rushed for the rescue work, but only one could reach the spot as the streets of the area are very narrow. Six ambulances also reached the spot to rush the injured to the hospital.

When the fire personnel reached the spot, local people had already started the rescue work.

The DFS said some construction work was going on the top of the building when the incident took place. Also, some digging work was going on in the adjacent building, which probably caused the collapse.

The roof of a building behind the ill-fated house also collapsed.

Dada Ram, the builder who was carrying out the construction on the top of the building, was not available to confirm whether he had taken permission from the MCD.

In the Old Delhi area, construction of building is not allowed without the permission of the MCD and other agencies.

Mayor Rajni Abbi said the building collapsed due to the construction work going on the top of the building. She said she was on the way to the spot to review the situation.

The police has registered a case of negligence and unauthorised construction.

An eyewitness, Salim, said a building was being constructed adjacent to the ill-fated building. Due to the accumulation of water at the under-construction building, the walls of building number 833 had become wet. As it was already in a dilapidated condition, it collapsed, he said.

Another eyewitness, Braham Prakash, said an electrician, Mohammad Arshad, who was working inside the building and two vendors, Khalil and Ali, are still trapped under the debris.

The police, meanwhile, said the rescue work was on and the number of casualties could rise.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reportedly spoke to top officials of the administration on the phone and directed them to do the needful for the rescue work.

New Delhi, September 27
Even after repeated attempts to beef up the security for girl students around Delhi University's South Campus colleges, girls say they still feel unsafe.

Girl students, especially from the evening colleges, say that the situation is a tad better, but still not satisfactory.

Many students allege that the security measures were stricter when the murder of DU student Radhika Tanwar in the South Campus area had gained media attention, but it is back to square one now.

However, Delhi University officials claim that they are in the process of completing the security checks in the area.

Unfortunately, the security revamp planned for South Campus soon after Tanwar's murder is still incomplete. The campus had collaborated with the Delhi police for patrolling in the area till 10 pm. A team of 31 policemen, including 18 women officials, headed by a woman sub-inspector was deployed in the area to keep a check on the eve-teasers and criminals before the academic session began this year. However, on some days, the policemen are nowhere to be seen.

Girls of the evening colleges, including Ram Lal Anand (RLA) where Tomar studied, allege that the deployment of a PCR van or security personnel in the area around 6 or 7pm is not regular.

Moreover, the promised transportation services are still not in place. Students of RLA, Motilal Nehru (MLN), Sri Venkateswara, and Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm (ARSD) colleges have been facing an acute shortage of transportation facilities. Again, the students from evening colleges suffer the most, as it gets dark by the time their classes get over.

"Patrolling vans stand at the end of the road towards the Dhaula Kuan flyover. The road that leads up to the main road is dingy and a lot of drunken boys can be seen at the non-vegetarian joints in the lanes near the colleges. There have been several instances of boys following girls on bikes. And on days, when there is no policing, which has become frequent now, it's tougher for us," said Sumita Chatterjee, a student of RLA College.

Problems increase for the students of off-campus colleges like Bhagat Singh and CVS.

"Unlike our college, colleges like LSR, Kamla Nehru and Gargi always have a PCR van stationed outside during the day. But these vans are not seen there in the evening," said Tanya Sharma, a student of College of Vocational Studies, South Campus.

However, a senior DU official of South Campus, requesting anonymity, gave an assurance and said, "More cameras are to be installed. If there are problems regarding patrolling in the evening hours, we will see to it. Colleges away from the main campus have been given some guidelines. But if they are not being followed, we will look into it."

"The situation will improve once the proposed high- end cameras, which can capture images at night also, are installed. We will be monitoring the footage continuously. The installation of the cameras will boost the confidence of the students as well as act as a deterrent for the anti-socials. There are a couple of hiccups, financial and technical, in some of the proposed schemes, but we are sure things will be happening soon,'' said Dinesh Varshney, director, South Campus.

New Delhi, September 27
Angry over being interrupted by an SHO during a proceeding, more than 50 lawyers bashed up the police official on the Rohini Court premises in Outer Delhi, today afternoon.

Inspector Vijay Vatsa, SHO of the Keshavpuram police station, has been admitted to Saroj Hospital with several injuries. No case has been registered so far.

According to a police official from the district, the SHO had come to the court for an accident case in which he was an investigation officer (IO). During the proceeding, he objected to a lawyer's argument, following which the duo got into an altercation and the judge asked Vatsa to leave the court.

"The lawyer, after coming out of the court, ganged up with several other lawyers and manhandled the SHO on the court premises. The SHO was saved by police officials posted in the court and rushed to Saroj Hospital in Rohini," said a police official.

According to Devender Goyal, one of the parties in the accident case for which Vatsa had come to the court, the lawyers got angry when Vatsa questioned the judge as to why he was being asked to leave the court.

Senior police officials of the district reached the court after the incident and held several rounds of meetings with the lawyers to pacify them.

Lawyers alleged that the SHO abused the lawyer community while coming out of the court.

"The SHO was interfering in the proceeding when the court was verifying the documents of the case. The court directed him to maintain silence, but he ignored the direction and used an abusive language," said the president of the Bar Council of Rohini Court, IB Saroha. Some lawyers even alleged that the SHO slapped a lawyer during the argument.

No case has been registered so far as Vatsa has not lodged a formal complaint yet.

New Delhi, September 27
To mark World Tourism Day today, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit flagged off from her residence the first all-female expedition of Employees of the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) to the Indrahar pass in Himachal Pradesh. The pass is at a height of 14,500 feet in the Dhauladar range.

Twelve employees are participating in the expedition. They will return on October 3, 2011.

The theme of World Tourism Day this year is "Linking Culture Through Tourism".

As part of the celebrations, the Delhi Tourism will hold several water-based games at the Purana Qila and Bhalswa lakes. For the first time in Delhi, water walking ball has been introduced at the Purana Qila Lake and water bubble at the Bhalswa Lake.

The DTTDC plans to upgrade the facilities at various lakes under its jurisdiction and introduce new water- based games.

New Delhi, September 27
The Delhi High Court today issued a contempt notice to Congress leader N.D. Tiwari for defying its order asking him to give his blood sample in a paternity suit filed by a 32-year-old claiming to be his son.

Justice Geeta Mittal, referring to her September 23 judgment in which she had termed Tiwari's refusal to give blood sample "wilful, malicious, unreasonable and unjustified", issued the notice, returnable for February 14.

The court asked Tiwari "why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against defendant (Tiwari) for his deliberate, wilful disobedience of the court's order".

Justice Mittal issued the notice four days after conceding that the 85-year-old leader cannot be physically compelled to give his blood sample for DNA test as per the court's order last year.

The court issued the contempt notice to Tiwari on a plea filed by Rohit Shekhar, who claims to be Tiwari's biological son born out of the veteran politician's relationship with Ujjwala Sharma.

The court in May asked the veteran leader to appear before it June 1 and give his blood sample for DNA test to ascertain Shekhar's claim.

After Tiwari failed to appear and give his blood sample, Shekhar in July moved the high court for initiation of contempt proceedings against the politician.

On Tuesday, the court directed Shekhar, his mother Ujjwala Sharma and her former husband B.P. Sharma to appear before the joint registrar Oct 20 to give their blood samples for DNA test.

The court has also appointed a local commissioner to record evidence of Ujjwala Sharma and Tiwari.

"On November 20, the duo will record their evidence in the presence of the local commissioner," the court said. - IANS

New Delhi, September 27
The resident welfare associations, which have been protesting against the increase in the power tariff by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), today wrote to the commission, seeking a list of the objections filed by the stakeholders during the public hearing on the matter.

"Our main problem is that the DERC's public hearing was a sham. The commission has thrown our objections in the dustbin," said Atul Goyal, convener of the United RWAs Joint Action (URJA), the apex RWA body of Delhi.

The RWAs feel that had the objections filed by them during the public hearing been taken into account, there could not have been any hike in power tariff rates, but a reduction.

"We will demand a re-evaluation of our objections," he said.

"We have collected signed documents against the tariff fixation process from six MLAs and 13 councillors," he said.

In a bid to confront the minister of power on the issue, the members of the URJA said they had formed a seven-member delegation to negotiate with him.

The delegation will present a memorandum based on the four demands of the residents of the city and seek answers on the issue.

"We want to force the evasive political leadership of the state to talk to the people on this issue. Any attempt at avoiding it further may lead to anger among the people," said JS Chadda, a member of the delegation.

Talking about the protest organised by URJA members on Sunday, the body said RWAs would organise protest meetings regularly.

New Delhi, September 27
The women and child welfare (WCW) department of the Delhi government at a meeting today decided to open seven more shelter homes for the destitute and pregnant women in the city.

The WCW minister, Kiran Walia, said each of the nine districts would have one shelter home.

Two homes have already been opened in Jahangirpuri and Sarai Rohilla in north and north-west districts, respectively. The government has talked to an NGO for the opening of the remaining seven homes.

According to sources, this is an old scheme of the government which is being enforced now.

The department has also sought setting up of nine fast-track designated courts to hear cases of rape. This will ensure a speedy justice to the victims.

A letter has been written to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court in this connection.

The decision was taken in view of a report of the Centre for Social Research that pointed out that the Capital was not safe for the women, the sources said.

New Delhi, September 27
Shantanu Gangwar, a Class XII student, was pained to see his blind friends bump into walls, furniture and other objects. So he invented a smart walking stick that gives early warning of an obstacle.

The cheap and easy-to-use stick, which will cost around Rs 800, has bagged him the Council for Scientific and Industrial research (CSIR) Diamond Jubilee Invention Award for Schoolchildren 2010.

The award was created by the ministry of science and technology to enhance creativity among the children.

A student of Delhi Public School here, Shantanu, 17, has shared the award with Ankit Kumar Mittal, another Class XII student, from Barnala in Punjab. Ankit has invented a modified zip.

"I used to feel bad seeing visually-impaired students in my school bump into walls and furniture. I thought of developing something that warns them about obstacles," said Shantanu.

He proposed the idea to his electronics teacher who was all for it. "It took me six months to develop the stick.

"It has infra-red sensors. The sensors are connected to a motor. When infra-red rays are reflected, the stick starts vibrating, giving warning about obstacles ahead," said the lean and tall boy who wants to be an engineer.

The equipment can be fitted on conventional stick.

"It can detect an obstacle within one foot. Now, I plan to increase the range to 2-3 metres. I have been approached by some companies to market the invention," he says, with a tinge of pride.

Ankit's invention is equally interesting. He modified zip locks which used in travel bags, kit bags and jackets. "Normally it is difficult to change a defective zip lock. The traditional ones are in one piece. After seeing my father struggle to fix the zip lock of his jacket, I thought of developing a two-piece lock," said Ankit, who wants to be a scientist.

According to CSIR director general Sameer Brahmchari, the two inventions were chosen out of 353 proposals received for various categories of prizes to be given away. -- IANS

New Delhi, September 27
The capital witnessed a hot, sunny day today, with the maximum temperature at 34 degree Celsius, average for this time of the year. The weather will be similar tomorrow, the Met office said.

"The minimum temperature settled at 24.3 degrees, one notch above average," said an official of the India Meteorological Department.

Humidity wavered between a high of 77 and low of 50 per cent.

"The sky will reamin clear on Wednesday and the maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 34 and 24 degrees, respectively," the official added. - IANS