New Delhi, November 2
Six persons, including four women, died and 14 injured in a fire that had engulfed a leather factory near Shadipur Depot this evening.

The injured were admitted to RML and Acharya Shree Bhikshu hospitals. Seven victims who had sustained minor injuries were discharged after the first aid. Still identification of the victims could not be done, said an official of the Delhi Fire Service (DFS).

The fire broke out at 5.50 pm. The DFS had rushed nine fire tenders to douse the fire that had taken more than two hours to control it.

According to the DFS, it was a small fire. Workers of the factory tried to douse it but they could not as the fire had caught the leather that was used to make hand bags. They called the DFS that had rushed fire tenders within a few minutes.

A DFS official said that victims who worked in the factory got trapped in the fire. Six bodied were recovered while 14 were saved by the fire workers and others. The local people also helped in saving lives of the injured.

The preliminary inquiry said that short circuit could be the cause of fire. However, the police are making the inquiry further.

The medical superintendent of Dr RML hospital, Dr HK Kar, said, "We received 14 patients. Among the injured, three did not have anything major while one had suffered five per cent burns. All of them have been discharged after first-aid. Six were brought dead. They died due to asphyxia."

Doctors at the RML trauma centre casualty said that the work regarding identification of the six dead is continue.

New Delhi, November 2
A three-minute election theme song based short film of the Congress for the assembly elections was today launched in the presence of the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and noted singer who has recently the party joined Daler Mehndi.

The film song titled, "Nahin Rukegi, Nahin Rukegi Meri Dilli'', disseminates the need to sustain the ongoing development during the next five years. The lyrics have been penned down by a noted poet and columnist, Prasoon Joshi, and the lead voice is of Daler Mehndi. The theme song highlights the achievements of the past 15 years under the leadership of the Chief Minister.

The song is powered by appealing real time visuals dating back to the launch and implementation of various welfare schemes and infrastructural projects. The shots showing the Chief Minister and people from all sections of society have been diligently synchronized with the words nicely delivered by the singers. The audio visual song refers to the best airport, the largest CNG propelled public transport fleet, regularization of 895 colonies, laying of water pipelines in these colonies, ownership rights in 45 resettlement colonies, round-the-clock power supply and increase in the installed capacity, the cheapest rates, 130 flyovers and foot-over bridges, Annshri Yojana, Kerosine-free Delhi, the highest minimum wages, the highest per capita income, the five new universities and the highest pass percentage in the CBSE board examination.

The film ends with a slogan, "Anubhav hai raftar hai, Congress fir is bar hai". The experience of governance and the pace of development are going to result in another victory of the Congress in the elections. The short film would be screened in the theatres.

During the function, Dikshit expressed her Diwali greetings to all Delhiites. In her message she expressed hope that the festival of lights would bring prosperity, happiness and joy in the lives of people. She exhorted people to celebrate the festival with traditional and religious fervour and gaiety. In Delhi all persons belonging to different faiths have been celebrating festivals together, she added. She appealed to the people to avoid firecracker overcome noise and air pollution.

New Delhi, November 2
After coming to power in Delhi, the BJP will fully comply with the orders of the Supreme Court delivered on October 31 for making the bureaucracy free from political pressure and providing honest, clean and transparent administration, assured Dr Harsh Vardhan, chief ministerial candidate of the BJP.

He said Delhi would be the first state where the IAS and other senior bureaucrats would have complete freedom to work and take decision in the interest of the people. The entire system of the government will be made online so that people may obtain any information easily under the RTI.

Except sensitive cases, the BJP proposes to make all the government decisions and proceedings and files, online, Vardhan assured.

The Supreme Court took the cognizance of the cases of IAS Officer of Haryana cadre Ashok Khemka, Durga Shakti Nagpal of UP and the way in which ministers of the UP Government played their role in the riots of UP by issuing verbal orders to the police officers and bureaucrats. The Supreme Court has advised all the bureaucrats not to obey verbal orders. If compliance of any order is very necessary, then the officer should note down the verbal order on the file so that it may be record for the future.

The BJP wants that there should be purity in public life and the administration should work according to the Constitution and the administration works in the interest of the people. The party will remove all the disparities for this purpose. The people will get rid of corruption, price rise and lack of accountability, said Vardhan.

New Delhi, November 2
On the eve of Diwali while doctors, nurses and paramedics stayed on duty round-the-clock at the seven designated government hospitals as was the case at several private hospitals, doctors cautioned people from going overboard in celebrations when this occasion very often gets associated with accidents related to firecrackers.

"Firecrackers have always been there and would remain in our culture but people should realise that with careless celebration with firecrackers the auspiciousness gets eroded as Diwali is often linked with accidents," said Dr Arun Goyal, senior plastic surgeon at burns and plastics department of LNJP.

As an annual feature, in anticipation of the upsurge of burn patients due to mishandling of crackers, hospitals have stepped up their manpower at casualties, medication and dressing stock apart from placing signages showing direction of location for Diwali-related treatment as seen at Dr RML.

HoD of burns and plastic surgery of RML Dr Lalit Makhija said that special arrangements have been made and all patients will be routed straight to the burns emergency.

"Unlike normal days we receive the patients directly during Diwali and we have signages at various places stating that patients can directly come to burns. About 20 beds have been kept vacant for the Diwali day and all stocks of antibiotics, dressing material, blood components and IV fluids have been sufficiently arranged," he added.

"Our aim is that patients should get treated as early as possible with most among them being firecracker injuries caused when they light while holding them or catch them after lighting," he noted.

At Safdarjung Hospital, while any person who requires treatment for burns could straight come to the burns casualty and at LNJP patients would be routed through the main emergency of the hospital.

Dr Karoon Agrawal, HoD of burns, plastic and maxillofacial surgery department, Safdarjung Hospital, said, "We have got all the arrangements in place. Extra doctors have been put on duty and we are nearly 60 doctors on November 3. We will have 16 senior doctors, 35 senior residents and many junior residents and other medical staff who would be there round-the-clock as per the roster. We have got 100 beds in the burns department and all material required."

There would be other departments, including ortho, eye and anaesthesia where doctors and other staff would also be available at the burns casualty/ward for the cases requiring multidisciplinary intervention at all the hospitals. The casualty of AIIMS' Dr Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences remained on alert while LNJP for eye burns have got doctors from Guru Nanak Eye Centre for this time.

Similar emergency arrangements have been made at Centrally-managed Smt Sucheta Kriplani Hospital and Kalawati Saran Children Hospital and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.

New Delhi, November 2
Medical experts have warned patients suffering from lung and heart diseases, blood pressure and diabetes to exercise caution as their condition might worsen during the festive of lights, Diwali. Firecrackers can trigger heart and lung problems, they noted.

During this time, owing to weather change patients of bronchial asthma need to be careful as they are more prone to developing infections. Hence, they should avoid being too close to burning firecrackers and avoid smoke, said experts.

Further, in case of diabetics and hypertensive people celebration with sweets and fatty foods could disturb their health regimen, they said.

"Diwali time sees a rise in cardiac and respiratory problems are due to increase in pollution due to firecrackers. The climate also changes during this time and post-Diwali, heart patients and people suffering from high BP, diabetes and breathing problem queue up in the hospitals as they do not abide by the precautions prescribed by doctors," said Dr. Purshotam Lal, Padma Vibhushan Awardee and chairman of Metro Hospitals and Heart Institute. Also, since weather is also undergoing a change, people should be well clad. Binge eating, binge drinking and binge smoking should be avoided during festivities, said Dr. Lal.

"The pollution level shoots up due to lighting of firecrackers during the festival and people with respiratory diseases like asthma, bronchitis and those having hypersensitive airways need to be extra careful. People are advised to stay indoors to avoid inhaling smoke from outside," said Dr Sandeep.

According to Dr. Rakesh Kumar, senior consultant, internal medicine at Apollo Hospital, "Firecrackers like sparklers and anars include highly toxic heavy metals like copper, cadmium, lead, manganese, zinc, sodium and potassium. These metals, if present in the air, can trigger asthma in a patient and can cause severe headache, respiratory diseases in the lungs, apart from chronic cough, stressed Dr Ratan Kimar Vaish, senior consultant (internal medicine) of Rockland Hospital.

As a precautionary step, one must stay near water to address to burns immediately. In case of any burns, cool it with water and once the burning sensation is no more felt use ointment such as Silver Sulfadiazine, Dr Vaish added.