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| Thursday,
January 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Minorities panel almost defunct New Delhi, January 2 The three members appointed by the Delhi Government have not been attending its office for the last few days and the other staff members are also generally absent. The three members of the Delhi Minorities Commissions are: Mr N P S Bhandari, Rev Walson Thampu and Mr Zafar Ali Naqvi. Sources close to the commission said the members have been boycotting the DMC to protest against the “undue” interference by the bureaucracy in its functioning. Though the commission has been structured to ensure that the members head the commission, sources said that the bureaucratic stranglehold has ensured that the bureaucrat on the panel acts as its head. Sources said the members of the commission recently met Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and highlighted the problems faced by them. Though Ms Dikshit gave a patient hearing to the members, little seems to have come out of that meeting. “Our repeated protest against this undue interference by the bureaucracy has been hampering the work of the commission. The high-handedness of the bureaucracy has been brought to the notice of the highest authorities. Yet, there has been no positive response,” sources close to members of the commission said. Legal experts said the DMC is an autonomous body with the State government obliged to provide grant in aid to it. However, even this seems to have been denied to the Commission, as the state government has not released the grants for the DMC for the last six months. The Commission had sent an annual budget proposal of Rs 1.01 crore for the fiscal 2001-02. However, the State government has released only Rs 25 lakhs, the amount for the first quarter, leaving the autonomous institution in financial doldrums. “The financial condition of the Commission is dismal and it has been forced to utilise the project money to pay the salary of the staff,” sources in the commission said. The Commission has allocated sums for different projects, which aim at protecting the interests of the minorities. For instance, the Communal harmony committee was set up to issue appeals for harmony even in peace times. The staff have not been paid salary for months together, forcing many to stop attending office and a few others, who were on deputation, have been reverted to their parent organisations. Since the State Government has stopped even the petrol allowance of the DMC members, the cars of the commission are stranded for want of fuel. Officials in the finance department pointed out that the grants had been released as per norms and further disbursements would be made once the DMC submits its fund utilisation report. Other issues taken up by the Commission are the saffronisation of education, welfare of the minorities and investigation into complaints lodged by the members of the minority community. The Commission received over 200 complaints in the previous year and about 50 complaints were attended to. |
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Criminal killed in encounter Ghaziabad, January 2 The SSP said that Ibrahim had been wanted in about two dozen cases of murder, loot, dacoity etc. A history-sheeter No. 48-A of Javer police station, he had masterminded a dacoity in Ghaziabad district under Musori police station in 1997 and had been wanted in Dehra Dun in Uttaranchal Pradesh also. One of his accomplices was arrested in Dehra Dun who told the police that Ibrahim had looted valuables worth lakhs of rupees from the house of a businessman in Sikanderabad town of Bulandshahar in January last year. He had also taken away the trader’s gun. The Garh police team had also killed the dreaded criminal Babloo Bhainsa of Bulandshahr in an encounter. The criminal carried an award of Rs 10,000 on his head. |
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DVB clamps peak summer power curbs New Delhi, January 2 According to DVB sources, the decision has been taken in the wake of low voltage and its fluctuation in the Northern Grid. Such an order has been issued in the past also, but only during peak summers. This is, however, the first time that the power utility has had to resort to this measure during winter. Meanwhile, the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) is expected to give its verdict within a month on the proposed bulk power tariff after the privatisation of the loss-making DVB. The Government of NCT of Delhi has suggested that the bulk tariff should provide for 50 per cent transmission and distribution (T and D) losses and 16 per cent return on the paid-up capital of the investor. The commission has now invited suggestions and proposals from the public by January 16 on the bulk tariff for the power-producing company and will give its decision by January 31, DERC Chairman VK Sood told reporters on Wednesday. It has already been decided to split the DVB into six companies, three dealing with power distribution and one each with generation, supply and holding. Under the new scheme, the power production would be undertaken by Indraprastha Power Generation Company Ltd and the transmission would be carried out by the Delhi Power Supply Company Ltd. The distribution would be handled by Central-East-Delhi Electricity Distribution Company Ltd, South-West Delhi Electricity Distribution Company Ltd and the North North-West Delhi Electricity Distribution Company Ltd. The holding company would be known as Delhi Power Company Ltd. |
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Contract
killer held in Saket New Delhi, January 2 A .32-bore revolver and a .315-bore country-made pistol with four live cartridges were seized from the accused, Subhash Chander alias Surya (21), a resident of Sonepat, and Bunty (25), a resident of Bahadurgarh. The police claimed that the duo had escaped from a running jail van by breaking its window on November 22 last year while they were being taken from a Bahadurgarh court to Rohtak in Haryana. The Haryana police van was carrying six undertrials with four armed police guards when the incident occurred near Baya village in Sonepat. On sustained interrogation, Bunty told the police that he was first arrested in a case of kidnapping of a child in Rohtak. After that, he graduated to robberies and dacoities, and even formed his own gang. The gang had reportedly committed 12 daylight robberies in the Bahadurgarh area within just three months. Bunty along with Rohtash, Nitu and Kismat had committed a sensational dacoity at a petrol station in Bahadurgarh and decamped with Rs 1.71 lakh. Later, he and his associates robbed a person of Rs 5 lakh while the victim was coming out of the State Bank of India branch in Bahadurgarh after withdrawing the money. The gang had also robbed three Maruti Zens, one from a brigadier and the rest from different places in Haryana, including a jeep of the Haryana Jal Board. Interestingly, they later used the same jeep of the Jal Board and committed a daylight robbery at an office of the Haryana Vidyut Board near Riwari. Bunty also indulged in contract killings and was involved in the killing of a doctor in Bahadurgarh at the behest of another doctor having a professional rivalry. He received Rs 2 lakh for the crime In fact, after his escape from the van, he had formed a new gang with Subhash alias Surya, and threatened three Bahadurgarh businessmen to pay Rs 10 lakh each. Subhash, a notorious criminal, had once intercepted a car of an ex-MLA of Jhajjar, Mr Jagat Singh Sangawan, which resulted in an encounter between him and the MLA’s gunman. Three of his accomplices were arrested on the spot but he managed to escape. He used to hire luxury cars from Bahadurgarh and Narela on the payment of a nominal fee and later steal the same cars by threatening the drivers at gunpoint. |
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‘Govt has slashed aid to MCD’ New Delhi, January 2 The government had promised that the non-Plan grants-in-aid would continue to flow to local bodies as it was given earlier. Unfortunately, it was also reduced, he said. The grants for education, which are already restricted to 60 per cent of the actual expenditure, had also been further cut without justification, he added. The Finance Commission of the Delhi Government had also recommended to provide Rs 75 crore to the MCD for the maintenance of four hospitals – Hindu Rao, Rajan Babu TB Centre, Dayanand Upadhyay and Kasturba hospitals. Besides, Rs 192 crore were to be provided for the construction of building of Balak Ram Hospital, Tilak Nagar Government Hospital, Kalkaji and Lajpat Nagar hospitals. Mr Mahesh Chandra Sharma alleged that the money had yet to be provided to the MCD resulting in the non-availability of medicines and poor maintenance of the hospitals. The leader of the House demanded that the Municipal Councillors’ fund should become a part of the overall Plan Allocation on the line of MLAs and MPs fund so that more internal resources could be focused on civic services. He also demanded that an amount to the tune of 20 per cent under the Plan head should be exclusively given for the upkeep and maintenance of buildings, gardens, parks and other projects. |
Fog turns Railways on its head Sonepat, January 2 The Delhi-Kalka passenger train (303 UP) and the Bhatinda-Delhi inter-city express were cancelled again today, causing inconvenience to the passengers. On account of the cancellation of trains, the railways are suffering huge financial loss. The limited speed due to poor visibility adds to the loss. Similarly, the traffic on the National Highway No. 1 and other state highways also remained disrupted. The drivers of all the vehicles had to switch on the headlights and restrict the speed. A few vehicles were reportedly overturned after ramming the road dividers. The saving grace was that the injured persons were immediately taken to hospital. The biting cold kept the residents of the city indoors. The shopping centres and the main bazaars looked deserted for hours. Attendance in schools and offices was reportedly thin.  |
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Malviya Nagar residents jump in and out of buses to get to office New Delhi, January 2 And they say they are much troubled. Quite some time ago, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), after a proper survey, had connected Malviya Nagar with a number of colonies, bus terminals and railway stations. But unfortunately, a number of important routes like those of bus numbers 407, 538, 504, 431, 526, 444 and 518 were withdrawn later, putting the residents to great hardship. Likewise, trips of routes 524 and 514 were also reduced. Daily commuters of these buses from Malviya Nagar said these routes made life much comfortable for them as they were linked with almost all the places. Ever since they were stopped about two years ago, they had to change at least two to four buses to reach many places from their residences. There is, at present, no direct bus service from Malviya Nagar to R. K. Puram, Mehrauli, Vikas Puri, Tilak Nagar, Nizamuddin Railway Station, Central Secretariat, Noida, Anand Vihar and Sarai Kale Khan Bus Terminal. “It becomes very difficult for us,” said Mr Dinesh Chandok, a resident who has to “change three buses everyday” to reach his office in Noida. “I end up spending so much. And just imagine those traveling to these destinations with their families. They would be spending a fortune changing buses. Not only money, by the time I reach my office, I am exhausted and dirty. I think it is high time that something is done about public transport. The common man cannot be the sufferer, just because there is some or the other controversy rocking the city government all the time,” he added. An official of the DTC blamed the compressed natural gas (CNG) problem for the entire shortage of buses not only in Malviya Nagar but also throughout the national Capital. “So many buses have gone off the roads because of the CNG conversion. There will be shortage to an extent. We have cancelled many routes because of this. But this is not permanent as they will resume once sufficient buses are there,” he said. The Supreme Court had ordered all commercial vehicles to be converted to CNG by October 1 2001, but the deadline was recently extended to January 31 2002. There are about 40,000 buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws in Delhi with just 87 CNG filling stations, resulting in serpentine queues of buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws at these stations. The official also mentioned another reason for the shortage of buses. “The Supreme Court, before the CNG issue had risen, ordered all buses that are more than eight years old to be taken off the roads. About 1,900 buses were taken off the roads after the order. What do you expect?” he asked. The DTC has a fleet of 900 buses, but only 845 are in operation. About 3,000 private buses are hired by the DTC. Transport analysts feel that the DTC needs at least 10,000 buses to make journeys in them somewhat comfortable, if not enjoyable. Residents of Malviya Nagar had approached the then Minister of Transport, Mr Parvez Hashmi, years back. But the problem remains unimproved and, in fact, is getting worse as the population is rising by the minute. “I have to walk at least a kilometer to another bus stop if I have to catch a direct bus. Life seems to be getting worse, and the full form of DTC seems to be fast changing to ‘Damn The Commuter’,” said Mr S. S. Madan, a senior citizen. “We are speaking not for the business executives, but for the lower-middle class people, salaried classes and pensioners, and the like, who have to meet unlimited expenditure of the present day spirally rising price level with their limited resources. We have as much right to live and travel comfortably as any of the rich people in this world,” he added. |
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Roads no better, 3 die in mishaps Faridabad, January 2 According to police sources, an AIIMS doctor died in an accident involving his car and a stationary truck near Banchari village of Hodal subdivision in the district yesterday. Identified as Dr B S Gautam, the victim was going to Vrindavan in Mathura district when his car rammed a truck, parked on one side of the National Highway. Thick fog is reported to be the cause of the accident. The doctor’s wife and two others were injured in the mishap. In another accident, a scooterist hit a tractor trolley, laden with iron rods on the National Highway near Ballabgarh on Tuesday morning. Identified as Jagdish, the deceased could not see the iron rods in the trolley due to fog and rammed into them. He died on the spot. A six-year-girl Sabra, daughter of one Nassruddin of Khori Jamalpur village, was killed when she was hit by a speeding vehicle yesterday. Meanwhile, the foggy conditions have turned the rail and road traffic topsy-turvy. Several trains have been running behind schedule. Detonators are being used to give signals to the drivers. |
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Road to progress is via villages: Yadav New Delhi, January 2 He said that the country’s economy was agriculture-based and that no one could think of progress without first thinking about the progress of villagers. Mr Yadav said that the Government was going to evolve policies which would help rural sector. The Minister was speaking at a function, organised by Eduvisioners to felicitate personalities from different fields. The Union Minister of State for Coal and Mining, Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, congratulated the awardees and praised the Indian entrepreneurs on taking the country far in international trade. He said that the country’s entrepreneurs had done quite well. They were now trying for brand promotion and were ready to compete in the international market. The Labour Commissioner of Delhi, Mr Narendra Kumar, who was also present at the function, stressed the need to modernise labour policies. He said that the policies were favourable, though difficult to implement. A networking through Internet would be useful in the proper management of labour, Mr Kumar suggested. Among those who received the All Indian Business Development Association (AIBDA) National Excellence Award 2000-01, are Mr P.D. Lakhani, CMD Lakhani Group, Mr Naveen Narang, Finance Manager, Roop Madan, an automobile trader, Mr Narendra Rawat, CMD Haryana Steel, Mr Rajinder Aggarwal, a hotelier, Mr Pradeep and Mr Rajat Khandari, ice cream manufacturers, Dr Aslam Javed, a herbal expert and Mr Akhilesh Akhil, a journalist. |
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Rabi crops in danger as winter rain plays truant Sonepat, January 2 According to a report, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has given an assurance that the tubewells in the rural areas would be supplied power for eight hours daily. However, farmers complain that due to frequent loadshedding and tripping, the tubewells get electricity for only three to four hours daily which is insufficient. The supply of water through canals has also not been regular. Many farmers allege that most of the canals, distributaries and minors had remained dry even during the period of rotation last month. Notwithstanding the high cost of operating a diesel pump, a large number of farmers are using them to irrigate their fields in view of the erratic power supply to the tubewells. According to some farmers, it has become necessary for every farmer to maintain a diesel pump as a standby during the Rabi season. This has also added to their expenses. Farmers all over the district are greatly worried about the delay in winter rains. They point out that only the wheat crop gives comparatively good returns and this year, they are likely to lose even that. A long dry spell, dry canals and non-availability of sufficient power to tubewells have created drought-like conditions in the Khadar tract and Ganaur sub-division of the district. A Congress leader, Mr Azad Singh Nehra, who toured scores of villages in the Kailana assembly constituency, said here today that the farmers of the area had alleged that the state government had failed to make arrangements for irrigation water. As a result, they would suffer huge losses. In a press statement, he urged the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to order immediate supply of canal water and power to the farmers in the district. He also held the UHBVN responsible for the acute shortage of power experienced by the agriculture sector. The power supply hours had not been increased for the sector. Instead, it had been subjected to loadshedding and frequent tripping. |
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WiLL arrives in Faridabad Faridabad, January 2 The WiLL service, better known as the local mobile phone of the BSNL, would, however, be available to only 1,000 consumers and it would be released in the area where the normal phone line was not available. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Jatwani admitted that the private phone operators would pose a tough competition to the BSNL as the days of monopoly were over. Mr Jatwani also inaugurated a new exchange for Ballabgarh town, having a capacity of around 14,000 lines. Besides upgrading the existing infrastructure, he said the BSNL would also try to improve its services. Admitting that the overall functioning and behaviour of the BSNL employees had not so far undergone any significant change, he said that the response of its schemes of opening cyber cafes and cyber dhabas in urban and rural areas had not been satisfactory. According to the General Manager (BSNL), Faridabad, the WiLL service had come up at a cost of over Rs 1 crore and the range of each such phone would be up to 5 km radius. It can be extended up to 2,000 lines. The service has, however, been delayed by about two months. The number of exchanges in the district has gone up to 37 and the department proposes to release another 21,000 lines in 2002. The department has also announced to give five per cent rebate to those consumers who are billed Rs 2 lakh or more each month. |
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Police must be alerted on tenants’ identity Faridabad, January 2 |
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No water in mains New Delhi, January 2 |
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NCR
BRIEFS Sonepat, January 2 According to a report, the accident occurred when the bus driver lost control in the thick fog that had enveloped the region. All the injured students were immediately hospitalised. They are stated to be out of danger. On receipt of information, the district and police authorities arrived on the scene and arranged transport of the injured students. Classes shifted All classes of the local Tikka Ram Girls Senior Secondary School were shifted to the new building of CRA College here yesterday. According to a report, a havan yajna was also held in the new building. Mr Ashok
Yadav, Additional Deputy Commissioner, who is also the administrator of the school, was among those who attended the yajna and offered
purnahutis. Mr Yadav garlanded the statue of Chaudhary Tikka Ram, an eminent educationist of the region, and heard the grievances of the girl students on the occasion. He also assured the students that the administration would take steps to ensure improved education to them. The school, it may be recalled, was upgraded in 1992 and since then, the classes were being held in the hostel of the
school. Woman
killed A woman was killed after she was knocked down by a car near Kundli village, about 25 km from here, on the G. T. Road last evening. According to a report, the victim was identified as Mrs Chandro Devi of Kundli village. The Kundli police have registered a case against the car driver on the charges of rash and negligent driving and causing the death of the victim. House
burgled Thieves are reported to have entered the house of Mr Ram Tirath in the Model Town area here last night and decamped with cash and jewellery worth more than Rs 1
lakh. According to another report, thieves also broke open the locks of the shops at Mohana and Tikila villages of the district in separate incidents and stole a variety of kiryana goods from them. All the three cases of thefts were reported to the police. Scribes
meet The Press Club organised a meeting of mediapersons here yesterday in connection with the New Year. The speakers urged the mediapersons to remain united and continue their struggle against the POTO and other laws enforced against them by the government. Man attacks
wife Faridabad Development
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3 hardcore criminals arrested Jhajjar, January 2 A police spokesman said that on a tip-off from an informer that a group of five youths was planning to loot vehicles on the road in the night, a police party raided the spot and arrested four of them while another person managed to escape under the cover of darkness. Those arrested were identified as Ajay, Jai Bhagwan, Ravinder and Kala, all residents of Beri village while Sukha, alias Kucku, hailing from Bohar village managed to flee. Two .315 bore country-made pistols, 13 cartridges and a motorcycle were seized. The police said that their arrest would be helpful in solving many cases of robbery and dacoity. Their involvement in a dacoity at a bank at Bohar and the looting of a petrol station at Bhaloth had been confirmed. |
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Bavaria gang member nabbed New Delhi, January 2 Acting on a tip-off about the activities of the gang in Delhi, a special team comprising ASI Pramod Tyagi and others finally nabbed Raju, alias Bablu (30), resident of Jhuggi Basti, after following several leads and raiding various hideouts. The accused coming on a motorcycle with a fake number plate when the police team asked to him stop. But he tried to escape by taking another turn. As the team gave a chase, he started firing. As he was loading his katta, the team overpowered him. During interrogation, he revealed that he had stolen the motorcycle from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh and was using the fake number plate of Delhi. He also confessed to have committed a robbery-cum-murder on the night of October 23 in Model Town by stabbing a chowkidar, Surender Kumar Mishra. The chowkidar was stabbed eight times after he resisted Raju’s attempt to rob a music system in a car after breaking the window. Following the attack, the Delhi Police Commissioner had even announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for solving the case. On further interrogation, he disclosed that the gang used to go to Bharatpur, Rajasthan and Bareilly generally after committing a crime in Delhi and remain idle for sometime. He said that after that, they would again come to Delhi for their next catch and would not even hesitate to kill persons who opposed them. He was also involved in more than 15 theft cases. It is a general belief in their community that whoever commits more crime gets to marry more wives. Raju already has two wives, one in Bharatpur and another in Barelly. In fact, he was planning another crime in a bid to marry another girl, he told the police. |
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Police nab three chain snatchers Rohtak, January 2 Those arrested are Sudhir and Dharmender of Rohtak and Anil of Delhi. Chintu of Rohtak, the fourth accomplice, of the accused has, however, absconded. As many as 27 such cases were registered in the town last year. The police could solve only five cases and seize stolen items worth Rs 50,500 out of a total Rs 2.61 lakh worth items till the end of last year. The police failure in solving these crimes was highlighted by the media recently. Consequently, the SSP, Mr A. S. Ahlawat, had directed all the SHOs to settle all such cases as early as possible. Strangely, the police arrested the three today and claimed to settle all such cases within three days of the publication of such reports in the Press. |
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