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| Tuesday,
July 2, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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New DVB heirs greet Delhiites with power cuts New Delhi, July 1 Several parts experienced erratic power supply on Monday. Transco officials attributed it to “low voltage” from the Dadri power station. The heavy load-shedding by rotation arising out of a low voltage situation, they said, was primarily responsible for the blackout. Several areas in east Delhi and adjoining colonies had to go without electricity in the morning. That apart, officials of the erstwhile Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) who now manage Transco, the transmission company and Genco, the generation company, said, the change-over was smooth and the day passed without hiccups. Chairman and Managing Director of the holding company overseeing the generation and transmission of electricity, Mr Jagdish Sagar, said the new private players took over control of their respective companies at the stroke of midnight. He explained away the erratic supply by asserting it would be premature to dismiss the benefits of privatisation on account of certain technical problems. “The new system has taken over and minor problems will be eliminated in due course of time.” Officials of Tata Power and Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES) spent the day travelling across their respective areas of distribution. Tata Power, which is managing the North North-West Distribution Company, is operating out of the erstwhile DVB’s premises in Rohini. BSES will be managing the Discom I (Central and East) and Discom II (West and South.) |
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Special court needed for ’84 riots cases: Tarlochan
Singh New Delhi, July 1 “This court should function like a War Crimes Tribunal, with a no appeal format. There should be no mercy shown to anyone,” he said at the release of a compact disk, which claims to provide the first comprehensive collection of statistics on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots here. This move would ensure “speedy justice to the Sikh community”, as the numerous commissions appointed by the government have done nothing to bring the culprits to book, he said. The CD titled “Carnage 84”, brought out by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (DSGPC), was released by Rajya Sabha MP Kuldip Nayyar. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Nayyar said the saddest outcome of the 1984 riots was that no one had been punished for the massacre of over 4,000 Sikhs. Justice R.S.Narula regretted the overturning of the death sentence by the Supreme Court against Kishori, known as ‘Butcher of Trilok Puri’. He had been convicted in more than five to six cases by lower courts and given death sentence, which was confirmed by the Delhi High Court. But the apex court commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment, he said. The CD has been prepared almost two decades after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots by the DSGMC. It provides complete information about the riots, the findings of different commissions and the names of the victims. The CD prepared by a team of professionals has details of the FIRs lodged by the riot victims, reports by human rights groups, affidavits filed by prominent persons before various commissions, judgements of cases involving Congress leaders, who were allegedly involved in the case. The CD contains more than 1000 affidavits of victims, affidavits and depositions of prominent persons like I.K.Gujral, Ram Jethmalani, Ram Vilas Paswan, Shanti Bhushan, K.K.Venugopal and Patwant Singh. Reports of government and non-government commission, committees, and complete list of 2,733 persons killed in Delhi, as accepted by government, report of police commissioner and other police officials are documented in the CD. Noted advocate, Mr H.S.Phoolka, who was instrumental in the preparation of the CD, said it would be a useful material for both the common man and researchers. “Perhaps, this would be the first attempt to present the events, which took place following the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in documented form under one roof,” he said. Mr Phoolka said, “the CD has been prepared with a legal perspective. Researchers from other fields could use the material as a primary source to probe different sociological, psychological, and political aspects of riots.” |
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Belated ‘clarifications’ on pollution
check New Delhi, July 1 Taken aback by the rush of cars and scooters at filling stations and elsewhere for the mandatory Pollution Under Control Certificate, the Department of Transport on Monday reluctantly came out with certain ‘clarifications.’ One-year-old vehicles, said officials in the Department of Transport, are exempt from this drive. Not all pollution-check centres are authorised; the onus is therefore on the vehicle owner to verify the pollution check centre’s claims. Responding to complaints of fleecing of vehicle owners, the Department says the fee for securing the PUCC is Rs 25 only. The clarifications were accompanied by the acknowledgement that the Department of Transport is seized of the matter of too few authorised centres and far too many vehicles. The number of web camera-equipped pollution-check centres, say officials, is in single digits. The target has accordingly been scaled down so that at least 100 such centres are in place by the month-end. Alarmed by the mushrooming of pollution-check centres, officials say regular inspection and monitoring will now be carried out. For the record, there are only about 410 authorised pollution-check centres in the Capital. Although there is no proposal to increase the number of centres, officials say through regular inspection quality of services offered will be improved. The Government of NCT of Delhi will also endeavour to bring about suitable amendments to the Delhi Motor Vehicle Rules so that the PUCC will be valid for six months. Currently, vehicle users have to get the PUCC renewed every three months. Officials say the government has written to the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) in this regard and will sound the Lieutenant Governor also in order to introduce suitable legislation. Besides getting the PUCC, vehicle owners will also have to alter the registration plate to suit the Union Ministry of Surface Transport’s specifications. The registration number will have to be in black on a white background. |
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I’ll turn the heat on criminals: Gupta New Delhi, July 1 Speaking to newspersons after formally assuming charge, the former lecturer said his other priority would be to make the Capital secure for the common man. “My priorities will be ensuring security for the whole city, including VIPs, and dealing effectively with serious situations in the Capital. To meet these requirements, I have to strengthen the Special Cell of the Delhi Police”, Mr Gupta said. Mr Gupta, who has spent more than three decades in crucial posts in the Capital and other states, said his effort would be to turn the heat on the criminals, forcing them to be on the run. Detection and conviction in the day-to-day work would also come under his scrutiny. He, however, said no force could be effective without the cooperation of the public and he, therefore, sought their help. At the same time, he assured them they would not be harassed. Senior officers of the grievances cell of the Delhi Police would be asked to interact with senior and respectable citizens in each district as a first step. The situation would be monitored regularly and necessary changes made. While promising a fair deal to each policeman, Mr Gupta said there would be no room for shirkers and for those found to be involved in criminal activities. Each and every individual in the force would be vetted. He was aware of the problems of the lower constabulary and would try to solve these. The focus would be on providing them basic facilities at the workplace as well as in terms of residential accommodation. Earlier, the outgoing Police Commissioner and now Director-General of the Border Security Force, Mr Ajai Raj Sharma, was given a ceremonial farewell at the New Police Lines. All senior police officers were present at the function. Mr Sharma had the longest term — three years — as the Delhi Police Commissioner. |
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Students grin and bear it as schools reopen New Delhi, July 1 While it was a happy reunion for some, there were many unhappy faces in the crowd as well. For the younger ones who have been pushed back into the grind of waking up early and getting dressed for school, there is little consolation that they are going to meet friends and enjoy the fun that school offers. Parents could be seen accompanying their reluctant children, dragging their heavy schoolbags to school. “ My little one refused to wake up in the morning and I had to lure him to school by packing a special lunch and driving him to school instead of putting him on the bus”, said a mother who was tugging her son to school. As for the buses, there was confusion galore, since the buses had a problem adhering to the schedule after the long gap. For students of senior classes it is back to the back-breaking routine of studying for unit tests and rushing from school to tutions. “ The mundane exercise of school tests and exams at the tuition classes has begun. I had an exceptionally tiring day today, because the teachers were busy making us jot down the syllabus details and the books we would be needing. Plus, they all kept harping on how hard we have to study this year and all this on the very first day”, complained Kavita, a class 11 student. Students of class XI, who are celebrating their promotion to senior school, find their spirits dampened by the shortage of new books. With the NCERT still to deliver the new books, students are facing a rough time. “ We have been told that we will get the books shortly and for some subjects like history will have to use second-hand books. Really, it’s sad to begin the new session without books”, said Sameer, a student of Delhi Public School. Students marching to school with their painstakingly built ‘models’ was also a common sight. As a part of their holiday homework, most students had been assigned the task of preparing models based on scientific principles or on environmental issues like water conservation and air pollution. Certain students were grumbling on account of the bad weather. They lamented the fact that their schools failed to afford them amenities like electricity and water. “ There is an acute water and electricity shortage in our school. We have to sit through the heat without the fans. It becomes difficult to concentrate on lessons when we are more interested in fanning ourselves”, claimed Sangeeta, a student of Government Girls High Secondary school, making a wish for things to change. But the bugbear of studies aside the reunion with friends, armed with a fresh bagful of pranks galore, should be incentive enough for students to be back where they belong — in school. |
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Lawyer dies after scuffle over seat New Delhi, July 1 The incident occurred at 10 am when the victim, Rao Yashpal Singh, who came to the court after the summer vacation, saw that two other advocates, Shamim Khan Sultan and Sunil Mohan, had taken possession of his space, the police said. The deceased, a heart patient, got agitated and had a verbal duel with Sultan and Mohan, which was followed by a scuffle. Suffering a cardiac arrest, he died on the spot, the police added. A case of criminal trespass and causing hurt has been registered at the Subzi Mandi police station, police sources said, adding, “We are waiting for the post-mortem report and Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) might be added to it after we see the report.” Meanwhile, Delhi Bar Association Secretary Jatan Singh has ondemned the incident. He asserted that the DBA would not tolerate acts of lawlessness on the part of advocates. It would take action against the guilty lawyers, he said. |
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FARIDABAD Faridabad, July 1 Only Saturday a commuter died and three others were injured near Sector 8 when their three-wheeler met with an accident. A truck had hit the three-wheeler from behind. This is not a stray incident; in fact, not a week passes without an accident in which a three-wheeler is involved. Last month, in another gory mishap, two three-wheelers ferrying 12 persons caught fire near Palwal town. The vehicles were gutted as the fire in the nearby fields spread, aided by high-velocity winds. At least six persons were burnt alive and several others suffered burns. According to reports, 15 persons have been killed or injured in accidents involving three-wheelers in the past six months in the district. There are more than 15,000 three-wheelers in the town. While the distance from the Delhi border to Ballabgarh town is 20 km, a person who wants to go from Sector 37 here to Sector 3 in Ballabgarh or any part of the NIT area has to take a three-wheeler. The reason: the bus service is erratic. A part of the problem is that most three-wheelers do not satisfy pollution or safety norms. While a three-wheeler is authorised to carry six to seven passengers, more often than not the number of passengers is on the higher side. An earlier Deputy Commissioner had issued an order, asking the three-wheelers not to carry more than six passengers. The authorities were told to challan the violators. But after his transfer, the directive has become defunct. Now, unless the administration comes out with fresh orders and initiates a road safety campaign, commuters’ lives will continue to be endangered. In fact, experts feel that vehicles that do not meet safety norms should be phased out. Meanwhile, despite an announcement, Haryana Roadways buses have not been introduced on local routes. The administration has failed to tackle the problem of local transport even though Faridabad town’s population has crossed 14 lakh. These outdated vehicles spew poisonous gases. It is learnt that after the Supreme Court permitted only CNG three-wheelers and buses in Delhi, thousands of diesel vehicles have moved to NCR towns, including Faridabad, Gurgaon, Sonepat and Rewari. Three-wheelers and other commercial vehicles are the two major pollutants here. Reportedly, the authorities have been considering taking action against three-wheelers and other vehicles which are over 15 years’ old or which have illegally converted to diesel. But, in effect, there seems to be no scheme to check the problem on a permanent basis and provide the local residents with an efficient transport system. |
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Speakers raise peace banner at Guru Tegh Bahadur darbar New Delhi, July 1 Participating in the deliberation, Sandra Satan Singh Upper emphasised that the place where they (these religious heads) were meeting was a historical one. This was where great saint and lover of humanity Guru Tegh Bahadur had sacrificed his life to ensure freedom of faith and independence of expression. Concrete moves should be made from this holy place to make those involved in the act of terrorism get good sense. The sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur should impress upon the society the need to build religious harmony and peace. The foundation would do its best to ensure universal brotherhood, economic and social justice and development, he
added. Sadhvi Dr Sadhna Jain emphasised that ahimsa (non-violence) was the only remedy for the present social condition. Violence had never succeeded and should not succeed in the future. It was the natural obligation, which religion had to perform, he reminded. The foundation was going on the right track and we should take all steps to curb this trend of terrorism and violence, he said. Reverend Vincent M. C., Archbishop of Delhi, said that the media should take special care in reporting terrorist incidents so that the information put forth did not aggravate the situation. It should be our endeavour to pardon and not to add fire to fuel. He mentioned that the teachings of Jesus Christ needed to be understood properly for the wellbeing of the society. Bhai Mohan Singh, in his deliberation, accepted that violence under the cover of political or religious faith should be stopped. The world had become too small to remain unconcerned on an activity carried out even in a smallest part of the world. Religion, according to Baha’i faith, existed for the service of humanity and establishment of communal harmony and peace. But unfortunately, today’s religion, due to the prejudices and dogmas, had been one of the most formidable obstacle in human happiness. There was a steady and general deterioration in the quality of life everywhere not simply due to the economic disparities and injustice, not even due to the worsening condition of environment, but enormously due to religious differences. The crisis called upon the leadership of all religions for a break with the past as decisive as those that opened the way for the society to address equally coercive prejudices of race, gender, caste and nationality. The founder of Baha’i faith,
Baha’u’llah, had emphatically stated, “The wellbeing of human kind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established”. This was the challenge before all the religion in India and the world. Concluding the discussion, Swami Nityanand Saraswati stated, “We have gathered here today to have the blessings and guidance of the invisible holy spirit
of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur and all saints and sages in their heavenly abode to build a permanent parliament of all religions, sects and isms to give peace and prosperity to all human beings. All religions took birth from cosmic spirituality but due to
groupism, they started spreading its own superiority and rubbing against one another. Now religions and isms that took birth for human peace have become a headache for the humanity. From ‘atmic’ peace, it has taken the shape of atomic power of destruction. It is high time we all work together to spread spiritual peace following the foundation’s pledge we have made earlier and try to spread daily among all your friends and acquaintances you come in contact.” Swamiji urged all to sincerely pray for building a religious parliament to work for unity, peace and prosperity. |
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23 cows perish in truck, locals block highway Ghaziabad, July 1 The Mussori police received a tip-off yesterday that 26 cows were being taken in a truck to a slaughter house. When the police reached the spot, they found a large number of cows packed like sardines in a truck parked on the roadside, opposite a motel. Some 23 cows had already perished. The truck driver and other occupants of the vehicle took to their heels on seeing the police. Instead of giving them a chase, the police decided to first extricate the cows which were still alive. This infuriated the locals who blocked the traffic on the highway. Livid residents of Dasna, Gallind, Adhiyatam Nagar and Inder Garhi converged on the national highway and demanded the immediate arrest of the culprits. Soon, a long queue of vehicles had formed on both sides of the highway. The District Administration and police officers rushed to the spot and tried to placate the crowd and asked them to disperse. Refusing to budge, the residents demanded that special barriers should be erected on the highway and all vehicles carrying cattle should be checked. The cows had been loaded in Rohtak district, the police said. An investigation is on into the antecedents of the cows. This is not the first incident of its kind in this region. |
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FACE TO FACE Dr Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist, has been associated with various schools and doing extensive work with children and adolescents. He has conducted various seminars and workshops on parent and teacher training. Dr Parikh has also been running personality enhancement programmes for students and school-counselling programme in various schools. He recently conducted a seminar on ‘Adolescence and Media’. In a tete-a-tete with NCR Tribune, he talks about stress among the students. The revelation children are prone to stress came about very recently. Can you brief us about stress that children face and what are the ways we must adopt to help them overcome that? Stress does not have an age barrier. Stress depends on the coping skills, and as a child does not have too many coping skills, his vulnerability to stress is more. Even a new-born child, who does not receive adequate emotional and physical attention, could suffer from psychiatric problems. Stress in children is a wide spectrum. I shall try to outline stress in various areas and from where it can come. It can be from the family and parents, who are the source of emotional and instrumental support to the growing child. The relation between the parents affects the child as much as the relation the parents share with the children. At homes, where there is a constant conflict among the adults, there will be impacts on the child. He/she can have depressive symptoms like anxiety and tends to be more aggressive. This also affects his/her overall personality and academic performance as well. The other source of stress is academic or school. It cannot be denied that our academic system needs to be more psychologically effective. The pressure of endless home works, school exams and tuition that are becoming generalised, all these have had their major impact on the student. In fact, one of the most stressful areas is this. Then, there is peer and social stress. Though peers and society are a major source of pleasure and support to the children, they also add pressures like learning to handle conflicts, the pressure to conformity and comparisons. Biological changes like the onset of puberty also contribute to stress. So do less controlled emotional aspects, especially in teenagers. Interaction with the students is essential. I have given lectures on the problems of the students and have had interactive sessions with them, where they talk about their stresses with us. This session is in the absence of any teacher that helps the student to be open and free with us. After emphasising on the nature of help the student can get from us, we encourage them to come and talk to us in person, where their personal problems can be discussed and we can help them in overcoming them. Competition has taken its toll on students. Every year before the exams and after the results, students commit suicide and some even run away. Though the problem is now being addressed, there still seems a long way to go. How do you think can we help these students from becoming victims of exam-related stress? Today, a student not only carries the burden of clearing his/her exams, but rather of excelling in them with as high percentage of marks as possible. Failure is seen as the end of life. This is very much a common fear and anxiety response that most students get during results and this makes you like others. You need not think this is abnormal, and must be ready to face the results. And remember that this is not the last exam of your life. The role of the parents is of prime importance in the way the individual is able to fight a failure. It is important for parents to keep on encouraging and not to pass any judgements on the student so that his self-esteem is maintained. They must ensure that at least socially, the result did not make a difference in the student’s life. The first thing that someone who has failed should do is to make sure you do not get into a chain of negative thoughts, and do not get into a vicious cycle of self-blame. Replace self-criticism with self-correction. Judging yourself harshly now won’t help you do better in the future. Instead, focus on what went wrong and how to correct it. It is important for the parent to keep on talking to the child, and make sure that he does not get into a shell and withdraws himself from everyone. Also, one needs to be supportive and allow the child to share his distress and disturbances with you so that his feelings get ventilated. I believe that one of the most important things for a parent is to be able to identify the vulnerable teenager and take him for professional help. Most students attempt suicide as they feel social stigmatisation. If the adults are serious about this, then we need to change this. Children who are the victims of sexual abuse need counselling and care. How should the parents educate their children about sexual abuse without creating a negative impact on their minds? I think the issue that needs to be handled is sexuality. There is hardly any comprehensive education given on the concept of sexuality, handling of relationships and basic family life education. There should not be any embarrassment on the part of the parent in giving the child education and in discussing matters related to sexuality. As for abuse, one must take professional help, as abuse can result in PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other psychiatric problems. How should we counsel the teachers and parents to deal with children with learning disability? Like in most cases of ADA or ADH in children, parents and teachers end up blaming the child for not being intelligent or obedient, failing to recognise the child’s disability. Let me tell you first about some common psychiatric problems in kids. The most common being learning disabilities, which is a common reason for poor academic performance. A child with learning disability is usually bright, can follow instructions, concentrate and is good at home. Yet, the child is not able to read or write without mistakes. Some children also have troubleshooting and paying attention. Learning disabilities are caused by nervous system defects in receiving, processing or communicating information. These children are likely to get frustrated and develop low self-esteem. "Your child is not attending in the class", "your child is causing trouble in the class" are common complaints received by the parents of a child, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Apparently, these problems can be seen in a child when they behave badly with elders and are rude and disobedient. They would cause physical harm to others and cause destruction of property. They would be truants at school and would break home rules and also be involved in cheating others. They require specialised training at an early stage to be helpful to them. The solution to this issue of child psychiatric problems is only in education. I believe that media also has a vital role here. The more signs, symptoms, and causes and types of child psychiatric problems and their treatment are discussed, the more help would be possible for these kids. Also, I am of a very clear opinion that all schools must have trained counsellors. Besides, there must be a psychiatrist on the panel, who can visit, may be, every month so as to review and supervise the over-all psychological help and give the necessary inputs. The parent training, teacher training and student workshops by mental heath professionals are a must. You must have worked with children who have been victims of drug abuse? Why do you think, in spite of the awareness and education about the dangers of drug use, students become victims? Let me make a thing clear on the topic of substance use in teenagers. One of the common reasons of trying these substances is social (observational) learning and peer pressures, and the social perception about the substance. I believe the parent should not use any such substance in families. Where a parent is into smoking or alcohol, the chances of the teenager trying it are significantly high. Children learn through observation. So this has to stop. Also, smoking and similar substances must be totally taken out from the vicinity of schools and a rigid ban on selling them to children. Besides, more awareness is needed, not just among kids, more so among adults. Even when we educate children, if adults around them don’t understand, they would still learn through observation. Advertisements that give a glamorous flavour to harmful substances should be stopped, as these change the perception of the kids towards these substances and the celebrities who are hero-worshipped. Many students are about to start college. It is going to be a sea change from the principled and confined schooling they are accustomed to. What do you have to say to the students, who are standing on the threshold of a new life with almost no checks, a new-found freedom and an essential part of college life, ragging, taking priority over all else? I’ll start by answering on ragging. The answer is simple. It needs to be thrown out of the system. Any fun that has the potential of even one student dropping out because of the incident and causing permanent damage needs to be totally stopped. There must be no place for people, who get into ragging others, in an academic system, as we are dealing with adults in a college. And adults need to behave accordingly. As a message for students, they need to focus on life. Take college as a step to future success and understand that this is a stepping-stone to the vocational and personal stability of their individual future. Sometimes, a student coming out from
a protective rule-bound school environment has the tendency to enjoy
at the cost of productivity that ultimately is his loss. And this must
be understood.
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Coop Sugar Mills tops in recovery rate Rohtak, July 1 Last year, the mills had achieved a recovery of 10.03 per cent per quintal with a capacity utilisation of 107.27 per cent and topped the sugar mills in Haryana in the matter of recovery. This year, the top position has been bagged by the Cooperative Sugar Mills at Shabad, which has achieved a recovery of 10.08 per cent per quintal. The managing director of the mills, Mr P. K. Sharma, told ‘NCR Tribune’ here today that during the just concluded crushing season, the mills had served the farmers by way of crushing 29.66 lakh quintals of sugarcane, valued at Rs 2,969.06 lakh. The mills had bagged 2,97,671 quintals of incomparable quality of sugar, which is highly appreciated by the traders and consumers in northern India. The crushing season, he said, commenced on November 15 last year and during its 153 days of operation, the mills had made remarkable impact on the economic condition of the farmers. Mr Sharma said though the mills was 47 years old, it had cut down the repair and maintenance bills significantly. The mills ran very smoothly and without any major breakdown during the whole crushing season. The total time lost in the 2001-2002 season on account of stoppage, including general cleaning of the mills, was 97 hours against 122.20 hours in the previous season, he claimed. The managing director further claimed that the mills had reduced its consumption of bagasse from 20.10 per cent to 27.77 per cent and had sold 1,06,178 quintals bagasse valued at Rs 42.47 lakh. The mills, he said, had attained all parameters of efficiency in its totality, which was made possible by the earnest and sincere efforts put in by the workers and employees. Mr Sharma is hopeful of getting a national award for efficiency and overall performance of sugar mills. Last year, the Cooperative Sugar Mills at Palwal had won this award. |
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Agents still having a field
day Faridabad, July 1 Mr Kumar had announced awards to nab the agents working in the offices of Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs), who charge hefty commission from the common man for getting various licences, especially driving licence, prepared. It is learnt that these agents used to charge commission ranging from Rs 500 to 800 per licence, but since the launch of the drive, the rates have nearly trebled due to the increased risk involved. Several persons, including some agents, had been arrested during the campaign and had been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The Deputy Commissioner had raided some of the offices and even caught one of the clerks himself, who was charged with corruption. Mr Kumar had admitted that corruption was rampant in some of the offices dealing with the public and had promised to book the corrupt employees and their agents. However, Mr Kumar was transferred from here last month, putting a question mark on the campaign launched by him. As many as 15 employees, including some cops, had been booked during the campaign, which started in January this year. “While this short-lived campaign could not bust the network of agents operating in various offices, the rate increased by them for getting prepared a driving licence has also failed to come down even after the transfer of the former DC,” said a resident of sector 15-A here. |
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NCR BRIEFS Panipat, July 1 ADC takes charge Mr Balwan Singh today took charge as the Assistant Deputy Commissioner (ADC). He will also be working as the acting DC, in the absence of the DC, Mr Mulk Raj Anand, who has gone on a two-month training. Mr Singh urged the officials to complete the ongoing works on a priority basis. Eight hurt Eight persons were hurt in a group clash over a land dispute at Kurana village. According to information, Prem Singh and Pritvi had a long-standing dispute with Jhandhu and sons over two acres of land. While Prem Singh and Prithvi along with others were working in the fields today, the other group allegedly attacked them with sharp-edged weapons. The Jandhu’s group, however, alleged that it was they who were attacked first. The injured were identified as Prem Singh, Prithvi, Sunita, Bhupinder, Sultan, Ishwar, Subhash and Shanti. They have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. Body found The body of Hari Om, a resident of Mainpuri village, was found near Samalkha. An anganwadi worker at Samalkha, Hari Om, had gone to Delhi for some work. It is suspected that he was run over by some unidentified vehicle. Rohtak Workers Protest Activists of the Haryana Roadways Workers‘ Union affiliated to the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, Haryana held a gate meeting and staged a demonstration at the bus stand here in protest against the recent government decision to close down the Haryana State Minor Irrigation and Tubewell Corporation (HSMITC). Addressing the demonstrators, Mr Dharamvir Hooda, secretary of the Rohtak Depot union, said nearly 25,000 vacant posts had been abolished and 20.000 employees retrenched in the state so far. Meanwhile, the Haryana Government PWD Mechanical Workers’ Union affiliated to the Haryana Samyukta Karamchari Manch has convened a meeting of the union here on July 7 to decide the future course of action. Cash snatched Three motorcycle-borne robbers snatched Rs 2. 70 lakh at gunpoint from two businessmen on the Vaish College road here this afternoon. According to information, Mr Govind Ram and Mr Sanjay Sharma, owners of LG showroom at Palika Market here, were going to deposit the amount in a branch of Punjab National Bank located on the Vaish College road. Three miscreants, on a motorcycle, intercepted them near Manav Sewa Sangh Hospital and escaped with the cash. Jhajjar 2 commit suicide A mother and her daughter reportedly committed suicide in Bishan village of the district today. According to information, Dayakaur (42) and her daughter Jayanti (26) ended their lives by consuming some poisonous substance. The reason for taking this extreme step is not known yet. Meerut Robbers kill man Two unidentified robbers killed a man and took away his Hero Honda mobike (No UP-15-F-3783) from near Jaharpir Mandir in Narangpur village under Sasurpur Khurd police station today. Mr Ramnath Tyagi and his nephew, Ravinder Kumar, were returning home on the latter’s mobike from Meerut. When they reached near Jaharpir Temple, two youths stopped them. They shot at Ravinder Kumar and escaped with the mobike. Though Ravinder was rushed a nursing home in Meerut, he succumbed. The police have flashed the message about the stolen vehicle to all the police posts. New Delhi Temple festival Twenty-first Annual Sthapana festival will be celebrated at Shri Santoshi Mata Mandir, Jail Road, Hari Nagar, on July 3. The auspicious celebrations will commence with Mr Shamsher Bahadur Saxena and Ms Kanta Saxena, the founder of the temple, lighting the holy akhand jyoti at 8.00 am. |
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MTNL launches extended cordless service in S. Delhi New Delhi, July 1 Subscribers in East of Kailash, Kailash Hills, Okhla Industrial Estate, Okhla Sabzi Mandi areas can use the sleek, compact and lightweight cordless phones being provided with the service. ESC is priced at existing wireline tariff with an additional monthly rental of Rs 75 being charged for the ESC facility. While subscribers are required to submit a one-time, refundable security deposit of Rs 2,000 for the cordless phone, the deposit has been waived for the first 1,000 subscribers under an Early Bird Scheme. The features of the cordless phones being provided with the service include a compact and lightweight mobile phone weighing 95 grams. The phone has a battery life of 500 hours standby time and a five-hour talk time besides having a 20 record phone book and four ring tones and a screen with 32 digit numeric display. The phone numbers of ECS subscribers are of seven digits, similar to a fixed phone numbers. The ECS are being provided by MTNL using the widely deployed Personal Access System (PAS), a wireless access platform supplied by UTStarcom Inc, a US based global provider of telecommunications network solutions. ECS offers wireline like voice quality with an extended cordless facility and Caller ID at virtually fixed phone tariffs. Added benefits of the service are that unlike cordless phones, the ESC phones does not stop working when the power fails. In addition, MTNL’s existing fixed services subscribers can swap their phones with ECS phone and the number also remains the same for 692 and 693 exchanges. While MTNL’s ECS currently focuses only on voice services, the PAS platform is capable of offering a broad suite of data services including high speed internet services at 32 or 64 Kbps, SMS, E-mail, download (music, games etc) and information services. |
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DSGMC results
today New Delhi, July 1 Of the 3.17 lakh electorate, 53.1 per cent chose to exercise their franchise on Sunday. There are 390 candidates, including 243 Independents, in the fray. However, the contest is between the two main Akali factions – the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the Shiromani Akali Dal, Delhi. The sealed ballot boxes have been kept in five counting centres under tight security. The counting centres are at ITI, Jail Road; Veer Savarkar Basic Training Centre, Pusa Road; Aryabhatt Polytechnic, GT Karnal Road; Jijabhai ITI for Women, Siri Fort; and ITI, Nand Nagri. The Directorate of Gurdwara Elections said the counting would commence at eight in the morning. The first results are expected to be announced within a couple of hours. As the prestige of both Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra is at stake, the two factions are keenly awaiting the outcome. The contestants kept themselves busy throughout the day, calculating their prospects on the basis of the turnout in each polling station. While some were confident of victory, others kept their fingers crossed and hoped for a miracle to see them through. |
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New Chairman takes over at CEA New Delhi, July 1 Before joining the NTPC, he served in various capacities at BHEL and HSEB. Mr Bajaj, with a MSc Engineering (Power Systems) degree, has over 34 years of experience in the power sector. At NTPC, as head of consultancy wing, he executed projects located in India, Dubai and Nepal. As Executive Director (WR), he steered the construction activities of Vindyachal Project, besides receiving ISO-9002 certification for all the projects under his charge. Mr Bajaj played a leading role in the rural electrification of Haryana. A widely travelled person, Mr Bajaj has won many laurels in the power sector. |
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Fake notes racket
busted New Delhi The arrested persons have been identified as Baba Sheikh, Dhruv Kumar Tripathi, Sheesh Pal and Sunil Saraf. They were arrested from Dhaula Kuan in South-West Delhi, the police said. TNS |
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Two held for looting Rs 4.34 lakh from Tehsil
Treasury Ghaziabad, July 1 The accused had also looted Rs 4.34 lakh of the Tehsil Treasury from the peons near Jain Mandir under Kavi Nagar police station area on May 7. The police claimed to have recovered Rs 45,000 of the looted amount from the accused. The rest of the amount is said to have been squandered away by them. During interrogation, the duo confessed that they had shot at the
JE, Ved Prakash Sharma, and looted Rs 1.17 lakh from him on June 10. They also confessed to the loot of Rs 4.34 lakh from tehsil peons on May 7. The accused told the police that they were left with only Rs 45,000 of the looted amount and the rest had been spent by them. The police recovered Rs 45,000 hidden behind wheat bags in the house of Robin in Shastri Nagar. |
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Cash, jewellery looted from Brigadier’s house New Delhi, July 1 Subsequently, the youths locked all the family members in one room and ransacked the house. Later, they decamped with the cash and the jewellery. The police have assured the family members that it had got some clue about the suspects and would work out the case very soon. Man murdered A resident of Aligarh, Raghuraj (65), was found murdered on the rooftop of a farmhouse at Mandoli in North-East district yesterday. His body bore multiple stab injuries. According to information, he stayed at the farmhouse owned by one Naveen Patodia. In another case, Sunil (28), a resident of Valmiki Camp, was allegedly burnt to death by his wife, Manju and brother-in-law, Rishi. He was admitted to the Safdarjung Hospital with severe burns yesterday morning. Later, he succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. The suspects reportedly poured kerosene oil on him and set him ablaze, the police said. Pirated CDs Seized The Delhi Police seized 455 duplicate video CDs and 184 video cassettes of T-Series company namely Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, Tum Bin, Company and Hum Kissi Se Kum Nahin. The police arrested two persons after a raid conducted at Aggarwal Video at Jagatpuri. The raid was conducted after a complaint lodged by Super Cassettes Industries Limited. The arrested persons were identified as Mahesh Chand Aggarwal and Om Prakash, a press release by Super Cassettes Industries said. Dacoits Arrested The South-West district police arrested five dacoits who were reportedly planning to commit dacoity in Loha Mandi, Naraina. They were identified as Anil, Raj Kumar, Nand Lal, Ghanshyam and Ram Gopal. During interrogation, they admitted their involvement in a snatching case of Rs 20,000. Two of their accomplices, Dinesh and Subhash Kariya were absconding, the police said. |
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