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| Tuesday,
September 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Cong, Centre tussle to showcase Metro
New Delhi, September 2 If the BJP thought it has made a “smart” move by getting Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to inaugurate the Delhi Metro sometime in December, the Congress-administered Government of NCT of Delhi thinks it will “outsmart” the Opposition if President APJ Abdul Kalam agrees to be the chief guest. Accordingly, the weekly meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday decided to invite the President for the inauguration of the Delhi Metro and introduce a suitable legislation that will replace the draft Metro Railway Operation and Maintenance Bill 2002 formulated by the Centre. According to BJP sources, Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani would flag off the trial run of Delhi Metro tentatively on September 17. The inauguration will be done by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on December 25, which is also his birthday, says the party. The Congress says it has reasons to believe Delhi Metro is its baby. Transport, it argues, is a state subject and Delhi Metro does not come under the Railways. Since the Government of India and the Government of NCT of Delhi have made 15 per cent investments each in the project, Delhi should have equal if not more say in fixing tariff, identifying routes, etc. The dispute, the Congress claims, can trace itself to the Centre’s “unilaterally” drafting the Metro Railway Operation and Maintenance Bill 2002 “ignoring the Government of NCT of Delhi’s interests.” To register its protest, the Cabinet had rejected the draft Bill and constituted a committee to make suitable recommendations for the Cabinet’s perusal. Transport Minister Ajay Maken says the Government of NCT of Delhi should be given the due constitutional powers. “So what if the Centre has pumped money into the Metro Rail Project ? It is the Government of NCT of Delhi that is answerable to the people of Delhi and therefore should have a say in how it should be run,” is how he offered to react. What has sent the Congress into a huddle though is reports of the Centre bringing an ordinance. According to legal and constitutional experts consulted, says Maken, the Government of NCT of Delhi is empowered to legislate on a “state subject” such as the Metro. The stumbling block, if any, is Delhi’s Union Territory status that mandates prior permission of the Centre to introduce any legislation. “The BJP,” he asserts, “is taking advantage of the UT status to score brownie points.” Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit says the BJP’s demand for full statehood stands exposed as the Government of NCT of Delhi is being deprived of powers due. |
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THE GREAT RIP-OFF? New Delhi, September 2 In a written statement issued here today, Mr Gupta, who is also member of the corporation’s all-powerful Standing Committee, alleged that the ruling majority party in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi had come up with the proposal of toll tax privatisation just to siphon off public exchequer. The privatisation had been planned to spare the corporation’s executive wing from the highest tax embezzlement in the history so much so that the commissioner had himself publicly admitted that the corruption was costing nearly 40 per cent of the total toll tax collections. The Congress cashing in on the inefficiency and corruption in the MCD executive wing, had approved the proposal of privatisation in haste on July 22, 2002, the day on which the BJP had boycotted House due to Delhi Bandh, thus, putting a question mark on the whole process, he claimed. The commissioner had proposed privatisation of the toll tax on the following grounds: Delhi having very porous borders, it is easy to evade toll tax; use of fake passes by transporters; forcible entry by transporters without paying toll tax; no penalty to evaders in the absence of any by-laws; entry of commercial vehicles from the wrong side of road to avoid toll tax due to the gap in verge existing in other states, before entering Delhi; due to non-cooperation by the police force, i.e. whenever there is traffic jam due to narrow lanes, barriers are removed and the vehicles are allowed to pass without paying toll tax; and whenever there is a movement of VIPs and politicians from the neighbouring states, roads are cleared by the police and no barriers are allowed on the roads enabling the commercial vehicles to pass without paying the tax. Mr Gupta alleged that it was strange that none of the above points appeared in the reply of the commissioner in the half-an-hour discussion during the corporation meeting on June 3, 2002. Besides, if these are the circumstances leading to the privatisation of toll tax, then the corporation has admitted that they are bowing to the muscle power and that no rule of law exists in Delhi, he said. Instead of getting the proposal approved, it would have been better course if some experienced agency had been engaged to estimate the number of incoming commercial vehicles in the Delhi territory with the help of the records maintained by agriculture produce market committee, Mr Gupta added. The State Transport Authority police check barriers and the goods/passengers transport companies who have trucks/buses attached with them. By this exercise, the corporation would have been able to know the exact number of the commercial vehicles liable to pay toll tax at the entry points per day/month/year. Besides the evasion of tax could also have been checked by sealing the porous entry points by installing more toll tax barriers and strict vigil. “We are not opposing the policy of privatisation in principle but the present proposal of toll tax collection is totally different to the cases where the private parties have been empowered to collect toll tax. In the case of corporation proposal, the bidder will not invest anything but would reap the profits on the corporation powers of levying tax under Section 113 and 114 of the Act which surely would be against the public and corporation financial interest as well,” the BJP said.
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FARIDABAD CIVIC BODY Faridabad, September 2 With this objective in mind, the government has decided to upgrade the municipal bodies of towns with a population of over three lakhs or more. Now, they will be full-fledged municipal corporations. Until now, only Faridabad could boast of a corporation; even other prominent towns like Gurgaon, Hisar, Karnal and Ambala, the population of which is well over three lakhs, had only municipal councils. Given the ‘zero transfer’ policy, the shifting of the Financial Controller of the MCF a few days ago took everyone by surprise. The aforesaid official had been serving in the MCF for the last two decades. Promoted to the post of finance controller, the official had become synonymous with the finance department of the MCF. With the transfer of this official to Panchkula, the decks seem to have been cleared for transfer of other senior officials, including engineers and town planning officers. The issue of alleged corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement in the civic body had been highlighted on several occasions during the meetings of the district grievances committees, chaired by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. While the post of the commissioner, MCF, and joint commissioner in the civic body are transferable as these are held by IAS and HCS officers, respectively, there are hundreds of posts, including those of engineers, which have become ‘permanent’. Again, many officers have retired or are due to retire after serving in one station. Several social and political activists and resident organisations had voiced the demand that officials who have served for more than three years be transferred, so that the civic administration could become more responsive and active. The authorities did transfer about seven middle-level officers on deputation to other stations, but it is learnt that most of them have failed to take up their new charge even after two months. No wonder, the state government has decided to upgrade the civic bodies of at least six district towns to corporations. By doing so, the State government can now easily effect transfers of civic body employees. The civic bodies are being upgraded in Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, Gurgaon, Rohtak and Hisar. |
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Hardly an August month in Bulandshahr Noida, September 2 With the failure of the police to take suitable action against reward-carrying listed criminals, the people in the district were virtually living in terror unleashed by the 18 sensational murders and about 12 incidents of looting. Vijay alias Sai Baba, engaged in hotel business, was done to death in the beginning of August. The police have failed to trace any of the accused, to say nothing of nabbing them. History-sheeter Pradhan Pati lost his life in a hail of bullets on August 3 outside a bank in the Bibi Nagar area. Though the killers had announced their plan before hand, they managed to go scot-free. At Kanauna village in the Khanpur area and Nagad the kachchha baniyan gang had wrought terror for days together. In Kanauna, after murdering Nand Kishore, a number of houses were looted. The next day the assailants attacked Veer Narayan and his wife in Walipur village. Veer Narayan later succumbed to his injuries. Two brothers, Sri Chand alias Sarya and Amar Singh, who had served a jail term, were shot dead in Darwar village of Anupshahr. The same day another murder was committed in the Aurangabad area. On August 17, three persons were murdered. Before that a woman was done to death in the Shikarpur area. A young girl was murdered in Hasanpur Mandi. Her face was disfigured by burning. Udaypal was murdered in Asmanpur village of Khurja after a drinking bout. In Anupshahr Udesh Mishra and his wife Shashi, belonging to Noida, were murdered at Rajora village. On August 26, Gagan Singh, an accountant of the Cooperative Samiti, was shot dead. The same day Bechan Singh, a teacher, was shot dead in the Gulawatti area. Earlier, on August 22, Dharampal of Kota was killed. A rented Sumo was looted in the Shikarpur area and its driver, Subodh, of Jabalpur Kareena was murdered. His body was thrown in the Khurja Dehat area. The sensational robbery and murder at coal merchant Sardar Khan's place could not be solved by the police. Ten days later, after seriously injuring Brijender Singh a gang of desperadoes had committed robbery at a number of places. The police are still clueless about these incidents. While the people are living in fear, the police have accomplished precious little to either nab the culprits or take some measures to do away with the terror that has gripped people. Last month's mass transfers had a lot to do with the unusual crime situation in Bulandshahr. |
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Shakeel’s aide held near restaurant New Delhi, September 2 During interrogation, he revealed that he had initially joined his father's printing business, but later started his own business of property dealing in Mumbai in 1990, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), adding that during this period, he came in close contact with Chhota Shakeel. Subsequently, when the underworld shifted its base to Dubai, Shah continued to maintain contact with them and in 1996, he became a full-fledged property dealer. He kept his links alive and used them in his property business. On a number of occasions, Shah used the underworld connections to settle the issue in his favour. The accused had reportedly dealt in disputed property worth several crores in Mumbai recently and apparently slipped into Delhi to evade arrest. |
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This radiotherapy machine needs to be put Meerut, September 2 The radiotherapy department of the Medical College was assigned to give treatment to the cancer patients. A large number of patients used to come here from all over western UP, including Meerut, Saharanpur and Moradabad division. But the department is in a state of disrepair. The radiotherapy machine went out of order one and a half years ago due to poor handing. The principal of the Medical College, Dr Usha Sharma, admitted to the ‘NCR Tribune’ that the machine had not been working. The HOD of the department sent a letter to the principal requesting her to arrange for the maintenance of machine. Subsequently, the principal forwarded the letter to the government in Lucknow, but it is still somewhere in the files, gathering dust. It is reported that about Rs 50 lakh would be needed for its repair. But not a single rupee could be released despite the assurance by the earlier health minister and director-general of health services. Now the Dr Arvind Tiwari has taken over. He admitted that the OPD had not been functioning for several months. He said that the patients here were referred to Delhi’s hospitals. The radiotherapist department had its referral OPD and regularly referring the patient to Delhi’s hospitals. While the principal, Dr Usha Sharma, claimed that the patients were being treated regularly in OPD, the registration book says otherwise as not a single entry was made in the register for many months.
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Khurana gives tips to regularise illegal colonies New Delhi, September 2 Ask him how he proposes to regularise the colonies, the Delhi Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president says by getting the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre to amend the Master Plan. To give a legal shape to the proposed amendment to the Master Plan, Mr Khurana says he has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of former Delhi Chief Secretary Omesh Saigal. The committee will include among others former Mayor Shanti Desai, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Prof Jagdish Mukhi and legislator Nand Kishore Garg. The Government of NCT of Delhi, Mr Khurana told mediapersons, should at the same time take effective steps to curb the uncontrolled and inconsistent growth of Delhi. “It is also required that the government makes strict legal provisions to take action against the builders and colonisers who indulge in grabbing the government land to build unauthorised colonies.” He said all unauthorised colonies should be regularised by implementing the recommendations of the Malhotra Committee. The Malhotra Committee under the chairmanship of senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra was constituted by Mr Khurana during his tenure as Chief Minister to suggest measures to provide housing facility to the people of Delhi and also think about future requirements keeping in view the growing population. The committee had recommended various things including amending the building bye-laws. Mr Khurana said the Union Ministry of Urban Development had decided to allow leasehold industrial and commercial properties to be converted into freehold and change the land use pattern that would benefit millions of people. The party would now press for acceptance of its other demands like regularisation of all the unauthorised colonies that came up till March this year, when an aerial survey was carried out by the Centre. The working committee of the party had even passed a resolution in this regard. Mr Khurana said he had also sought from the Centre the setting up of a commission to be chaired by a high court judge to look into the “misdeeds” of builders and colonisers responsible for Delhi’s uncontrolled and inconsistent growth. |
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TEMPLE FIRE New Delhi, September 2 Ms Dikshit announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 each to the families of the deceased and assured free medical treatment to the injured. She told mediapersons that the guilty would be punished and promised quick and fair investigation into the mishap. Five children were roasted alive in the fire that broke out in a portion of the temple on Saturday evening. A large number of devotees had thronged the temple to participate in the Janmashtami celebrations. Apparently, sparks flew off the naked electricity cables overhanging the temple. In the melee, a few children were trapped inside. The Government of NCT of Delhi had on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the fire. The Deputy Commissioner (West) is probing the causes that led to the fire and ascertain whether there was any laxity on the part of the organisers of the Janmashtami festivities. Delhi Fire Service’s Chief Fire Officer R. C. Sharma has denied the fire tenders arrived late on the site. Fire tenders rushed to the site at 8.20 pm after receiving a call at 8.10 pm, Mr Sharma said. “There was not much of a delay,” he said. Mr Sharma felt had fire safety guidelines been observed, the organisers of the festivities could have saved the lives. Apparently, the wiring was not proper and, Mr Sharma said, a short circuit had caused the blaze that later spread because of combustible materials. This is the second major incident of fire to break out in the Capital. Only recently, several shops were gutted in a fire that broke out in the Chandni Chowk market. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, September 2 The blaze erupted at 7.05 pm in the first floor of the building, following a spark from a ceiling fan. After a call was received, several fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the blaze, sources in the Delhi Fire Service said. The eight-storeyed building houses offices of several ministers, including those of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Information and Broadcasting Minister, Coal and Mines and Fertilizers Minister. 405 complaints against autos:
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Cops ‘reluctant’ to rescue missing girl New Delhi, September 2 Mr Deep Kumar, who resides at J J colony of Wazirpur in North-West district, had lodged a complaint at the Ashok Vihar police station and with Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern range) Ajai Chadha that his daughter was in Kotdwar and lived with one Vicky, resident of the same locality. He also had expressed doubt that Vicky had abducted the girl but no action had so far been taken, his complaint to the Commissioner said. He was also reportedly threatened of dire consequences by the parents of Vicky if he lodged any complaint against them. He met the in charge of Wazirpur police post, the SHO and the ACP but they were reluctant to take action, Mr Deep Kumar said. |
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NCM missive to police chief on kirpan issue New Delhi, September 2 In a letter to the vice-chairman,
NCM, Mr Mann has complained that he was humiliated by the superintendent of police when he insisted on carrying the
kirpan. The Indian Constitution under Section 25 permits Sikhs to carry the
kirpan, a religious symbol, to all places. In his letter, Mr Mann has pointed out that on prior visits to the jail, he had never been denied the permission to carry the
kirpan. Mr Mann was visiting one Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, who has been sentenced to death. Mr Mann has written, “I have been taking my kirpan to Parliament, the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Supreme Court as well, and even while travelling by air. My privilege as a Sikh as a member of Parliament and as a leader of the Sikhs has been breached.” |
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12,000
acres in Panipat drought-hit Panipat, September 2 Photo ID cards The special campaign to prepare photo identity cards for the voters of the Panipat constituency who had not got their cards earlier got underway here on Sunday. As many as four photography team, besides one at the district headquarters, are engaged in the work, which would continue till September 15. Any discrepancy in the existing ID cards is also being entertained and fresh cards issued to the voters free of cost. However, the voters, who have lost their cards, will have to shell out Rs 25 for getting new cards. |
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A house
for feathered postmen Alwar, September 2 The abode of the pigeons is a 20-foot high concrete structure in one of the city’s parks built at a cost of Rs 50,000. The man behind the idea is a retired railway employee, Mr N L Mishra. While the municipal committee has not only approved the construction, it has also promised its upkeep. But the citizens of the city have taken on the responsibility of providing food and water to the inhabitants of this pigeon house. |
Dacoity foiled as six fall
in police net Sonepat, September 2 The Superintendent of Police, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, told mediapersons here today the culprits had been identified as Pawan of Bindrauli village, Karamvir, Manjit no. 1, Nahna, Manjit no. 2, Mukesh and Narinder, all residents of Saidpur village. Two country-made pistols, two live cartridges and four knives had been seized from their possession. Giving details of the arrests, the SP said Mr Ram Kishan, a Sub-Inspector of Kharkhauda police, got secret information that six armed youths were sitting at a deserted place on the Rohna road and planing to loot a petrol station. The police, he said, immediately swung into action and conducted a surprise raid on their hideout and succeeded in arresting all culprits with arms on the spot. He said that the culprits, during the course of interrogation, revealed they had snatched lakhs of rupees from a hospital in this city on September 30 last year. Similarly, the culprits had snatched a Yamaha motor cycle from Gohana town and a Hero Honda motor cycle from Mohidinpur village in Karnal district last year. According to the SP, the culprits tried to commit a dacoity in Gohana hospital on August 28 last year but could not succeed in their nefarious design as a police van stopped outside the hospital. The culprits, he said, also robbed a doctor after getting admission to his hospital. Pawan was employed in this hospital and had hatched a scheme to rob the doctor concerned.
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Three shot dead in group clash Sonepat, September 2 According to a report, another youth also sustained serious bullet injuries. He has been sent to a Delhi hospital for further treatment. On hearing shots being fired, panic gripped the area and shopkeepers downed the shutters. Mr S. N. Roy, Deputy Commissioner, and Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, Superintendent of Police, along with a strong contingent of police, arrived on the scene. A hunt was on to nab the assailants. The bodies of the victims were sent for post-mortem examinations. They were identified as Rajesh Dahiya, Vikas Dahiya and Amit. Rajesh Dahiya was a lawyer and he had married last year, whereas Vikas Dahiya and Amit were said to be students. A collision between two motorcycles at Mission Chowk and a subsequent quarrel were the main cause of the clash. Immunisation drive:
The district administration has taken up an awareness campaign to inform the residents about the disease and provide them medical help at their doorstep. In a statement here today, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Malik, has appealed to the people not to panic, but face the situation in a proper manner. He has asked the residents to contact physicians and doctors and not to believe any heresy. In view of the fact that seven cases of the disease had been reported and the blood samples of the victims had been referred here, he said that expert advice of doctors of the AIIMS in Delhi was being taken and steps were being taken to contain the disease. SHO caught taking bribe:
According to information, Bhagwat Swaroop alias Baggha had registered a complaint with the vigilance officials that SHO Jagdish Chander had misbehaved with his wife, who is a councillor, and had been demanding an illegal gratification of Rs 3,000 from him. Surprisingly, the vigilance and CIA staff allegedly had beaten up the complainant as he ‘dared’ to register a complaint against a police official. It is learnt, the complainant has been involved in ‘satta’ business for the last several years and the police official had been demanding bribe to wink at his illegal profession. Two nabbed:
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Delhi doctor arrested for daylight murder New Delhi, September 2 The suspect, Dr Raj Kumar, a registered medical practitioner, had allegedly shot dead Krishan Gopal, a resident of Harkesh Nagar, as both had enmity. The suspect allegedly brought the pistol from his hometown in Bihar to kill Krishan Gopal. He was arrested from Patiala House Courts where he came to hire an advocate. During interrogation, he disclosed that he had a clinic in Harkesh Nagar and lived there in a rented house. Krishan Gopal used to quarrel with him over his way of treatment. On the fateful day, they had a heated exchange. Later, the doctor took out the pistol and shot at the victim, killing him on the spot. While running away from the spot, the suspect had thrown the pistol in jungle, the police said. Stolen
property seized:
Pirated cassettes seized:
Pedestrian killed:
Khan was immediately rushed to Safdarjung Hospital where he was declared brought dead. The police have registered a case of causing death due to rash and negligent driving and have launched a manhunt to nab the erring driver. |
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SONEPAT Sonepat, September 2 In a complaint made to the SP, a copy of which was released to the Press here, he alleged that he had informed the police on August 22 about the kidnapping of his wife but the police had neither registered a case nor arrested the culprits. The complainant also pointed out that his wife had been employed in a factory from where she was kidnapped. Youth robbed:
According to another report, the same robbers allegedly snatched Rs 2,000 from Mr Rakesh, a chemist, when he was on his way from Silana village to Gorar village on Saturday night. According to another report, burglars took away goods worth Rs 50,000 from a photo studio at Saidpur village, about 25 km from here, on Sunday night. The owner of the shop alleged that the police were reluctant to register an FIR in this connection. Dowry
harassment:
Dies of
snakebite:
In another similar incident, a three-year-old boy became unconscious after a snake bit him at Panchi Jatan village, about 10 km from here, last evening. The boy was playing outside his house when he was bitten by the snake. He was rushed to the local civil hospital from where he was sent to a Delhi hospital for further treatment. 2 hurt in clashes:
Women
injured:
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JHAJJAR
Jhajjar, September 2 Girl drowned: A seven-year-old girl was reportedly drowned to death by a youth in Dhandhalan village of the district on Sunday. The police sources said today that Satbir Singh, in his report to the police, said that his niece (brother’s daughter) Moni was killed by Deepak on Sunday. An old enmity between the two families was stated to be the reason behind the incident. OC
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A technology treat at Transport India New Delhi, September 2 The trade fair focuses on logistics and technology concepts for passengers and freight transport by water, land and air. It has been organised to bring on a common platform members from the government, service companies, logistics operators, importers and legal professionals. The Chairman, Transport India 2002, Mr S. Sundar said, “Transport volumes in India are growing at a rapid pace and have immense potential, but there are several gaps in the transport network, which need to be addressed. India’s capacity to grow and integrate with the rest of the world rests on integration and efficiency of its transport network”. A three-day seminar focusing on the industry issues would run parallel to the exhibition. Organisations in railway vehicles and systems, planning or roads and bridges, port installations, shipbuilding and maintenance, airport installation and maintenance, petrochemicals and lubricants will be participating in the seminar.The seminar will be attended by members from the industry who would address issues crucial to the transport sector such as investment opportunities in port, inland water and shipping, mass urban transport and use of IT in managing the transport
sector. Emirates Skycargo, an international airline, participating for the first time, Container Corporation of India Ltd., South Eastern Roadways,
Gujarat Maritime Board are some of the participating companies. |
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