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March 5, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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WATERLOO New Delhi, March 4 Conservation, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday told media persons, was necessitated on account of Government of Haryana’s reluctance to release adequate share of water to the Capital. “Instead of 40 million gallons per day (mgd) NCT of Delhi is receiving only 25 mgd,” Dikshit said. Haryana, she went on to add, was “cheating” NCT of Delhi of its due share and the Government of NCT of Delhi could move the Supreme Court and / or approach the Central Water Commission to resolve outstanding differences between the two governments. She went on to accuse Haryana of releasing “polluted” water to NCT of Delhi. The chief minister explained that money had been provided to the Government of Haryana to construct a parallel channel to ensure water supply to NCT of Delhi. “It appears the work on it has stopped completely …. What is disturbing,” she added, “is that polluted water is being released to us.” The action plan drawn up to streamline the water supply, the chief minister said, had demarcated the city into 21 water zones instead of the current 12. Constituting Jal Panchayats in the rural outbacks and suggesting punitive measures to check pilferage and / or wastage are some of the contents of the blueprint formulated by the government in consultation with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB.) Dikshit said the action plan dwells on conserving and augmenting availability of potable water in the Capital. “The peak demand for water is 828 mgd while the current supply is 620 mgd, making the Capital deficient in water supply to the tune of 208 mgd,” she told a news conference. All the water zones, which has become operational, would be headed by executive engineers. Another important feature of the action plan is the constitution of Jal Panchayats. She observed that certain villages on the outskirts of the city were perennially deficient in potable water and Jal Panchayats would serve to augment the supply in those areas. According to DJB sources, the action plan was drawn up after studying the experiences of the “perennially water-deficient states” of Goa, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. Officials of DJB had visited those states and incorporated the prevalent trends there to benefit NCT of Delhi. “It was based on their experiences that we decided to install Sintex water tanks of two thousand to five thousand litres in the rural areas. The upkeep of these tanks will be the responsibility of Jal Panchayats,” the chief minister said. The five-member Jal Panchayat, she added, would have at least three women. Also proposed was punitive action against those who misutilised water resources. DJB Chief Executive Officer (CEO) PK Tripathi in turn said the action plan was formulated so that the demand-supply gap was bridged by according priority to preventive maintenance, improved management of water distribution and augmentation and conservation of water supply. A principal component of the Action Plan, the chief minister said, would also be the detection of leakages and repair and maintenance. According to figures made available, 6,050 leakages had been repaired that resulted in a saving of six lakh gallons. Close to 2.5 lakh gallons of water per day was saved by introducing various other measures. Also undertaken was repair and maintenance of all the Treatment Plants. This, said the officials, was to avoid any hiccups in the summer months when the peak demand shoots up. DJB was also undertaking repair of defective water lines. |
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Bhiwani
transporter shot at Bhiwani, March 4 Soon after the incident, traders of the town led by president of the Dadri Beopar Mandal Ravinder Gupta took out a march in protest against the deteriorating law and order situation and submitted a memorandum to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits. The Superintendent of Police also visited the place and took stock of the situation. According to reports, Mr Har Bilas Badhwania, owner of Dadri Golden Transport Company located at Agarsein dharamshala, and few others were sitting outside a shop near the dharamshala at about 7 am today. Two unidentified youths arrived at the scene and shot at Mr Har Bilas, injuring both his hands. Though the security guard of Mr Har Bilas fired at the assailants, the latter managed to escape. The injured transporter was rushed to the civil hospital where the duty doctor took out a bullet from his one hand. However, he was referred to the PGIMS in view of the serious condition of his other hand. It is learnt that an unidentified caller had threatened him on telephone with dire consequences if he did not pay a huge amount as ransom. Mr Har Bilas had engaged two security guards thereafter. It is said that one of the guards was not with him at the time of the incident. It may be mentioned here that Mr Har Bilas is a popular figure of the town. Irate residents and traders took out a procession from the main bazars of the town in protest against the attack. The SP who reached Dadri soon after the incident assured the traders that a separate police team would be appointed to arrest the culprits. The police have registered a case. |
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Khurana
sheds tears for good old Congress New Delhi, March 4 Addressing a sit-in at Parliament Street, Khurana said the Congress had been a party which fought against the British to free India from foreign yoke. “Mahatma Gandhi wanted that it should cease to exist after the goal of Independence was achieved. But nobody heeded his advice and look what it has been reduced to,” he said. “Who is involved in the Tandoor murder case and who is responsible for the Gujarat sex scandal and the burning of Geeta Malik,” Khurana asked as activists of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and Mahila Morcha shouted : “Congress Sanskriti Ka Dheko Khel, Pehale Tandoor, Ab Mitti Tel.” Khurana was harsh also on the Sheila Dikshit Government saying its liberalised liquor policy had led to an increase in the crime rate in the Capital. Criticising the Congress for opposing the installation of the portrait of Veer Savarkar in Parliament House, he said Saravkar was as great a revolutionary as Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh. |
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MURDER MOST FOUL New Delhi, March 4 Special Public Prosecutor S. K. Saxena, appearing for the prosecution, argued that the vehicle was with Mr D. P. Yadav, who served as a director on the board of the mill. Deposing before Additional District and Sessions Judge S. N. Dhingra, Mrs Kulwant Kaur, an official of the DTD, Hoshiarpur, said the Tata Safari, which the police claimed to have been used in the sensational murder, was registered in the name of Oswal Sugar Mills. Both Vikas and Vishal had used the vehicle to lift Nitish from Diamond Palace, where all the three, including Bharati, daughter of Mr D. P. Yadav, had gone to attend the marriage of a common friend on the night of February 16, 2002. Mr Sandeep Goel, the owner of Diamond Palace, today deposed and said that the marriage of Shivani Gaur had taken place in his auditorium on the fateful day. Nitish went missing since the marriage ceremony on February 16-17 night and his partially charred body was found later from a forest in Ghaziabad district.
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Prison
guards held for death of inmate Alwar, March 4 The deceased, Ajit Jat, had escaped from the prison but was nabbed and was brought back to the jail. Apparently angry over his misadventure, the guards and other prisoners allegedly beat him up. However, an investigation is on to find out whether Ajit Jat died in a hospital or succumbed to his injuries in jail. In addition to this, a magisterial inquiry into Jat’s escape from jail and his death is also in progress, sources added.
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Canadian
HR body seeks revision of New Delhi, March 4 Speaking on the occasion, Mr Adam Baksh from the SAHR said a delegation was scheduled to meet the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in connection with the verdict. He quoted Justice Shah as saying that the conspiracy theory ‘falls flat as the rest of the accused who were named in the confession statement have neither been tried nor convicted’. Thanking the DSGMC for its support, Mr Jatinder Minhas from the SAHR said the issue concerned human rights and that the members of the Canadian Parliament and the Cabinet Ministers had condemned the death sentence and supported revision of the judgement. Earlier, the President of the DSGMC, Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, presented the background of the case and quoted the presiding judge, Mr Justice M. B. Shah of the Supreme Court, and pleaded for acquittal, citing the lack of corroborated evidence. It was pointed out that Article 21 of the Constitution had been overlooked in the case. Among those present on the occasion included Prof Bhullar’s mother, Ms Opkar Kaur, general secretary of the DSGMC, Mr Bhajan Singh Walia, and Mr Gurdev Singh Johal and Mr Joseph Louis of the SAHR. TNS
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DELHI IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, March 4 The minister said on the expiry of one year from the date of its registration, a motor vehicle is required to have a valid Pollution Under Control certificate as per Rule 115 (7) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 read with Rule 99 (1) of Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules 1993. In NCT of Delhi, 32.85-odd tests were carried out in 2002. The minister informed the House that several steps were being taken to enforce the norms. They included regular penal action against the defaulting vehicles and launching of public awareness campaign from time to time to educate people on the statutory provisions as well as the health hazards caused by vehicular pollution. The NCT of Delhi is among the states/union territories not to have utilised even a rupee from the funds made available by the Union Government under the Operation Blackboard scheme. The sum of Rs 53.99 lakh made available to NCT of Delhi went unutilised. The Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD), Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that funds were provided to the states/union territories for procurement of Teaching Learning Equipment (TLE) for primary schools and upper primary schools. Provision for the construction of school building was also made under the programmes of rural development on a sharing basis. Whereas the funds for teachers’ salary were fully utilised by NCT of Delhi and all other states/union territories, the pace of utilisation of funds released for TLE was slower. According to the figures made available, NCT of Delhi was provided Rs 53.99 lakh but not a single rupee earmarked for TLE was utilised. The Government of NCT of Delhi has forwarded a proposal to the Union Government to amend the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 by providing for enhancement of penalties under the Act for violation of traffic rules by autorickshaw drivers. In a written reply, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Harin Pathak on Tuesday told the Lok Sabha that the Government of NCT of Delhi had requested the Union Government to increase the fine ten times from the existing one. That proposal, the minister told the House, was not pursued as there was already a proposal under the consideration of the Union Government for amendment of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 to enhance some of the penalties under the Act. |
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Rain plays
havoc with wheat worth crores Sonepat, March 4 According to a report, wheat procured by the state and the central government last year, could not be stored in the covered godowns as they were already chock-a-block with the stocks procured in 2000 and 2001. Most of the stocks were soaked during the monsoon last year and the procurement agencies failed to unpack the heavy stock and dry the same. They also failed to lift the wheat stock and send it to the covered godowns hired by various agencies. Even now, thousands of wheat bags, procured by various official agencies, are lying in the open in the new foodgrain market here, the godown of the Food and Supplies Department in this city and elsewhere in the district. Wheat lying in the open is likely to suffer more losses if it is not removed from the open immediately. Insects are also feeding on this wheat. It is alleged polythene sheets, covering old wheat stocks, were badly torn by the high-velocity winds and heavy rain. The state government has so far failed to order an inquiry into the shoddy working of the official procurement agencies and prepare an estimate of the damage. Not a single official of any agency has ever visited the city to take stock of the situation. According to sources, the entire wheat stock procured by the official agencies was not lifted from the mandis on account of non-availability of covered godowns and warehouses last year. Only a high-level inquiry will expose the negligence of the procurement agencies’ officials in this regard. |
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Walk-out over ‘shielding’ tainted MCD officer New Delhi, March 4 Mr Vijender Kumar alleged that the ruling Congress party was shielding officers found corrupt by the CBI after detailed investigations. He also alleged that even the Director of Vigilance in the meeting stated that the sanction to prosecute should have been granted by the committee. Mr Gupta disclosed that it was essential to seek sanction of the Corporation before prosecuting any officer under the provisions of Indian Panel Codes Section 19 (1) (C). Giving full details, Mr Gupta disclosed that in the raids conducted by the CBI, assets worth Rs 2,77,52,480 were found with Mr Ashok Kumar whereas, total expenditure during his service tenure was Rs 25,14,194 as compared to the total income of Rs 16,66,003. In this way, the proportionate assets amounting to Rs 2.86 crore were found as confirmed by the CBI. An FIR was also registered on 20.9.2000 under bearing No.RC-52A/2000/DLI and after thorough investigations, the report has been submitted to the commissioner. Ms Aarti Mehra in her statement said that on one side, the Congress desires to provide transparent administration to the citizens; on the other, it shields the corrupt officers by deliberately postponing the matter. It will never be tolerated.
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SPECIAL FOCUS
ON GURGAON Gurgaon, March 4 The construction work for six-laning (double widening) of a stretch of about 12 km of the road, work for which is in progress, is expected to be completed by the month-end. The road was handed over to the Haryana Urban Development Authority(HUDA) by the government, which is implementing the project. The project, which has a cost outlay of about Rs 10 crore, is said to be progressing at a satisfactory pace and is tipped to be completed within the time frame. The stretch of the road being widened starts from Dundahera border and courses through Atul Kataria Chowk, Mahavir Chowk, MDI Chowk and further connects the uptown areas of the bypass, Sushant Lok etc. While the widening of the road will increase the connectivity within the city in a facile way much of the traffic rush to and from Delhi in the city will also be absorbed. The congestion on the road and the concomitant environmental pollution from fuel emissions will be also checkmated. The project envisages two carriage ways, each having a width of 10 meters, and a central verge having a width of one meter. The starting of construction work for the project and its easy flow are attributed to good managerial capability of the HUDA authorities and the unqualified support given to the project by the district administration. The project is said to enjoy good coordination among several departments, including forest, telephone, B and R, Municipal Council under the nodal authority of HUDA. HUDA is of the view that the completion of the project will go a long way in boosting the aesthetics of the city, especially old Gurgaon. |
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Jhajjar
‘given a wide berth’ in Rail Budget Rohtak, March 4 In a statement here today, Mr Anoop Saini, president of the Samiti, said that during separate public meetings held at Jind, Sonepat and Rewari, Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar promised that the schemes to connect Jhajjar with Rewari and Bahadurgarh towns would be included in the forthcoming rail budget. The Samiti leader said that Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala failed to put up both these schemes effectively before the Railway Minister. He threatened that the Samiti would launch an agitation if no provision was made to start work on these schemes. |
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Third citizens service bureau opens at Green Park New Delhi, March 4 The bureau has been set up by the corporation for the convenience of citizens. Deputy Mayor Panna Lal Khairwa, Chairman of Ward Committee South Zone Ashok Jain, other councillors and senior officers of the corporation were present at the function. The Mayor said that the corporation was committed to providing transparent and efficient administration to Delhiites. Within a period of two or three months such bureaus will be opened in all 12 zones of the corporation. She said an interactive and dynamic website had been designed by the corporation to provide civic services to the citizens of Delhi in a friendly, transparent and hassle-free manner. To start with, the services of registration of births and deaths and issue of certificates besides accepting applications for all kinds of licences would be provided, she said. |
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NCR BRIEFS Sonepat, March 4 According to information, the alleged accused have been identified by the police as Rameshwar of Murthal, Sunil of Rohad and Manoj of Firozpur Bangar village. As claimed by the Superintendent of Police, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, they have confessed their involvement in the murder of Naresh Mahendipuria on August 29 last year.
Water supply Faridabad: The District Authorities claimed to have spent Rs 10 crore on augmentation of water supply in the urban and rural areas in the past three years. According to Deputy Commissioner, about 111 villages were covered and 28 booster stations set up during the period.
Two dozen shops removed A team of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) today removed over two dozen shops of fruit and vegetables at the intersection of Sector 28 and 29 here.
Dowry death A woman was allegedly killed by her in-laws at nearby Alampur village yesterday. According to police, the victim identified as Rasmeena, aged about 20 years, was married to one Rashid, a year ago. The kin of the woman alleged that she had been harassed by her in-laws for not bringing enough dowry. They alleged that she was hanged to death. A case under Section 498-A and 304-B of the IPC was registered.
TNS
Two Bangladeshis held Two Bangladesi nationals, who had been living illegally here, arrested by the police. They had been residing in a slum area near Sector 30. The police rounded up about a dozen Bangladeshis in the past two years and it had been claimed that they were involved in criminal
activities. TNS
Auto workshop gutted Bhiwani: An auto workshop at Loharu Road near Shiv temple was destroyed in a fire that broke out in the morning today. The fire tender, which arrived at the scene within minutes of the intimation, successfully controlled the fire. The cause of fire is
unknown. OC |
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Bank
gets full marks for efficient working Sonepat, March 4 While addressing a meeting at the Gannaur branch of the bank on Monday, Mr Kumar said the bank had implemented in its working all parameters of the Reserve Bank of India. On the basis of experiment, the bank had introduced Core Banking facility in its branches in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, Mr Kumar said, adding that this would be extended to other branches all over the country to provide an On-Line service to the clients. For maximum participation of people from various sections of society, the bank has introduced different policies including Rakshak for policemen, Vijeta for military sainiks, Shikshak for teachers, Abhiyanta for engineers, Prashashak for government employees, Nyay for judiciary persons and Chikitsak for doctors, he said. Dowry death case: commits Suicide: According to a report, the police believe it to be a case of suicide. Further investigations were in progress. However, the cause of the extreme step was not yet known. Minor’s rapist held:
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Panch sires more than two kids; gets the stick! Rohtak, March 4 According to official sources, Mr Ram Mehar of Garhi Bohar village had registered a complaint against the
panch. He had stated that Krishan was elected as a panch in the elections of gram panchayat held in 2000 and a son was born in his family on January 12, 2001. Krishan was served a show cause notice and summoned to appear personally. However, he failed to turn up for the inquiry and was found guilty of having three children. Subsequently, action was taken against him under the Panchayati Raj Act. |
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Three arrested for youth’s murder Sonepat, March 4 Giving this information, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, Superintendent of Police, told mediapersons here today the arrested youths were identified as Rameshwar of Murthal village, Sunil of Rolad Latifpur village and Manoj of Ferozpur Bangar village. The police, he said, also recovered three country-made pistols and six live cartridges from the possession of the arrested youths. Giving the details of the arrests, he said a police patrolling party got secret information about the suspects who were sitting in a deserted place on the Sonepat-Bahalgarh road and planning to loot Shiv Shankar petrol station. On receiving information, the police conducted a surprise raid and arrested three of the four suspects on the spot. One suspect, Shibu of Murthal village, however, managed to escape under cover of darkness. The police have registered a case and launched a hunt to apprehend the fourth suspect who is still at large. Referring to a murder and rape case, the SP disclosed the police had arrested one Radhey Sham of Raipur village in connection with the alleged murder of a woman, Dhanpati, of the same village. The culprit, he said, also confessed that he along with his brother Raju lured a young housewife, Suman, wife of Jai Kanwar, of the same village and took her with him on the pretext of arranging a job for her. According to the SP, the culprit took the woman to rented houses at Sonepat and Panipat where she was repeatedly raped by him. The police are still investigating the case.
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Looting spree in Ghaziabad Ghaziabad: Five incidents of loot, snatching and housebreak have been reported from four different police station areas in Ghaziabad during the last 30 hours. Surprisingly, not a single FIR had been filed in any of these police stations till the evening today. Three criminals, riding a motorcycle, looted Rs 40,000 from Shakti Lal, an employee of the Trade Tax Department, at gunpoint in broad daylight today and sped away waving their revolvers in the air. The incident took place in Raj Nagar under Kavi Nagar police station. Under the same police station, criminals decamped with valuables worth lakhs of rupees from the house of a trader after breaking open the locks. OC
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Husband, in-laws held for woman’s suicide New Delhi, March 4 Based on the statement given by the father of the victim Jage Ram to the SDM, the police arrested her husband Rajender Prashad, his father Mange Ram and his sister Saroj. The police said that the victim had been married to Rajender two years ago and harassed for dowry. House robbed:
The house belongs to one K C Taneja, who runs a bakery in the area. The police said that today afternoon one person who had earlier done whitewashing of the house came and asked if they needed him for the work again. But Taneja’s wife refused and said that they would look for someone else for the work. When the person left the house, three persons armed with arms entered the house and tied Tanjea’s wife, daughter-in-law and a domestic maid in a room and decamped with Rs 15,000, three gold chains and six gold bangles. The police have registered a case of robbery and have launched efforts to trace the accused. RI awarded:
Both the accused were convicted to ten years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. The CBI, in a joint operation with the Delhi police, had apprehended Pyare Lal and Baldev Raj from Libaspur, G T Karnal Road. The actual name of the Pyare Lal was later revealed as Gurbachan Singh, resident of Amritsar and Baldev Raj as Baldev Singh alias Pappu, resident of Gurdaspur. The team recovered 30 kilograms of RDX, 20 pistols, 2 AK-56 rifles, 40 pistol magazines, six magazines of AK-56, 717 pistol cartridges, 163 live cartridges of AK-56, time devices, detonators, cordex and other explosives. During interrogation, they disclosed that they had been involved in gold smuggling and had links with Pakistan. |
Feel-good factor back: Dhananjay Kumar Gurgaon, March 4 He was speaking at a talk “Budget 2003 and Impact on Industry” organised by the Gurgaon Industrial Association (GIA) and the local chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India here today. The dignitaries present on the occasion include Mr Lalitbhai Mehta, member of Paliament, Mr Tarun Das, Director-General of Confederation of Industries (CII), Mr H K Sarana, Commissioner, Central Excise, Mr P K Purusty, Joint Commisioner, Income Tax and Mr Sanjiv Chaudhary, Fellow of Chartered Accountant. The former minister said that the budget had been made keeping in mind the holistic approach of the economy which to date had focused on the agricultural and the industrial sector. But this time, the service sector has been tapped to create more revenue for the country, said Mr Kumar. Stating the example of fast-changing economic scenario, he said that just a couple of years ago, there was a huge queue for the telephone connections and the gas cylinders. But now the situation is different as many private companies are approaching the consumers to take their services. The budget has been made on the realistic approach and not for getting political mileage, he said. Putting forward his views, Mr Lalitbhai Metha, MP said that it was unfortunate that even after 56 years of Independence, most of the rain water went unused in the area. If this water is properly used, 4 crore hectre land which is not cultivated in the country due to non-availability of water, can yield crops worth crores of rupees. He lamented that 40 crore people are still illiterate, 15 crore are without health services, 5 crore are not getting proper drinkable water while 1 crore children in the age group of 6 to 14 may not get formal education. He demanded that the government must look into
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Noida launches Internet prepaid card Noida, March 4 Although the aim of prepared card system is to make Internet connection available at the doorstep of our subscriber and make the usage of Internet hassle-free, we have 19578 toll-free numbers for any help to our Internet subscribers. Liberalisation of telecom service has led to a telecom revolution in our country. New advancement and changes are taking place regularly in this field to make the service affordable and within reach of everybody. In India, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has always played a key role in providing different services: fixed telephones, WLL, cellular mobile or Internet. Mr Garg listed the following other features of BSNL: Internet half call charges during night hours-10.30 pm to 6.30 am. The user will enjoy six minutes per call instead of three minutes per call. This facility is available when the user dials 172233 or 172225. If the user is accessing any other ISP of Delhi, he has to pay full three minutes call. Availability of free Internet account usage during night and holidays: From 11 pm to 8 am, Sundays and on National holidays. No deduction in Internet time is done during this period. The Internet account will have all-India Roaming: The user can access his account from anywhere in India. For example, if a user creates an account in Noida and goes to Madras, he can access his account there the same way he will do in Noida. Since the node is at Noida,
dialled code remains in Noida only. Hence, there is no delay in getting connected.
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