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Kashmiri militant held in CP
FIR filed against four in dowry case
Another land scam in Ghaziabad
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$ 5 billion to update
Experts flay move on water privatisation
Bharti launches 2nd phase of broadband services in Noida
Dadri residents cry for basic amenities
Army Chief visits NCC Republic Day camp
Bid to rope in special children in schools
Meet to relive ‘sacred’ moments
Admit cards for CBSE exams
LG, CM discuss fire safety measures
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Kashmiri militant held in CP
New Delhi, January 20 Acting on a tip-off from the Military Intelligence, the police nabbed the militant yesterday, who has been identified as Firdaus Ahmed Bhatt, alias Manzoor, resident of Srinagar. During interrogation, the militant confessed that he has been residing in the national Capital since August 2004 and was involved in the business of selling ‘pashmina’ shawls. During a raid on his house, the police found air tickets, bank deposit slips of large number of transactions, mobile phones and other materials. Recently, he had also rented a shop for Rs 50,000 pm in partnership with another Kashmiri at the Kashmir Handicraft Expo, NDMC parking. Further interrogation revealed that he had plans to setup a base in Connaught Place. He confessed that he had joined Al-Umar and imparted training in handling AK-47 assault rifle. In 1994, he became the ‘Group Commander’ for Shorra and then started committing extortion and looting of vehicles, along with his associates. Later, he was nabbed by the police and remained in jail till January 1996. After his release, he shifted his based to Kolkata. His terrorist links again came to light for harboring an important member of the Harkat-ul-Jihadi Islami, identified as Bilal, who was arrested by the police. Manzoor came to Delhi to setup a militant base after his release from jail.
Gangster held after encounter
With the arrest of an inter-state gangster after an encounter, the South-West district police claims to have worked 11 cases of murder, four cases of attempt to murder and two cases of NDPS Act. The police also claimed to have recovered one country-made weapon along with two live cartridges from his possession. The gangster, who was identified as Virpal Gurjar, alias Veeru, alias Sunny, resident of Baghpat, carried a reward of Rs 5,000 from the Uttar Pradesh police. The police received a tip-off that Sunny would be coming to Delhi to eliminate a prime witness in a murder case of one restaurant owner in Safdarjung Enclave. It was also learnt that since one Jaggu Pahelwan and his associates had killed the restaurant owner, Jaggu wanted to kill the prime witness to escape conviction. Accordingly, a special team laid a trap near Sanjay Park in Laxmi Bai Nagar. Sensing the presence of the police, they tried to escape. An associate of Sunny, identified as Deepak Balmiki, resident of Tuglakabad escaped towards the park. In his effort to escape, Sunny fired at the police party. However, he was overpowered. During interrogation, he disclosed that he had close contacts with notorious criminals of Baghpat and Loni, who were working for Joginder, alias Jaggu Pahalwan. On instructions from Jaggu, he had committed several crimes like murder and extortion.
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FIR filed against four in dowry case
Noida, January 20 He was forced to take away his daughter to his house in Dadri. The in-laws told him that if he could not fulfil their demand for Rs 1 lakh, his daughter would not be allowed in the family. Kishen Lal has named his son-in-law and three others in the FIR registered in Dadri Kotwali. After her wedding on January 26, 1998, Kishen Lal’s daughter Ritu had been subjected to humiliation and physical torture all through. The in-laws had made a demand for more dowry and cash from time to time. Kishen Lal, a resident of Mohalla Ayodya Ganj in Dadri, has stated in his report that he had spent Rs 8 lakh on his daughter, Ritu’s marriage in 1998 with Alok of Ghaziabad. However, her in-laws had been demanding more dowry all along and torturing her. On Tuesday when he went to Ritu’s house in Ghaziabad, he found that husband Alok, his mother Sita Devi and sister Neetu were beating her. Later, they forcibly sent Ritu along with him to Dadri. Police said they are investigating the case. No arrest has been made so far.
Ghaziabad trader, transporter robbed
Ghaziabad, January 20 The criminals pounced upon the three who had alighted from a train near Kotgunj railway crossing and robbed them of Rs 50,000, gold chains, diamonds and gold rings worth over a lakh. One of them who had tried to resist the robbers, was hit with the revolver butt and injured. All the three victims of the loot that took place around 6 a.m. today, reached Vijay Nagar police station somehow. The victims were on their way to Noida to attend a wedding. One of the victims, Rajeev Tripathy said he along with his companions Sarvesh Vajpayee and Tushar Pande, had come from Kanpur in Vaishali Express which does not have a stop at Ghaziabad. As the train stopped at a signal, a TT told them to get down there. Soon five bandits appeared and robbed them of Rs 21,000, Rs 14,500 and Rs 9,000. Three gold rings, one diamond ring, two gold chains and two mobile phones were also snatched from the victims who later filed an FIR at Vijay Nagar police station. S.O. R.C. Yadav said the police are trying to nab the robbers.
— OC
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Another land scam in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad, January 20 A report concerning 6.66 hectares in Prahalad Garhi, Ghaziabad, has been lodged with the police. Eight persons, including entrepreneur Moti Goel have been named in the FIR. Revenue assistant Rakesh Chand is also named in the FIR. Land scam worth Rs 530.76 crore has come to light so far in this connection. According to Addl. District Magistrate Rajesh Prakash, total land scams worth Rs 464 crore had come to light till January 11, 05 by the scrutiny of government records and correspondences. Land scams worth Rs 66.76 crore of land in Prahalad Garhi was detected after that. Thus, a land scam worth over Rs 530.76 crore has been detected. Group revenue official Leelu Singh was interrogated, and on the basis of information blurted out by Leelu, facts of tampering with and forging of documents to get the land transferred in the names of eight persons, including infamous entrepreneur Moti Goel, his grandmother Kasuri Devi, Kishen Dass, Ramadhar, Om Prakash, Rohtas and group revenue officer Rakesh Veer, had been verified. An FIR naming all those eight persons has been lodged in Sihani Gate police station, Addl. DM Rakesh Prakash said.
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$ 5 billion to update transport grid
New Delhi, January 20 Stating this at an interactive meeting organised by PHDCCI, Mr Rajeev Talwar, Secretary- cum-Commissioner, Transport, Government of Delhi, said that talks were on with the neighboring states of Delhi for construction of Expressways to facilitate connectivity. While the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway is already under construction, no work has started on the Eastern peripheral expressway, since the government of Uttar Pradesh has not acquired the land due to lack of funds. Mr Talwar stated that in order to decongest the Badarpur border and to provide better connectivity between Delhi, Faridabad and Noida, it was proposed to construct road along the Yamuna canal from Badarpur border to Kalindi Kunj. This road would be further connected to Noida toll bridge. The three-and-a-half-km over bridge across Badarpur border may not come up before 2010, he added. Mr Talwar said that a study was being commissioned to assess the increase in transport due to Commonwealth Games scheduled for 2010. The report would be submitted to the Department by mid-February. This would mainly concentrate on increase in transport requirement and management in East Delhi area where the Games village is being constructed. Mr Talwar said that the Transport Department was considering limiting the RTVs to only East Delhi area where the roads were not very wide or in the peripheral colonies of Delhi like Dwarka where the road traffic was not very exhaustive. The Secretary invited industry to set up motor driving training schools across the state so as to train drivers for commercial vehicles. Talking about restructuring of DTC, Mr Talwar said that it was proposed to introduce a two fare rate structure for DTC buses that is Rs 5 and Rs 10. He said 20 out of 34 depots have received good incentives in the last one year. In order to restrict entry of polluting vehicles to Delhi, Mr Talwar said that it was decided that any vehicle emitting smoke would be fined Rs 1000 and Rs 2000 and would not be allowed to enter the Delhi border. For Commercial vehicles, it was proposed that a scheme would be started where all vehicles would have to necessarily go to their manufacturer for pollution check at least three times a year. Mr Talwar said that where as a Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority may take years to form, it would be advisable to establish a single unified ticketing system in NCR. Mr Kamal Meattle, Chairman, Delhi Committee, PHDCCI, in his welcome remarks said that the transport sector is a thrust area for Delhi to realize its vision as a superior international city and as a hub for commerce trade and industry.
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Experts flay move on water privatisation
New Delhi, January 20 The Capital would not need the help of other states and projects funded by international lending agencies to meet its water requirements if these steps were taken urgently, she said. ‘’Reviving traditional water sources would yield better results than various extensive and expensive World Bank-aided projects for getting water to the city from other states.’’ There were two paths for quenching Delhi’s thirst, one was based on conservation and regeneration, the other on non-sustainable short-term solutions by diverting water from other river basins, depriving millions of their livelihoods and vital needs, she said. The long-distance water diversions were also based on water privatisation. An example of this was the plant at Sonia Vihar, which would bring waters from the Ganga and sell it to Delhi with a ten-fold increase in tariff, she added. The unjustified hike in water tariff in Delhi was only a prelude to privatisation of the water supply system and further increase in the price in future, she warned. Dr Shiva was briefing the media recently about the people’s movement for non-cooperation with hike in water tariff and campaign against water privatisation. Speaking on the occasion, Canada-based Polaris Institute Director Tony Clark said it was important to note that the water tariff hike had been carried out just before the World Bank promise of 400 per cent increase in loans for water projects in India. Increase in rates and ownership issue of community/ local/ municipal local water sources have to be centralised as a pre-condition to such World Bank loans, he said. Ms Agnes Bertrand of Observatoire de le Globalisation of France said big French and US companies were using the World Bank and IMF-WTO for their vested interest and petty minded politicians in many countries were helping them in this task. Similar water tariff hike followed by privatisation had taken place in Bolivia, Manila, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Buenos Aires and recently Mexico and was unsuccessful in all these places, she said.
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Bharti launches 2nd phase of
Noida, January 20 Rollouts are planned in Jaipur, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh in the north while other states to be covered are Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Kerala, said Rajan Bharti Mittal, Jt. MD Bharti Tele-Ventures, here yesterday. Bharti currently provides these services in six states, including Haryana, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. With the launch of services in Noida, Airtel-Broadband and Telephone Services has become the first private fixed line service provider to offer these services in Noida with guarantee, under the unified licence regime. Customers in Noida will now be able to experience the world-class broadband
and telephone services on a state-of-the-art telecom network backed by the OFC ring architecture. “From an investment standpoint, this infusion of funds on our broadband and telephone services along with the investments of over Rs 350 crore on the wireless services takes our total investment in the UP state to more than Rs 500 crore. Being a core infrastructure industry, our investment in telecom will further boost the state’s economy,” Mr Rajan Bharti said. Outlining its strategy for the segment, president Bharti Infotel Limited, Badri Agarwal said that this includes the proposition to offer a complete range of last-mile access solutions and hi-end broadband solutions (including DSL). It will also introduce the ‘Service Guarantee’ scheme–the first of its kind by any service provider in
the country. The scheme entails (a) repair of any dead phones within eight working hours of receiving a complaint; and (b) error-free billing. The scheme is a culmination of Airtel’s efforts in setting new benchmarks in quality by adhering to the best quality practices, including six-sigma. The objective is to achieve targets of 20 million broadband customers and 40 million Internet customers in the country by 2010. Our second phase expansion of broadband and telephone services is very significant, Mr Agarwal pointed out. He said, “This expansion plan dovetails into our unified brand strategy of being able to provide a one-stop communication solution to our customers in UP. Airtel has redefined paradigms in all its regions of operation and with a range of customised and comprehensive communication solutions. We are also launching the service guarantee programme nationally for all our customers from today, which underlines our commitment to provide error-free services on a world-class
network.” In the unlikely event of any failure in this promise, the company will give an STD/ISD pre-paid calling card worth Rs 100 to the customers. Going beyond the voice-based services, Mr Rajan Bharti said Airtel–Broadband and telephone Services for business includes leased line, ISDN, VPN, Centrex services, DSL (broadband) services, Internet services, IN based services and video conferencing as one of the possibilities on its network.
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Dadri residents cry for basic amenities
Dadri, January 20 Lack of clean water, power cuts and lax security are some of the main problems facing the residents, according to Avtar Singh Kasna of Preet Vihar Colony. The city gets power supply on an average for 8 to 9 hours only in 24 hours. Poor supply of electricity has encouraged the anti-social elements in the area, who just hang around. Thefts have also increased in the area lately. Not a single government handpump functions in the colony, says Jagat Singh Naggar. All pleas for power and clean water have been of no avail so far. Many residents suffer from several ailments due to contaminated water. The area is simply ignored by the public representatives. The colonisers have disappeared after pocketing the profits without providing the basic infrastructure in the new colonies. Motorists find it hard to drive as the roads have been in disrepair for years. The administration and people’s representatives are equally responsible for the neglect of the colony. During the rainy season, waterlogging makes it quite difficult for women to step out of their houses, said Mrs Vimala Devi, a resident.
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Army Chief visits NCC Republic Day camp
New Delhi, January 20 The Army Chief also visited the Motivation Hall and the Flag Area and interacted with the cadets freely. The NCC cadets also presented a short cultural programme in the honour of the Army Chief. At the end of the cultural programme, Army Chief presented a rolling COAS Trophy made of five kg of pure silver, which will be given every year to the Senior Division Cadets of the Army Wing of the NCC during the PM’s rally. Speaking on the occasion, the Army Chief praised the NCC for their exemplary performance and services in helping the tsunami victims and carrying out various social works. He also stated that the discipline of the NCC girl cadets had helped him to take the decision to increase the strength of Lady Army Officers in the Indian Army. The Director General, NCC, Lt-General M. C. Bhandari, thanked the COAS for his visit to the Camp and said that his visit was a source of great encouragement and inspiration to the cadets.
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Bid to rope in special children in schools
New Delhi, January 20 As a result of this collaboration, the two statutory bodies will work towards developing a course curriculum on special education that will be incorporated as a component in general teacher preparation programmes. The important objective of this initiative is to strengthen the education system by creating appropriate platform for the inclusion of special children in general schools with the ultimate aim of creating one school system for all children. The RCI feels that it is high time that the divide between the special educators training and the general teachers training is reduced and common areas are explored to improve the education of children with special needs. With this, the RCI aims to meet the demand for special educators in general schools across the country. Since there is a well-established infrastructure in the country for teachers training, the same infrastructure could be very helpful to give a boost to special education,” says Major H. P. S. Ahluwalia, Chairman, Rehabilitation Council of India. Speaking on the occasion, Dr
Shardindu, Chairman, National Council for Teacher Education, said, “The NCTE is committed to planned and coordinated development of teacher education system in the country. This includes all the aspects of teacher education, which comprises the education for complete personality development for all children. I am sure that this MOU will prove to be a landmark in this direction.”
New Delhi, January 20
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Meet to relive ‘sacred’ moments
New Delhi, January 20 They first watched a performance of ‘9 Jakhu Hill’ by Yatrik, followed by dinner and dance at the Habitat Centre, Delhi. Sister Therese Marguerite and Sister Lucy Emmanuel had travelled from Dalhousie to attend the event. And what a welcome they received from the girls (and some boys from Boys Villa). The network of girls grows stronger with every meet and the Sacredheartian family continues to grow as the girls connect through children and grandchildren. The school and college celebrated its centenary in a grand style in 2002. This institution is perhaps the oldest and most renowned girls’ boarding school in the country. The tradition of value-based education in boarding schools is a cherished one and lives on with many parents, preferring to educate their children in an educational institution where character-building, discipline, and the ability to make moral choices is more important than mere preparation for board exams, a teacher said.
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Admit cards for CBSE exams
New Delhi, January 20 The intimation letters to all the private candidates have also been sent. Accordingly, they may collect their admit cards from their respective centres with effect from February 10. In case they did not receive intimation letter they should contact the CBSE office in Preet Vihar for collection of duplicate intimation letter with effect from February 1. The admit cards in respect of Patrachar candidates of Class XII examination have been sent to Patrachar Vidyalaya,
Timarpur, Delhi. The candidates of Patrachar Vidyalaya have also been informed individually to collect their admit cards from Patrachar Vidyalaya,
Timarpur.
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LG, CM discuss fire safety measures
New Delhi, January 20 The meeting was attended by the Chief Minister, Mrs Sheila Dikshit, the Urban Development Minister, Dr A K Walia, the Chief Secretary, Mr S Regunathan, and the principal secretaries of the home and urban development departments and the chief executives of the MCD, among others. The Lt-Governor reviewed threats to fire security in the areas such as high-rise buildings, structurally weak buildings, jhuggi jhompris, restaurants. The modernisation of the fire service was also discussed. Both the Lt-Governor and the Chief Minister appreciated the sacrifices made by the gallant members of the fire service. The Lt-Governor decided in consultation with the Chief Minister that a core group of officers presided over by the Chief Secretary would work out a composite plan of action within a month, highlighting corrective measures to be taken immediately and also long-term measures, to ensure fire safety. Some of the priority areas likely to be given attention are: Preparation of area-specific plans of fire safety, tailored to cater to peculiarity in various areas such as crowded markets, high-rise buildings, transport godowns. The need to introduce the fire prevention measures, at least on a modest scale in entities like restaurants, shops and other buildings of public assembly. Revamping of fire hydrants and activation of underground water tanks. Shifting of fire-prone markets such as paper market, timber market, cracker market and chemical market, etc. Strict checking of unauthorised transport godowns to avoid storage of inflammable substances.
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New Delhi, January 20
