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Married woman gang raped in train
DDA to co-finance extension of
Officers’ hand in land scams alleged
Six deported for travel on fake visa
Two killed, over 100 injured in Holi revelries
Creating an icon to give a push to Sikh identity
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MCD to involve RWAs to make Delhi rabies-free
Now Urdu via distance education
A bird-watcher’s paradise almost lost
Taj Mahal down memory lane
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Married woman gang raped in train
Bulandshahr, March 29 According to information, Babita was
returning to her house in Khurja from her parental home in Meerut. Some people raped the young woman between Hapur and Gulawati. The victim reported the matter to the Khurja railway police, but no action was taken by the police. At the time of rape, a few passengers in the compartment were huddled on
one side at dagger-point by the criminals. The woman was then taken to other side and raped. The criminals fled when the train stopped at Gulawati station. Like the railway police, the civil police also feigned ignorance of the incident.
Cousin’s daughter raped, strangled
Bulandshahr, March 29 Chanderpal (28) came to his cousin Rajinder’s house to play Holi in village Ladana under Khanpur police station. He took away Rajinder’s five-year-old daughter Archana who was playing alone in the compound. He promised to get her some sweets. The man took her to
the fields, gagged her mouth with some cloth and raped her. As the child became unconscious, he strangled her and dumped the body in the fields. When Rajinder went out in search of his daughter, along with some villagers, they were told by an eight-year-old nephew, Suraj, that he had seen the
maternal uncle taking the girl towards the fields in the evening. They found Chanderpal lying on a cot. His clothes had bloodstains. Seeing this, the livid villagers beat him up. After sometime, he confessed to his crime. Later, he was handed over to the police.
— OC
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DDA to co-finance extension of Dwarka Metro
New Delhi, March 29 In the budget presented for the year 2005-2006 today, the DDA has envisaged increased acquisition and development of land, housing stock and infrastructure development. Provisions have been made to accelerate the pace of upgradation of already developed commercial centres. The projected receipts and expenditure for the year 2005-2006 are Rs 2,405.39 crore and Rs 2,404.61 crore, respectively. Announcing the budget, the DDA Vice Chairman, Mr Madhukar Gupta, said that to meet the increasing demand for residential, industrial, commercial and institutional land, the DDA has undertaken massive land development programmes at Rohini, Jasola, Dwarka, Narela, etc. A provision of Rs 832.87 crore has been made as compared to anticipated expenditure of Rs 729.81 crore in the revised budget estimate of 2004-2005, Mr Gupta said. “To provide healthy and open environment to the citizens of Delhi, the DDA has laid considerable emphasis on development, maintenance and beautification and upgradation of existing greens besides the development of new greens. An amount of Rs 176.49 crore has been provided as compared to Rs 165.53 crore in the revised budget estimate of 2004-2005,” he said. In the Budget, Rs 466.42 crore has been provided for construction of houses and shops as compared to anticipated expenditure of Rs 426.32 crore in the revised budget estimate of 2004-2005. At the beginning of this financial year, 23,016 houses were at various stages of construction. Mr Gupta said that the draft Master Plan for Delhi 2021 has been finalised and approved by the DDA and the Union Government for publication. A number of policy initiatives have been taken in the Plan, including the involvement of the private sector in the assembly and development of land and in the development of housing and shelter.
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Officers’ hand in land scams alleged
Ghaziabad, March 29 The State Revenue Board administrative member, Mr T. Goerge Joseph, who is conducting an inquiry into the scams, has given an indication to this effect. Mr George Joseph said the probe would be completed in the next 15 days and the report submitted to the government. Mr Joseph had held meetings with District Magistrate Santosh Kumar Yadav,
Dy. DM Sadar, Rajesh Prakash and Additional DM (Admn.) S.B. Tiwari, officers of GDA, Nagar Nigam and Gautam Budh Nagar. Some proof of the involvement of the officials of revenue and other departments in the land scam has come to light, the revenue board member said. He said the level of such officers ranged from the district to the state level officers who had used their authority to benefit Moti Goel. However, Joseph said he could not disclose the name of such officers at this stage as that could affect the probe. He said he has instructed that all correspondence and documents to this effect involving the officers from the district administration, the GDA and Nagar Nigam, be produced in the court. Moti Goel has been named as the brain behind all the land scams in Ghaziabad while in Kanavany cases, he has not been named by the Dadri
Dy. District Magistrate. Mr Joseph instructed District Magistrate, Santosh Yadav to look into this matter. He assured that action will be taken against Rajender Tyagi, Asstt Finance Officer of GDA, whose name had come to light in this connection and who had been refused bail by the Apex Court. Since the GDA had not taken any action against Rajinder Tyagi so far, George Joseph passed orders for Tyagi’s suspension forthwith.
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Six deported for travel on fake visa
New Delhi, March 29 They were identified as Ravinder Kaur, a resident of Amritsar, Nissan Singh, Gagan Deep Singh, a resident of Sangroor, Gurvinder Singh, a resident of
Taran Taran, Lucky Singh, alias Sukhwinder Singh and Resham Singh, residents of Ajnala. The police said that Ravinder Kaur went to the UK after her marriage with one Jasbir Singh in 2003, she was working in a bakery in Middlesex. Jasbir also arranged her a fake Home Office Stamp for her stay in the UK. When her husband started harassing her, she started staying with her friend. Infuriated with this, Jasbir informed the British police about her illegal stay and was arrested. Two others Nissan Singh and Gagan Deep Singh had gone to Lagos four days ago and some local agents arranged fake visas for their entry into the UK. But the Nigerian authorities detected the fraud and were deported to India. During interrogation, the accused said that one Jagdeep of Punjab arranged the visa for them. The police have sent a team to nab him. Three others - Gurvinder Singh, Lucky Singh and Resham Singh - had gone to
Bangkok from Kolkata in February 2004, and entered Beijing for stay. After staying for some time there, they headed for Czechoslovakia through Zurich with the help of a fake Czech visa, which was detected by the Zurich immigration authorities.
Sexagenarian held for killing son
New Delhi, March 29 The accused, who has been identified as Mangta (65), is a resident of Old Mustafabad. The police also recovered the weapon of offence and blood-stained clothes from him.
IIS officer commits suicide
New Delhi, March 29
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Two killed, over 100 injured in Holi revelries
Ghaziabad, March 29 In Rori village of Modi Nagar, one middle-aged person was murdered while three others, including two girls were wounded. In Dukane Mohalla, a young man was shot at and wounded. In Sikri Khurd village also, a youth was wounded. In other Holi-related incidents, 100 persons were reportedly wounded during clashes and attacks. Sukhbir and his son Satinder, 40, were sitting in their Rori village when three persons came and shot at Satinder with a
mouser. When his sister-in-law came out hearing the gunfire, she was also shot at which hit Satinder’s son Ujjwal. Two girls Soni and Moni were also wounded by the assailants. When rushed to the hospital, Satinder was declared brought dead while two girls and their aunt Shanti were referred to a Delhi hospital in view of their serious condition. Father of the deceased has lodged a report with the police, naming three persons, including two real brothers. In another incident, a Shahazpur resident, Dhoom Singh, 55, was murdered in his fields by unidentified assailants who slit his throat. When his wife went to give him lunch, she found the pump was locked from outside. She handed over the lunch box to the farmer in a next field. When his son Surinder went with tea, he became suspicious on seeing a lock on the pump room. He broke open the door and found his father lying dead with a cloth noose around his neck. He filed a murder report with the police. Some people were having drinks in Mithun’s house Dhukna Mode after Holi when someone shot his younger son Manoj. He was rushed to Yashoda Hospital in a serious condition. Majoj’s sister Pushpa had filed a case of attempt to murder, naming four relatives of Bhikampur village in Muradnagar.
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Creating an icon to give a push to Sikh identity
New Delhi, March 29 Thirty young Sikh men and women will be given an opportunity to walk down the catwalk this Baisakhi day on April 13 to compete for the unusual titles—Mr Singh and Miss Kaur—in an event which is aimed at arresting the gradual erosion of the distinct identity created on Baisakhi day, over four centuries ago in the name of modernism. The winners will also be honoured differently. Gold “aigrettes” (plumes) for men and Punjab’s traditional head bands called “sagi” for women will replace the usual crowns and sashes associated with beauty contests. The chief of International Council of Punjabis (ICP), Mr Dilvinder Singh, said male models being selected for the contest were required to have untrimmed beards, above five feet and six inches in height and ready to undergo a rigorous training regime. Professional choreographers have been hired to train the contestants and their grooming would include expert advice on how to face the camera. “It’s not just about fashion or pushing against any prejudice, but about a cultural heritage, a tradition being hugely compromised in the face of modernity,” Mr Singh said. The competition, which is scheduled for the evening of the Baisakhi day at the Talkatora Stadium here, will feature Sikh models in formals, casuals and traditional wear. The contestants would also be required to answer a round of questions on Punjabi culture before the contest winds up, Mr Singh said.
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MCD to involve RWAs to make Delhi rabies-free
New Delhi, March 29 The corporation is trying to achieve the goal by funding NGOs as civic body alone is unable to do the job and rabies has become a serious issue with a total number of 30, 000 patients in Delhi. Of them, 200 die every year, he revealed. Explaining his helplessness, the Municipal Commissioner disclosed that corporation itself did not have enough funds to run the programme and seeks Union Government’s help. In the currant year, the Animal Welfare Department has sanctioned Rs 54 lakh to make the programme a success. The corporation is divided into 12 zones and NGOs have been involved in each of the zones.
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Now Urdu via distance education
New Delhi, March 29 “We want to explore possibilities how effective this programme would be in promoting and popularising Urdu, which is not getting its due recognition,” Vice-Chairman of the Urdu Academy M. Afzal said. The Academy functionaries held interaction with prominent educationists, including Prof S. C. Garg, Vice-Chancellor of IGNOU, Prof Janki Rajan, Prof Mohammed Aslam of IGNOU, Prof Naseer Ahmed Khan of JNU and Prof Mohammad Mian of Jamia Millia to seek their opinions on the benefits of the distant education programme, which had helped to remove illiteracy in the country to a great extend. The interaction was organised by Dr Shahid Parvez of the Maulana Azad Education Society. Mr Afzal said several steps had been taken by the Academy to promote Urdu. To cater to the needs of the learners of Urdu, the Academy has established 13 centres. It has also introduced certificate and diploma courses. The Urdu students are given free textbooks and a stipend of Rs 50 per month. The students who join this course are government officials, artists, lawyers, doctors and police personnel. Various Urdu coaching centres have been set up in the Capital for propagation of the language. The Academy conducted 15-day coaching classes at two centres recently. Besides the Academy, Teachers Training Research Centre of the Human Resources Development Ministry also conducted orientation courses for part time teachers, Mr Afzal said.
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A bird-watcher’s paradise almost lost
New Delhi, March 29 Delhi, known as the most bird-rich capital in the world after Nairobi, has been at the receiving end of widespread encroachments and commercialisation in and around the area, especially during the past five years. Pollution, shrinkage and disappearance of water bodies in and around the Capital, have added to the problem. Mr Bikram Grewal, a bird conservationist and author of several books on birds, told ‘The Tribune’ that several veteran bird-watchers observed that certain migratory species decided to skip Delhi and neighbouring areas. Delhi has been on the international flyway of migratory birds primarily because it is a convenient stopover with large water bodies and ample food, where they stop to recover and also stay over till the end of the season. Besides, Delhi has over 500 species of birds that can be seen at the Yamuna, Okhla Bird Sanctuary,
Tuglaqabad, the Ridge, the Asola Sanctuary, Sultanpur National Park, Badhkal Lake, apart from parks and green areas, including Lodhi Gardens, Buddha Jayanti Park, Deer Park, Qudsia Gardens, and the National Zoological Park. However, many of them will soon become extinct if remedies are not taken urgently. According to Mr Grewal, Okhla used to be the best place to watch three different varieties of bitterns. “But last summer, very few were seen,” he added. “Of the species seen in Delhi, more than 30 per cent are migratory birds who fly in from distant places like Siberia and Ukraine during winter. Massive
commercialisation and pollution have adversely affected the area that was once rich in wetlands. Despite appropriate noises being made by the government, the Yamuna is as polluted as ever,” Mr Grewal regretted. “Even as Okhla has been declared a bird sanctuary, there is hardly any effort made to preserve it. One major problem affecting the sanctuary is water hyacinth, which, if not cleaned periodically, can choke water,” he added. What has added to the problem in Delhi is the lack of water at Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan. As a result, ducks like pintails, pochards and widgeons, and waders, including sandpipers, red shanks, green shanks and ruffs, give the area the go-by. Similar has been the problem at Basai, near Gurgaon, one of the most important bird-watching areas around Delhi, which did not get any migratory birds this time as the wetland is drying up there. The bird sanctuary at Sultanpur in Haryana also faced a similar problem. “In the beginning of the season, there was less water in the lake. Later, the state government made efforts to pump in water, but there was not enough fish. Towards the end of the season, all became favourable, but it could have been planned well in advance to avoid such a situation,” Mr Grewal added.
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Taj Mahal down memory lane
New Delhi, March 29 As a part of the celebrations, the road show in Delhi depicted the glory and rich history of the monument with leading musicians, puppet artistes, and theatre groups. The power-packed performances were greeted well with interesting and interactive game shows for the enthusiastic
Delhiites who had gathered to be a part of this historic moment. A special quiz targeted at the youth, based on the theme of Taj Mahal was also organised to test their awareness and knowledge. The entire event gave a holistic view to the essence of the monument in our history. The road show in the Capital covered prominent locations like Janpath, Karol Bagh, Preet Vihar etc.
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