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Ghazipur abattoir issue: MCD rebuts allegations of corruption and delay
Police still clueless in lady IRS officer’s murder case
‘Punishment for rape must be stringent and certain’
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Media ‘eyes and ears of government’: Sheila
Pulse polio immunisation campaign in Faridabad
Academicians call for ‘wider debate’ on NCF
Power tariff issue: Delhiites threaten non-cooperation movement
Capital receives more rainfall
Consumer Forum constituted
Three held for possession of heroine
Man gets life sentence for killing wife
Boys accused of obscene ragging go untraceable
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Ghazipur abattoir issue: MCD rebuts allegations of corruption and delay
New Delhi, August 6 MCD Commissioner Rakesh Mehta denied any misappropriation or delay in the Rs 110 crore slaughter house being built on the outskirts of Delhi with European standards on the directions of the Supreme Court. Mehta, responding to allegations levelled by Councillor Vijender Gupta about a “scam” of crores of rupees in construction of the abattoir, said the charges were “baseless” and to “malign” the work being done to implement the order of the Supreme Court to set up a modern slaughter house by March 2006 and to close down the abattoir in Idgah. Acknowledging that global bids were invited to construct a modern abattoir at Idgah, he said the site was later changed to Ghazipur in UP by the Supreme Court after hearing all aspects of the case. “The change of site does not mean that a new tender was needed,” Mehta said, adding technology remains the same and so does the civil work involved. He said the original order of the Supreme Court was to construct two abattoirs — one permanent and one temporary. The MCD, after consulting experts of IIT, Delhi concluded that it would a waste of scarce resources to construct two abattoirs and accordingly an application was moved in the SC to modify the order and construct one permanent abattoir with double the capacity. Earlier the capacity of the new abattoir slaughter house was only to cut 2500 goats and 500 buffaloes. But a proposal to increase its capacity was moved before the Supreme Court which had accepted it as 5000 and 1000 animals respectively. As far as the finance is concerned, the Standing Committee and the House of the MCD had approved estimated cost of construction as Rs 110 crore a few months back. Rendering plant is also being constructed to process the dead animals to make food for pet animals. At present dead animals are being thrown in open causing thousands of birds fly in the air. The Air Force has objected a number of times to this practice since it has an airbase nearby in the area. The progress report of the construction is being given to the Supreme Court time to time, the Municipal Commissioner said. Meanwhile, Delhi Mayor Mr. Satbir Singh has sought all the documents related to the ongoing construction work of Ghazipur slaughter house from the Municipal Commissioner to clarify the allegation of a scam worth crores of rupees. “I have sent a letter to the Municipal Commissioner, Mr Rakesh Mehta directing him to place all the documents of payments given to the contractors engaged in the construction work of the abattoir,” he said. He said that he would make comment after going through all the relevant papers of the slaughter house. The abattoir is still under construction which is likely to be completed within the stipulated time, he assured.
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Police still clueless in lady IRS officer’s murder case
Gurgaon, August 6 The police has registered a case, the substantive part of which is under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The DSP, DLF Area, Mr Kulwinder Singh, said that vaginal swabs of the deceased has been sent for medical
examination to ascertain if there was sexual assault. The post-mortem report has attributed the death to brutal head injuries. Her husband has received serious injuries on his head, including a severe skull fracture. According to doctors in Umkal Hospital here, he is now out of danger. Although the police has not ruled out theft angle, it is not hedging its bets on it as the house of the deceased has not been ransacked. However, the domestic help is still at large and the police is trying to trace him. According to the DSP, investigation reveals that the domestic was hired through an agency and he is a Bengali. The police is working on various angles, but is not willing to make any statement about them lest it hampers their investigation. The police is laying special emphasis on the dead body of Ms Sharwani found in the bathroom along with her husband, who was virtually in an unconscious state when the police first visited the house after the report of the incident. The bathroom was locked. The police feels that someone attacked them and left even Mr Biswas for dead. According to Mr Kulwinder, while the body of Ms Sharwani had a nightie on it, Mr Biswas was in his underwear. Mr Biswas’s body was lying away from the body of his wife in
the bathroom. Mr Alok Biswas today reportedly mumbled before the police and the doctors attending to him to say that on the evening of August 3, a ‘de-addiction team’, consisting of one female had visited his house. Thereafter, without giving more details, he fell unconscious. Yesterday, however, it seems that he told the attending doctors and relatives that he and his wife had fallen down. The police is not ready to take any chance and feels that Mr Biswas’s statement can not be taken as full proof evidence as he is still not in a balanced and stable condition, mentally and physically. Mr Kulwinder Singh said that the statements of Mr Biswas were contradictory. Howeve, the police is keeping taking account of all his statements and trying to link up the events. The neighbours, shocked at the incident, say that the couple were a normal and decent people. They had shifted house in DLF about four years back. They were married about 12 years back and were issueless. Mr Biswas is an IIM product and he was earlier corporate executive in various firms. Presently, he is running his own consultancy firm. Ms Biswas was a member of the 1993 batch of Indian Revenue Service. Mr Ashok Biswas, relative of Mr Alok Biswas, today claimed the body of Ms Sharwani Biswas from the police to be creamated in Delhi. He came all the way from Aligarh. Some of Ms Sharwani’s colleagues and department personnel were present when the body was consigned to flames.
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‘Punishment for rape must be stringent and certain’
New Delhi, August 6 Expressing alarm over rape incidents in the Capital at a workshop on ‘rape crisis’ organised by the Delhi Commission for Women, both Ms Dikshit and Mr Anand felt that courts had to be sensitised to the feelings of victims and police should record evidence scientifically. “Rape is nothing but terrorism perpetrated against women. Sadly, victims are later treated by society as if they were somehow responsible for the incidents,” Ms Dikshit said. Describing rape as a crime more serious than murder as it “destroys the very soul of the hapless female”, Justice Anand said trials in such cases should be held on day-to-day basis by courts which were “sensitive” to the issue. “Scandalous cross-examination of the victims should be controlled by the courts and trials held in-camera by women judges if necessary,” Mr Anand suggested. Noting that convictions were very few in rape cases, he said a mechanism had to be evolved so that punishment was “stringent and certain”. While Dikshit favoured life imprisonment for rapists, Justice Anand said there should be debate on the issue. Pointing out that 267 rape cases had already been reported in Delhi this year, he said that only one accused had been arrested in one out of the two gangrapes in moving cars which had made national headlines. There were more than 16,000 rape cases recorded in the country last year. Indicting the police for reacting slowly in such cases, Justice Anand said complaints should be recorded promptly and evidences like vaginal swabs preserved properly. There should be at least one woman police officer in every station as victims would be more comfortable with them.
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Media ‘eyes and ears of government’: Sheila
New Delhi, August 6 While inaugurating the National Executive meeting of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) here, Ms Dikshit said “We have learnt that there is an insurance scheme for journalists in Kerala and Gujarat. It should be in Delhi also because the largest number of journalists are here.” According to Ms Dikshit, the insurance cover for mediapersons was necessary as they always worked under difficult conditions and assured all support from her government in this regard. She also issued directions to senior government officials present at the function to study the Kerala model of the insurance scheme. Describing media as a “big pillar” of democracy and “eyes and ears” of the government, Ms Dikshit said the Right to Information (RTI) Act has given more rights to the journalists to inform the public about the information that the governments may “try to hide or not disclose”. Ms Dikshit said that some programmes on TV and items in newspapers create a sense of “cynicism”, adding that “They give an impression that nothing is right, causing an atmosphere of hopelessness”. Speaking on the occasion, DJA President Manohar Singh demanded medical facilities, bus pass and season tickets at concessional rates for Metro Rail for all mediapersons, including reporters, desk persons and freelancers. Currently, the facility is available only for journalists accredited with Delhi government. The DJA also urged the chief minister to launch a special housing facility and reservation for journalists in co-operative housing societies. Expressing concern over “violation” of labour laws in some newspaper organisations, the DJA urged the chief minister to constitute a tripartite committee to ensure the implementation of labour laws in letter and spirit. Dikshit said she would meet representatives of the association to identify the shortcomings and clear the bottlenecks in early implementation the demands. Delhi Labour Minister Mangatram Singhal supported the demands of DJA saying these were “reasonable”. NUJ president A N Mishra said the two-day national executive would deliberate upon the current challenges and problems to journalism.
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Pulse polio immunisation campaign in Faridabad
Faridabad, August 6 According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs G. Anupama, as many as 1601 teams had been set up consisting of over 6000 persons including the government employees of various departments and volunteers. These people will be a part of 102 Transit teams, 1407 permanent booths, 60 Umbrella teams and 32 mobile teams to cover the maximum number of children. The district has a total population of about 27.16 lakh, of which 12.66 lakh is residing in rural areas and the rest 14.50 lakh in urban areas. The number of children upto the age of five years in the urban and rural areas is 2.35 lakh and 2.58 lakh respectively. As per the authorities concerned, a total of 251 Supervisors would be looking after the work that will be spread over a total of four days, three days in addition to the date of August 7. The teams of the health department would be visiting every household on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to ensure that every child is administered the polio drop, said an official. For the purpose of polio campaign, the district has a total of over 5.6 lakh houses, which include over 3.10 lakh households in the urban areas. As many as 287 vehicles would be made available to the officials and employees on duty, of which about 242 vehicles would be hired from private agencies. It may be recalled that a large number of population in the district and the city live in the slum areas and underdeveloped colonies, which have hardly any proper civic amenities including medical care and have to depend on either quacks or ill-trained people working as registered medical practitioners. The city has a large number of migrant labourers, who do not have permanent address. Though the Hathin sub-division which had been recently transferred to the newly-created district of Mewat had been one of main sensitive area, the officials have been asked to focus their efforts in the villages lying in this region.
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Academicians call for ‘wider debate’ on NCF
New Delhi, August 6 Putting forth his views, Prof. Anil Sadgopal, member of the National Steering Committee said that the draft of NCF in its present form has failed to make a case for common school system and “does great injustice to Work and Education, where the position paper presents a historical overview and a policy critique over six decades to reveal how and why the education policy marginalised the role of work in education. In its anxiety to avoid the blame game, the document has lost its sharpness and the transformation potential”. Maintaining that the proposals made by the NCF draft are practical for “elite schools”, Prof. Irfan Habib, noted historian said, “the entire result of the NCF 2005 scheme, if implemented, would not be creation of knowledge, but condemnation to ignorance, for masses of children. It will be a disaster for the cause of scientific and secular education”. Making a case for “reworking on the NCF 1988”, these academician called for wider discussions as the NCF 2005 in its present form “appears to lack a firm commitment against a sectarian and narrow vision of education, the school curriculum and especially the teaching of history”. It was further pointed out that “the claim to avoid the blame game as referred to by the National Steering Committee is indicative of the lack of a desire to restore the rational discourse in the Indian education system”. Pointing out that there are serious pedagogical issues that need to be discussed in the context of the NCF, Prof Arjun Dev said, “NCERT started preparation of subject syllabi even before an outline of the new NCF was available. These syllabi are believed to have been already finalised, even before the NCF has been finalised. Clearly the authorities do not think that the subject syllabi should be based on a curricular framework”. Criticising the NCF 2005 for “losing sight of its focus”, Madhu Prasad pointed out in the paper ‘Falling between two stools’ that “it (NCF 2005) claims to be providing a framework that would allow teachers and schools to choose and plan experiences that they think children should have, but fails to even indicate who should be responsible for providing the policy and infrastructure necessary for any educational choices
to be feasible, and hence who is to be accountable in case of failure to deliver on these counts”.
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Dead lake comes back to life after two year effort
New Delhi, August 6 The Natural Heritage Division of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the DDA have managed to successfully restore and revive the historic reservoir in Hauz Khas, the “Hauz” as its popularly known. Built by Allaudin Khilji for his troops in 1298, it has been a two-year long effort by INTACH and the DDA. The 16-acre tank located in South Delhi had gone dry way back in 1960s. It was fed by a number of natural channels draining the southern ridge. Due to the diversion of these channels into storm water drains, together with the decline in the water table, the lake had gone completely dry. The resuscitation of the water tank cost almost Rs 50 lakh, most of which was spent on the construction of the three-km pipeline that brings treated effulents from the Vasant Kunj Sewage Treatment Plant. While the water is treated well at the plant to maintain a certain level of quality suitable for flora and fauna, ship-shaped mobile fountains in the reservoir further aerate the water. As per INTACH Natural Heritage Division Advisor Manu Bhatnagar, the “Hauz” is already attracting migratory birds and has had a very positive effect in the area like increased soil moisture, bio-diversity, decrease in temperature and cleaner air . What is more is the fact that besides offering recreational opportunities, water tables in the area have also risen significantly due to the revival of the reservoir. Making it even more eco-friendly is the fact that in itself the project does not require any energy as the water flows in automatically into the tank from a higher gradient on its own. At present the engineering works are complete and the treated waste water as well as rain water is feeding the Huaz. Fish have been introduced to consume organic material uptaken by the phytoplanckton. Increased water tables mean that its immediate neighbourhood has also benefited. For example, the water table has arisen which had been observed in six digwells and investigative bores. However, it will take some more time before the lake becomes a stable ecosystem. Bhatnagar hopes the lake will be stabalised within a year. The total volume of water in the Hauz is 0.13 million cubic metres with a daily inflow of up to 800 cubic metres. The water body is already attracts migratory birds like Pochard, Spot Bill Duck, Little Greb and Heron. This year, it will also be ready to receive migratory birds. Efforts on to make it a completely self-sustaining project. The water drawn from Vasant Kunj Sewage Treatment Plant was earlier released into the Yamuna. Now after treatment in the duckweed lagoons in check dam
reservoirs in the Sanjay Van reserved forest area, it is released to the Huaz. Meanwhile, the INTACH also has plans to revive other water bodies in Delhi, including Jahangiri marshes, Bhalasawa lake, Satpula dam and Sanjay Lake in Delhi as well as Mahasagar lake in Jaipur. It has also sent a proposal for a 3-km long lake in Dwarka.
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Power tariff issue: Delhiites threaten non-cooperation movement
New Delhi, August 6 Nearly 500 people, representing over 100 RWAs, including socialite Nafisa Ali and war veteran Gen Joginder Singh Bakshi, gathered in the posh Defence Colony wearing black bands and shouting slogans against the government and private discoms. “Delhi government should withdraw the tarrif hike and we will be left with no other option than to launch a mass non-cooperation movement if they do not do so,” Secretary of Joint Front of RWAs Pankaj Agarwal said adding that the government was passing the “burden of ineffectiveness of discoms” to common people through the hike. The 10-point Memorandum of Demands approved by the mass rally termed the tariff hike as “arbitrary and unjustified” and said that the hike was levied despite existing “huge gap” between the purchasing price and selling price.
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Capital receives more rainfall
New Delhi, August 6 The rains for the third day today have ended a two-week dry spell in the city during which Delhiites reeled under hot and humid weather. More rains are likely in the next 24 hours, the weather office said. The minimum temperature in the city was recorded at 24.9 degrees, which was 2 degrees below normal. The weatherman has predicted a generally cloudy sky with rains or thundershowers.
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Consumer Forum constituted
Noida, August 6 With hundreds of cases pending for a long period, a team from the state capital would soon arrive here to assist the consumer forum. At present, more than 500 cases were pending in the district consumer court, a consumer forum official said. The main reason for the delay was non-availability of officials from the local administration for investigating the matter.
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Three held for possession of heroine
New Delhi, August 6 The accused have been identified as Faridullah (50) alias Fareed, a native of Afghanistan, Davender Singh (53), a native of Punjab and Eddy (26), a national of Nigeria. The police arrested them from Munirka area last night. During interrogation, Davender Singh revealed that he supplies drugs to different parties in Delhi. He received the packet of heroin on July 28 in Amritsar and it was sent to him through parcel via train. Yesterday, he received the parcel from New Delhi Railway Station. Faridullah is an auto parts dealer and visits India for the last 20 years. He also allegedly deals in narcotics smuggling in the grab of auto parts. The third accused Eddy was earlier residing in Mumbai and recently came to Delhi and started living somewhere in Munirka with his friend Okay. But he did not recognize his address where he was living with his friend, said the police. On the direction of Okay, he came to receive the packet from Faridullah, said the
police. — TNS
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Man gets life sentence for killing wife
New Delhi, August 6 Additional Sessions Judge S P Garg held Lal Khan guilty of murdering his wife Rukhsana by strangulating her. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 500 on him. Prosecution had alleged that Khan, a resident of Sunder Nagari in East Delhi, suspected that his wife was having an affair with her brother-in-law who was also their neighbour, and frequently fought over the issue. Their fight over the issue turned to worst when on the night of December 4, 2001, Khan, in an inebriated state, had heated exchange of words with Rukhsana following which he strangulated her and wrapped the body in a quilt. Their daughter Reshma, who was sleeping with the victim on the fateful night, had supported the prosecution in her
statement. — TNS
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Boys accused of obscene ragging go untraceable
New Delhi, August 6 The boys of Tibia College of Unani medicine in central Delhi had allegedly forced two male freshers to strip in the hostel as part of ragging, police sources said today. The victims were then allegedly made to perform ‘obscene acts’ which the accused filmed using mobiles and circulated as
MMS. — TNS
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