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HC wants details of ‘protected persons’
Sharp drop in power supply in Faridabad
Steel marvel over Raja Garden flyover completed
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‘Discrepancies in Master Plan 2021 may harm Delhiites’
Amendment to JNUTA constitution mooted
‘Agitated’ residents demand Gurgaon’s even development
Union blames shortage of staff for ‘inefficient’ services
Bank employee kills wife
DUTA case: HC dismisses petition
Garment export factory found stealing power
Low procurement of bajra and paddy
Dengue cases spiral in Delhi
Call centre for power complaints in Noida
China-made idols selling aplenty
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HC wants details of ‘protected persons’
New Delhi, October 5 The order came from a division bench of Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma during hearing of a PIL on law and order situation in the capital. The court asked the Delhi Police to file an affidavit giving details of the ‘protected persons’ and the security personnel provided to them by November nine, the next date of hearing. The Court had earlier sought to know the exact number of police personnel manning VIP security and those deployed on general law and order duty for common citizens in the capital. Meanwhile, in its affidavit filed in the court, Delhi Police said that at present 9,167 police personnel of all ranks were manning security for the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Judges of the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, other protected persons, VIP routes and VVIP areas. “Out of the 9,167 police personnel, 2,077 have been drawn from CPOs, the remaining 6,090 Delhi Police personnel are deployed for VVIP security out of the existing sanctioned strength of Delhi Police,” the affidavit said. Delhi Police counsel Mukta Gupta said against the sanctioned strength of 57,233, at present the police force has 54,338 personnel employed with it. She informed the court that apart from manning of VVIP security by 6,090 personnel, about 1,002 officers and men were loking after the Administrative work conducting Vigilance/ Departmental Enquiry and maintenance of transport fleet. The remaining 47,246 police personnel were exclusively looking after the law and order and other supportive duties for the common citizens here, Gupta claimed. However, her submission was contested by petitioner advocate Rajiv Awasthi, who termed the police affidavit as misleading and confusing. Awasthi drew the court’s attention to an earlier affidavit filed by the police, according to which out of the total 56,000 personnel of Delhi Police, only 27,000 to 29,000 were available for law and order duty and the rest were deployed in VIP security.
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Sharp drop in power supply in Faridabad
Faridabad, October 5 The disruption in the power supply had increased sharply in the past couple of days. The number of cuts had gone up to 10 or 12 in a day, says a resident of Sector 15 here. Claiming that the present situation had been a reminder of the crisis that developed for almost two months during the summer time, he said though the cuts were less torturous now but they signalled the problem that was still being faced by the state on the power front. Rajesh, a resident of the NIT area here, said it was surprising that the Power Department was still imposing such huge cuts despite the fact that the overall demand had scaled down due to the change in temperature. Demanding that the authorities should announce cuts in advance so that there was less inconvenience to the consumers, he said the officials of the complaint cell hardly responded properly when anyone asked them about the cut or its duration. The impact of the acute shortage of power supply had also affected the business and trading community. A shopkeeper in the local Sector 7-10 market said the supply had been poor for the past about 10 days. He said this had adversely affected the trade though the festive season had started. Almost 70 per cent of the shopkeepers and commercial establishments in the market in the city used diesel-operated generators during the cuts. This led to severe pollution, claimed K. L.
Gera, a social activist based here. Similarly, he added the pollution level in the industrial sectors also rose severely during the cuts. On the other hand, a representative of a leading industrial organisation here said the main concern for the industrial and commercial units was that their overall production was affected due to the power cuts.
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‘Discrepancies in Master Plan 2021 may harm Delhiites’
New Delhi, October 5 The Master Plan has been constituted under pressure of foreign agency and builder lobby. That was why the DDA had tabled a proposal before a committee of the Urban Development Ministry for participation of private companies and the DDA spokesman claimed that Delhi would be a ‘world-class city’. In a letter written to the Principal Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the DDA, the Sanjha Manch pointed out to the discrepancies of Master Plan, saying that it has no provision of commercial and industrial areas. Once the recommendations of the Master Plan are implemented, where the people involved in commercial activities and industries will go. Such type of master plan is not constituted in a cultured country. A meeting of the DDA took place recently in which resident welfare associations of some posh localities and market associations were invited by the DDA. But people were not heard seriously. In the new Master Plan, the government plans to allot land of 12 and a half square metres to slum dwellers. Small plot makes the area more congested resulting in encroachment. Earlier, the government used to allot 25 square metre or more than this. The colonies of 25 square metre plots are open and residents adjust everything in this size of plots. The DDA spokesman said that if Delhi was developed according to the new Master Plan, it would be a world-class city. Has the DDA any data of what are the world-class facilities currently available in the city and how many citizens are able to access to these facilities. The Draft Plan is providing a breeding ground for future conflicts between the existing settlements and the proposed ones. Even the chapter of environment appears to contradict the basic principles of the ecology. How is water harvesting in the river-bed compatible with the understanding that flood plains should be left free from all development? Why have portions of the river bed already been allotted for religious, sports, transport, commercial, administrative and tourism purposes under a zonal plan that is still not accessible to the general public, activists of the Sanjha Manch questioned.
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Steel marvel over Raja Garden flyover completed
New Delhi, October 5 Despite the height of the existing flyover and the relentless Ring Road traffic, the DMRC managed to complete the task without anyone getting hurt or any other untoward incident. In the words of DMRC Director (Planning and Project) C.B.K. Rao, constructing this 18-m high bridge was a difficult task, but it was completed in a simple and sophisticated way. As the work on the 22.8-km Delhi metro’s Line 3 from Barakhamba to Dwarka Mor races towards completion sometime in December this year, the DMRC also stands a chance of achieving a world record of sorts. It seems that no metro in the world has managed to commission an entire length of 22 km in one go, which the DMRC will be able to by the end of this year. The technological marvel over the Raja Garden flyover was completed in just three and a half months. The brief first-hand feel at the construction site at the Rajouri Garden metro station, arranged by the DMRC for mediapersons today, was enough to understand what all must have gone into making the dream of lakhs of Delhiites into
a reality. Incidentally, approximately 480 metric tonnes of steel has been used for constructing this highest elevation on the longest line
of the Phase-1 of the Delhi metro. As per Chief Project Manager (Line-III) of the Delhi Metro Vijay Anand, the DMRC managed to do all this without disturbing the traffic or blocking the busy road at any time during the day even though traffic management while erecting the bridge was a great challenge for the DMRC. “It was a big challenge for us, but we were able to construct the bridge with minimum inconvenience to people or the traffic,” he said. The Shadipur crossing, spanning over five railway tracks, was another challenge for DMRC engineers. “In the case of the Raja Garden flyover, heavy traffic and height were our major hurdles. While building the Shadipur crossing, we had to deal with a continuous rail traffic besides high voltage cables crossing over them,” he said. While constructing the Rajouri Garden metro station, the highest so far, engineers not only had to deal with traffic management, diversions of telephone cables, electricity lines, but also relocate an existing ‘nullah’. The height of both, the span bridge and the Rajouri station is 18 m above ground level. The four-level Rajouri Garden station has many significant features. The basement has been used for the ESS and generator room. Toilets are being constructed and property development space is also available at the station. The lower concourse is equipped with ticketing rooms and customer care centre. The paid area begins from the upper concourse from where the passengers will go to the platform with the help of escalators
and stairs.
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Amendment to JNUTA constitution mooted
New Delhi, October 5 The university, which is gearing for the elections scheduled for early November, wants faculty members found guilty in a complaint filed against them debarred from contesting the polls. And to bring information about the candidates into the public domain and prevent them from concealing information regarding any complaint pending against them, the JNUTA General Body has agreed to make amendments to the JNUTA constitution. According to the present Clause IX, the office-bearers of the association will be elected by the entire association and the school representatives will be elected only by the school that they represent. The amendment proposed states, “A teacher or member of research staff who has been found guilty of financial irregularities, physical violence, and, or sexual harassment by a statutory enquiry or any equivalent thereof as prescribed by the rules of the university, shall be debarred from contesting the JNUTA elections. However, he or she may retain the right to vote.” Furthermore, the proposed amendment says, “Each candidate will be required to follow a ‘full disclosure norm’ while filing the nomination stating whether any such enquiry was instituted against her/him, and if any, whether it is pending, or has been dismissed, on what grounds.” Any such information will then be widely circulated among the electorate. “The JNUTA EC has proposed some amendments, that are to be ratified through circulation (Clause XII). Objections and comments have been sought and these are to be given in writing to any of the JNUTA office-bearers by 19 October 2005, following which we shall take the amendment as passed, unless there are major objections,” Dr Rupamanjari Ghosh, president, JNUTA. A second amendment pertains to choosing representatives from centres outside schools and some schools with few members. “There are some centres that are outside schools and have less than 10 members. We have proposed an interim provision, where small schools like the School of Arts and Aesthetics and School of Information Technology have joint representation on the basis of rotation from each,” Ghosh said. These centres are Centre for Biotechnology, Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, Centre for Law and Governance and Centre for Sanskrit Studies.
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‘Agitated’ residents demand Gurgaon’s even development
Gurgaon, October 5 Now they have urged the corporate houses to join hands for the betterment of the city. The ‘Sanyukt Kalyan Parisad’, a federation of over 30 RWAs has also endorsed a planning board in Gurgaon. The president of the Parisad, Harjinder Singh, said, “We have met the various authorities, including the local MLA, but nothing seems to work.” More than 10 group housing societies from Sector 56 and RWAs from the other nearby sectors have also endorsed the demand for a planning board. Highlighting the concept of ‘sigma’ as a measure of quality service and level of satisfaction, Maj-Gen Satbir Singh said, “International cities like Melbourne and London have achieved
the 2-sigma level of satisfaction, which is 97 per cent satisfaction in the services provided.” The satisfaction level in the ‘millennium city’ Gurgaon is less than 40 per cent. As far as security, roads and transport is concerned, it is less than 20 per cent, said Maj-Gen Singh. It was suggested by the residents that the corporate houses in Gurgaon must also be involved with such as planning board as they have a stake in the balanced development of Gurgaon. Maj-Gen P.P.S. Sandhu, a resident of Sector 56, suggested that pressure must be applied on the district administration so that it involves the citizens in a comprehensive manner in the development process.
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Union blames shortage of staff for ‘inefficient’ services
Faridabad, October 5 There seems to be an acute shortage of staff in the Power Department here leading to severe inconvenience to the consumers, who have to shell out one of the highest rates for the power supply in the country, claims the spokesperson of the All Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union. He said that new recruitments were needed in view of the increased workload in the last couple of decades. “Though the demand for recruitment in the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN), an arm of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN), has been taken up frequently by the employees’ union, the authorities have failed to take concrete steps to address the issue,” claims the spokesperson. He said the shortage of manpower had led to several problems and directly affected the services rendered to the consumers. The district required at least 2159 new employees, including lineman, assistant foreman and meter readers. According to the details collected by the union regarding the staff strength in the five sub-divisions of the district, there was a shortage of 530 employees of various grades, which was affecting the services provided to the consumers, particularly in case of faults and breakdowns. An employee of the DHBVN here said the overload led to poor services resulting in resentment and problems for the consumers. The total number of employees for meter reading in the district was only 65 as against the requirement of at least 95 persons, says a report prepared by the union. Faridabad has a total of 3.07 lakh connections in the domestic category while 35,733 connections were in the non-domestic category. As per the report, there was a shortage of 366 employees for manning the various posts in the offices of the DHBVN here. It may be recalled that the Nigam had cancelled the contract for meter reading outsourced to a private company from June 2005 after reports of serious financial ‘irregularities’ had been reported.
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Bank employee kills wife
Ghaziabad, October 5 But after the arrival of his deceased wife’s parents, his story went for a toss. The father of the deceased woman filed a report with the police naming her husband, his second wife and other members of the family as being responsible for her death. The bank employee has been arrested by the police. Udey Ram, resident of N-Block of Pratap Vihar, is a computer operator with the Bank of India’s Connaught Place branch. According to the police, he had married twice. He married Rajbala in 1984 and Kamlesh seven years ago. Rajbala did not have any children so she had adopted a girl, while Kamlesh had three children of her own. Both the women were staying together in the same house. On Tuesday afternoon, the police was informed that some intruders had barged into Udey Ram’s house and decamped with cash and jewellery after killing Rajbala. The police found Rajbala’s body lying in a pool of blood. Kamlesh told the police that while her husband was away in office and the children had gone to school five assailants barged in. When they met with opposition, they killed Rajbala and decamped with cash, jewellery and other valuables after tying up Kamlesh. Rajbala’s father Babu Ram rushed from Delhi. He has filed a complaint naming Udey Ram, Kamlesh and another person for Rajbala’s murder. He said since the house was in Rajbala’s name she was eliminated so that the house could be transferred in his name. The SO police said Kamlesh had wanted to remove Rajbala so she killed her with her husband’s help and enacted a robbery as a cover-up. The police have arrested Udey Ram and are interrogating him.
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DUTA case: HC dismisses petition
New Delhi, October 5 Justice Vikramajit Sen, who had earlier reserved its order in the matter, dismissed Siddiqui’s plea. In his petition filed through counsel Sarabjit Sharma, Siddiqui had demanded quashing of Sharma’s election to the post of DUTA president and recounting of ballots under the supervision of the High Court. Siddiqui, who was defeated in the DUTA polls by a margin of 12 votes by Sharma, had alleged that many of his votes were illegally declared invalid by the Election Officer after certain last-minute changes in the counting rules.
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Garment export factory found stealing power
New Delhi, October 5 The factory, occupying three floors and a basement, was reportedly stealing as much as 50 kilowatts of power directly from the nearby electric pole by hooking a heavy copper wire causing considerable loss to the private power distribution company. The owner of the factory, however, claimed that the factory had been closed for the last 10 months even as the officials of the enforcement team contested this and claimed that they saw people working and operating sewing machines. BSES sources said that action would be taken against the factory owners in accordance with the law. The raids are likely to continue.
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Low procurement of bajra and paddy
Gurgaon, October 5 The reason for the thin arrival is said to be higher prices bajra was fetching in the open market in comparison to the government’s “minimum support price”. Due to the shortage of irrigation water and scanty rainfall the areas has low production of food grain. Bajra is being sold by the farmers in the open market at Rs 800 per quintal, whereas the Haryana Warehousing Corporation-assigned by the government to purchase the foodgrain-is paying the farmers Rs 525 per quintal. The sowing of the crop last season had been poor on account of erratic rainfall.
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Dengue cases spiral in Delhi
New Delhi, October 5 Presenting a report to the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on the situation in the capital, Municipal Commissioner Rakesh Mehta said while eight cases were from the city, one had come from Uttar Pradesh. The MCD Commissioner, however, said the number of fatalities had stayed low because of increase in awareness among people.
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Call centre for power complaints in Noida
Noida, October 5 It would also inform consumers on scheduled and unscheduled power cuts and expected restoration time. Similar call centres are soon expected in all the circles of the UPPCL in Uttar Pradesh. — TNS
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China-made idols selling aplenty
Noida, October 5 These idols can be used for years and can be easily washed without any hassle, say the shopkeepers. These idols, made of resin, retain their lustre for years. Slightly lighter in weight, the idols are priced between Rs 70 and Rs 600. Dharminder Singh, a shopkeeper of Sector 27, says during Navratras more than 100 idols are easily sold by him. Half of these are resin-made idols. The devotees are also picking up idols made of some other metals in the town. Idols of the goddess made of white zinc are also being preferred by the devotees in Noida these days.
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Thieves atop mobike snatch judge’s cellphone
Noida, October 5 Two thieves atop a mobike snatched the phone from the hands of the judge before he could realise what had happened.
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