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Four held for meter tampering, extortion
Publicise names of genuine builders,
CBI probe demanded into alleged scams in Express City
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Hospital fined Rs 21 lakh for
Work on flyovers held up again for want of funds
MCD, DDA biggest power defaulters
Yoga may have cure for AIDS: Ramdev
Hope for Red Fort conservation
Collection centre for stem cell bank
Film on life of Guru Gobind Singh screened
Nirankari Mission holds blood donation camp
No one bothered about deforestation drive in Kajuri Khas
Four arrested for murdering lawyer duo
Rs 39 lakh distributed to riot victims
Technology institute opens at Hamidpur
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Four held for meter tampering, extortion
New Delhi, April 24 The modus operandi of the gang was as follows: They first approached the consumer offering their services to tamper the meter for money. After a period of time, some members of the gang visited the same consumer (whose meter was tampered by them) posing as NDPL Enforcement officials who had come to check the meter. After checking the meter a fake inspection report was given to the consumer who was threatened to be charged with huge penalties for meter tampering or use of more load than sanctioned unless he obliged with money. An FIR has been registered by the NDPL at the Prashant Vihar police station against all accused who are in police custody for further investigation. The police have seized fake plastic meter seals from these persons. In the wake of such incidents, the NDPL has urged all its consumers to stay away from such impostors who offer their services to slow down the meter for a paltry sum. Furthermore, consumers should exercise utmost caution and specially check I-cards of all NDPL officials visiting their premises.
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Publicise names of genuine builders, govt urged
Faridabad, April 24 Mr Ved Prakash Vidrohi, president of the Gramin Bharat, an NGO based in southern Haryana, said here today that a large number of builders and construction companies had emerged in the NCR, including Faridabad, Gurgaon, Rewari, Bahadurgarh and Sonepat. They had been asking the people to invest in their projects by making tall claims about the returns, Mr Vidrohi disclosed. He said while some of the companies had been issued notices by the Town and Country Planning department in several cities, the pre-launch offers were being made by various companies without a proper licence. Mr Vidrohi clamed that a lot of confusion was prevailing in the offices of the Haryana Urban Development Authority and the Town and Country Planning about the credentials of several builders and companies offering plots, flats and independent houses to the people. He said the government had failed so far to clarify whether such offers were legal. Several builders and property agents had been buying the agricultural land of poor farmers at throwaway prices in these areas by spreading rumours that the government might acquire their land at a very low prices for developing a certain project, forcing the unaware owners of land to reach a deal with such builders. He said many of the builders had perhaps brought thousands of acres in these district with the hope that they would be selling it at high rates to the multinational companies, who wanted to set up a project in the region in near future. He demanded that the government should immediately direct the offices of the Town and Country Planning and HUDA to put up the list and names of those builders which had been given licence. Mr Rajender Singh Bisla, a former MLA and social activist also added that several builders and construction companies had been active in the district, trying to purchase huge plots of land. He said the government’s move to build express highways and the announcement to set up Special Economic Zones along these had attracted such people and some of the companies had already sold and resold hundreds of plots and flats, without developing even the basic infrastructure. He said the government should ensure proper safeguards to check exploitation of the common man and the farmers in the NCR.
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CBI probe demanded into alleged scams in
Noida, April 24 The Chamber of Industries and Commerce (CIC) has alleged large-scale irregularities in this project. The development of Sectors-96, 97 and 98 in the project as residential sectors is reportedly being handed over to the big builders. CIC president Kanwar M Z Khan has alleged that hundreds of crores of rupees are changing hands under the garb of this project. These scams are taking place at the instance of ruling party’s leaders. Even the handing over of the land to the private builders is also being opposed. Mr Khan has lodged a complaint about these allegations with the UP Governor. He has also mentioned several well-publicized scams of the Authority. Mr Khan has demanded a thorough probe by the CBI into these allegations. It has also been pointed out in the letter that crafty builders submit their quotations in the tenders by pooling their resources. The CIS president also alleged that Noida Authority officers and employees are getting fat commissions in all these tenders and contracts and therefore the matter should be investigated by the CBI.
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Hospital fined Rs 21 lakh for power theft
New Delhi, April 24 The company had imposed a penalty of Rs 21 lakh for additional power stolen by the hospital authorities, the BSES spokesman said. The department concerned of the BSES got this information by one of its informers, who reported that power was being stolen by the hospital. A team of the private power player raided the hospital which was objected to by the owner of the hospital. He even manhandled the team members and reportedly abused them. Later, the power company took the help of the police to conduct the raid. “The hospital was sanctioned 11 KW power but it was using 62 KW. Further investigations into the case disclosed that the hospital had two meters. One was found burnt and only one phase of the other three-phase meter was working. The other two phases of the meters were found bypassed,” he said. Narrating the sequence of events, a BSES official said, “Dr Bharti, the owner of the hospital, physically prevented the BSES team from carrying out the inspection, including taking photographs and recording evidence of meter tampering.” He reportedly attempted to use his influence by lodging a counter-complaint with the police against the BSES officials.
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Work on flyovers held up again for want of funds
Noida, April 24 It may be mentioned that five Noida Authority officers were suspended due to scam worth crores of rupees in connection with these flyovers. Though the state government had given a green light for the completion of the flyovers after lengthy inquiries, the construction has not been resumed due to paucity of funds, it is learnt. It is expected that the construction work may now be started within a fortnight after release of funds from Noida Authority to the contracting firm. According to L.K. Gupta, Chief Project Engineers of Noida Authority, the work of two flyovers in Sector-44 and Sector-16A could not be started as the contracted company M/s Hindustan Steel Works Corporation is short of funds right now. This company has demanded Rs 7 crore from the Noida Authority so that the work on flyovers could be started again. The Authority is understood to have insisted on a bank guarantee from the Hindustan Steel Works Corporation for this amount. The Project Manager of HSWC, Venkat Ayer said the moment the funds are made available, work will be resumed by the first week of May. The National Project Construction Corporation Ltd, which had been awarded the flyover in Sector-82, has already started the work on this flyover. Noida Authority has settled its payments schedule with this company. It may be recalled that Noida Authority CEO Sanjiv Saran had announced on February 17, 2006 that the construction work of the three flyovers had been started, but every time some there is some hitch in the resumption of work.
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MCD, DDA biggest power defaulters
New Delhi, April 24 An official of the department concerned said the MCD, the DDA and the Delhi Police were among nearly 20 government departments who had failed to clear their electricity dues. The power discoms had raised the issue with the government and these organisations were being asked to pay their dues while the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), a defaulter earlier, had settled its dues, he said. Owing nearly Rs 30-35 crore on account of streetlights and power used in its schools, the MCD had been reminded of its bills time and again, he said. While the DDA owed nearly Rs 8-10 crore, the Public Works Department (PWD) had to pay Rs 5-6 crore to the power distribution
companies. The Delhi Police had to pay Rs 4-5 crore as arrears.
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Yoga may have cure for AIDS: Ramdev
Gurgaon, April 24 Swami, who interacted with the media persons here on Sunday ahead of his weeklong yoga and health camp to begin in Gurgaon from April 25, said that yoga was the only scientifically tested method which could check even incurable diseases like cancer and AIDS. With regard to AIDS, he said that the present method adopted by the governmental agencies and non-government organisations to check its rise in society was counter-productive. He lamented that telling the masses to use safe sex methods like contraceptives was wrong and unethical as it gave the impression of indulgence to do whatever one liked with the help of safeguards. This was provoking baser instincts even among the uninitiated, including adolescents. He said his yoga university in Haridwar will soon come out with an answer to AIDS, he claimed. For the present, he would not go into the details. Without directly naming multinationals and private companies, he said that there was this growing impression that some forces were just waiting for diseases like diabetes to spread in India so that they could run their shops. He said that the ‘Patanjali Yoga Peeth’ has been organising yoga camps all over the country. In response to a question, he said that yoga as a scientific method cuts across religion and geographical boundaries and people of all faiths, religions and denominations have been approaching him and attending his camps in large numbers. He said he would get such yoga camps organised in various countries. There are also a number of pleas from abroad for the camps. Some of the countries that he would be going include England, Dubai, Oman, Belgium, South Africa, Australia and Canada. There was a possibility of his visiting Pakistan also, he said. In response to a question as to why the Left leaders were opposing him, he said that he could not help if someone did not abide by the Indian culture and trusted methodologies which ensured better mental and physical health. He made it known that he was not demonstrating anything new, but just presenting the effectiveness of the discipline of yoga based on the parameters of science.
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Hope for Red Fort conservation
New Delhi, April 24 Mr Gurmeet Rai, Director, CRCI, and conservation architect says, “The comprehensive conservation management plan (CCMP) that has been initiated for the Red Fort is a multi-disciplinary project and the team comprises of conservationist architects, historic garden landscape architects, art conservators, material scientists, electrical engineers, graphic designers etc. It’s a vast project.” Mr Rai further informs that the project methodology necessarily uses a two-pronged approach, firstly the preparation of a detailed comprehensive conservation plan, followed by detailed conservation reports for two clusters of buildings that have been identified. The comprehensive conservation management plan includes research in the architecture, the evolution and transformation of the site over the centuries, research on the monuments with a special focus on design, embellishments, materials and techniques, research into the Mughal Gardens of the Red Fort and on the history of conservation work in the fort complex. This historical and archaeological research will also entail a detailed inventory and condition survey, investigations, documentation and assessment of the engineering services, delineation of zones and formulation of the CCMP. Mr Rai further elaborates, “The inventory and condition survey in itself will include a thorough listing and documentation of all built components in the form of inventories, of gardens including all built and natural features (original and later editions), further condition mapping will be undertaken of all surfaces of the built components and measured drawings will be accordingly prepared. We will undertake a detailed topographical survey and use the latest GPR technology for mapping.” A material analysis will also be carried out on the historical building materials of varying conditions, on decay symptoms and other factors that affect monuments like water, pollutants and efflorescence, on dampness in selected buildings and on levels of air-pollution and its impact on the historic fabric. The analysis will cover investigation carried out into materials applied for in past conservation work etc. The CCMP prepared by the CRCI will include recommendations for the removal of culturally non-significant buildings and the treatment of recovered grounds, for carrying out excavation and recovery work in the historic gardens and conservation work is expected to be undertaken in phases on the historic gardens and the water channels and water bodies in need of desperate restoration. This will also include recommendations on the conservation of monuments, removal of accretions, structural conservation as well as recommendations on the visitor movement pattern, accessibility to handicapped persons, visitor management during peak periods etc. The monuments selected for the preparation of a detailed conservation report by the CRCI include the Lahori Gate, Chatta Bazaar, Naqqar Khana, the Diwan I Aam and the Rang Mahal. This work is expect to be concluded in a year and on the basis of this work will begin on the ground. A dynamic team has been put together for this work including eminent historians, sociologists, archaeologists, conservation architects, landscape architects, art conservators, material scientists etc.
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Collection centre for stem cell bank
Gurgaon, April 24 According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LifeCell, Mr S.Abhay Kumar, cord blood which is discarded after child birth is a rich source of stem cells, which can be harvested and cryo-preserved to be used for treating more than 75 serious ailments, including cardiac diseases. According to the doctors present during the time of the launch, the stem cells have the capacity to differentiate themselves in the body. They are injected in the body to fight against malignancies. They can be stored for any number of years under sub-zero temperature for any number of years. The blood is taken out from the umbilical cord of the newly born within, ideally within five minutes of the delivery. This cord blood cell is used for cure of diseases in the person (baby, including when he grows to be a man) from whom blood is taken out as well as the siblings or the father.
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Film on life of Guru Gobind Singh screened
Noida, April 24 The film gives the complete life story of Guru Gobind Singh’s 42 years on this earth and brings out the salient features of philosophy, teachings and contributions of the 10th Guru. This film producer Thakur Ranvir Singh said docu-drama technique was employed in the film where historical photographs and paintings had liberally been used. Thakur Ranvir Singh is a descendent of Raja Pratap Rai, later known as Bhagat Peepa of Gagran state, 80 km from Kota in Rajasthan. He said it had been the most challenging assignment of his career of 40 years in film making in Hollywood, the UK and India. The film on Guru Gobind Singh takes the viewers across 8000 km in seven states to 61 historic gurudawra from Hemkunt Sahib in Himalayas to Hazoor Sahjib in Deccan. “Justice has never been done to this unique and towering personality (Guru Gobind Singh). The country owes Guru Gobind Singh a lot in terms of his sacrifices, his efforts to reform the Indian society, role he played in infusing a heroic spirit in a down-cast, demoralized people and changing them with the magic of Amrit Pan into a self-respecting, courageous and brave nation,” adds Thakur Ranvir Singh.
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Nirankari Mission holds blood donation camp
New Delhi, April 24 The Mission has been organising a number of blood donation camps every year since 1987 as a part of Manav Ekta Diwas or Human Unity Day celebrated to pay homage to the former Head of the Mission, Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji, and over a hundred devotees, who laid down their lives while crusading for Truth, Love, Peace and Unity. Besides Delhi, today’s blood donation camps were spread over Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karanataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. The day is also marked with special congregations and samagams not only in India but abroad also. The samagam in Delhi was attended by a huge gathering of devotees from the Capital and its adjoining areas. Addressing them, Baba Ji said that there was never a time in history when the orthodox people received the message of Truth without reluctance. History, therefore, only repeated itself when Baba Gurbachan Singh Ji Maharaj laid down his life on this day 26 years ago.
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No one bothered about deforestation drive in Kajuri Khas
New Delhi, April 24 According to sources, trees, specially babool and kikad, have been gradually cut out from hundreds of acres of forest land preserved by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) by the local land mafia with the connivance of the local police.“It is amazing that the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) training camp is situated a stone’s throw away from the forest area. At least six armed guards do round-the-clock patrolling even at the main gate of the training centre. Despite that, the deforestation drive is going on,” said a local resident. When contacted an armed guard deployed at the main gate of the training centre reacted that their duty was not to check the deforestation drive. “We are bound by our duty and confined to the training centre campus. It is practically not possible for us to keep vigil outside the campus area. It is the duty of the local police and forest officials,” he said. Local MLA Mohan Singh Bisht said he had written so many times but to no avail. “Hundreds of local residents had given a memorandum in this regard to the Lieutenant- Governor of Delhi about one and half year back but nothing was done. We had even raised the issue in the Assembly seeing the gravity of the matter but it is ironical that the incident is not being taken seriously by the officials concerned,” he added. A local social activist and president of the Jan Vikas Manch, Mr Purshotam Bhardwaj, said the forest area had been a boon for local elderly people.“ We use to walk in the morning and evening hours. Precisely due to that forest area, the nearby areas have been completely pollution-free. It is unfortunate that it will continue no longer. The forest area is the sanctuary of even rare wild animals. In 2003, a rare animal had come out from the forest area and entered the Sonia Vihar water plant. It was later found that the wild animal was commonly found in Australia. So due to this deforestation drive, the species of these rare wild animals are also in danger”, he reacted.
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Four arrested for murdering lawyer duo
New Delhi, April 24 Swarna Mahajan and her daughter Anuradha, both lawyers in the Delhi High Court, were found strangulated on March 12 in their house in the posh South Delhi. The police said the four arrested were domestic servants in houses neighbouring that of the victims. The murder was committed with the motive of loot, Mr Muktesh Chander, Additional Commissioner, Crime Branch, said here today. He said a police team was sent to Balasore district in Orissa to bring the four accused back to Delhi. The four accused have been identified as Niranjan Malik, Bhagwan, Tukku Malik and Bhaskar. The city police had earlier questioned two persons who had come to visit the family on the day the victims were murdered. A domestic servant working at the house was the first to see the bodies.
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Rs 39 lakh distributed to riot victims
New Delhi, April 24 The minister said a total of Rs 350 crore was to be distributed to the victims in Delhi. Of them, Rs 206 crore would be distributed on account of death compensation, in respect of damage of residential properties and damage of uninsured commercial or industrial properties and pension to the old persons and widows. He has directed all Commissioners in districts to find out the genuine victims because in a few cases two to three claimants came forward, claiming to be owners of the damaged property, he said.—TNS
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Technology institute opens at Hamidpur
New Delhi, April 24
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