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Union Cabinet may take up Bill on Thursday
Centre to help Delhi get gas for power projects
Special Assembly session to be held on |
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‘Cong leaders manipulated elections’
Records of ’84 riot victims missing
‘Terrorist’ says he was framed by police, moves HC
60 deaths in Noida road mishaps this year
Factory guards challenge dacoits, one killed
Schools asked not to force students to change streams
DU admission forms to be available from June 1
Slight relief from heat wave conditions
230 cases of cholera reported this year
Over 24 students down with diarrhoea
Two held for fraud in getting bank loan
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Union Cabinet may take up Bill on Thursday
New Delhi, May 9 “The Bill to provide relief from demolitions and sealing in the Capital will be introduced by the Government in Parliament during its extended Budget Session beginning tomorrow,” they said. “The Union Cabinet is likely to take up the bill for discussion on Thursday,” they added. The Bill proposes stoppage of demolitions and sealing of illegal structures for a year to enable the government to bring about changes in Delhi’s Master Plan keeping in view the “ground realities and long-term development of the megametropolis,” they said. The demolitions and the illegal constructions have mushroomed across the city in violation of the existing bylaws and the Master Plan. It may be recalled that Delhi Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit had told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh yesterday that the Bill is expected to be introduced in Parliament in the coming session to stop the drive launched by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Ms Dikshit, who was accompanied by DPCC chief Mr Rambabu Sharma and Congress MPs of Delhi, said the Prime Minister too agreed with their request that there should be “a moratorium on the current MCD drive”. “We are hopeful that the Bill will come,” she said when asked about the government’s immediate plan over the razing illegal construction work and sealings of commercial establishments in residential zones in accordance with court orders.
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Centre to help Delhi get gas for power projects
New Delhi, May 9 Immediately after a meeting with Union Petroleum Minister Mr Murli Deora, Delhi Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit told reporters “We have asked for gas for our new power project before the Commonwealth Games (2010). We have asked for 1.7 MMSCMD (million metric standard cubic metres per day) gas for the project,” she said, adding that the project was part of the state government’s efforts to add 2,000 MW capacity and become self-dependent on the supply side. “We want to be independent of Northern Grid. Our aim is to produce 2,000 MW on our own,” said Ms Dikshit, who is facing acute criticism for the power shortage in the city. Assuring complete assistance to the state government for the gas, Mr Deora said that necessary contracts for the purpose would be drawn. The Petroleum Minister is understood to have outlined a number of options before the Chief Minister for the purpose and suggested that the state government could avail the help of Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL). The gas supply arrangement would be finalised in next six to eight months, she added. The Petroleum Ministry suggested that Delhi could get additional gas by September next year from the Panna-Mukta-Tapti joint venture for which NCT government could ask GAIL to bid, sources said. From September next year, 5 MMSCMD additional gas would be available in Panna-Mukta-Tapti, of which 2 MMSCMD belonging to ONGC has already been contracted, leaving 3 MMSCMD for bidding. The second option suggested by the Ministry is that the state could explore gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin and the Ministry could help establish contact with the producers Reliance Industries, GSPC and ONGC, where again the help of GAIL could be sought, the sources said. Another option suggested by the Ministry is that Delhi Government could ask GAIL to source imported LNG, they added. Meanwhile, with its already existing gas-based Pragati I power plant also suffering from inadequate gas supply, the Delhi Government also asked the Centre to ensure a supply of 0.5 MMSCMD for the power project. Scant availability of gas was the major reason for poor power generation in the Capital and the Delhi government will mention this problem in reply to a Supreme Court notice in the matter, Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit said today after an emergency meeting of her Cabinet. “We are not able to generate adequate power because we do not have adequate gas supply,” she said. The Supreme Court had last week asked the Centre and the Delhi Government to explain the steps being taken by them to enhance power generation and supply to meet the increased demand during the peak summer in the Capital. Meanwhile, the peak power demand in the Capital rose to 3,447 MW, but loadshedding reduced marginally to 271 MW. “The peak power demand met today was 3,447 MW, but the situation was better than yesterday,” said a senior Transco official, also informing that the demand crossed 3,500 MW last night. The peak power demand met yesterday was 3,368 MW, while loadshedding of 281 MW was carried out.
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Special Assembly session to be held on May 18
New Delhi, May 9 The Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit, decided to recommend the session in view of the EC notice, official sources said. In a move that threatens to reduce the Dikshit government to a minority, the Election Commission had issued notices to 19 MLAs of Delhi on the office of profit issue. The notices asked the MLAs to answer the allegation that they were fit for disqualification under Section 146 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. They have been asked to reply on or before May 22. The notices were issued on a complaint by BJP legislator Vijay Jolly who had submitted documents to press the charge. The BJP has strongly objected to the decision to convene the short session, saying many issues of concern to the people will go unaddressed because of the government move. According to leader of the opposition Mr Jagdish Mukhi, the party will submit another memorandum to the EC, complaining against a dozen other Congress MLAs holding offices of profit.
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‘Cong leaders manipulated elections’
Gurgaon, May 9 Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Gehlot, who had represented Gurgaon in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha during the INLD government in the state, said the Congress leaders convened an ‘illegal’ meeting of office-bearers of the HOA on May 6 at Panchkula even though the meeting was fixed for May 14. There was no demand for preponing the meeting by the mandatory two-thirds of the office-bearers of the body. Also, Mr Abhay Singh, president of the HOA and son of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, was not informed about it. The Congress leaders expressed no confidence for the office-bearers of the earlier body and elected a new bunch in an unconstitutional manner, he added. While Congress MP Naveen Jindal was made the president, another MLA, Mr Anand Singh Dangi, was made president of the Haryana Athletics Association. He said both of them were present at the ‘illegal’ meeting. He wondered how the two could participate in a meeting of the HOA when they were not members of any of the 33 sport bodies in the state. He further said that only those persons who were members of any of the 33 state bodies could be made president.
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Records of ’84 riot victims missing
New Delhi, May 9 Dozens of men and women in their eighties who had settled in Patiala, Ludhiana and other places in Punjab after the riots, had queued up in the office of the Dy. Commissioner, East Delhi. Many of the former residents of Shakarpur and Laxmi Nagar in East Delhi — two of the worst-hit colonies in the carnage — were told that the register containing their record was not available in the office of the Dy. Commissioner. . The Dy. Commissioner East has since been posted out to Goa. Mr R.P. Sharma, Tehsildar in the office of Dy. Commissioner, East Delhi, said all the claimants who had received payment of relief in 1997 from the Delhi Government would be paid the relief announced by Parliament. But certain registers containing the records of victims are not available with him. “The staff which handled the payment in 1997, including the Tehsildar, Dy. Commissioner and Dy. Director (Relief), have since been posted out,” he said. Tehsildar Sharma said in all there are 329 claimants from the colonies according to the 1997 list. Out of these, 71 claimants have expired. The payment will now be given to their next of kin after proper identification. Mr Sharma said 204 claimants had been paid relief of Rs 3.50 lakh each from his office so far. Divisional commissioner Ms Achla Singh, who is holding the additional charge of Dy Commissioner, East, ADM S.K. Jha and ADM Mr Balty could not be contacted despite several attempts. Divisional Commissioner Verinder Kumar, however, said he did not have the confirmed figures as to how many claimants had been paid or what was the total number of claimants to be disbursed the relief. Regarding the missing record or registers, Mr Kumar promised he would have it looked into. He said he was aware that a majority of claimants were senior citizens and they had travelled from far-off places to get the relief money.
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‘Terrorist’ says he was framed by police, moves HC
New Delhi, May 9 Justice R C Jain granted four weeks time to the agency to complete investigations and file a status report on the matter. The Special Cell had on February 9 arrested Quamar (26) on charges of obtaining training in Pakistan in subversive activities and planning to create terror in the country. Quamar, who was allegedly arrested with arms and explosives, was charged under various Sections including 121 IPC (Waging war against State) and 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy). However, Ehtasham Ahmed and Rakesh Bhugra, the advocates appearing for the accused, claimed that Qumar was falsely implicated in the charges as he had refused to act as an informer for the IB. It was claimed that Qumar, who was engaged in the manufacture of ladies’ purses, was kidnapped on December 22, 2005 from the Capital by the sleuths of the IB. According to the petition, the family members had lodged a ‘missing person’ case at Bhajanpura police station. Consequent to the complaint, the Bhajanpura police issued a ‘public notice’ seeking help from public to trace Quamar. But on the same day, the Special Cell announced his arrest, charging him with indulging in subversive activities. Government counsel Mukta Gupta strongly opposed handing over of the inquiry to the CBI saying that it would only encourage terrorists to take such alibis in courts and camouflage their activities. Rejecting the charge that the accused was falsely implicated, she asserted that the IB and the Special Cell had obtained vital evidence to establish that Quamar underwent training in Pakistan for indulging in subversive activities. However, Justice Jain noted that the timing of the arrest shown by the Special Cell and the issuance of public notice by the Bhajanpura police on the same day raised certain suspicion on the claims of the investigating agency. Accordingly, the court ordered the CBI to conduct an inquiry and submit a report within four weeks.
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60 deaths in Noida road mishaps this year
Noida, May 9 The Director-General of Police, UP, had recently expressed concern about the increasing number of road accidents in the state as a result of which 10 most accident-prone sites were ordered to be identified in each district so that a plan could be implemented for reducing the frequency and number of accidents. The Noida traffic police have identified 10 accidents-prone spots in the district where maximum road accidents take place. Most of them are located in Noida town itself. The details of these accident-prone spots have been conveyed by the Noida traffic police to IG, Police, Meerut, as well as to the police headquarters in Lucknow. While most of the districts had furnished this data by March 15, the police in GB Nagar district under Meerut zone was lagging. Now, after getting a reprimand from police headquarters the GB Nagar police have sent a list of 10 most accident-prone spots in Noida and Greater Noida, it is learnt. Observers here feel the traffic police have sent this list in a great hurry, leaving many highly accident -prone spots unmentioned. It is felt Pari Chowk in Greater Noida, Surajpur entry trijunction, Kulesra Mod, Tilpata container depot crossing, the NTPC crossing, Chhelara and Surajpur Mod were also important accident-prone spots missed by the police. The GB Nagar police had identified the following as the 10 important accident-prone spots – Sector 37 crossing, Amarpali crossing, NEPZ crossing, Bhangel, Expressway, Sector 49 police station crossing, Sector 12-22 crossing, BPL crossing, DND crossing and GT Road Chhapraula crossing.
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Factory guards challenge dacoits, one killed
Faridabad, May 9 The administration is yet to announce any financial help to the victims. According to police reports, a gang of six persons descended on the gate of a factory belonging to the Lakhani group here at about 4 am on Monday. They wanted to loot the cash kept in the factory. It is learnt that while the three guards deployed there asked for their identity and told them to move away, the gang members assaulted them with iron rods and other sharp-edged weapons. However, the guards identified as Bhim Bahadur, Ganga Raj and Bhim Bahadur challenged them and the fight resulted in serious injuries to the security persons. They could not stop the criminals from taking away the cash of about Rs 49,780 kept in a movable chest on the premises. All the dacoits were able to flee before anyone could rush to the help of the injured guards, who were later shifted to the hospital. Bhim Bahadur (41) succumbed to the injuries after about 16 hours. The Sarva Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, made a demand to give financial help to the victims and their kin. The Deputy Labour Commissioner, Ms Manorama Rana, was among the senior officials to visit the hospital today. She said the expenses incurred on the treatment of the victims would be met by the factory management. The kin of the deceased would also be given employment by the factory owners, she added.
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Schools asked not to force students to change streams
New Delhi, May 9 The Board has been apprised of cases where some schools force students to change their chosen subjects because of apprehension that the students may not be able to perform well in the Board examinations. While the Board allows students to change their subjects, if they so desire, up to September 30 of the academic session, it has asked schools not to force the decision on students. “Sometimes when classes for standard XI are held before the declaration of class X results, some schools compel students to change from Science to Humanities or Commerce if they fail to score a certain percentage,” said the principal of a renowned public school. Explaining the negative impact this has on a student, he said, “When a child has made up his mind and has even begun studying the subjects he has chosen, it is unhealthy to pull him out of that stream on the basis of marks obtained in the past. He should be given a chance to make up and do better”. It is for this reason that the Board has now written to the affiliated schools. In a letter sent to principals, the CBSE has noted, “…it is an unhealthy and unfair practice and it has to be discouraged. Hence schools are instructed not to force the students to change their subjects in class XI once they have been admitted with a particular combination of subjects. If there is any change in subject(s), the request has to come from the student and it has to be dealt as per the clause 26 of the Examination Bye Laws”. Expressing concern over the practice that often traumatises students, the Board has noted, “Once the students get admission to class XI with a particular combination of subjects, they buy the text books and start attending the classes for nearly a month. A forced change of subjects later demoralises the students, causing mental and emotional stress”. The Board has also taken a serious view of the financial burden it lays on the parents, “…parents are compelled to take on the additional burden of buying a second set of books of the newly allotted subjects”.
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DU admission forms to be available from June 1
New Delhi, May 9 Admission forms will be available between June 1 to 15, the first cut off list will be announced on June 26, the second list on June 30, the third list on July 5 and the fourth list on July 10. Colleges will announce the second, third and the fourth list as per their own requirements after admissions based on the first list are over. Admissions for the physically challenged and the SC/ST candidates will be carried out simultaneously with that of the General Category this year. Classes will commence from July 17.
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Slight relief from heat wave conditions
New Delhi, May 9 The minimum temperature too came down to 24 degree Celsius from 25 degree Celsius yesterday. The Met office said that the heat wave sweeping through the Capital in the last week, which saw the mercury touching a five-year high of 44.5 degree Celsius on Saturday, had abated. In fact, the Met office has forecast a partly cloudy sky in Delhi towards the evening with thunderstorms in some areas. The cloudy weather is likely to persist for at least two more days. The BBC has forecast light showers for tomorrow. The last time the mercury touched such high levels in the month of May was in 2002 when the maximum temperature rose to 46 degree Celsius on May 19 2002, and touched 45 degrees Celsius on May 10 and May 12 the same year. The highest temperature in May has been recorded at 47.2 degree Celsius on May 29, 1944.
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230 cases of cholera reported this year
New Delhi, May 9 In a review meeting attended by senior health officers of Delhi Government, MCD, NDMC, Delhi Jal Board and Railways, the Health Minister said that 49 cases of cholera were reported this month up to May 5, 2006, whereas in total 230 cases of cholera have been reported this year in the Capital. Out of this, 67 cases were reported from unauthorised colonies, 45 from urbanised villages, 44 from JJ clusters and slums, 38 from regularised colonies, 22 from other states, four by the Railways, three from re-settlement colonies and NDMC. He said that 15,508 blood slides were collected and 12,159 houses were sprayed. In the Capital, 1,39,435 houses were inspected for domestic breeding out of which 234 houses found positive for breeding, whereas during anti-malaria operations, 365 legal notices were issued and 53 cases were launched for prosecution. As preventive measures a total of 1,792 water samples were tested by the MCD staff during the first week of this month, out of which 58 were found unfit, Dr Shastri said. He said 9,01,595 chlorine tablets and 8,364 ORS packets were distributed in the Capital during this week. As a health education measure, 29,599 handbills, 1,295 posters and 2,775 stickers were distributed among the masses in Delhi.
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Over 24 students down with diarrhoea
Noida, May 9 Students said diarrhoea was caused by impure water. Chief Food Inspector Ram Singh said a sample of drinking water had been sent to Lucknow for lab test. In case it was confirmed that the problem started due to impure water, the college management would take up the matter with the Noida Authority. Some two dozen students, inmates of JSS Engg. College hostel in Sector-62 Noida, are down with stomach pain, upset stomach and diarrhoea, Mr Ram Singh said. For the last four to five days, the students urged the food inspector to get the quality of drinking water tested in a lab.
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Two held for fraud in getting bank loan
Noida, May 9 After an inquiry by Javer Tehsildar S.P. Singh, this fraud and cheating came to light. The tehsildar has filed a fraud and cheating case against three persons. The police have arrested the two accused. There are two persons with same name in Phalauda village. Incidentally, their fathers are also namesakes but one is a Rajput while the other belongs to the Jatav community. Veerapal Singh, son of Charan Singh Jatav, owns a piece of land in the village under Khasra No 465-05 in the revenue records of 1978. Rajput Veerpal Singh, son of Charan Singh of the same village, took advantage of the name of Veerpal Singh Jatav and applied for a tractor loan in Oriental Bank of Commerce, Bilaspur, and got the loan sanctioned. Kiranpal and Sheeshpal of the same village were his witnesses in the crime. Veerpal Singh Thakur had purchased Sonalica tractor from a tractor agency in Secunderabad and after a few day sold it off for Rs 2 lakh. When Veerpal Singh Jatav came to know that a tractor loan had been taken from the bank in his name he made a complaint to the tehsildar. After a probe, the tehsildar, on finding the complaint correct, filed a case of forgery and fraud against Veerpal Singh Thakur, Kiranpal and Sheeshpal at the Rabupura police station. The police have nabbed Kiran Pal and Sheeshpal while Veerpal Singh Thakur is absconding.
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In video: Congress members meet PM on shop sealing issue. (
