New Delhi, October 16
The dengue toll in the Capital rose to 36 with the death of another patient at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) early today.

Twenty two-year-old Manoj Kumar, a resident of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to the viral disease in the early hours today. The total number of dengue cases across the Capital has crossed 1,448. Of them, 982 cases are from Delhi, while the remaining are from neighbouring states.

The total number of dengue patients undergoing treatment at the AIIMS now stands at 176, the medical superintendent of the institute said.

He added that around 200 patients were under observation at the institute.

The Central Zone, Najafgarh and Shahdara continued to remain the worst affected areas in Delhi. Several slum clusters are located in Shahdara which is infested with mosquitoes, sources said.

More than 18,000 patients have been screened at the Emergency OPD in AIIMS since October 3, doctors said, with an average 1,000 people being tested daily.

The hospital is conducting about 1,600 platelet-counting tests daily with the help of four separator machines functioning round-the-clock.

Doctors at the premier healthcare institute are struggling to keep pace with the dengue deluge, and today again urged the Union Health Minister, Mr Anbumani Ramadoss, to declare the outbreak as an epidemic.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Health Officer said that the MCD had launched a heath awareness programme in each district. 

Faridabad, October 16
The number of suspected dengue cases in the district has passed the 600 mark, with six persons reported as having succumbed to the disease, but health officials insist that only two deaths have taken place this season.

Meanwhile, the backlog of blood samples sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) from the district has increased due to the sheer number of samples sent to it, causing confusion and fear among residents.

The district CMO admitted that certain private clinics and hospitals were taking advantage of this, and advised patients and their kin to be cautious about it.

He said the treatment of a suspected dengue case and a confirmed one was nearly the same. He added that in case of bleeding, blood transfusion was important to ensure proper platelet count. He claimed there was no shortage of blood or donors in the civil hospital here.

The number of malaria cases here has also gone up by 40 to 45 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year. These include six cases of brain fever, which is more serious. Almost 90 per cent of the malaria cases are reported from rural areas.

New Delhi, October 16
The Union Government, virtually pushed to the wall by various directions of the Supreme Court on implementing its orders on sealing of illegal shops in residential areas of the national Capital, today moved an application in the court for modification of its orders.

Its representative, the Additional Solicitor General made a special mention about filing of the application by Urban Development Ministry, expressing its inability to implement the court’s directives by describing it as a “Herculean” task.

A bench headed by the Chief Justice, which had passed a series of orders on sealing of illegal shops, posted the application for hearing on October 18.

Apparently under pressure from traders, the government moved the application last week seeking modification of the court orders directing shop owners, who are not covered under the July 21 and September 7 notifications of the Centre, to file affidavits to undertake shifting of their ventures if required.

The apex court, in its September 29 order, had given relief to small traders but had made it clear that big traders running their establishments in residential areas would have to move out and the sealing of those shops would resume from November 1.

The Ministry stated that there were “administrative difficulties” in implementing the court orders, as it would be difficult for it to get the undertakings from such a large number of traders through affidavits.

Before passing the September 29 directive, over 47,000 traders had filed affidavits giving an undertaking to shift their business if so directed.

But in view of the notifications of July 21 and September 7, giving reprieve to a large number of traders, they had second thoughts about filing of the affidavits, hoping that the government would come to their rescue.

Since the court had directed that each commercial venture permitted on the ground floor should be accompanied by a certificate from a registered architect about the viability of the space for running a shop, the Ministry said it was a “difficult exercise” as there was a shortage of registered architects in the Capital.

As the court had imposed serious conditions on architects for giving false certificates and fixing liability on them, they were also extra cautious about issuing the certificates, it said.

The government said that the protection provided under the July 21 and September 7 notifications should be extended to all traders as it was only an interim measure.

New Delhi, October 16
In a significant development, the Delhi Cabinet today approved setting up of a joint venture company for setting up of a 1,500 MW power plant in Haryana. It also approved creation of 140 posts to facilitate establishment of 70 permanent voter registration and electoral roll centres in the Capital.

The Cabinet, in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit, gave the green signal to the creation of a joint venture company for commissioning a power plant in District Jhajjar for generating 1,500 MW of power, in which the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) would have 51 per cent equity and Delhi and Haryana 24.5 per cent equity each.

The Capital would get a supply of 750 MW power from this plant, expected to become functional before the Commonwealth Games 2010, which would augment the inadequate supply at present.

The plant, which would be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 6,750 crore, would be owned and constructed by the NTPC, which would retain its management control.

The Cabinet also approved creation of 140 posts in various scales to facilitate the establishment of 70 permanent centres for preparing voter identity cards and electoral rolls in the national Capital.

One centre would be located in each of 70 assembly constituencies. The establishment of permanent offices would put an end to the practice of utilising the services of food and supply officers and the system of diverting ministerial employees for election work.

It would also facilitate implementation of the latest mandate of the Election Commission to prepare photo electoral rolls from March, 2008 onwards.

Ms Dikshit expressed confidence that the functioning of permanent offices would go a long way in expediting updating of electoral rolls and preparation and issuance of photo identity cards.

The enormous workload of election-related activities in Delhi is continuous in nature, which required permanent offices. It was estimated that about 15,000 citizens per year in an Assembly constituency or 50 voters per day would be requiring the services of each permanent office for updating and correction in electoral rolls, in addition to about 40 lakh voters who would require photo identity cards.

Delhi has a voter population of around 1 crore and photo identity cards have been issued to only 63 lakh people so far. The city, being the capital of the country, has a unique demographic character wherein there is a higher rate of migration of people from one polling station to another, from one Assembly constituency to another within the city, and from Delhi to other states and vice-versa, Ms Dikshit said.

It was estimated that about ten per cent of the voter population in each Assembly constituency changed every year, and to that extent, the electoral roll had to be modified and updated.

New Delhi, October 16
The BSES Enforcement Teams have recently unearthed power theft of around 300 KW in two separate cases.

While in one case, an illegal electricity distribution network to provide electricity to about 800 domestic, commercial and industrial units was unearthed, in another, a posh garment showroom was caught stealing power. Cumulative penalties of over Rs 80 lakh are being imposed.

A statement released by the BSES today said that in a joint operation with the police spanning six weeks, the BRPL Enforcement Teams conducted a series of successful raids to dismantle an illegal power distribution network in the Tughlaqabad area.

“The illegal network, being run by a group of local musclemen, was stealing over 140 KW of electricity from BSES LV mains and supplying it to around 600 domestic and 200 commercial and industrial units in an area spread over 1 sq km. The illegal distribution system was also responsible for widespread outages in the area,” said a BSES official.

It was pointed out that an FIR was registered against one Hansa Chaudhary, Bittu and Jagdish Chander alias Jagga – the trio who were allegedly running the illegal operation. While Jagga has been arrested by the local police, the other two are absconding. Cumulative penalties amounting to over Rs 53 lakh have been levied against the accused.

In the other case of power theft, Gokul Mega Mart, a posh garment showroom in Krishna Nagger, was booked for power theft and a Rs 30 lakh penalty was levied against its owners.

“The BYPL Enforcement Teams raided and booked Gokul Mega Mart, a posh garment showroom in the bustling Krishna Nagar market for stealing power of over 150 KW. The meter installed at the showroom, which had a sanctioned load of 95 KW, was also found to be 35 per cent slow,” a BSES official said.

Noida, October 16
There is no respite from the dengue onslaught in Gautam Budh Nagar with two more deaths reported and three new cases detected. In all, the dengue toll has reached 18 in the district.

A 16-year-old young girl Sita succumbed to dengue on Sunday she three days after she was hospitalised. In Dadri also, one woman has died of dengue after fighting the disease for three days.

Three more dengue cases have come to light. The patients have been admitted to hospitals in Dadri, Ghaziabad and Delhi.

In Dadri Aruna, wife of Sonu of Nai Abadi Mohalla, had been diagnosed with dengue three days earlier. She was admitted to a hospital, Dadri, where she died on Sunday.

Of the suspected new patients, Ayub, son of Sagar, has been admitted to AIIMS. Sanjay, resident of Brahmpuri, has been admitted to a Dadri hospital while Sandeep was taken to Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad.

The municipal committee, Dadri, has meanwhile started spraying and fogging of insecticides in localities like Railway Road, Subzi Mandi, Badshah Nagar and Ramphal Colony.

In Noida, the health authorities claimed that they were stepping up the awareness campaign to educate people about dengue so that they can take all precautions.

Meanwhile, the Chief Medical Officer maintains that private hospitals are not sending correct reports about dengue to the CMO office.

The CMO is contemplating sending notices to private hospitals after a meeting with the District Magistrate.

Noida, October 16
Two motorcycle-borne criminals snatched Rs 7 lakh from a Noida Authority contractor outside Vijaya Bank on Dadri Road in Sector-19 Noida at around 1 pm today.

Ashok Kumar Tyagi had just withdrawn the money and was moving towards his car when the robbers struck in full view of two police constables who were posted just outside the bank.

New Delhi, October 16
A 15-year-old Class 10 student was today stabbed allegedly by two of his schoolmates in a north Delhi locality in an apparent fight over ‘love interest’.

Rahul, a student of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Nehru Vihar, has been admitted to a local nursing home with stab wounds and his condition is stable, the police said.

The accused, identified as Shekhar and Gagan, were missing after the incident and a hunt was on to nab them.

Shekhar and Gagan, studying in Class 12 and 11 respectively, are brothers, the police added. — PTI

New Delhi, October 16
With the arrest of one person, the IGI Airport Unit of Delhi Police today claimed to have worked out a theft case involving gold worth more than Rs 40 lakh.

The manager (cargo operation) of Jet Airways at the airport, had reported that a consignment containing more than 4 kg of gold ornaments was stolen from the cargo unit.

The investigation team found one Santosh Prasad, an airline employee ‘evasive’. Following a tip-off, he was allegedly nabbed from Anand Vihar bus depot with the stolen gold ornaments.

New Delhi, October 16
The police today claimed to have seized over 6,000 kgs of illegally stored firecrackers and arrested three persons in separate incidents in this connection.

Following a tip-off, the police allegedly intercepted a truck on the main Najafgarh road near Uttam Nagar in West Delhi yesterday and seized 2,030 kgs of firecrackers being brought to the Capital without a proper license.

The vehicle was coming from Jhajjar in Haryana. One person was arrested in this connection. In another incident, the police raided a shop in Rohini and seized 2,370 kgs of ‘illegally stored’ firecrackers. The shopkeeper has been arrested.

In yet another incident, one Tarun Goyal was arrested from Malka Gang in North Delhi after the police allegedly recovered around 1,700 kgs of firecrackers from his shop during a search operation.