New Delhi, October 23
Slightly cool weather seems to have brought about a marked decline in dengue cases in the Capital, bringing much relief to health officials who are hoping that the viral disease that has claimed 49 lives so far is ‘on its way out’.

No dengue death has been reported during the last 24 hours.

The Municipal Health Officer said that during the past 24 hours, 53 fresh cases were reported in the Capital as compared to yesterday’s 56 cases. On Saturday morning, 92 cases were reported. The total number of dengue cases in Delhi now stands at 2,104, of which 1,377 are from the Capital alone, he said.

“We believe the dengue outbreak is on its way out because of the fall in temperatures,” he said.

He said that Central, Shahadra (North) and Najafgarh zones were still the worst-hit areas. Around 241 cases in Central, 165 in Shahdra (North) and 150 cases in Najafgarh zones were reported.

The Delhi Health Secretary also said that there was a decline in the number of dengue cases being reported everyday.

Most of the 50 hospitals in Delhi treating dengue patients had reported the declining trend, he claimed.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Government started an awareness drive on the mosquito-borne viral disease in over 3,500 government schools in which health officials take a half-an-hour class after the morning assembly, he added.

“We have targeted government schools because it was easier to teach children. They can then inform their parents and family members,” the health secretary said.

In the past few days, the average day temperature in Delhi has been three to four degrees below normal. According to Meteorological department officials, the day temperature on Monday was 27 degrees Celsius, while the night temperature was 16 degrees Celsius.

The lower temperature is not conducive to the breeding of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which carries the dengue virus. The drop in day temperature in the past few days has affected the breeding of the mosquito, said a health official.

The declining trend was also visible at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which had been facing a deluge of dengue patients.

“We have discharged around 31 people and only 40 people are under observation,” said the medical superintendent of AIIMS. 

New Delhi, October 23
The Delhi Cabinet today approved commissioning of Pragati Power Project Phase-II for generating 350 MW power and also gave its nod to the Delhi Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2006, for introduction in the Assembly Session scheduled to begin from October 30. These decisions were taken today in a Cabinet meeting presided over by chief minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit.

Briefing the media after the meeting, Ms Dikshit said that the Cabinet had given its approval for the commissioning of the power project keeping in view the assured availability of 10 million metric standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD) gas that would suffice to generate around 2,000 MW gas-based power from Pragati-II, Bawana and IPGCL power stations.

The Cabinet also approved an amount of Rs 417 crore i.e. 30 per cent of the total project cost as equity of Delhi Government for meeting the expenditure of the power project.

The total project cost is expected to be Rs 1,389 crore.

Ms Dikshit added that a 330 MW Gas-Based Combined Cycle had already been commissioned and it was imperative to commission another 350 MW Gas Based Combined Cycle Power Project.

She said, “There is no doubt that the power shortage in Delhi is well-recognised which needs to be augmented at all costs particularly, when the Commonwealth Games are due to be held in the Capital in the near future and the Centre has suggested to increase the core generation within Delhi.”

Based upon the power demand projections of the Central Electricity Authority and the availability projections by Delhi Transco Limited (DTL), the deficit in peak load will be around 1065 MW in 2008-09 and 575 MW in 2009-10. However, with the commissioning of all upcoming projects there would be a sea-change in the scenario resulting in surplus of 969 MW in 2010-11 and 897 MW in 2011-12.

The Pragati-II Power Project would be located between Y-shape Bhairon Road Crossing and Nizammudin Bridge towards east side of the Ring Road. The power generated will be evacuated by DTL through the proposed 400/220 KV Maharani Bagh Sub-stations or through connecting the feeders to the Akshardham, Gazipur and Maharani Bagh substations. The prime objective of this project is to improve the overall power supply position in Delhi.

It was also decided to set up a separate mechanism involving noted NGOs to look into complaints of DTL and discoms. Ms Dikshit made it clear that it would go a long way in quick redressal of grievances apart from enhancing accountability and transparency.

The Cabinet also decided to introduce the Delhi Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2006 to replace the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2006 dated June 20, which would otherwise lapse six weeks after the reconvening of the Assembly. The Ordinance was promulgated by Delhi Government to give relief to consumers for the purpose of foregoing VAT component on the price increase of petrol and diesel by the Central government with effect from June 6. 

New Delhi, October 23
Even as the Supreme Court has given six weeks’ time to the Centre to draw a list of professionals to be given relief against the sealing drive for closure of illegal commercial ventures in residential areas of the Capital, the city lawyers have urged the government to create commercial complexes for law firms.

Since the earlier list drawn by the MCD and the court-appointed Monitoring Committee included only doctors, chartered accountants, architects and lawyers whose request for allowing their offices to run from residential areas was under consideration, the Union Urban Development Ministry had sought to include other professionals such as musicians, painters and artists in it.

The Society of India Law Firms (SILF) has called upon the Union Government to create alternate commercial spaces for professionals, specially the law firms, to set up their offices. Till the construction of such sites, the professionals should be allowed to operate from residential areas and their offices in any place whether covered under the government notices on mixed land use plan or not, should not be sealed, it demanded.

SILF president, Mr Lalit Bhasin, said the matter was being taken up with the government at different levels along with various other issues concerning the lawyers, including their opposition to the entry of foreign law firms in India.

“Professional activities have to be distinguished from other commercial activities and letting them to continue in residential areas will not cause any inconvenience to residents till the commercial complexes are built by the government,” Mr Bhasin pointed out.

He said the law parks should be built within the municipal limits if the government and the apex court were of the view that professionals should not have their offices in the residential colonies.

SILF blamed the government for the present mess due to improper planning of residential colonies while creating very less space for commercial activities within them, particularly for professionals.

The present problem had mainly arisen due to ‘shortsighted’ Master Plan that had not been renewed by the government at regular intervals during the past two decades to make it suitable for future development of the national Capital, the SILF chief alleged.

He also raised the issue of entry of the foreign law firms in India, saying that the lawyers of the country needed protection as the concept of law firms in India was still at the infancy stage and they could not match the entrepreneurial skills of foreign firms.

The SILF also sought removal of the restrictions on law firms, which can not recruit more than 20 lawyers according to the rules, saying it was an impediment in the growth of domestic firms.

New Delhi, October 23
A terminated executive engineer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan of his residence in Adarsh Nagar today.

Naresh Gupta (52) was terminated from his service around seven months ago.

According to the police, in a suicide note addressed to his wife Poonam, the deceased had said that his elderly and ill parents and two kids should be taken care of after his demise.

However, he did not blame anyone for taking this extreme step.

Further investigation was on in the case, the police said.

In another incident, a 24-year-old woman, Maheshwari, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a window in Madangir area.

According to the police, the cause of his suicide was not clear from the suicide note found from the site. However, property dispute was suspected to be the reason that led her to commit suicide, the police said. 

New Delhi, October 23
Bharatiya Janata Party councillors in the Capital today urged senior party leader Mr L K Advani and party president Mr Rajnath Singh to further pressurise the government to convene a special session of Parliament to discuss the sealing issue.

In their meeting with Mr Advani, the councillors said that they wanted the top leaders of the BJP to mount pressure on the government to bring a one-time amnesty scheme for all the commercial establishments in residential areas in the national Capital.

The councillors, led by Leader of the Opposition in the MCD House, Mr Subhash Arya, pointed out that after the violence during the ‘Delhi Bandh’ on September 20, the Union Urban Development Minister had said that the Centre would, if necessary, call a special session of Parliament to provide relief to traders from sealing.

However, they added, over a month had gone by and only a few days were left for the resumption of the sealing drive that would begin on November 1, but the Centre was yet to take any step in this direction.

As a result, over 44,000 traders who had submitted affidavits to the Supreme Court to close down their shops and offices now faced action by June 30, Mr Arya said.

Later, the councillors also met Mr Rajnath Singh in this regard. Mr Singh, who had earlier written to the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, on the issue, promised to send another communication to the PM in this regard.

New Delhi, October 23
In order to meet the rush of commuters during Bhai Duj and Id-ul-Fitr, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has decided to increase the frequency of its trains for the next two days.

The DMRC will operate its trains at peak frequency between 8.00 am and 8.30 pm on these two days. During this period, trains will be available every four minutes on the Shahdara-Rithala and the Central Secretariat-Vishwa Vidyalaya lines and every five minutes on the Barakhamba-Dwarka line.

In order to meet the extra rush, the Delhi Metro will also open extra ticket counters and deploy additional staff at important stations on these days.

New Delhi, October 23
Taking the exploitation of workers during the Asian Games in 1982 as a case in point, civil rights groups are preparing to protect the rights of those who have migrated to the national Capital to work as labourers for the infrastructure needed for Commonwealth Games 2010.

A non-government organisation, the Social Jurist, has set up Labour Rights Group (LRG) to monitor the working conditions of the construction and other workers in Delhi. The group will also, in case of any likely infringement or violation of their rights, provide free legal assistance and support to the workers.

“For the Commonwealth Games, a large number of migratory labour forces will be engaged in construction projects and other work. They tend to be economically exploited by the employers, contractors etc,” Advocate Ashok Agarwal of the Social Jurist pointed out.

He claimed that in the last big sports event organised in Delhi, the Asian Games of 1982, there were so many violations of the rights of the unorganised construction workers that civil rights bodies sought the intervention of the Supreme Court. “Ultimately, the apex court passed a historic judgement issuing several directions to protect the unorganised labour,” he said.

To ensure that such violation of rights is not repeated, the LRG has decided to set up a legal helpline for aggrieved workers, trade unions and civil rights groups.

Referring to the need to set up a legal help group, Mr Agarwal said, “Workers, particularly in the unorganised sector, are subjected to ruthless exploitation. Firstly, we don’t have good labour legislation against economic exploitation. Secondly, some of the existing labour legislation are either outdated or not in the tune with the present time. Moreover, the employers with impunity violate all the existing labour legislation”.

Blaming the government authorities for ‘failing’ to protect the rights of the workers, he said, “For the last few years, the Supreme Court has been, of and on, rendering decisions either nullifying or diluting its earlier decisions that were upholding the rights of the workers. The Social Justice philosophy of the Indian Constitution with regard to the rights of the workers is consciously and systematically being withdrawn and is being replaced by anti-labour laws.”

It was mentioned that out of school children or those who are engaged as child labourers, are the children of the workers engaged in the unorganised sector. “The present working conditions of the workers are exploitative and are responsible for pushing them below the poverty line. We have over the years realised that free market forces are even forcing the workers to withdraw their children from school and to send them to work,” Mr Agarwal claimed.

“The workers employed in the unorganised sectors are not even paid minimum wages payable under the law. They are also deprived of other lawful dues and benefits,” he pointed out. 

New Delhi, October 23
Professor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai has taken over as the new Vice-Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU).

Prof. Pillai has been at the helm of affairs of many higher education institutions during his career spanning over 35years. He has served as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC); Director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bangalore; Vice-Chancellor of the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam; acting Vice-Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology; Founder-Director of the School of Chemical Sciences; Dean of the Faculty of Science; Comptroller of Examinations; Director of College Development Council; Founder-Director of the School of Professional Distance Education; and Chief, Employment and Information Guidance Bureau of the Mahatma Gandhi University.

New Delhi, October 23
Over 200 units of blood was donated by the CRPF personnel at a camp held at the CRPF Staff Camp Hospital today.

It was organised with the assistance of a team of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Poonam Kaushik of AIIMS said that such a camp had come as a relief since it had been facing lack of a regular supply of blood platelets to dengue patients admitted there.

DG, CRPF, Mr Jyoti Kumar Sinha, assured the hospital authorities of cooperation whenever it faces any such difficulties.

He said, “Forces like the CRPF are in constant need of blood, and it is the society that comes to the aid of the forces when they need blood. It is, therefore, all the more necessary that the security forces stand alongside civillians in times of need.”

Faridabad, October 23
A resident of Sector 37 running a property business here was murdered and his body left in his car by some unknown persons in Sector 28 last night.

The son of the victim also suffered injuries when he tried to stop the vehicle in which the criminals tried to get away. A case has been registered by the police in this connection.

According to reports, the deceased Ajay Malhotra (45), resident of house number 672 of Sector 37 was operating from his office, Royal Properties, on Ankhir Road near Bhadkhal-Surajkund Road when at around 9.45 pm, he told his family that he was returning home.

Mr Malhotra again told his family after about 15 minutes that he was on his way home, but when he failed to reach home in the next 30 minutes, one of his relatives called up and found his mobile phone switched off. This made his son Akash (20) go to the office to inquire about the matter.

Akash, who was on a two-wheeler, noticed his father’s car approaching from the other side on the Badkhal flyover, but when he tried to stop it by making a signal, it sped away.

According to the police complaint, the person at the steering wheel made an attempt to run over him when he got close to the car. He was hit and fell on the road. However, he got up and tried to chase the car again. Soon he found it parked by the side of a road in Sector 28. When he opened its door, he found his father’s body lying in a pool of blood.

It is learnt that Ajay had bought a new car about 10 days ago and the murder is suspected to be the result of some dispute over property. It was conducted in a pre-planned move, police claimed.

New Delhi, October 23
The West District police today claimed to have arrested two persons Bijender Singh (24) and Amit Hooda (21) in connection with a murder case of a marketing executive Sandeepan Naimiyar. Naimiyar had gone to Hisar for some official work but did not return home since then.

His missing report was lodged by his wife in which she had said that her husband had talked to her when he was near Hansi, but after that his mobile was switched off.

During the investigation, it was revealed that three cell phones were purchased from the credit card of the deceased after the date of his reported missing and fuel was also purchased for the deceased’s car from the same credit card. Tracing the cell phone numbers, Amit Kumar and Bijender Singh were allegedly arrested.

The duo allegedly confessed that they along with two other accomplices Arvind and Rohit had allegedly intercepted the car of deceased near Hansi with the motive of car-jacking. After strangulating Naimiyar, they allegedly dumped his body in a canal near Sonepat, the police said.— OC