The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	Thousands stranded as flights grounded Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 23 It was another day of thick fog in Delhi today, which resulted in both the rail and air traffic to and from the city getting affected. The flight schedule at the Delhi airport was thrown out of gear for nearly three hours this morning with the Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) being implemented at the airports for more than eight hours. Although the official figure put the delayed flights at 55 reports suggested that almost 70 flights were delayed due to the thick blanket of fog which reduced the runway visibility to zero. Thousands of passengers were stranded for hours, as there was no flight movement between 4.00 am and 9.00 am. “The runway visibility was zero for over three hours and no flights landed or took off from the airport. However, the CAT-III (B) runway used during fog was opened for operation after 7.30 am,” said a spokesperson of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). The LVP was implemented at 3.30 am and was terminated at around 11.30 am. This also resulted in the morning departure flights being rescheduled to after 9.00 am. At least 55 overnight domestic flights were waiting to take off and two flights from Dubai were delayed. Three international flights, including one Royal Jordan flight, were also diverted. While two were diverted to Mumbai, the Royal Jordan flight was diverted to Karachi. One Air France cargo flight had to be cancelled. Four Jet Airways flights to Jaipur, Hyderabad and Vadodara were delayed and two flights of the same airlines including one to Thoise were cancelled. Two Air Deccan flights to Mumbai and Bangalore were delayed. Several Air Sahara flights had to be rescheduled. The runway visibility at the airport was much better at noon at 1,500 metres. However, the Met reports suggested that it could fall to below 800 metres after 7.30 pm. The India Meteorological Department said the fog situation was unlikely to improve until Monday. “Delhi would continue to witness fog over the next two days and the minimum temperature would hover around 8 degrees Celsius.” On Saturday, the Capital recorded a minimum of 8.2 degrees Celsius, slightly above the normal temperature. The situation was quite the same for the rail traffic also with a large number of trains getting delayed due to the foggy conditions.
	Doctors at AIIMS call off hunger strike Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 23 AIIMS Resident Doctors’ Association today called off its relay hunger strike, saying they will file a fresh petition in the Supreme Court next month against the reservation issue. “As of now we want to channelise all our efforts towards the petition and the legal battle ahead. We will challenge reservation on caste basis in the court of law,” RDA leader Dr Anil Sharma said. He said the petition will be filed in the first week of January. “We will fight reservation on all fronts. Though the matter is already in court. We will file a fresh petition,” he added. Dr Sharma reiterated that the welfare of patients is a priority for them and patient care will not be affected in the world-renowned healthcare institution. The Youth for Equality (YFE), which is spearheading the anti-OBC reservation agitation, has begun a mass mobilisation campaign against the Bill, which was approved by Parliament last week. The agitation will turn into a mass movement and YFE representatives are in touch with several organisations within and outside the national capital to garner support for the anti-quota agitation, Dr Sharma said. Students of Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and IP University have launched protests against reservation. The indefinite hunger strike, which began on December 14, had turned into a relay protest as the fasting doctors were showing acute signs of weakness. Consequently, a batch of 20 AIIMS resident doctors on December 20 replaced the 25 doctors, who have been on a hunger strike for six days. The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Bill, 2006, which provides 27 per cent quota for OBC students in higher educational institutions maintained and aided by the Union Government, was approved by both Houses of Parliament last week.
	Review of security at govt-run hospitals Our Correspondent New Delhi, December 23 The government is reviewing security measures at state-run hospitals in view of some incidents of crime in government-run hospitals in the Capital over the past few days. “Recent cases of assault on doctors by relatives of patients at Guru Tegh Bahadur and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospitals have prompted the government to review the security system of the hospitals,” an official said. Last week Delhi Health Secretary Mr D.S. Negi met the Home Secretary (Centre) in this regard and apprised him of the security system in LNJP and GTB hospitals where some doctors were beaten up by agitated relatives of patients, alleging that proper treatment was not being provided to them. “It is not possible to keep a guard on the activities of all visitors. However, efforts are being taken to fill the gaps wherever needed,” added the official. At GTB and LNJP hospitals, all vacant posts of security guards have been filled, while strength of supervisors has also been increased for the safety of the staff.
	481 polio cases detected in UP this year Parmindar Singh Ghaziabad, December 23 This year polio has targeted a large number of children in the state, including Meerut, Ghaziabad and Muzzafarnagar districts. Countrywide some 583 cases of polio have come to notice this year, including 481 cases pertaining to Uttar Pradesh alone. In Meerut division, some 110 cases of polio have been reported with 29 in Meerut, 24 in Ghaziabad, 12 in Bulandshahr, 33 in Muzzafarnagar, 8 in Saharanpur, 5 in Gautam Budh Nagar and while 3 have been reported in Bagpat district. State-wise, Bihar has reported 48 cases, Uttranchal 13, Punjab 6, Delhi 5 while Maharashtra has reported 4 cases of polio. One case each in the states of Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Chandigarh has been confirmed. It may be mentioned that the Government of India has undertaken a country-wide polio evaluation campaign with the help of World Health Organization (WHO), in which crores of rupees on each phase of the campaign is being incurred. Seven phases of this campaign have been completed in UP. But in spite of this, 50 cases of AAFP have come to notice out of which 3 were confirmed. The confirmation of a large number of polio cases in Meerut, Ghaziabad, Muzzafarnagar and Bulandshahr is a matter of grave concern. Meanwhile, A fresh polio case has been reported from Rohini this year, where an eight-month old child Raja was detected with the paralytic disease. A resident of jhuggi cluster in the north west district, the boy had taken four to seven doses, an official of the National Polio Programme said. With this the total number of polio case in Delhi has gone up to six, he said.
	Mini secretariat continues to be filthy, under-utilised Tribune News Service Faridabad, December 23 The mini-secretariat building at Sector 12, which serves as headquarters of the district administration, continues to be underutilized and in a state neglect despite being highlighted by the media, including The Tribune. Moreover, several government offices and departments are yet to be shifted to the building, with space going waste. The premises consist of two buildings, one of which is six storied and the other four storied, and houses the offices of senior district officials including the Deputy Commissioner, Additional Deputy Commissioner, SDM, City Magistrate and the SSP. However, according to sources, the buildings ‘failed’ to serve the purpose for which they were meant due to several reasons. “The buildings are unsafe from security point of view since they are open from all sides and there are no metal detectors or policemen to keep a vigil on the movement of suspected persons,” revealed a staff member on the condition of anonymity. “There are no generators on composite basis and the offices of certain officers have been given a generator supply,” added another employee. The spacious basement of the building is lying unutilized, and could be used as parking space, which is limited at the moment, causing congestion and chaos besides posing a safety hazard in case a fire brigade vehicle needs to reach the building. It can also be used to operate an office canteen, a much-needed facility for an office housing such a large staff. In its absence, the staff and visitors to the complex are obliged to depend on tea stalls being run by enterprising hawkers outside the building as well on each floor of the complex, which could compromise the security of sensitive files etc. These stalls also add to the filthy environment prevailing in the complex. The staff on higher floors also face problems with the elevators, which are unreliable, while those on the ground floor complained about the poor functioning of wash rooms meant for the staff.
	Man gets life term for kidnapping child Our Correspondent New Delhi, December 23 A Delhi court today sentenced a 25-year-old man to life imprisonment for kidnapping a nine-year-old boy for a ransom of Rs 4 lakh two years ago. “Those who kidnap children for ransom are parasites of society who make merry at the cost of others,” observed an Additional Sessions Judge while giving the judgment. It also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Brijesh Kumar Gautam for kidnapping Vijay. Rejecting the convict’s leniency plea on the ground that he was the sole bread-earner for his ailing parents, the court said: “Offenders of such crime deserve no leniency; rather they should be awarded punishment which can deter other similar wrong-doers.” According to the prosecution, Brijesh kidnapped Vijay on November 7, 2004 from outside his residence in East Delhi and took him to Allahabad. The boy’s parents received a ransom call for Rs 4 lakh the next day. A police team sent to the place nabbed the convict along with the boy on November 15, the same year. The prosecution examined 14 witnesses to prove its case including the statement given by the victim. The court found Brijesh guilty of offences under Section 364A (kidnapping for ransom), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.
	Five cars charred as truck hits road divider, catches fire Our Correspondent Noida, December 23 A trawler coming from Gurgaon caught fire as it tried to avoid collision with an Indica car near Fortis Hospital in Sector 62 last night. The flames in trawler had also charred five cars being transported in the trawler. As the trawler No HR-55-4322 coming from Gurgaon reached Fortis Hospital, an Indica car suddenly came in its path from the opposite direction. As the driver attempted to take a quick turn, the trawler hit a road divider, its tyres burst with a loud bang and the vehicle then caught fire. The petrol from the fuel tank of trawler further fanned the flames. As a result, five cars–three Alto, one Wagon R and one Maruti 800 were badly charred. Trawler driver was also injured in this accident which took place at 12.30 am near Fortis Hospital. The driver was rushed to the hospital. Indica car driver had sped away in his car after the accident. The fire brigade officials had to block one side of the road to control the blaze.

‘Master Plan norms should be flexible’
Syed Ali Ahmed
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 23
Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) norms should be flexible to develop the city in a proper manner, making construction of buildings and other things for citizens and local government easy, said Professor Subir Saha, Director-cum-Vice Chancellor of the School of Planning and Architecture at an open house discussion on “Public private partnership for formulation and implementation of the Master Plans”.

Highlighting the importance of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in development of the city in terms of Master Plan, he emphasised the proper enforcement to make the PPP successful.

Former Engineer-in-Chief of the civic body D. Mukhopadhyay said, “The principal of large-scale acquisition of land by the DDA has earlier resulted into many problems and is one of the causes of creation of unauthorised colonies. It is not clear whether development by private participation will remain limited only to big real estate developers or trickle down to the level of land owners.”

He said that a scheme should be worked out in the new Master Plan in connection with the farm houses so that individual farmhouse owners could have option to take up construction of residential group housing flats or commercial complexes and institutional buildings on the farm land.

Former Town Planner of the MCD who was actively associated in drafting MPD 2021, D. D. Mathur said that no one was still serious about the demand of potable water supply and sewage disposal facilities required for the projected population of 2.30 crores by 2021. Head of the Transport Planning Department of School of Planning and Architecture, Professor P. K. Sarkar said, “One Master Plan for the period up to 2021 is a long period and the Master Plan norms should be flexible in nature. Once the Master Plan 2021 is approved, the inputs from expert planners should be incorporated in the formulation of zonal plans and local area plans.”

A retired IAS officer Y. D. Bankata said, “The draft MPD-2021 as such does not lead us to any conclusion. Neither the recommendations therein are transparent nor they define the extent of public private partnership.”

High Court
Petition against Suhaib Illayasi dismissed

New Delhi, December 23
Delhi High Court today dismissed Rukma Singh’s petition against Suhaib Illayasi, anchor of a popular TV programme ‘India’s most wanted’, seeking further investigation into the death of her daughter who was married to him.

Directing her to raise the issue before the trial judge, the HC observed that the chargesheet had been filed and the trial was going on in the court. “Therefore, the direction cannot be given at this stage,” it said.

Singh, mother of deceased Anju Illiyasi, had sought further investigation by the CBI into the case, alleging that the police had failed to investigate the matter fairly.

She contended that her son-in-law, facing charges of killing his wife over dowry, had influenced the probe conducted by the police.

“As a popular TV anchor, Suhaib used his star status and influenced the investigation from the very beginning,” she said.

Accusing the police of ‘helping’ Illayasi in the case, she alleged that some police officers were befriended by him to suppress some important facts relating to the case.

Anju Illayasi’s body was found at her Mayur Vihar house in east Delhi on January 10, 2000.

Illayasi had been facing trial in a court following a complaint filed by Rukma Singh that he harassed her daughter for dowry which led her to death.—PTI

Cow heads recovered
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 23
The recovery of 15-20 decomposing cow heads near Hydarpur Canal led to a tense situation in the area today as news of the recovery spread like wildfire and a large number of local residents, including some activists of Hindu Manch, gathered at the site.

The police, however, denied this, saying that no calls of recovery of animal heads were received.