New Delhi, March 20
The Delhi Metro has not affected the city's green lung, the Delhi ridge, and will only infringe a very small area in it due to unavoidable reasons, the Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr Namo Narain Meena has told Parliament.

In a written reply, he told Lok Sabha that the Metro rail had not affected the ridge area so far. However, the proposed Central Secretariat-Qutab Minar-Gurgaon corridors, already approved by the government, would infringe the ridge area at three locations, he added.

These infringements were unavoidable and involved only a small area of the ridge measuring 5.56 hectares on permanent basis and 2.17 hectares on temporary basis during the construction phase only.

During construction, it would be ensured that a minimum number of trees were affected in the ridge area. Besides, compensatory plantation for the trees being felled will be taken up. The construction methodology would be such that there was least disturbance to surrounding areas, the minister assured.

New Delhi, March 20
The Ministry of Tourism favours a single window approach for promoting construction of budget hotels, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

In a reply, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, Ms Ambika Soni said that there was a shortage of about 30,000 rooms in Delhi and its National Capital Region (NCR) for the Commonwealth Games 2010.

The Ministry was in constant touch with the various land owning agencies like Railways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Delhi Development Authority and Ministry of Urban Development to identify additional hotel sites, she said. These agencies and the concerned state governments of NCR too have been advised to follow investor-friendly land policies and a single window approach for promoting hotel projects and also allotting sites on revenue-sharing basis.

The state governments have also been advised to grant extra floor-to-area-ratio (FAR) for hotels and permit extra commercial usage so that budget hotels are promoted. The minister said all these efforts were in the direction of filling the gap. 

New Delhi, March 20
A group of doctors specialising in various fields have concluded that Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is a killer disease. This finding was presented in a study entitled Prospective Registry on Venous Thromboembolic Events (PROVE).

Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT is a condition in which a blood clot forms in the deep veins, usually in the legs. This condition can be fatal if a part of the clot breaks off and blocks blood vessels in the lungs, a condition called Pulmonary Embolism.

DVT is a common disease and claims more lives than AIDS/ HIV, breast cancer, prostate cancer and road accidents combined. However, it is a lesser known disease because of low awareness and the myth that DVT does not affect the Indian population as much as the Western population.

The symptoms of DVT are rarely recognisable and often go undetected. Almost 50-60 per cent of DVT cases don't show any visible symptoms and hence it is commonly referred to as the 'silent killer'. Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is responsible for about 5-10 per cent of all "in hospital"

deaths. However, studies have shown that hospital mortality due to untreated Pulmonary Embolism can be reduced from 30 per cent to nearly 8 per cent if treated appropriately.

Most of the deaths occur when the diagnosis is delayed or never made.

The PROVE registry is a multinational, multi-centre, observational study, involving 254 centres in 19 countries, including India. The objective of the study was to understand the type of thromboprophylaxis (preventive care) received by patients.

The PROVE study establishes that while patients in India have similar clinical risk profiles as compared to the rest of the population (19 countries), fewer patients receive prior thromboprophylaxis (preventive care) i.e. 7 per cent as compared to 19 per cent.

Faridabad, March 20
The city and parts of the rural areas of the district report many accidents due to overloaded and overspeeding dumper trucks and commercial vehicles. The movement of such vehicles also causes heavy pollution. The city is still to have any CNG or LPG pump.

Thousands of commercial vehicles, including about 20,000 three-wheelers run on diesel engines, which hardly comply with the emission norms.

According to Rajkumar, a resident of Sector 21-D, trucks that come from the Pali village direction and go towards Delhi dominate the roads in the area, especially Surajkund-Bhadkhal Road. It is quite dangerous to move on these roads. These trucks are driven at a high speed leading to several accidents.

It is reported that there is a hub of stone crushers near Pali village. The road material prepared by these crushers is transported to nearby areas mainly by the trucks.

While the crusher zone itself has been a cause of air pollution for the villages nearby and even for the residents of Sector 49, the pollution control department has failed to check the problem due to corruption at various levels.

Though the Supreme Court had banned mining of stone and building material in the Surajkund area and the Aravalli Hills falling within five kms limit from the Delhi border, it is learnt that dumpers and trucks still move in a large number, carrying the material from the areas still not covered in the ban.

These vehicles are overloaded many times and do not follow the speed norms, resulting in accidents and loss of revenue to the state government.

Claiming that the overloaded dumper trucks have become a bane of the people of Palwal, Hodal and Hathin, a social activist based here said this needs to be checked in the larger interest of the people.

He alleged that the police and other departments concerned had been helpless in view of the political shelter to such an activity.

He said that a large number of accidents had taken place in the region, taking many innocent lives and the residents had been left with no option than to block roads.

Demanding a ban on parking of the commercial vehicles in the residential areas, Suresh Kaushik of the Manav Sewa Samiti said that there was a need to impound such vehicles, besides the launching of CNG-operated public vehicles in the city.

New Delhi, March 20
A man shot himself in a north-west Delhi locality today after firing indiscriminately at his in-laws, injuring four of them.

Prem Singh went to the Mukherjee Nagar residence of his estranged wife Deepti today morning where she had been staying with her parents, and fired at them after an argument, police said.

Deepti's mother Asha, sister Neha, aunt Usha and an uncle were injured in the firing, they said, adding that the injured were recuperating at Bara Hindu Rao Hospital.

Prem Singh had married Deepti in January last year against the wishes of their parents.

Differences emerged between the two soon after the marriage and they had frequent fights, prompting them to file for divorce.

Deepti had been living with her parents in Mukherjee Nagar for quite some time.

According to the police, Prem Singh arrived at the house this morning and an argument ensued. In a fit if rage, Prem Singh reportedly whipped out his gun and sprayed bullets at his in-laws and then shot himself dead.

The early morning incident caused considerable panic in the area.

The police said that the body had been sent for post-mortem examination and the firearm used in the shooting had been seized.

Further investigations were continuing.

New Delhi, March 20
A retired Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE), accused of administering intoxicants to two women passengers and stealing their luggage while they were returning home from Pakistan by train 11 years ago, has been acquitted by a Delhi Court for want of sufficient evidence.

"There is nothing in her (Bhuri Begum's) statement that she got herself medically examined to lend support to the prosecution version that she and her daughter (Rehana) were administered intoxicating substances in tea at Azadpur Railway Station," Additional Sessions Judge Narinder Kumar said. The court, in a recent order, absolved 67-year-old R L Mehta, then serving as TTE in Northern Railway, of the charges under Sections 379 (theft) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) of the Indian Penal Code.

Seventy-year-old Begum, a resident of Moradabad (UP), had lodged a complaint with the Shalimar Bagh police station in north-west Delhi on January 13, 1996 alleging that Mehta along with his accomplices committed theft of their luggage containing dry fruits and other items from Azadpur Railway Station.

New Delhi, March 20
The anti-narcotics wing of Delhi Police has seized a sizeable quantity of drugs in separate incidents over the last few days.

Twenty-two kilograms of heroin was seized from three persons last Thursday while they were waiting near Gurdwara Majnu Ka Tilla in north-west Delhi to deliver the contraband to somebody. The seized contraband, worth Rs 22 crore in the international market, is said to have originated in Afghanistan.

The arrested have been identified as Surjeet Singh, Manjeet Singh and Gurusewak Singh, all of them in their early thirties and hailing from Punjab. The police said that a hunt was on to trace one Jagir Singh, who is believed to be the main supplier. Surjeet Singh has a history of involvement in drug trafficking and currency forging.

The trio had come from Punjab in a car to deliver the contraband in Delhi.

In another case, the police arrested one Mohammed Aslam in Ashok Vihar area of East Delhi with 13 grams of cocaine last week. A gram of cocaine has a street value of Rs 3,500.

On interrogation, Aslam allegedly disclosed that he got the drug from his cousin Naved, a resident of Mumbai, after which a police team was sent to the western metropolis to arrest him.

In yet another case, the police seized 1.5 kg of brown sugar from two persons hailing from Uttar Pradesh. 

Ghaziabad, March 20
Ghaziabad is fast becoming a city of robbers. Armed robbers looted Shubam petrol pump early in the morning today on Meerut Road after holding its employees captive at gunpoint and decamped with Rs 35,000 and some mobile phones.

In the afternoon, some car-borne robbers snatched the purse of a lady doctor Ms Sonam Khan who was going on her scooter. This happened near the police headquarters. The doctor's purse had thousands of rupees and a cell phone. Dr Sonam Khan along with her husband runs a hospital in Dasna.

She was on the pillion while her husband Dr S.K. Khan was driving the two-wheeler.

As their scooter slowed down after crossing the

police headquarters, two persons in a car came up from the rear and snatched her purse carrying Rs 5,000 and a cell phone. The Khans had lodged a report with the Mussori police station.

In the third loot, a lady teacher, Mr Sumera Kakkar was going with her child on a rickshaw at about 7 pm in Gulmohar Enclave. As her rickshaw entered Nehru Nagar near Yashoda hospital, a youth on a bike snatched her purse and sped away. Police have not been able to nab any of the robbers or find a clue about them. There is panic especially among women in the mahanagar due to the incidents of loots and purse-snatching.

Moradabad, March 20
A murder report against four cops, including the SO in-charge, Majhola police station, has been registered.

They have been indicted for illegally detaining Vijay Saini, alias Shetty, who later died in police custody.

Shetty's brother had lodged a murder complaint against staff officer in-charge, Majhola police station, in-charge police post across railway line, in-charge police post, Lakri Fazalpur, and a constable on Monday.

A report has also been registered by the police against some agitators who had torched the two police posts and office of SOG Moradabad.

The family members and a large number of residents of Ekta Colony had indulged in brickbatting, arson and violence after the death of Shetty on Sunday. Most of the agitators were women of Ekta Colony.

Heavy police contingent and PAC were deployed in the town for the cremation of Shetty.

Gurgaon, March 20
Three unidentified persons are alleged to have attacked a four-member police team when it tried to verify their activities.

An FIR has been registered following the team leader, a sub-inspector, lodging a complaint. The incident took place last night. As per the complaint, the police team had a report of some persons, who armed with iron pipes and rods, had assembled at Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and were conspiring to commit some anti-social act.

When the police team confronted them and inquired about their activities, they attacked the members. The SI and a constable are alleged to have suffered a minor hurt in the scuffle. The three escaped under the cover of darkness.—TNS

New Delhi, March 20
Over 130 students of NP Bengali Sr. Secondary School, Gole Market, who scored maximum marks in the respective subjects in their Secondary and Senior Secondary Examinations conducted by CBSE in 2006 were felicitated today at a function organised in the school.

Mr Mansur Ali Sayed, Chief Vigilance Officer, NDMC, distributed prizes among the meritorious students.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sayed said that imparting education was the utmost priority of the civic body.

Appreciating the performance shown by the students, Mr Sayed expressed the hope that these children will excel in future in whichever field they choose. —TNS

New Delhi, March 20
Dr Tarun Gupta, MBBS (Cal.), M S (Surg.), FACS, FIMSA, today took charge as president of the Indian Medical Association's New Delhi Branch.

Dr Gupta is an eminent doctor presently employed as Laparoscopic and General Surgeon of Rockland Hospital and Fortis Dhal Hospital.

Speaking after taking charge, Dr Gupta emphasised the importance of better patient-doctor relationship in order to provide better health services to citizens. He also criticised quackery.