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Labour in Haryana to get welfare cover
Provide water to Janta |
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Lid off blind murder case
Cops create scene at powerhouse
Double up to pay auto, taxi fares
Metro gets world-class rating
Welcome winds, cool, cool
Jamia dept named after Arjun Singh
Couple abandons newborn boy
Case against Mandira Bedi in Ghaziabad court
Two killed as bus hits pole
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Labour in Haryana to get welfare cover
Faridabad, May 1 Disclosing this, the Labour Commissioner of Haryana, Mr K. K. Khandelwal, said here today though this provision was brought through an Act by the Union Government in 1996 Haryana was among those states which had started the work of implementation. Claiming that there was a serious threat to the lives of labourers engaged in construction and related activities, he said a majority of the workers in these sectors were unorganised. There was hardly any agency to safeguard their interests or welfare in case of any mishap or accident. He said the cess to be recovered would be used for the welfare of labourers who would get the membership card of the board. It would cover various risk factors, including mediclaim and insurance. The money would also be used to set up night shelters and other facilities for the beneficiaries. These were non-existent so far. At least 30,000 works of this nature were in progress in the state at any given time, claimed the authorities concerned. It is stated any worker desirous of availing the benefit of the scheme was required to submit an affidavit. There was no need of any attestation from anyone. Officials said the department would take some monthly subscription from the member and issue a card. The welfare board or council supervising the work would have members from various sections of society. It would be headed by the Parliamentary Secretary of the department. The authorities have revealed employers or owners of buildings who fail to follow the new rule will be dealt with strictly as this rule envisages imprisonment of three months, a penalty of about Rs 25,000 or both. |
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Provide water to Janta
New Delhi, May 1 Both the leaders have demanded a CBI enquiry into the decisions, expenditures, tenders of the Delhi Jal Board, cleaning of drains, cleaning of sewers, maintenance works etc. during her tenure. Both the leaders were speaking at a Press conference organised at the BJP Delhi Pradesh headquarters. They said the Capital has been facing serious water crisis for the last nine years. The Congress has never taken serious steps to end this crisis. After bungling in the power privatisation, it was the plan of the Chief Minister that by disposing of valuable properties of the Delhi Jal Board worth hundreds of crores to the foreign companies under the garb of privatisation, the Delhi Jal Board may be handed over to private parties. Dr Harsh Vardhan and Prof. Mukhi claimed that the Chief Minister had assigned the work of assessment to a foreign company, Price Water House Cooper, for the evaluation of the assets of the Delhi Jal Board at cheap price. For this purpose, this company was provided with office space at the first floor of the headquarters of DJB at Jhandewalan. It was also granted advance of crores of rupees for the assessment of the DJB assets. "The Chief Minister has already privatised more than half of the work of DJB surreptitiously. She wanted to benefit by disposing of the entire Jal Board. Now after being exposed, she is telling that the DJB will not be privatised. The Lokayukta Delhi and a former Congress legislator of Delhi late Jagdish Anand had also held her guilty in the case of DJB," the two BJP leaders alleged. They also alleged that a parallel water mafia was active in the Capital with the connivance of the Delhi Government. "It is not afraid of the law and the government. This mafia which is active under the patronage of several Congress leaders is providing water connection privately to the people. It recovers Rs 600 per month to supply water for 15 minutes per day. It is estimated that this mafia is earning Rs 15 crore per month with the connivance of the Delhi Government." |
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Jal Board employee assaulted
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) employees' union today disconnected the water supply in Okhla Phase II in protest against the alleged manhandling of one of its members by brother of a municipal councillor and his supporters. The employee sustained injuries and was admitted to AIIMS.
Later, the water supply was resumed when the local police registered a case against Uadi Singh, brother of the
councillor. The DJB employees' union president Virender Gaur alleged that the victim, Mohan Singh, was attacked by the councillor's brother and the local residents when he tried to disconnect an illegal water connection. He said that disconnecting illegal water connection was very important. "Until such disconnection works are not done, the water supply problem in the national Capital would not be worked out. Leakage in water pipelines and illegal connections are major causes of water shortage in Delhi," he said. The police also claimed that the employee tried to disconnect the illegal water supply when he was attacked. The case has been registered against the prime suspect. |
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Lid off blind murder case
New Delhi, May 1 One Mohd Umar, a resident of Nizamuddin, had lodged a missing report of his son Mehboob (19). The police got the information that the deceased had illicit relations with one Suraiya, wife of a TSR driver Naseem. A maternal uncle of the deceased also gave a vital clue to the police that he had seen his brother with Naseem and his friends near a wine shop around Defence Colony flyover on the night he reportedly went missing. On the basis of that information, Naseem was finally apprehended from a flat in Nizamuddin area. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to be involved in the case. He was having a grudge against the deceased as he was having relations with his wife Suraiya. To take revenge, he hatched a conspiracy to eliminate him with his two like-minded friends Mumtaz and Aash Mohd. As per plan, Mehboob was invited for some drink near a kiosk around Defence Colony flyover. After purchasing liquor from a nearby shop, they moved towards drainage behind Punch Peeran Kabristan. When they noticed that Mehboob was heavily drunk, he was pushed inside the drainage. His head was put inside the muddy water till his death, said a police officer. |
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Cops create scene at powerhouse
Ghaziabad, May 1 According to executive engineer of UP Power Corporation, the Kaushambi substation had remained shut for four hours due to ruckus created by the Delhi Police personnel. The power in many towers had remained disconnected. At about 8.30 pm, the Poshit Gomukh tower was plunged into darkness where a large number of Delhi policemen reside. After sometime, the cops reached the Kaushambi power substation and started manhandling power station employees and damaged the furniture and the building. |
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Double up to pay auto, taxi fares
New Delhi, May 1 This, despite the fact, that there are innumerable complaints against auto drivers and taxi operators of overcharging and misbehaving. A recent survey by an NGO had revealed only a few auto rickshaw drivers went by the electronic meter. The majority demanded fare at their whim and fancy. Several special drives launched by the Delhi Traffic Police and the Transport Department of the Delhi Government have failed to tame these drivers. A fare revision committee set up by the Delhi Government to look into the demands by various auto and taxi unions as well as bus operators to hike the fares, in view of a considerable rise in CNG and diesel prices since the last hike in 2002, had recommended an over twofold increase in fares, sources said. In what could mean a severe dent on the pocket of the daily commuter, the fare fixation committee, headed by the Delhi Finance Secretary and comprising the Planning Secretary of Delhi and many officers of the Delhi Transport Department, had recommended increase in auto fares from Rs 8 for the first one kilometre to Rs 15 and the per km rate to Rs 5 from Rs 3.50 at present, the sources said. Further, the rate for taxis was proposed to be increased from Rs 13 at present for the first one kilometer to Rs 30 while the operators had demanded increase in per km rate from Rs 7 to Rs 10. However, what could pinch the common man the most was the recommendation for an increase in DTC fares. Sources said the committee had recommended hiking the lowest bus fare from Rs 2 at present to Rs 3 or Rs 5. It had also suggested further revision in slabs from the present slabs of Rs 2, Rs 5 and Rs 7 to Rs 5 and Rs 10, or Rs 3, Rs 6, Rs 9 and Rs 12. Representatives of the auto, taxi and bus operators have been meeting officials of the Transport Department over the last week to put forward their demands for a hike. Based on the representations from the operators, the Fare Fixation Committee has framed its recommendations on the hike in fares. The recommendations will be placed before a meeting of the Delhi cabinet on Tuesday, which will take a final decision on the matter. |
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Metro gets world-class rating
New Delhi, May 1 A Surveillance Witness Audit of Delhi Metro was recently conducted by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), which said in its report the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's (DMRC) housekeeping and operational controls were world-class. UKAS was the sole national accreditation body recognised by the government to assess, against international agreed standards, organisations that provide certification, testing, inspection and calibration services. The fact that the DMRC included occupational health and safety in an integrated management system was particularly laudable, UKAS auditor Andrew Marlow said. He said the DMR's efforts on water harvesting and energy saving were a model for other big organisations to follow. DMRC officials last month visited Lahore in Pakistan on the request of authorities in that country to provide suggestions on establishing a Metro system there. |
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Welcome winds, cool, cool
New Delhi, May 1 The drop in mercury from 40.4 degree Celsius yesterday and the season's highest of 42.4 degree Celsius during the weekend, brought some respite for people of the city from the scorching heat that has been sweeping the region since last week. Weathermen attribute the duststorms and thunderstorms in the northern plains to the strong wave of easterly winds over Indo-Gangetic plains. The next couple of days could bring more relief with weathermen forecasting a further drop in day temperatures over Delhi and other parts of Northwest India during the next two to three days due to influence of the duststorms and thunderstorms caused by the easterlies. The weather office says that duststorms or thunderstorms are likely over Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh during the next two to three days. Consequently, the day temperatures over northwest India are expected to fall further giving some more respite from the prevailing hot weather conditions over the region. Meanwhile, the Met office has forecast a mainly clear sky in Delhi likely to become partly cloudy during the next 24 hours with the possibility of duststorms or thundershowers by evenings. They have also forecast drop in maximum temperature in Delhi to 38 degree Celsius tomorrow. |
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Jamia dept named after Arjun Singh
New Delhi, May 1 Jamia has named the Center for Distance and Open Learning after the minister. Further, a road inside the campus will also bear the minister's name. The chief media coordinator at Jamia, Rakshanda Jalil, informed that a new building dedicated to the center would open on May 4. The center is also being shifted to a new three-storey building recently after aid was announced by the UGC. The department currently offers nearly 50 courses like a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), a diploma in power generation engineering, diploma in management and practice of early childcare and a Bachelor of Commerce. Some 3000 students from different parts of the country are enrolled there. |
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NCC cadets to discipline Metro commuters
New Delhi, May 1 As part of the campaign, at least 200 NCC cadets will be deployed during peak time at Metro stations handling large number of commuters, initially for a period of two months. The programme was kicked off at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station today by Minister of State for Defence M. M. Pallam Raju. The DMRC Director (Operations), Mr Raj Kumar, and the NCC Director-General, Lt-Gen Prakash S. Chaudhary, were present on the occasion. According to the DMRC, NCC cadets will encourage commuters to stand in queue and help ladies, disabled and elderly passengers. They will also distribute handouts on Metro etiquette. The cadets could help make Metro stations orderly in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games in 2010. Initially, cadets will be deployed at Rajiv Chowk, Kashmere Gate, Shahdara, Welcome, Inderlok, Pitampura, Rohini (West), Vishwavidyalaya, New Delhi, Karol Bagh, Janak Puri (West), Uttam Nagar (East) and Dwarka Mor. At present, more than five lakh commuters travel on the Delhi Metro network everyday. One of the reasons for seeking the NCC's help in managing the crowd has been the fact that as long as the security or Metro staff is present, people stand in queues but when the staff is not there the situation becomes chaotic. Metro will try to engage more cadets in the near future to manage the crowd at the busy stations that has become an uphill task. The DMRC will also play short films at Metro stations telling people on how to board and disembark from trains in an orderly way. The films will play the story of two brothers, Lallan and Khilavan, who get separated while boarding a Metro train on their very first trip, as people fight to board and disembark from the train. The films show the two brothers reuniting a few months later, again at a Metro station, where the chaos has given way to an organised set-up. Meanwhile, after achieving the record of always meeting project deadlines, the Delhi Metro has also been showing sensitivity toward conserving the city's greenery while carrying out construction activity. According to officials, the DMRC has been prompt in its afforestation drive and has planted a greater number of trees than were cut while constructing Line II of the rail network. While the DMRC was supposed to plant 10 trees for every single tree axed, in Line II it planted 10 trees ex-situ and one tree in-situ from where it was cut. Besides this, the DMRC also agreed to a realignment of Phase II to save some of the Ridge area coming under the axe after a meeting with environmentalists and a centrally empowered committee. The Metro alignment in Phase II has been done so as to save maximum number
of trees. Meanwhile, praising DMRC for the speed and quality of its work, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said the Delhi Metro should be considered a role model for all government projects. Speaking at the DMRC's 12th Foundation Day, she said other government organisations should study how the DMRC completed its projects on time without encountering stumbling blocks that delayed many projects.
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Couple abandons newborn boy
Gurgaon, May 1 Rajesh who is a migratory labourer and Rubi were blessed with a child on April 9 in local Kathuria Hospital. The baby had some breathing problem. Due to the malady, the couple got the baby admitted to Life Line Hospital in Sector 15-II. The hospital is alleged to have told the couple that the child would need some surgical intervention in heart. The couple stopped visiting the hospital after the hospital told them of the details of the disease and the subsequent medical intervention. The couple resided in Mohammadpur Jharsa village. The hospital staff did make a search for the parents of the child at the given address, but they were not to be found. The matter came to light after the hospital brought the matter to the notice of the police. Meanwhile, the hospital has kept the child on intravenous fluid. Search for the couple, who are natives of Bihar, is on. The father of the child worked with a private company located in Manesar. Report coming in at the time of filing this dispatch is that a person claiming to be Rajesh and father of the baby has told the hospital staff that he will come and collect the child.
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Case against Mandira Bedi in Ghaziabad court
Ghaziabad, May 1 Mandira Bedi had worn a sari on April 28 at the World Cup finals which had depicted the Indian National Flag in a disrespectful manner. This sari had been designed by designer Punit Nanda. The case under Prevention of Insults to National Honours Act of 1971 has been filed in the court of the Ghaziabad's Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ms Beena Chaudhari. Advocates Satypal Yadav and Lokesh Kumar have been made witness in
the case.
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Two killed as bus hits pole
New Delhi, May 1 The injured were rushed to the local Sanjay Gandhi Hospital, where the condition of two of them is said to be serious. Among the deceased, one was a resident of Gurdaspur in Punjab. The driver of the bus managed to flee soon after the accident. No arrests have been made so far.
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