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Blueline crisis ends
Satellite eye on encroached land
CBI files closure report in forgery case
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New Delhi, July 13 The DMRC has floated a tender for operators for its specially customised fleet of feeder buses. It has already placed orders for these buses, which are expected to be on road within two months. Auto major Tata is manufacturing these buses at their factories in Jaipur and Lucknow.
Waste management plan
Sex education can contain population growth
DUJ flays Rice sermon
Eco-battalions to march in Haryana
New engineering college in South Delhi
School bag woes
Drug pusher held
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Blueline crisis ends
New Delhi, July 13 The bus operators also demanded that the government should mark lanes on roads as at many places there is no mark to drive the bus in a lane. The Chief Minister assured the bus operators that they would be given full protection. She will have a meeting on Monday with the traffic police to discuss the issue. The meeting will also be attended by the bus operators. She warned the bus operators to follow the guidelines given by the transport department, traffic rules and install speed governors in all the buses. Of the total 4,200 Blueline buses, 3,500 buses were on road in addition to 2,800 DTC buses. Delhi minister of transport Haroon Yusuf today claimed that by September, 550 low-floor buses would be driven on Delhi roads. A tender has been issued for 2,000 low-floor buses that would be brought by February next year. Of them, 200 buses would be airconditioned on the line of buses of BEST company in Mumbai. Sources said that Reliance company was also trying to run its buses in the national Capital. Recently, Anil Ambani had a meeting with the Delhi Chief Minister on this subject. However, the transport minister denied this information saying that it was a rumour. A senior official of the transport department suggested that various corporate houses should be given chance to run their buses in Delhi. |
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Satellite eye on encroached land
Faridabad, July 13 It will also keep a watch on constructions in the region, especially in the remote areas. This was stated by Anil
Dhabas, the new District Town Planner (DTP) Enforcement of HUDA here today. He said the initial survey had found that the office had been facing problems in keeping a check and monitoring the constructions in and around the city, where HUDA owned the land. It was decided that the office would acquire the latest means of technology, including the technique of satellite survey, which would help detect even a small structure in any part of the area. Admitting that there had been an acute shortage of staff in the department to conduct surveys, he said there were several pockets in the city where unauthorized constructions had taken place. While some of these might have been issued notices, he said there could be many which were to be issued notices. It may be recalled that about 100 acres of HUDA land has been faced with the problem of encroachment. The department has recently launched a drive to recover about 26 acres which has not been entangled in court cases. The department has razed hundreds of jhuggis and hutments in Sector 20-B here recently and recovered over two acres of land. The DTP Enforcement has issued notices in case of several encroachments along the national highway here, where several constructions have emerged in the past few
years. Dhabas said that the department would also take action against the illegal communication towers put atop the residential buildings in various sectors and colonies here. He said there had been several complaints received in this regard. "There had been several dozen towers installed on the residential buildings in the city, which was a gross violation of all the acts," stated Deepak Gupta, a resident of Greenfields colony here. He said he had been running from pillar to post for over a year for an action against such a tower installed on a flatted building, where he had been residing. Construction activity in at least 39 colonies in Hodal and four at Palwal town in the district has also been a cause of concern for the department as the state government which regularized these colonies about five years ago has not defined the limit of the colonies which have been expanding ever since, said an official of the department. |
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CBI files closure report in forgery case
New Delhi, July 13 Filing the closure report in the court of special judge G P Mittal, the investigating agency expressed its inability to gather evidence against the two prime accused - Ashwani Sharma and Naveen Kaushik, the consultant and secretary of 'Vijeta' Co-Operative Group Housing Scheme (CGHS) respectively - named in the FIR by it. No evidence has come on record to establish the fact that the two accused - Navin Kaushik and Ashwani Sharma - had obtained the control over the society by fraudulent means. The CBI also failed to establish any concrete evidence against them, the judge said in his order. 'Vijeta CGHS' was registered on January 31, 1984 and liquidated on December 20, 1990. But, it was allegedly revived on August 22, 1999, by Navin Kaushik with the help of Ashwani Sharma and seven other unknown registrar of co-operative society (rcs) officials after reconstructing the society's file on the basis of false verification report submitted by the other accused assistant registrars in his office, the agency alleged in its FIR. Kaushik and Sharma entered into a criminal conspiracy with other unknown RCS officials to revive the defunct society by using forged and fabricated documents to get land allotment from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the agency alleged. The society was revived with the only intention of cheating the DDA by getting land allotment at much cheaper rates as compared to prevailing market prices, the agency alleged in the FIR. Both the accused and other RCS officials with their alleged intention gave due weightage to the society and did not verify the genuineness of the documents and falsely conducted and submitted fake verifications, the FIR stated. CBI had registered a case against Sharma and Kaushik under Sections 120-b (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged documents as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code and some other relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. |
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Metro to add 419 feeder buses
New Delhi, July 13 According to the DMRC spokesperson, the buses can seat 18 to 20 persons with 10 persons standing. The buses will be environment-friendly with CNG engine with aesthetics and safety as important features. "The prototype of bus is ready and was inspected by DMRC chief E. Sreedharan on June 27, who suggested some modifications," he said. Initially, 120 buses will be inducted, though the State Transport Authority (STA) has permitted the DMRC to procure 419 buses. Now that the DMRC has floated the tender for operators, the entire scheme is expected to be operational in two months time. As per the DMRC official, the STA has made the DMRC a licensee for the new buses and Delhi Metro will enter into an agreement with private operators for running them. The buses will be handed over to the private operators on lease-and-transfer basis, who will be required to pay back the cost of the vehicles in five years after which they will become owners. Feeder buses to Metro stations, already running under the STA permit, will continue to operate as usual, the official added. The buses will run as feeder to the Metro on routes varying from three to 15 km along 21 routes initially and increase to 36 routes as more buses are added. All feeder buses will have Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment for real-time tracking and online alerts. The technology will allow real time tracking of the vehicles based on location, speed and time and all data related to trips like route traveled, halting positions, location, time and duration of halts can be replayed at any time. The GPS equipment will also provide critical alerts such as overspeeding, deviation from route, over stopping, unauthorised stopping, emergency alerts and SMS through control center, which will monitor the movement of vehicles. The new features in these buses are that the driver's photograph will be displayed in each bus and all drivers will be required to have an authorised license and a public service vehicle badge. They will wear specified uniforms and will be given regular training, including refresher courses after intervals. The buses will be maintained by the operator and a fine of Rs 5,000 can be imposed on him if found lacking. |
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Waste management plan
New Delhi, July 13 An advisory group consisting of eminent professionals, academicians, civic society groups and RWAs has been formed to develop a comprehensive plan to tackle all aspects. |
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Sex education can contain population growth
New Delhi, July 13 According to the experts, high population is a menace to our country, becoming a deterrent in the path of development; its impact is glaringly seen on the quality of environment, state of natural resources, standard of living and quality of life. Sex is considered to be a taboo in a majority of the backward states of the country and people hesitate to discuss it with a doctor which is why ignorance leads to unwanted births. The total fertility rate is more in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Rajasthan. It is much more than the targeted TFR of 2.1, according to a survey conducted by Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh- a society of the ministry of health and family welfare. While the government claims to supply 1.6 billion condoms a year, 47% of Indian couples have never used contraceptives in their lives, said the survey. "People in rural areas shy away from discussing sex-related issues, thereby leading a life in ignorance and myth, our organization thus plans to establish a call centre service where women pose their personal sex-related query on the use of contraceptives," said Shailaja Chandra, executive director, Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh. Bases on National Family Health Survey (2005-06), United Nations Population Fund report pointed out that only 49 per cent of Indian couples used modern methods of contraceptives and 9 out of 10 contraceptive users were women. The report also pointed out the crucial role played by men in family planning. It is to be noted that 51 per cent of India's population lies in the reproductive age group and recent studies have shown that the preference for pre-marital sex is growing among the young. The need for timely sex education is reflected in a survey conducted by The Week magazine, of unmarried young Indians in 2002 where, 69 per cent of men admitted to have had pre-marital sex compared to 38 per cent of women. In the 16-19 group, 45 per cent had pre-marital sex, while 27 per cent were 15 years or under and 28 per cent were 20 years or older. |
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DUJ flays Rice sermon
New Delhi, July 13 In a statement issued, the DUJ reacted sharply to the statement of US Secretary of State Condolezza Rice to utilise the platform of the US-India business council to decry NAM. DUJ president S.K. Pande called upon the journalistic fraternity to “strengthen a new information order and fight for small and medium newspapers to save movements for the defence of the integrity and sovereignity of developing countries. It is indeed “ominous”, the DUJ said, that increasing pressures for nuclear deals are being mounted. “Attempts were made to project the issue of whether nuclear weapons were present on board the US ship Nimitz as a mere song and dance mega event,” the DUJ added. It also called for a “revival of the tone and tenure of NAMEDIA Declaration on the theme of many voices one world.” |
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Eco-battalions to march in Haryana
Gurgaon, July 13 Sources in the forest department informed that of the two battalions, each would have 1,000 retired army officials. According to the proposal, the state would be divided into zones and the members of the battalions distributed to maintain the greenery in the state as per requirement of the area. Officials informed that the initiative has been taken keeping in view the fact that the state does not have much forest area so it has to maintain artificial greenery. During a visit to Gurgaon today, union minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh said that the proposal had been prepared by the forest department for improving the forest cover in the state. He said that according to the proposal, ex-servicemen would be appointed in these battalions to maintain the greenery. These battalions would be known as eco-battalions, he said. Rao added that if one goes by the figure of greenery in Haryana state, it is surprising that the reality is far different from the facts. He informed that one such battalion is already working in Uttranchal as a task force for restoring the greenery in the state. The battalion will cover the area from Dehradun to Mussorie. |
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New engineering college in South Delhi
New Delhi, July 13 With an initial intake of 120 students - 60 each in the streams of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) and Mechanical and Automation Engineering (MAE), the institute is coming up at the campus where the G. B. Pant Polytechnic is operating currently. This institution is being developed as a super speciality institution in Mechanical Engineering. During the next five years, it is slated to grow in strength, adding five more streams at the undergraduate level alone, and at least 10 courses at the post-graduate level, taking its intake capacity to more than 1,500. The Department of Training and Technical Education, Government of Delhi, has been the nodal agency for the setting up of the institution. |
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School bag woes
New Delhi, July 13 Medical experts claim that there is plenty of evidence linking backpack misuse or overloading to the ever-increasing back pain among children. In addition, many children also report backpack related injuries. Children’s bones and skeletons are soft during the formative years. Excess weight can misalign the spinal column leading to skeletal and muscle injury. “Back pain in children is not so uncommon anymore,” says Dr Sanjay Sarup, Pediatric Orthopaedic surgeon at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here. “Though earlier it was quite unheard for children to get back pains, these days the frequency of back and shoulder pain complaints have increased. Mostly, these pains are lumbar strain, and neck and shoulder pains that children report of usually when the schools reopen after a long vacation. So if a child complains of back pain, parents should consider it seriously, for it may be due to the heavy backpack. Negligence of back pains may persistently limit a child’s activities, require medication or alter sleep patterns. In some cases, a slipped disc may occur,” explains the doctor. Children’s Orthopaedic surgeons worldwide recommend that a child’s backpack should weigh no more than 15 to 20 per cent of the child’s body weight. “This figure may however vary, depending upon the child’s body strength and fitness,” remarks Dr Sarup, who is also of the opinion that the maximum weight permissible in a school backpack should be not more than 8 kgs for the older children. Hence it is highly important for children and parents to be aware of the warning signs that may indicate a heavy school bag. According to the medical experts, the warning signs are:· Stooped posture when wearing the backpack· Struggling when putting on or taking off the backpack Pain when wearing the backpack Tingling or numbness in the hands No sooner you notice these warning signals, it is important that you start following the safety precautions. These experts have suggested that the children wear both straps: Use of one strap shifts the weight to one side, causing muscle spasms and low back pain. This is true even with one-strap backpacks that cross the body. By wearing two shoulder straps, the weight of the backpack is better distributed, and a well-aligned symmetrical posture is promoted. |
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Drug pusher held
Bulandshahr, July 13 The man, whose brother was lodged in the prison, was arrested from outside the lock-up in the court premises. The peddler allegedly told the police that he was to deliver the papaya containing drug injection to his brother in the jail. The police was frisking the people who had come to meet the prisoners lodged in the jail in district court premises. Anil Kumar of Lakhawati village under Aurangabad police station was hanging around the lock-up. On suspicion, cops frisked Anil Kumar but found nothing on his person. Then, the cops saw a polythene bag containing a few things, including the containing 20 drug injections. |
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