New Delhi, August 20
Four persons have been killed in two road accidents in the Capital since yesterday.

Today morning, CISF inspector Rakesh Sharma was on his motorcycle heading to Indraprastha metro station, when a speeding Blueline bus hit him from behind, near the ITO. The bus, plying on the Ring Road, dragged him for about 25 to 30 metres. He succumbed to the injuries. According to the police, the driver fled from the scene.

In another accident, three motor cycle -borne boys lost their lives yesterday night, in North-West Kanjhawala.The driver crashed the bike into a tree on the roadside. "Probably, the rider was drunk and had lost control of the vehicle.," said police sources. The boys were residents of Sorthi village in Sonepat.

New Delhi, August 20
The MCD has recommended to Central and state governments to file an application before the Supreme Court for staying the monitoring committee's recent order, which says that the sealing of commercial activities should be initiated from August 20.

Chairperson of MCD's standing committee Vijender Gupta and Opposition leader in the House Subhash Arya said this in a joint conference today .

The government should appeal the SC to exempt the unauthorised colonies from sealing, BJP leaders in the civic body said.

Gupta has appealed the union minister of urban development Jaipal Reddy and Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit to take up the cause of those living in unauthorised colonies to the SC. 

New Delhi, August 20
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Delhi University (DU) have signed a deal to set up an information and communication technology training centre for disabled students.

NTPC's CMD T. Sankaralingam and DU's vice chancellor Deepak Pental exchanged documents in this regard.

As per the deal, the NTPC foundation will provide equipment and software for the centre and DU and will take care of its day to day functioning by appointing support staff.

The centre will be the first of its kind with the agenda of empowering economically backward and physically challenged people with the latest IT skills.

The beneficiaries of the facility will be students with visual, hearing, mobility and cognitive impairment. DU has more than a thousand physically challenged students. 

New Delhi, August 20
At a function held here today to commemorate Rajiv Gandhi's 63rd birth anniversary, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Chairperson Sonia Gandhi presented 75 motorised vehicles, Bingo, to disabled individuals from different parts of the country.

Of the 75 awardees, 35 were women. According to a press release by the Foundation, inspired by Rajiv Gandhi's vision to integrate the disabled into the mainstream society, the Foundation has always given priority to empowering persons with disabilities. "Our endeavour is to remove all impediments in their full and equal participation in society. It has actively promoted this objective through various projects and programmes across the country," it adds.

Bingo is a modified version of a self-start, gearless Kinetic Nova 135 cc scooter.

New Delhi, August 20
Most private transporters, including vans engaged in the transportation of schoolchildren, are yet to get their vehicles registered with the transport department and acquire requisite permit and vehicle fitness certificate from the zonal vehicle registering authority.

In this regard, the department had issued a notice on July 25.The last date for registering the vehicle with the transport department was August 14. There are over 4,000 private school cabs, but none of them have registered themselves with the transport department.

This came to light, after a survey by the Indian Federation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT). The IFTRT team talked to more than 200 school cab or van operators and parents of schoolchildren. It was found that the cab operators did not try to register their vehicles with the state transport department.

Moreover, the Zonal Motor License Offices (MLOs), where the transport operators had to get their vehicles registered, confirmed that no school cab had been registered under the scheme.

An IFTRT official said that the time since the notice was issued, hardly any school had instructed the school cab owner to get his vehicle registered and acquire fitness certificate from the transport department.

Apart from the CNG buses owned by the school authorities, the school management, on an annual contract basis, hire private buses to ferry children in the Capital.

Currently, around 2,500 heavy, medium and RTV buses are operating with various schools and 80 per cent of these vehicles have contract carriage interstate permit.

They do not have speed governor devices. Instead of standard-sized bus tyres, they use truck tyres, the official claimed.

He said that the transport department had failed in regulating school buses and cabs and had been enforcing its scheme for regulating these vehicles.

Ghaziabad, August 20
Pooja, a Dalit girl in Goyana village under Kotwali police station, was burnt alive in her house by three miscreants from the neighbouring house on Sunday. The men had first sprinkled kerosene on the victim and then torched her.

The girl was taken to a government hospital, where she succumbed to the burns.

Two of the three accused have been arrested.

The brother of victim had registered a report with the Kotwali police station that the three men Pintu, Vijay and Munna used to harass his sister. When Pooja apprised the family about it, efforts were made to persuade them to desist from such activities, but instead of mending their ways, they became hostile to the girl.

On Sunday morning, Pooja had an altercation with Munna's wife on dumping waste on the street. After that, Pooja went to clean the rooms of her house. The three of the accused allegedly went to the room and overpowered the girl. After sprinkling kerosene, the trio torched Pooja.

By the time her family members reached the room, the accused had fled from the scene. Police are trying to nab the third accused.

New Delhi, August 20
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president today exhorted the youths to do constructive work for the development of the country as this was the best way to perpetuate the memory of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who had ushered the country into 21st century.

He was speaking on the occasion of the 63rd birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi. The DPCC president felicitated distinguished persons of various walks of life with 'Samaj Rattan Award' which consisted of a shield. The prominent among them were Hindi poet Santosh Anand, Urdu poet Anand Mohan Zutshi (Gulzar Dehlavi), Dr Saghir Ahmed, Dr Shamim Ahmed, Dr Uneja Wahid, Dr Tahina Manzoor, et al.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Sultanpuri, Jai Kishan, distributed fruit among the patients in Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Mangolpuri, Maharishi Balmiki hospital in Pooth Khurd, Bhim Rao Ambedkar Hospital in Rohini, Babu

Jagjivan Ram Hospital in Jahangirpuri and Rajan Babu TB Hospital in Kingsway Camp.

He also distributed 1,100 sarees to the poor, notebooks and cricket bats to the students of poor families in 32 local government schools. 

New Delhi, August 20
Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan organised a national seminar on 'Role of Youth in Building Modern India' with special reference to 'Harmony, Participatory Democracy and People-Oriented Development' on Sadbhavna Diwas today to coincide with the 63rd birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

More than 500 young delegates of NYKS took part in this seminar at India Islamic Cultural Centre here. The seminar started with a colourful presentation of patriotic songs by schoolchildren.

Bhalchand Mungekar, member, Planning Commission, was the first to speak on the subject. He exhorted the youth present to come forward and change society for the betterment of the country.

Famous scholar and activist Swami Agnivesh urged the young audience to question the system and fight against caste politics and communal divide for a better India. 

Faridabad, August 20
The ad hoc employees of Municipal Corporation of Faridabad(MCF) have resorted to agitation.

The employees who are in the firing line held a meeting in front of the MCF office. Their union has given a strike call for August 27.

A couple of days back, mayor Brahmowati Khatana,senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor and other councillors discussed the issue .They were of the view that all steps should be taken to retain the employees.

There are more than 500 employees, including those Safai and tubewell operators whose tenure of services are being scrutinised by the MCF commissioner.

As many as 1500 MCF employees were retrenched in 2001.A section of them impugned the order in the court saying that their juniors had not been axed.

Now, the MCF was studying the tenure of the spared lot. In 1996,there was a move to retrench the services of these 500 employees. Later, the MCF gave up the move.

About half of the councillors today left for Chandigarh to meet the Chief Minister and apprise him of the entire case and urge him not to retrench the services of the employees. The councillors against the idea of retrenching the municipal employees said that by March,2008, as many as 400 employees would be retiring .Instead of doing away with the services of employees who have served for 15 years,they should be transferred to other departments, they added.

Commissioner,MCF, R.K.Khullar had recently stated that only those employees who were junior to the ones whose services were terminated in 2001 would be affected.

New Delhi, August 20
The Delhi cabinet today cleared a proposal for the provision of sewerage and water supply facilities in unauthorised colonies, which are to be regularised soon with the issuance of a notification by the Centre.

The Cabinet has created a department of women and child development by reorganising the existing department of social welfare. The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Briefing media Dikshit stated her government's commitment to provide civic amenities to those unauthorised colonies that are to be authorised soon. This would facilitate sewerage and water supply facilities, construction of CC roads and laying of drains in unauthorised colonies, irrespective of the fact that whether the colonies have emerged on private or government land.

Dikshit added that her government had taken this decision keeping in view the prevailing conditions of civic amenities that were making the lives of more than 30 lakh people miserable, who were presently living in those colonies.

The unauthorised colonies have existed since the setting up of DDA in 1957. The number of such colonies has increased over the years due to migration and inadequate housing.

The Delhi High Court by an interim order on August 19, 1994 had permitted the state government to supply electricity and water to unauthorised colonies. Later, it permitted the construction of roads/drains in unauthorised colonies located on private land.

Delhi government has been providing funds for the construction of roads and drains in unauthorised colonies on two conditions. Firstly, the land on which these colonies exist should be private and secondly, the built up percentage of the colonies should be more than 50 per cent as per the aerial survey of March 2002.

Dikshit added that her government had made a provision of Rs 660 crore in the plan 2007-08 for providing civic amenities in unauthorised colonies. A fund for the development of around 1,500 unauthorised colonies with an outlay of Rs 2,800 crore in the 11th plan has been approved to meet the anticipated expenditure in the colonies.

The CM further stated that a department of women and child development had been created with the reorganisation of the existing department of social welfare. "The new department will focus exclusively on schemes for the welfare of women and children to increase their reach effectively," she added. The department of social welfare was created in 1959. Since its creation, the work in the department has multiplied manifold and has become complex. Since the department's creation, Delhi's population has increased from about 25 lakhs to about 160 lakhs and 12 new social legislations have been enacted, which are being administered by the department. The new department would handle 18 items including juvenile justice, child right, child care and child protection and stree shakti and gender resource centre, women empowerment issues and ICDS projects. It would also administer 13 statues relating to women and children and would control 31 institutions.

The proposed plan budget of the department would be Rs 66.93 crore and non-plan budget would be Rs 17.47 crore. There would be a common secretary for both the departments. The new department would be operational from November 14, 2007.

The cabinet also discussed the funding pattern for the allotment of low cost houses to the residents of JJ colonies and members of the other weaker sections of the society. An amount of Rs 1 lakh per flat would be granted through the JNNURM. The foundation laying ceremony for the construction of thousands of low cost houses with new technology is expected to be organised during the next month.

Ghaziabad, August 20
Anti-social elements seem to have found a safe haven in hundreds of flats of Ghaziabad Development Authority lying vacant in different pockets of the Mahanagar and the adjoining areas. The criminals take refuge in these houses after committing crime in the city and even the police find it difficult to trace them.

Over 5,000 GDA flats, reportedly lying vacant, have been illegally occupied by the criminals. Even a large number of police personnel are known to be staying illegally in the flats.

According to the vice-chairman of GDA, SK Diwedi, efforts are under way to find a lasting solution to the problem of encroachment and

people living illegally in GDA houses. GDA officials are trying to locate the vacant houses in different localities. Thousands of GDA flats have been lying vacant for years as the GDA could not find takers for them.

After all such houses have been identified, their possession will be given to the rightful allottees so that the question of houses remaining vacant and their being occupied illegally will not arise.

Most of the houses under illegal occupation are located in Nandgram, Vaishali, Koushambi, Indira Kunj, Pratap Vihar, Govindpuri and Balmiki Colony. Strangely, some of the encroachers and miscreants have given a number of houses on rent also. Many among even the

staff of GDA construction division are reportedly minting money this way. Although efforts have been made in the past to get these houses freed from the encroachers, they have not been successful as there were half-hearted attempts.

The padlocks put on the houses by the GDA teams are removed in a few days by the encroachers. When the houses are again locked by the GDA authorities after getting them cleared off encroachments, the same people put their own locks or occupy the houses again shortly thereafter. 

Sonu Verma, a fugitive wanted in a murder case has been arrested. His arrest carried a reward of Rs 25,000.

The accused had absconded after the murder of Rakesh in the Adarsh Nagar area. A special team was constituted to nab him. The team nabbed him yesterday in Bhiwadi village. The accused was working as a salesman at his relative's shop in UP.