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CM halts BRT extension
Vardhan joins issue with CSE chief; Jolly for scrapping of project
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Woman delivers outside hospital
Youth for Equality protest on SC premises
JNU students’ quota demand accepted
Cop accused of rape in
14-day judicial custody
Speedy bikes for Delhi traffic cops
Venture capitalists to fund radio taxis
Pitroda for autonomy of top educational centres
Exhibition on interiors opens
3 cops booked for robbery
Men barge into home to molest girl
3 held for murder, loot
Walia writes to Jairam Ramesh
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CM halts BRT extension
New Delhi, April 26 Expressing her government’s commitment to provide comfortable ride to every user, Dikshit said that it would take a few more weeks. She said that feedback received from the first part of BRT project was more or less satisfactory in respect of cyclists, pedestrians and bus commuters whereas, car owners were not satisfied. The yardstick to access the success of BRT depends on the satisfaction of different users, she added. Dikshit also accepted the problems of car and two-wheeler users. She herself visited the corridor yesterday to have a feel of the issue. The service lane from Press Enclave to Outer Ring Road would be converted into parallel road. Another parallel road would be constructed within two or three months to provide relief to vehicle users. Besides, RITES has been instructed to construct at least two foot-over bridges (FOBs) to ensure safe passage to pedestrians including, children and senior citizens. Trained marshals would be deployed to help children and senior citizens cross the road. Goods carriage vehicles have been banned and blueline buses would be taken off the route from May 1. The transport commissioner has been appointed as the chief co-oridnating officer. He will review the situation on a daily basis. The Chief Minister stressed on the need of dissemination of education on lane discipline and better co-ordination among stakeholders. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been requested to contain stray cattle and hawkers off the corridor, which are obstacle to the traffic. The MCD has also been requested not to issue Teh Bazari on the route to ensure more smooth traffic for cyclists. Explaining the causes of traffic jam, Dikshit said that self-explanatory signage would be installed soon and calibration of traffic light would be done on the basis of the traffic. Operation of traffic light would also become automatic, which would go a long way in ensuring smooth flow of traffic. The motorized vehicle discharge at Chirag Delhi junction is a little higher and better now. Fourteen thousand three hundred vehicles crossed Chirag Delhi intersection between 6-7 p.m. on February 28, which increased to 14,700 on April 24 during same duration. Delhi transport minister Haroon Yusuf, chief secretary Rakesh Mehta, principal secretary to CM PK Tripathi, transport commissioner RK Verma, CMD DTC Ramesh Negi, CMD (DIMTS) SN Sahai, special commissioner (Delhi police) Neeraj Kumar, joint commissioner of police SN Srivastava, vice-president CMS C. Krishan Kumar, MD RITES VK Agarwal and Geetam Tiwari from IIT, Delhi were also present.
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Vardhan joins issue with CSE chief; Jolly for scrapping of project
New Delhi, April 26 Vardhan said that the way in which thousands of trees have been felled and many lives have been lost, dozen have been injured, the Delhi government should stop the construction of six other corridors. The adamant attitude of the government shows that it wants to continue with the construction of the corridor at the cost of environment and the lives of people. He asked, Is the present green area of Delhi sufficient for the 1.62 crore people? Whether new trees have been planted in the same numbers as the trees felled for constructing the BRT corridor? If other six corridors are constructed then will the pollution level of Delhi make it a city worth living? Even today a tree was cut at Bahadurshah Zafar Marg. Foreign multinational companies and domestic vehicle manufacturers are influencing the Delhi Integrated Multinodal Transport System and also pressuring the government for constructing the BRT corridor. However, residents, transport experts, environmentalist are of the opinion that BRT corridor is not useful for Delhi. Harsh Vardhan said, “The way Sunita Narayan has given green signal to the corridor, proves that she is under the pressure of foreign powers.” Sunita Narayan has fully disregarded the fact that from the date of trial run of the corridor from April 20 to April 24 the air pollution near the corridor in South Delhi increased rapidly. This air pollution level was 9.2 UG/M3 which increased to 14.8 UG/M3 per cubic centimeter (UG/M3) for sulphur dioxide. The level of nitrogen dioxide and carbon Mono-oxide increased rapidly, he said. BJP MLA Vijay Jolly demanded for scrapping of the BRT corridor. The government should heed to the sufferings of the “aam adami” on the issue. The planners failed to pre-visualize the trauma of the aam adami using this dedicated corridor. Their planning and arguments are just a theory and away from the ground realities. Safety of the senior citizens and school children is in peril. The bus shelters just being in the middle of the road is a foreign concept and cannot be aped without proper road education, Jolly said.
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Residents made to pay for poll cards
New Delhi, April 26 Election affairs minister visited the Adarsh Nagar centre on Saturday to review the situation.When residents complained to him, he went into the denial mode. The Tribune team during its visit to a few centres found the charges of residents true . Three persons-Madhav, Raj Kumar and Saurabh joined a queue at Adarsh Nagar centre at midnight for getting a token for photo identity card. They slept at the centre’s entrance . When the centre started functioning at 9 a.m, they were demanded a bribe of Rs 200 each. They went for it . Afsana another resident of Adarsh Nagar said that she joined the queue at 4 a.m for photograph . But her job was done only after she paid for it. An elderly woman stood in the queue at 3.45 a.m and got her card at 1.30 p.m. after paying a bribe of Rs 200.She said that first she was asked to pay for filling up the form and again Rs 200 when her turn came for the photograph. Savita Sharma of the Okhla constituency said that people have to wait for hours for getting photo identity cards made. They have to stand in scorching sun. Similar comments were made by residents at the Seelampur photo card centre.
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Woman delivers outside hospital
New Delhi, April 26 “Indu, 35, was seven months pregnant and was having some pain. But when she came to the hospital, she was not admitted,” said Rajwati, her relative. “She gave birth to a baby boy, who died soon after,” she told reporters. Indu is a resident of a Trans-Yamuna locality in East Delhi, and hails from a poor family. Hospital authorities, however, denied the allegations. GTB medical superintendent PC Dikshit said that there was no medical negligence. “She was severely anaemic and aborted the baby under medical supervision. We asked the family members to donate blood but none of them came forward,” Dikshit told IANS. He added that Indu already had three kids and this was her fourth pregnancy. “The condition of the patient is much better now,” Dikshit said. — IANS
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Youth for Equality protest on SC premises
New Delhi, April 26 “For the first time in the history of India, protestors entered the Supreme Court to protest peacefully against the divisive policy of the government,” said Amit Ranjan, a YFE representative. The protestors have also alleged that when the Delhi Police got the wind of the protest,“students were forcibly pushed from one corner to the other,” said Kalyan from YFE. “Shirts and aprons were torn apart and many students were injured.” Eventually, the students were taken to Tilak Marg police station and were released after four hours. The organisation has also demanded the dismissal of Dinesh Kumar, officer in-charge, Tilak Marg police station. “He belongs to the so called backward caste and had ordered his police force to assault the students,” said Amit Ranjan. The students have also alleged that the police officer used casteist abuses while speaking with Vikram Singh, councilor, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU).
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JNU students’ quota demand accepted
New Delhi, April 26 The university has assured to implement 27% OBC quota in one go in the coming academic session. It has also agreed that madarsa certificate holders would be eligible to appear for B.A. entrance exam from this session. It will come in force after the Academic Council approves the Equivalence Committee’s recommendations on April 30. After getting approved, the process to establish equivalence for madarsa certificate will continue on a nation-wide basis. Regarding the cut-off date for University Grants Commission (UGC) fellowship, the university has decided to prepare an estimate of funds required from the UGC. A high-level team from JNU will approach the UGC in this regard. JNU has ensured fair and unbiased inquiry in all cases. An independent committee would be constituted to inquire about Chandrabhaga Hostel night violence. Ramps will be constructed for physically challenged students in central (basement and textbook section), bank and DSA libraries by the monsoon semester. JNU will try to propose fellowship equivalent to Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship for such students. It will discuss the matter with the UGC and the ministry of social justice and empowerment. Braille printer will be provided in libraries for the benefit of visually challenged students before the monsoon semester starts. The varsity has also promised to allocate more funds to Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH). It will work out a mechanism to ensure that economically deprived students from the third world countries receive fee waiver. “The agreement is a significant step towards upholding the ethos of social justice in JNU, ensuring administrative neutrality and democratisation of education,” said Sandeep Singh, president, JNUSU. “However, our struggle continues and there is no place for complacence. It is the involvement and concern of JNU community that has ensured a socially inclusive and egalitarian campus.”
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Cop accused of rape in
14-day judicial custody
New Delhi, April 26 Rana, whose service has been terminated, reportedly confessed before the judge to have abducted and raped the girl. The accused had dragged the minor, a resident of Nangalpuri, in a car on Thursday afternoon from near the Shahbad Dairy locality in Outer Delhi. The two then raped the girl before dumping her from where they had picked her. According to the victim’s father, when the girl told him about the incident, he took her to the police station. But, instead of lodging the complaint, the police tried to hush up the matter. It was only after media took up the matter with senior police officials that a complaint was lodged and Rana was arrested. Rape attempt foiled
Meanwhile, a person was arrested for abducting and attempting to rape a minor girl in the Sarai Rohilla area of North West Delhi. According to the police, Gurmeet Singh, 30, lured the girl on pretext of buying her sweets while she was playing outside her Railway Colony home. He took her to secluded huts and tried to rape her. However, some passers-by heard the girl’s cry and rescued her. The locals thrashed Gurmeet and handed him over to the police. A case has been registered against Gurmeet in the Sarai Rohilla police station. Gurmeet had recently come out of jail after serving a sentence of four years in a rape case. |
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Speedy bikes for Delhi traffic cops
New Delhi, April 26 Tired of being outrun by high-speed desperados, the traffic police is all set to replace the old white Bullet motor cycles with Bajaj Pulsar 200 cc bikes. These bikes could run at more than 130 kmph as against the existing bikes that run at a speed of 100-kmph. The traffic police has already bought 250 motor cycles, fitted with high-end communication systems, which will be used to patrol select corridors. However, these corridors are yet to be decided. The bikes will supplement the existing fleet of 498 police control room vans in the city. “The new fleet of bikes is part of our modernisation programme. There has been a long-felt need to get bikes which are in sync with times,” joint commissioner of police (traffic) SN Shrivastava said. According to the Delhi traffic police, Bajaj Pulsar riders are linked to most cases of chain and purse snatching in the Capital. These bikes easily out-speed Bullet motor cycles used by the traffic police.
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Venture capitalists to fund radio taxis
New Delhi, April 26 As many as 20,000 taxis and 10,000 vans were likely to be phased out from the National Capital Region (NCR) because of the stringent fuel emission norms put in place before the Commonwealth Games 2010. This interesting fact has been discovered by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) which carried out a comprehensive study recently. The Venture Capital Funds (VCs) is funding radio taxis and vans is because the project involves virtually no risks and good returns. This is providing opportunities for growth to small and growing companies and fuel demand for radio taxis and vans to fetch and drop the working populace to save time and money, says Mr. D S Rawat, secretary general ASSOCHAM. In its assessment on why VCs would come forward to invest in this new emerging area of business, the ASSOCHAM holds that venture capitalists like the India Value Fund – a premium India centric equity fund has already launched over 250 taxis in Delhi in March 2008 and plans to add 600 more by 2009. In another two years, the same fund would manage a fleet of 10,000 cabs across major metros of the country and particularly in NCR in view of forthcoming Commonwealth Games in which hotels, railway stations and even inter-state bus terminals would have a demand for radio taxis and other vans, adds. Rawat. The Sequoia Capital India , another leading venture capital , has plans to expand its investments on launching a fleet of radio taxis and vans not only in NCR but in other cities of metro nature in which expansion and economic activities are picking up. According to the ASSOCHAM assessment, many more venture capitalists would also come forward to launch their expansion on vehicles that would run on Delhi and NCR roads as many growing companies in the region are expanding their capacities and smaller companies are striving to grow bigger. These enterprises would need manpower from the entire NCR region, mainly comprising Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Noida, Greater Noida and Faridabad and would need transport facilities to fetch and drop them at bare minimum costs. Radio taxis and vans prove ideal facilities, says the secretary general ASSOCHAM. He adds that the demand of radio taxis and multi –seat vans would multiply during Commonwealth Games also and that is why, the venture capitalists would come forward and launch this business as it is not only profitable but also involves virtually no risks and would give much more returns to VCs than anticipated. |
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Pitroda for autonomy of top educational centres
New Delhi, April 26 In his recent letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the NKC chairman said that the direct involvement of ministries in the functioning of the institutes could result in “unfortunate situations.” The NKC is in favour of functional autonomy for all distinguished educational institutions including IIMs and IITs. Pitroda also indicated that the proposed appointment of the heads of institutes like — IITs, IIMs and central universities under the 11th five-year plan should be free of any sort of political interference. Pitroda had recently said, “The appointment of directors/vice-chancellors of the new IITs, IIMs, IISERs, central universities and AIIMS must be made by a search committee that has an independent chair and is capable of exercising the highest quality of judgment.”
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Comment in art
New Delhi, April 26 A show of their recent paintings started at Art Konsult in Hauz Khas Village on Thursday. Their motifs, medium and symbols vary but each work has a comment. Chirag makes a connection between a Gujarati vehicle Chakkada and the extinction of the Gir lion; Alok paints the soil red (“it’s soaked with the blood of chopped trees”), in one work he sets a traditional cotton-ginning machine on fire and Kerala born Chinnan shows human loneliness in “Red Bat”, “Mapping Insomnia” and “Golden Mask”. |
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Exhibition on interiors opens
Greater Noida, April 26 Renowned artist, Jatin Das and interior designer Lipika Sood jointly inaugurated the events. Companies from 18 countries including participation of three national groups, the exhibitors from Italy, Spain, Austria, China, Germany, Pakistan, Canada, Jordan, Oman, Russia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, Turkey, the United Kingdom besides India are showcasing their latest product and technology in the exhibition. |
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3 cops booked for robbery
Ghaziabad April 26 According to sources, Yogendra Singh, a resident of Ghaziabad, a suburb of the national Capital, alleged that a sub-inspector and two constables barged into his house on March 21, abducted him, and kept him in the police lock-up, demanding Rs 20,000 for his release. When he failed to fulfil their demands, the policemen took away Rs 2,500 from his pocket and let him off after illegally detaining him for the whole night. When the police department did not initiate any action against the guilty personnel, Yogendra Singh filed a writ before the local court at Garh Mukteswar. In their report to the court, the police admitted that Singh was called to the police station for questioning but denied the allegations of illegal confinement or taking away the money from his pocket. But the court disagreed and ordered the police to register a case against sub-inspector Manik Chand and two police constables. The head clerk of Bahadurgarh police station confirmed that a case of burglary has been registered against the policemen.
— IANS |
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Men barge into home to molest girl
New Delhi, April 26 The five men entered a 19-year-old girl’s home in Seelampur at 2 p.m. and
tried to molest her. She raised an alarm and called her maternal uncle sleeping in the next room for help. Hearing the noise, some neighbours came to help them. They tried to get catch the assailants who then opened fire in air to escape. The victim, who was standing nearby, suffered injuries from bullet shells. She was rushed to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. “The victim in her statement said that she can identify the men as they have been passing lewd comments at her for the past few days,” a police official said, adding that search was on to nab the accused.
— IANS |
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3 held for murder, loot
New Delhi, April 26 Shyam, 24, Dharmender, 20 and Bablu, 23, have been arrested. Efforts are on to nab their fourth accomplice. Shyam was the prime suspect. He apprehended first after raids were conducted under ACP AK Lal in UP and Delhi. Shyam has confessed to the crime. Two of his accomplices were arrested on his instance. He said that he killed Garima to make good money. He was aware of her financial status, as he had worked at her house as carpenter. Shyam along with his accomplices had also injured Garima’s four-year old daughter. Garima, 35, was found dead in her house at Jeevan Park in Uttam Nagar. Strangulation marks were found on her neck. The house was ransacked and jewellery was missing. Cash worth Rs 14,500 and jewellery were found from them. |
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Walia writes to Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi, April 26 Walia has requested the state power minister to intervene in the matter so that power consumers in Delhi could be supplied un-interrupted power. |
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