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Low-cost housing okayed
Arushi’s friends may take lid off whodunit
Police yet to seize murder weapon
LG for better civil-Army ties
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Case of land allotment
JNU not keen to
increase seats?
A musical concert for kids, by kids
Rains cool, but tempers hot on roads
Water-harvesting system
in buildings made compulsory
CBSE to give post-exam counselling
Nurses Day
Two jewel thieves held
Vardhan alleges bias in water supply
Valuables worth lakhs looted
Envoy meets CM
Seven illegal B’deshis arrested
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Low-cost housing okayed
New Delhi, May 22
The Chief Minister said that the residents of Delhi with an annual family income up to Rs 60,000 per annum would be eligible for these low-cost dwellings. Applications would be invited from the eligible urban poor residing in Delhi since 1998 and dwellers of slums and other clusters. The cabinet has also decided that the first lot of 10,000 low-cost houses would be allotted soon after the completion of verification, processing and other formalities, as recommended by the district committees under deputy commissioners. The clusters, which are on or near the Commonwealth Games 2010 project sites would be taken up first and relocated on priority. The contribution of the beneficiary would be around Rs 60,000 for which a long-term easy bank loan would be arranged. The rest of the cost would be borne by the government. The housing complex would have all basic amenities such as schools, parks, transport, drinking water, electricity and shops. A committee under the chairmanship of principal secretary (UD) had been constituted to finalise details in respect of procedure, modalities and priorities of application and allotment. The decision is a major step towards providing a respectable address to the residents of slums and JJ clusters in Delhi.
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Arushi’s friends may take lid off whodunit
Noida, May 22 The police appears to be pinning its hopes for further leads on friends of slain girl Arushi while a dental surgeon couple Dr Anita Durrani and her husband Dr Praful Durrani are also being quizzed. The police has also taken fingerprints of some of Talwar couples’ close relatives. The call details of Dr Talwar have revealed that he had been talking to Dr Anita Durrani for long hours. Dr Talwar and Dr Anita Durrani had worked in a clinic in sector 27 Noida and are also reported to be colleagues in Fortis hospital, Noida. The Durranis live in Kanchanjunga apartments, Sector 53 Noida. Dr Anita is also reported to be a frequent visitor to the Talwar’s house in Sector 25. A very senior police officer yesterday appeared to have fuelled speculation by his observation that the manner in which the throats of Arushi and Hem Raj had been slit, it appeared the killer was either a surgeon or a butcher. The murder had been executed by one who was expert in wielding a knife, said addl director general of UP police, Brij Lal who led a high-ranking police team which included IG Zone, Gurdarshan Singh and DIG range from Meerut, PC Meena. A class fellow of Arushi, a boy, according to police, had spoken to her on cell phone for at least 700 times during the past one month as per the phone record of Arushi. It has raised police curiosity and suspicion. The details provided by the boy in his interrogation to the STF have been confirmed by other sources. The police plan to bring him face to face with Arushi’s parents and two other relatives. According to police, the boy reportedly made some startling observations. The doctor couple, parents of the slain girl, was again grilled for about three hours at their residence which according to the new investigation officer, Anil Samaniya, had provided some positive leads. It is confirmed now that both the murders were executed with the same weapon by an expert hand. There was a gap of some three to four hours in both the murders. Police still maintains that three to four persons were involved in the killings. The police has not been able to lay its hand on the weapon of murder as well as on the mobile phones of Arushi and Hem Raj, missing from the crime site but are still being used, according to investigators. It was not a khukhri, the Nepalese dagger nor a kitchen knife which was used by the killer. According to one source, Noida police, after having made a hash of the investigations for the first two days, has almost worked out the case now but it has not been able to get hold of the weapon of murder and equally important the confession from the killer without which, according to legal experts, the case will not stand an iota of a chance in the court of law. |
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Police yet to seize murder weapon
In his first media briefing about Arushi and Hem Raj murder cases, SSP A. Satish Ganesh said that the viscera of Hem Raj has been sent to the special laboratory at Agra which normally takes a fortnight for analysis and testing. It has been done to determine whether the help had been poisoned or drugged, if so, he said, the Agra lab was the right place to determine which poison or drug it was.
Among other things, Satish did not rule out the possibility of Arushi’s murder being an honour killing. The parents, Dr Rajiv Talwar and Dr Mrs Nupur Talwar have been interrogated for hours and each of them has been quizzed individually also at length. The SSP told the media that identification of suspects and determination of motive was the most crucial part of the investigation and the police cannot jump to conclusions on the basis of conjectures. He said the stage of collection of evidence, including the forensic evidence has been completed, but the police has yet to recover the instrument of murder. The SSP also stated that the motive was to murder one but second was killed due to force of circumstances. He said boy Amol and the parents of Arushi were extending maximum cooperation to the investigators. Amol is reported to have made 688 transactions with Arushi in 45 days but he was helping the police in structuring the sequence of the profile of the crime. Arushi is reported to have eaten her dinner at about 9-30 pm and her autopsy had revealed half-digested food in her viscera. That means she must have been killed between 1 and 1-30 am. The SSP said that the impression of the bloody palm on the terrace wall was not suitable for fingerprinting as fingerprints are normally lifted from very smooth surfaces, but the wall had a coarse and corrugated surface, he added. |
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LG for better civil-Army ties
New Delhi, May 22 This was said by lieutenant governor Tejendra Khanna at the Civil-Military Liaison Conference-2008 held at Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre, here yesterday. The conference is held annually to maintain harmonious relations and strengthen cooperation between the civil and the armed forces. It provides a joint forum to find amicable solutions to pending issues in the shortest possible time frame. The lieutenant governor said that the Capital’s safety was of prime importance as it is the hub of the Central government’s business, which multiplies manyfold the implications of any disaster. Khanna said that in view of the heightened security threat, the Army could help the police with their inputs and intelligence. He added that armymen even as citizens of the Capital can play a vital role by immediately informing the police about any suspicious activity or person. Khanna said that the Army had always played a positive role in any kind of disaster be it fire, flood, earthquake, building collapses or any other emergency in the Capital. And so there is a lot of scope of cooperation between the civil administration and the Army, as disaster management has become a major concern for the government. He said there could be an active line of communication between the area commander and the Delhi disaster management centre. The lieutenant governor further said that the Army could support the state government in conserving the traditional local water bodies in the Cantonment area, which in turn will be helpful in recharging the water table of the Capital. They can also extend their technical expertise in energy conservation, particularly in case of solar energy, and maintaining public parks. He said that Army could also extend ideas and suggestions to the traffic management centre, manned by the Delhi Police. Already uniformed officers are working as traffic wardens to create a smooth traffic environment on the roads of the Capital. |
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Ex-Armyman fights for 32 yrs
Sandeep Yadav Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 22 The travails of Major Balwan Singh (retd), who became disabled during the 1971 Indo-Pak war began the day he approached the chairman of the Improvement Trust, Yamuna Nagar for the transfer of the plot. The 1,000 sq metre plot at Shastri Colony in Yamuna Nagar was allotted to Major Balwan Singh on freehold basis and no concessions were given to him. “The title deed of the plot was to be transferred in my name after I had made the full payment. I paid Rs 26,000 in four equal installments, but when I approached the Improvement Trust for the transfer papers, the new chairman had taken over and he cancelled the allotment,” said Major Balwan. He alleges that the new chairman had expected him to grease his palms. But when Major Balwan refused to oblige, the allotment was cancelled. Not perturbed by the mala fide intentions of greedy officials, Major Balwan approached the Haryana government. The commissioner and secretary, local bodies, Haryana government took immediate action and ordered the SDM (civil) of Jagadhri to hand over the land to the ex-serviceman at once. But, the chairman of Improvement Trust kept dilly-dallying the matter and, in spite of giving the possession, the title deed was not transferred in the name of Major Balwan. Finally, in 1991, the commissioner of Improvement Trust issued a letter to the deputy commissioner without informing Major Balwan that the allotment has been cancelled. “I had planted trees on the plot in 1976 itself for which a contractor had paid me Rs 2.5 lakh. I did not sell it, as I thought that I would require wood when I construct a house there. However, with the cancellation letter issued, the trees became the property of the government. My trees were cut and only Rs 48,000 were deposited in the government treasury. These officials not only robbed me of my trees but also the government, as the value of trees was much more than what was deposited,” rues Major Balwan. His attempt to get a complaint lodged against the concerned officials has failed. The frustrated Major approached the district consumer forum and managed to get justice after a struggle of six long years. The district court ordered the trust to get the transfer deed registered within a month and pay Rs 5,000 as compensation against the mental agony and harassment caused to him. But this was a momentary solace for Major, as the Trust appealed against the decision in the state consumer forum. “It appealed because the lawyers are to be paid by the Trust and their fee is open to manipulation. The part of money that is going in the record books as lawyers fee is also filling the pockets of these officials,” alleges Major Balwan. “My dreams of having a home are gone. How long do I keep fighting these greedy officers? It is 32 years already. Perhaps, they would give me allotment after I am dead,” rues he.
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JNU not keen to
increase seats?
New Delhi, May 22 According to the logic given by the administration in the last Academic Council meeting, the university already has 20 per cent OBC students. So it would only have to make additional arrangements for the 7 per cent increase in seats. However, the university administration has ignored the fact that the existing 20 per cent OBC students in the university have also been benefited by the additional deprivation point scheme as they come from areas mentioned under the quartile list. This implies that the university would expand only 14 per cent when the funds are being provided for a 54 per cent seat increase. “The JNU administration is giving a fraudulent logic and JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) office-bearers are shamelessly buying it,” said Muglan from the Students’ Federation of India. “Instead of making the maximum use of the funds that are coming to the university, the JNUSU is more than happy in ensuring only least degree of gains.” The administration and the students’ union have mentioned that the implementation of 27 per cent OBC reservation along with 54 per cent seat increase is not possible in one go. “It seems like the authorities are against the seat increase in principle,” said Anand, president, JNU SFI. “This seat increase would mean not only greater access of higher education to students but also the creation of faculty and infrastructure at a large scale.” The JNU administration has also refused to explain why it is impossible to implement the seat increase in one go when the funds are being provided for by the government. JNUSU office-bearers have provided another logic, saying a staggered 54 per cent seat increase would make the implementation of OBC reservation in one go illegal. “Implementing 27 per cent reservation while seats for OBC students are being increased by only 14 per cent is also illegal then,” said Anand. |
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A musical concert for kids, by kids
New Delhi, May 22 The concert was an effort towards supporting the cause of children in need, a cause to which SOS Children’s Villages has been dedicated since 1949 in the world and in India since 1964. Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and minister of social justice and empowerment Meira Kumar attended the concert. The concert saw the SOS children rendering a sweet prayer. Tara L. Venkatesan, the young ambassadress of SOS India, starting off the music program with excellent western classical music/opera pieces, ably supported by pianist Svetlana Radashkevich, violinist Raja Singh, flautist Mikhail Ushinin. Tara performed her first-ever fusion piece with Chitkala Natya Tarangini artiste choreographed by Yamini Reddy. While the first half of the concert was based on a classical music theme, the second part witnessed Tara performing Broadway hits with the energetic dancers from Danceworx. Children from the French school mesmerized the audience with their various performances. S. Sandilya, president- SOS - India said, “SOS Children’s Villages of India are committed to providing the best possible opportunities to the children in need.” |
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Rains cool, but tempers hot on roads
New Delhi, May 22 The Met office said that the minimum temperature continued to hover around 18 degrees Celsius, which is at least seven to eight degrees below the normal for this time of the year. The pleasant weather is likely to continue for another day even as the residents are hoping that it stretches till the weekend. Meanwhile, the rains and subsequent waterlogging has taken its toll on the Capital’s traffic. Snarls were reported from almost every part of the sprawling metropolis. The situation was particularly bad around Dhaula Kuan, ITO Crossing, Vikas Marg, Mathura Road, Nizammudin Bridge, Darya Ganj and Karol Bagh. The situation worsened in the evening because of the restrictions around the Feroze Shah Kotla Ground for the Indian Premier League cricket match. With the roads around the stadium closed to vehicles, the spillover caused huge traffic jams on all the main roads. Power disruptions were reported from several areas because of the high velocity storms, which damaged overhead transmission lines. |
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Water-harvesting system
in buildings made compulsory
New Delhi, May 22 Water-harvesting provision is compulsory in the building bigger than 100 square metres. This rule applies to all individual building owners, group housing societies as well as government buildings. For seeking completion certificate from the MCD, the building owners have to submit a certificate declaring that water-harvesting provision has been installed in the building concerned. The MCD has a scheme to install water-harvesting provision in its 301 buildings. Of them this work has been done in 295 buildings. The provision will be completed very soon in remaining buildings, a senior officer of the building department said. The chairman also directed to make water-harvesting provision in parks maintained by the corporation. When asked about the sealing issue, the chairman said that this is a very sensitive matter. A committee will be constituted after thorough discussion. It is alleged that the MCD does not serve notice to property owners before sealing the establishments. Property owners are unable to take out their belongings when the sealing squad reaches the spot to seal the establishments.
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CBSE to give post-exam counselling
New Delhi, May 22 The second phase of CBSE counselling was launched on Wednesday and will run till June 4. The counselling services on offer are via the tele helpline, IVRS and the CBSE website. Some 31 principals, trained counsellors, psychologists and social scientists will operate the helpline individually from 8 am to 8 pm in three slots. Out of these, 23 participants are from India and five from overseas. There are a total of 13 centres in the country and four centres abroad. Counselling services will be made available in Delhi, Chandigarh, Meerut, Noida, Jaipur, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bhubaneshwar, Vishakhapatnam, Coimbatore, Ludhiana, Jabalpur and Jamnagar. The centres abroad are at Yemen, Doha, Qatar, Kuwait and Sharjah. Tele-counselling is being provided through IVRS or interactive voice response system mode for the third consecutive year. The numbers will be 1250 111 102 on MTNL network and for BSNL and Airtel landline users, there will be a seven digit number 1250 102. Further information is provided on the CBSE website www.cbse.nic.in |
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AIIMS nurses feel overworked
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 22 During the scientific session, senior nurse Sarita Mehta made a presentation on challenges in the nursing profession. Mariam Messy spoke about inter-personal relationships. “Nurses go through a lot of stress due to the long working hours and pressures they have to face in the profession,” said Promila Bountiyal while making a presentation about stress management. “We do not have the required infrastructure to make our work a little easy,” she said. “As the nursing staff is always less in the hospitals, we have to bear the extra burden. We do not even get small breaks inbetween our working hours.”
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Omaxe, Leander Sport tie up
New Delhi, May 22 The Health club in the Omaxe projects would further promote Leander Design’s Wellness concept which focuses on healthy living design. Rohtas Goel, CMD, Omaxe Ltd. said, “For our sports lover customers, this partnership would help provide healthy living designs based on eastern spirituality and vaastu with all the sports and fitness facilities under one roof”. Leander Paes said, “Our partnership with Omaxe is in line with our vision and will also provide an ideal platform to take our message across India.” |
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Two jewel thieves held
New Delhi, May 22 The duo was arrested from near Sanjay Lake. A house-breaking iron rod and stolen gold ornaments were recovered from their personal search. It included gold jewellery weighing about 35 grams and silver jewellery weighing about 300 grams. The receiver of stolen property Laxmi Kant of Rohini has also been arrested on the instance of the arrested burglars. The accused has been recently released from Gurgaon Jail. The accused disclosed committing commission of four cases of house theft and burglary in the area of Pandav Nagar police station. |
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Vardhan alleges bias in water supply
New Delhi, May 22 A few days back water connection from SWTP was given to the residents of Badarpur assembly constituency that included, Alipur Gaon, Madanpur Khadar, Sarita Vihar and a few unauthorised colonies with an expenditure of Rs 66 crore. This constituency is represented by Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri who is member of the Delhi Jal Board. The Chief Minister is chairperson of the Jal Board.
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Valuables worth lakhs looted
Ghaziabad, May 22 While Bharti was about to close the door after saying that he had no complaint with the power corporation, the strangers forced their way in at a gunpoint and tied all the members of the family with a nylon chord. The inmates were all locked in a room. During their half an hour’s stay in the house, the intruders decamped with Rs 1.50 lakh, costly jewellery items, two mobile phones and bank ATM cards. A woman was also said to be the part of the intruders. Rajiv has informed the Indrapuram police station of the incident. |
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New Delhi, May 22 Zhang said, “People of my country are eagerly looking forward to the scheduled visit of Dikshit to China.” She would visit newly developed infrastructure for the Olympics Games. — TNS
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Seven illegal B’deshis arrested
New Delhi, May 22 According to the police, they have no relevant documents to prove their identity. The police is investigating their purpose of visiting the country. |
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Noida, May 22
