New Delhi, November 25
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Vijay Jolly, who is taking on Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in Saturday’s assembly elections, loves drama. On Tuesday, he along with his wife Rashmi and sons Rishi and Kabir paid an early morning visit to Dikshit.

This meeting was planned in advance, unlike his first meeting, which could be termed accidental as they met while Dikshit was taking her morning walk at the Lodhi Gardens while Jolly was doing his early morning canvassing earlier this month.

Reaching Dikshit’s official residence at 3 Motilal Nehru Marg, Jolly launched his political speech.

“I had come to meet the Chief Minister to bring to her attention the problems of the public of my area,” he said with smile to mediapersons.

He spoke about issues like water, electricity and security.

When asked about Dikshit’s reaction to his visit, Jolly simply said, “She gave me a patient hearing.”

Using a crutch — he is recovering from a fracture — Jolly happily posed for a cameraman near the main gate of Dikshit’s residence with his whole family in tow, with the Chief Minister’s name plate in the background.

New Delhi, November 25
With a view to checking the free flow of liquor by the political heavyweights in view of assembly elections, the excise department has issued notice to liquor shops in the Capital not to sell more than two bottles of liquor to any individual unless a specific permission is given to him. The move is aimed at checking the buying of bulk liquor by the political parties to distribute it among the voters.

The department believes that two bottles per person will make it difficult for such leaders to throw liquor parties at the end of the daylong canvassing. “It may not completely stop the liquor parties by the contesting candidates but if a person is not allowed more than two bottles, it would certainly act as a check to some extent,” said a senior Delhi excise officer adding the department has framed teams to check the illegal sale and smuggle of liquor in the city.

The excise department officials in plainclothes will see that liquor vendors follow the instructions issued by the department. “Our men are going to the liquor shops and asking for three or four bottles to check if the vendors are following the rule. So far they are complying and there had been no need to take any action against anyone,” said the officer.

The order will remain in force till November 29, the polling day in Delhi.

The strictness on the part of excise department is visible in the rising cases of bootlegging in the Capital this month. As on November 23, the month has witnessed about 460 cases of bootlegging in the city which chiefly include the transporting of countrymade liquor from neighbouring states of Harayana and UP. The excise department along with Delhi police is making life difficult for tbootleggers and keeping a strict vigil at Najafgarh and Kapashera in southwest Delhi, Badarpur in south Delhi and the Faridabad and Gurgaon borders next to Haryana, the main sources of liquor supply in the Capital.

The excise department has seized about 280 cases of countrymade liquor in the last few days. “Country liquor is cheaper and ideal for distribution in slum dwellings as people here consume this any way. Hence, the reason behind its being high in demand from the neighbouring Haryana and UP,” said an excise inspector in Delhi.

The Delhi excise commissioner has also written to the neighbouring district excise officers (DEO) in Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad to keep a strict vigil on smuggling of liquor into the Capital till at least the November 29 assembly elections.

With liquor shops in the Capital likely to remain shut from November 27 to 29 on account of dry days announced by the department, the political candidates are looking at avenues to stock liquor for those crucial days. “The next three days are crucial. The political parties and candidates would try their best to get hold of as much liquor as possible before November 27. We are prepared to disappoint them and arrest any smuggle of illegal liquor,” assured another officer from the Delhi excise department. 

New Delhi, November 25
Kiran Walia, the Congress nominee, seeks to achieve a rare hat-trick from Malviya Nagar but is finding the going tough as her BJP rival Ram Bhaj makes a determined bid to oust her from the constituency.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee Shripal Saini may also play a spoilsport for Walia, a two-time MLA and former Delhi University professor.

As part of delimitation, the Malviya Nagar constituency was extended this year to cover posh localities like Green Park, Hauz Khas, Safdarjung Enclave, Neeti Bagh and Shivalik, which include several high-end markets.

Both Congress and BJP have fielded strong candidates to match the profile of 1,27,173 middle and upper middle class educated voters of the constituency.

A two-time legislator himself, Ram Bhaj said, “The equations in Malviya Nagar are against Congress. Kiran Walia has not done anything for the people of this constituency. The sewerage system is in a mess. There is no parking space in the colonies. Areas are facing major drinking water crisis and to cap it all, there is price rise. People are extremely disgruntled.”

Ram Bhaj had contested from the Sarojini Nagar constituency last time but lost. If elected this time, he promised to immediately stop the alleged forcible change of electricity meters as “the replaced meters run faster”.

Kiran Walia and her supporters, however, looked unfazed by ‘the tall claims’ being made by an ‘outsider’.

“Malviya Nagar is not Ram Bhaj’s karambhumi. His constituency is Sarojini Nagar and so, he is an outsider here. Kiran Walia has done a lot for this constituency. She enjoys a lot of respect here,” said Krishan Dev Bharal, a Congress supporter from Gautam Nagar.

BSP candidate Saini may also change the voting pattern in the constituency.

The BJP claims Saini will cut into Walia’s support base as the two are competing for the votes of Muslims and Balmikis.

Delimitation of the constituency is another factor that could change the political map.

While Congress lost its major vote chunk in Mohammad Pur, the party says it has gained support in several others areas, which have now become part of the constituency.

Even as political parties try to woo voters, the electorate of this high-profile constituency is seeking development.

“It is not about the wave of a particular party. The real issues matter to us most. We want our sewerage systems to be fixed, price hike to be controlled, the electricity bills are running out of the budget of common man,” said Mukesh, a housewife from Green Park.

The shop owners of the Central Market looked dissatisfied with Walia’s performance. “We only ask for the development of the market. The market committee has collected money and constructed a toilet here. Walia did not even care about its maintenance,” said O P Arora, president, Central Market Committee.

New Delhi, November 25
Chief ministerial candidate of BJP for Delhi, Vijay Kumar Malhotra and cricketer turned BJP MP, Navjot Singh Siddhu today launched “Aaj ke Yuva ki Aawaz-Radio BJP”.

This was launched in the presence of singer and Akali leader Hansraj Hans, Daler Mehndi and fashion designer Shaina N. C.

The Radio-BJP was prepared by the BJP’s national general secretary Arun Jaitly. It would be used to communicate party message for the youth in the state and also encourage them to come forward to use their fundamental right of voting in all the constituencies.

This Radio-BJP would go to Malhotra’s constituency, Greater Kailash, on November 27 the last day of campaigning.

While launching the Radio-BJP, Siddhu said that the youth of today are helpless and not self-dependent. Population of youth is 50 per cent of the total population of India and in Delhi it is 35 per cent but the Congress government not only failed to establish dialogue with them but also failed to give them jobs.

He said that only 1600 youths were given job in the last 10 years of Congress rule in Delhi.

Daler Mehandi encouraged youths and appealed to them to establish a dialogue with the BJP. He sang the famous song of the film “Rang de Basanti”.

The Akali leader and singer, Hansraj Hans asked the Akali-BJP workers to work hard to ensure the victory of Akali-BJP candidates in all the seats.

Shaina N.C. said that this radio would help create a dialogue between youths and Malhotra.

New Delhi, November 25
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) alleged that large number of bogus voters are registered in the Khayala village of Rajouri Garden assembly constituency.

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) candidate Avtar Singh Hit is contesting on its party symbol ‘Scales’ in alliance with BJP.

The SAD filed a written complaint in this regard to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and demanded a high-level inquiry into the matter and urged the authorities concerned to delete all these bogus votes from the voter lists.

Khayala village is a native village of the ruling Congress candidate Dayanand Chandila.

The SAD secretary and spokesperson, Daljit Singh Cheema alleged that a screening of the voter lists of Khayala village of the constituency reveals that in 18 different houses, a total of 944 voters have been registered. This is practically not possible for so many persons to reside in a small house of 150 square yards. 

New Delhi, November 25
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Jai Prakash Agarwal, MP, today announced the suspension of the following five Congress persons from the party for anti-party activities and violating party discipline. 

They are Azad Bidhuri, municipal councillor from Sangam Vihar West; Hem Chand Goel, municipal councillor from Badarpur; Rajani Nagar, municipal councillor from Molarbandh; Preeti, municipal councillor from Vivek Vihar and Lakhbir Singh Chadha, president Tilak Nagar district committee.

New Delhi, November 25
The former Delhi police joint commissioner Amod Kanth’s victory or that of noted surgeon S.C.L.Gupta’s in Sangam Vihar is not likely to bring any notable change in the living conditions of the residents of this assembly constituency.

Kanth who is contesting on Congress ticket and SCL Gupta who has been set up by the BJP are entangled in a tough electoral fight in the area.

More than a lakh inhabitants here, which mostly comprises migrants from UP and Bihar somehow surviving in the filth of open drains, sewage ponds and piled up garbage together with bumpy roads, open potholes and the dust to breathe.

This area has the maximum crime rate in the Capital and lacks even the basic amenities to maintain some semblance of hygiene notwithstanding the fact that a former top cop and a cancer surgeon are hoping to represent this constituency.

“Nothing has changed here, governments have come and governments gone. We are used to it now as we have no other option,” said Rajinder Misra a shopkeeper of the area.

Perhaps that is the reason, the Sangam Vihar residents, which is the largest unauthorised colony in the Capital, are equally sceptical of any planned development in their area, unmindful of whoever wins. The Congress move on the election eve to issue provisional regularisation certificates to them has failed to impress most of them. They are not buying the party’s claim of regularizing the colony once it gets power.

They say these certificates have no meaning until the colony is formally regualrised and they seem to realize that it may not be an easy task for any government as well.

“We do not have a drainage system. Nor is the government going to do anything about it because it is close to impossible for them,” says Mukesh Kumar, a resident of the area.

On the other hand, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned in winning the confidence of the voters for the second time by listing the so-called developments that have taken place in the last five years. 

New Delhi, November 25
There is mixed response of voters in Badarpur assembly constituency. Residents of Badarpur, Jaitpur, Mithapur and Molarbandh favoured Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate Ram Singh Netaji while those of unauthorised colonies and Muslim localities favoured MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri. The remaining colonies sided with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Chaudhary Khem Chand.

Ram Singh Netaji, a senior leader, resigned from the Congress and joined the BSP, as he was denied party ticket. Ramvir Singh Bidhuri is contesting on Congress ticket.

Last year Bidhuri had contested on Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ticket and won the election.

Ram Singh who is known as Netaji, was directed by the village panchayat to contest the elections against Bidhuri.

Ranbir Singh of Badarpur village said that development work done by Bidhuri was not satisfactory. He should be changed. In the last five years, sewerage system had collapsed in villages. Roads on bus stand at Jaitpur and in other areas are broken. Rains create problem for residents as the entire area remains waterlogged.

Ramesh, another resident, said that the area was congested and there was no water supply. People depend on ground water for household work and for drinking they purchase water through RO system.

Favouring Bidhuri, Rashid Ahmed of Jaitpur extension said that major development works had been done in all unauthrised areas of the constituency whether it was Badarpur, Molarbandh and Mithapur. Roads and drains have been constructed by the Congress government. Proper electrification has also been made. Due to the development work carried out in the area, property rates have risen.

New Delhi, November 25
A six-year-old student of Kulachi Hansraj Model School died after she came under the front wheels of her school bus in North West Delhi.

Harsha of class I was the only child of her parents and was accompanied by her father, Rajeev Malik, when the accident took place near the Vijay Vihar-Mahendu Enclave area in Model Town.

According to the police, the bus has been impounded and the driver, Sukhdev, arrested. He had managed to flee from the spot. A case of negligent driving has been lodged against him.

According to eyewitnesses, Harsha was with her father around 1 pm when her school bus dropped her and crushed her from behind.

Her father Rajeev rushed the heavily bleeding Harsha to Vinayak Hospital in an autorickshaw but she succumbed to her injuries.

Rajeev owns a cyber café in the Mahendu Enclave area.

He said his daughter had gone to school and returned in the same bus that killed her.

Pammi Dutta, principal of Kulachi Model School, said that the bus had been on contract with the school for the past four years. She said that she had not received any complaint of rash driving against driver Sukhdev in the past. 

Greater Noida, November 25
A mother and her son were killed when a truck collided with an Indica car on GT Road near Sikanderabad in Dadri. The deceased in the car died on the spot as the head-on collision was very powerful.

Angry crowd, which collected at the site of the accident, jammed GT Road and raised slogans.

According to police, Asim, a resident Dhanori village in Greater Noida, was returning home from Ghaziabad in his Indica car along with his mother, Brijinder. When their car reached Sikanderabad industrial area, a truck coming at high speed from Bulandshahr side had a head-on collision with their car.

The collision was so fierce that car was torn into shreds. As a result Brijinder and her son Asim died on the spot. Truck driver fled from the scene after the accident. A crowd collected on the spot which jammed the road in protest.

Later, Sikanderabad Kotwali police reached the spot. Agitated people demanding compensation for the accident victims jammed GT Road for several hours which crippled the traffic on the highway.

Police persuaded the angry people to lift the jam and later sent the bodies for autopsy. 

New Delhi, November 25
Six people were injured when the Maruti van they were travelling in hit a dead cow lying on the road last night. The incident took place on the Outer Ring Road area near Mukundpur Chowk in North Delhi.

According to the police, Mast Ram along with his family was going to attend a marriage party. The injured also include two girls Shalu, 8, and Ashu, 10. They were admitted to the trauma centre.

The family lives in Krishna Nagar area of South Delhi.

New Delhi, November 25
The Delhi police has busted a racket of recovery agents involved in extortion of outstanding amounts of banks from the innocent people and arrested the owner of the collection company along with his supervisor.

The accused used to impersonate as officers of Delhi police to extort outstanding amounts from their victims.

The accused Aditya Kumar Jha (32) has a degree in mass communications from Guru Jambheshwar University, Hissar, Haryana. Besides, he did his graduation from Dyal Singh College, Delhi University in 1998. In 2000, he also fought DUSU elections.

The accused were arrested after the Crime Branch received complaint from KBS Chopra, a retired IAS officer, about receiving threatening / extortion calls on his phone.

The caller would introduce himself as an inspector of Delhi police and threatened him to pay the outstanding amounts of Standard Chartered Bank or he would face dire consequences.

The Crime Branch team succeeded in tracing the collection company as M/s Jublian Consultancy Services, M-24, Munish Plaza, 20 Ansari Road, Daryaganj and arrested the owner Aditya Kumar Jha along with his supervisor Naresh Kumar Verma (28).

Jha disclosed that his company has an agreement with various banks of Delhi for recovery of outstanding amounts from their respective customers. For this work, Jha has engaged about 35-40 employees in his company on handsome salaries.

During the process of recovery, his employees used to pose as police officials and advocates and threatened customers to pay the amounts immediately or they would be booked in criminal cases by the bank. 

Noida, November 25
A software engineer was the latest victim of an armed bikers’ gang who robbed him of his bike and mobile phone on Sunday night. The engineer, Ravi Saini was on the way to his residence in Sector-22 from Sector-63 on his bike at 9 pm.

Software engineer, Ravi Saini was waylaid by three armed criminals just before the Fortis hospital crossing. The robbers snatched his cell phone and bike at gunpoint. The robbers sped away after threatening to kill Ravi. He was so terrified that he could not even raise the alarm. The police took their own time in registering a theft report instead of loot. According to police version, Ravi Saini had stopped to relieve himself by the roadside when criminals took away his phone and bike.

Robbers indulged in three loots and assaults on Friday. In Sector-37 when cab driver Kailash Mehta offered resistance, he was shot dead by the criminals. Earlier at Amity crossing, robbers looted the bike of a software engineer after injuring him. At that time police had said that night patrolling had been increased. But it does not seem to have produced any result. 

New Delhi, November 25
Indian tourist spots will now get quality guides and souvenirs through a Penguin India initiative.

Penguin India, part of one of the world’s largest publishing groups, will begin selling picture postcards, trinkets, local tourism maps and souvenirs directly to tourists at monuments and other travel sites in a direct-to-consumer outdoor marketing model.

The new series, published under the Dorling Kindersley Imprint, is known as “The Monument Series”. It comprises a hamper of six glossy 32-page travel books priced at Rs 200. The books will be unveiled next month.

“We will post our marketing teams outside the 12 historical landmarks that we are covering in our new series to sell them to tourists. The price may sound a bit steep, but then the quality of the books makes up for it,” John Duhigg, managing director of Penguin (Travel), told IANS in the capital.

The publishing house has adopted a direct sale business model because its earlier door-to-door marketing campaigns have been successful. “We wanted to try out something new this time,” Duhigg said.

Dorling Kindersley has two travel guide series in India - the Rough Guides and now the monument series.

The first six books in the monument series deal with the Qutb Minar, Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort, Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri and Amber Fort.

The second lot to be released next year will deal with Khajuraho, Sanchi, Konark, Ajanta and Ellora, Hampi and Mahabalipuram.

The monument series, Duhigg said, combines culture, heritage, architecture and local ambience through colourful large-format photographs, texts, information listings and maps on glossy pages.

“Most of our travel guides, even those on India, are global and sell abroad. But the monument series has been designed with a view to being sold in India - and appealing to Indian sensibilities,” the managing director of Penguin Travel said.

The series, said Duhigg, will also give Penguin an insight into the Indian market because travel guides traditionally are not part of the Indian traveller’s psyche, who rely on offline and digital support to plan trips. “It will be fun to sell the books directly,” he said.

The growing market for travel books is the trigger behind the new series. “The market for travel books has been growing phenomenally despite the economic meltdown. Most of the large format travel books on India have been on our Top 10 list,” Duhigg said.

He puts the boom to the double-digit growth in inbound tourism to India. An estimate by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said the country clocked nearly five million tourist footfalls last year, making it one of the “shining stars” of Asia-pacific travel and tourism.

“India is a challenging destination for European and US tourists and a must-do trip. We are fascinated by how much Indians are travelling too, even within the country. Tourists need to have the right kind of information - which is well-edited and experiential in nature. And, moreover, we are constantly under pressure to reach out to new markets,” Duhigg said.

The publishing house also plans to put most of its new content online - to compete with the travel guides on the Internet. “The Rough Guides have been online for 12 years,” he said.

Penguin is also working on a mega-travel guide-cum-coffee table book - “The Road Less Travelled”, listing offbeat destinations. — IANS