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Haryana to regularise
services of Class IV staff
Video surveillance for Games
Commissioner of Delhi police Y.S. Dadwal addresses
the press on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal |
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Special units for white collar crimes soon, says Dadwal
Sugar mills generate as much ‘green’ energy as windmills
Natural resources going down drain
Killer cabbies’ case:
five acquitted
Mend your hostile attitude, cops warned
Charan Singh varsity courses being revised
Fire at Faridabad oil plant
Check DJB’s working: Kohli
Civic agency hastens to clean drains
Wanted criminal shot in Ghaziabad
Four held with heroin worth Rs 1 crore
Boy killed in truck mishap
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Haryana to regularise
services of Class IV staff
Gurgaon, June 6 The minister redressed eight complaints out of 12 put up before him in the meeting. A complaint was made to him that a factory, M/s Heat Treatment Plant, was being operated in Surya Vihar Colony. The minister directed the Municipal Corporation and Haryana Pollution Control Board authorities to take action against the factory owner after serving him show cause notice. The authorities said that notices have been issued and the factory was closed for the time being. Redressing a complaint regarding cleanliness in HUDA sectors of the city, Birender Singh asked the HUDA authorities to depute officials for supervising the cleanliness work performed by the private contractor. He said that the JE of the department would submit a report about cleanliness after consulting the prominent persons of the sector. If laxity was found even then, the JE concerned would be held responsible. Taking up another complaint related to
HUDA, the finance minister ordered to constitute a five-member committee under the chairmanship of additional deputy commissioner Parveen Kumar for finding a solution to the problem of sewer water accumulation near Hans Enclave in village Naharpur
Rupa. A complaint regarding encroachment on the space meant for urinal and stairs in Red Cross Shopping Complex was also put up before the minister. The enquiry officer, SDM north Gurgaon, Shakti Singh said that the space was vacated and an FIR registered against the illegal occupant. The material found on the site was also confiscated. The minister said that if the space was again encroached upon, the secretary of District Red Cross Society would be held responsible. A delegation of industrialists of Udyog Vihar also apprised him of the condition of Sarhol Road. The minister then directed the PWD B&R authorities to repair that road. |
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Video surveillance for Games
New Delhi, June 6 The video footage from border points, Games’ venues and traffic intersections will be accessed at the central command unit, the construction of which is expected to be completed soon, said police commissioner Y.S. Dadwal. “It will be a huge hall with digital walls. There will be 24 cubes. We will be able to have footage from different stadia and intersections. We will get real time footage,” he said. In addition, hotlines and wireless facilities would be set up at the unit, “through which deployment would be made easy” in case of an emergency, a senior police official said. To beef up security arrangements during the Games, the Delhi government has already approved a special project for setting up of a state-of-the-art dedicated communication network for the Delhi police. The cyber highway will facilitate implementation of convergent services of application, call interception and monitoring systems. With this network, all police stations in the capital would get easy access to data relating to crime and criminals at the click of a
mouse. — IANS |
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Special units for white collar crimes soon, says Dadwal
New Delhi, June 6 “The white collar crime cells would work separate from the crime branch’s economic offences wing (EOW) and operate under district deputy commissioners of police,” said Dadwal. “We have conceptualised the idea. There is a shortage of investigators. Special training will be given to police personnel who will be shifted to the cell,” Dadwal said. Initially, as a pilot project, three districts will be selected to set up the cells. At present economic crimes of over Rs 10 million or cases having a large number of complainants are handled by the EOW. The decision to set up the cells comes at a time when white collar crimes like cheating, forgery and property disputes are on the rise, Dadwal said. “We have to accelerate the process of disposal of cases. These new cells will handle all such cases in the districts,” he added. According to Delhi police statistics, the EOW investigated 781 cases, including the DDA flat allotment scam, last year apart from enquiring 3,241 complaints. A total of 172 people were arrested.
— IANS |
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Sugar mills generate as much ‘green’ energy as windmills
New Delhi, June 6 The sugar mills, which produce both electricity and heat through cogeneration, are already selling power to the grid and can produce up to 5,100 MW - 69 per cent of the country’s total cogeneration capacity - according to the study carried out by the New Delhi-based NGO Centre for Science and Environment
(CSE). The study said “such alternatives to fossil fuel energy are critical for India’s energy and climate security. But lack of policy and pricing issues threaten the sustainability of this green power. Sugar mills generate biomass-based green energy from
bagasse, a waste product that comes from sugarcane cultivation. Mills in the five major sugarcane growing states of Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are now generating enough to meet the energy needs of a business centre the size of Gurgaon. However, says the study, India has no policy framework in place to strengthen this green energy source. Sunita
Narain, director, CSE, points out: “This energy source is an important win-win solution, as it brings value-addition and additional funds to agricultural resources, which in turn will give better payments to farmers and improve productivity.” Today, out of the 650-odd sugar mills in India, 107 have cogeneration plants. This revenue stream has managed to bail out sugar mills reeling from the falling prices of sugar, says the report. The Dhampur Sugar Mills in Uttar
Pradesh, which has the largest cogeneration capacity in the country, made Rs 420 million from its cogeneration unit in 2007-08, compared to Rs 110 million from its sugar units. It sold about 177 million units of power to the state. The International Energy Agency says that the sugar sector has a potential to produce 5,100 MW of power through cogeneration, which is 69 per cent of total cogeneration capacity. If the resources and technology are improved, cogeneration can produce almost 10,000 MW or 40 per cent of the country’s 2008 power deficit. The report points out that bagasse generates nearly the same amount of power as the wind energy sector. Wind produces almost 2,000 MW, most of which remains unutilised most of the time.
Bagasse-based cogeneration plants also earn carbon credits as the carbon dioxide absorbed by sugarcane plants while growing up is more than the carbon dioxide produced in burning
bagasse. India launched its biomass power (bagasse-based cogeneration) policy in 1990. As the shortage of power grew in many sugarcane states, the policy was revised in 2006 to provide capital subsidy
(Rs 1.5 million per MW) and tax rebates (including 80 per cent depreciation in the first year for selected equipment). The 2003 Amendment to the Electricity Act also provided the necessary framework for promoting renewable energy sources - asking states to fix a minimum limit for energy utilities to buy green energy. However, the country still has a long way to go, the report says. In the absence of a strong policy framework, feed-in tariffs (the premium cost of green power) differ from state to state and are based on scarcity (not policy). While in some states like Tamil
Nadu, the tariff is as high as Rs 7 per unit, others like Uttar Pradesh pay only Rs 3 per unit. Low feed-in tariffs have begun to hurt cogeneration, says the study.
Narain says: “The policy must incentivise the generation of power, not capital investment. The capital cost of biomass energy is roughly Rs 40-50 million per MW, which is half the cost of installing wind energy. But unlike wind, the raw material - bagasse or other agricultural residues - has competing uses and value.” Narain says this price must be paid, as it helps local farmers to improve their returns and encourages production of biomass.
— IANS |
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Natural resources going down drain
New Delhi, June 6 The number of vehicles plying on the city’s alleys has become more than 50 lakh and the sewage generated has increased to 3800 ml/d. Consequently, poisonous carbon emissions and toxic waste repercussions have assumed alarming proportions. A cross-section of city’s residential and industrial locations has registered a notable increase in terms of three of the ambient air quality criteria, as indicated by the air quality monitoring programme of Delhi Pollution Control Committee. A recent study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) points out that during this summer, there has been unprecedented ozone build-up, and nearly every day in April and quite many days in May, the readings violated the acceptable standards. This study was carried out on the data created by Central Pollution Control Board at its three automatic monitoring stations at Siri Fort, ITO Traffic Intersection and Delhi College of Engineering. Hence, Anumita Roychowdhury, the deputy-director of CSE urges the Delhi government to act at the earliest by enforcing emergency pollution control measures along with filtering pollutants that react to generate ozone in air. Given the fact that the government is pushing for environment-friendly CWG 2010 by initiating many greening projects, environmentalists feel that it should consider the suggestion of CSE and introduce a routine health alert system to alert the vulnerable population. The pollution in the city’s water resources, especially the Yamuna, has also augmented over the years. The river’s predicament is due to the fact that two-thirds of 3800 mld, the total amount of sewage generated in Delhi, finds its way into it in untreated form. And this is despite Delhi has the largest sewerage infrastructure of 6,000 kms sewers and sewage treatment capacity of 2330 mld. A senior scientist from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) points out that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), which has 15 functional sewage treatment plants, has not utilised its capacity to the optimum level. But to which officials from the board feel is largely due to the ever-augmenting population and the consequent increase in waste generation. According to a survey by CMS Environment and Peace Institute, over 90 per cent of Delhiites believe the condition of the Yamuna to be a man-made crisis, and the majority consider the Common Wealth Village, Yamuna Metro Depot and Parsvath Metro Mall as the biggest threats to the survival of
Yamuna. |
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Killer cabbies’ case:
five acquitted
Gurgaon, June 6 Hearing the case of an alleged murder of an unidentified person in connection with the matter, the court of additional district and sessions judge
Y.S. Rathod acquitted Pramod, Budhram, Mukesh, Rohtash and Danny citing lack of evidence. According to the Gurgaon police, one Yoginder Singh, a resident of Kho village, had reported about an unidentified, semi-decomposed body he saw in a drain on October 10, 2006. The body was sent for a post-mortem examination and a case under Sections 279 and 304-A (accidental death) was registered at Manesar on October 18. However, the police later changed the charges to murder on November 9, 2006, after the killer cabbies’ gang confessed to their crimes. The police had registered the case against seven persons. Of these, Harkesh and Lalit were minors when arrested. They have been sent to a juvenile court, while the rest have been acquitted. So far, various fast-track and session courts have given their judgments on four of the total 21 cases registered against the gang. Members of the gang have been sentenced to life term and 10-year rigorous imprisonment in cases of murder and looting. According to the police, the killer cabbies’ gang became operational on the
Delhi-Jaipur Expressway in areas like IFFCO Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Hero Honda Chowk and IMT
Manesar. Their modus operandi was to pick unsuspecting commuters from these spots in Maxi cabs. After giving lift, three or four gang members, who used to be already sitting in the cabs, would take the vehicle to a secluded spot, strangle the passenger to death and loot his cash and other belongings. They would then dump the body in some drain or the bushes along the road. In the wake of vehement protests from the residents, the district police laid a trap and nabbed some suspected gang members, including
Pramod, the alleged gang leader, in November, 2006. During interrogation, they revealed the names of their associates
Vikram, alias Vicky, Budhram and Dalchand, who were subsequently arrested. Following this, as many as 21 cases, including 20 cases of murder and robbery and one of attempted murder and loot, have been registered against the accused. The cases pertained to areas in Gurgaon, Jhajjar and Rewari districts and nearly 20 such persons are currently undergoing trials in these cases. |
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Mend your hostile attitude, cops warned
Noida, June 6 “Prick your conscious; do not convert police stations into bases for pimps. You won’t get another chance to mend your ways. Next time only strong action will follow,” told the officers to the police officials. Both the officers had participated in a meeting to review the law and order situation in the district. “We understand FIRs are not normally registered and victims are shooed away from police stations. You only care for the rich and influential people while the common man is made to wait for hours at police stations.” “Administration desires that the functioning of the police should be
transparent and done with full honesty,” said the additional cabinet secretary. He warned the police that the administration would take strong action against weak careless and the slipshod cops. “The chief minister has given orders that those who do not deliver must face the music”, he added. A veiled warning was also given to the three development authorities in GB Nagar about solving problems of the farmers. |
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Charan Singh varsity courses being revised
Ghaziabad, June 6 According to the university vice-chancellor, M.K.Kak, all the current courses of study in the university are being revised and updated now as per the instructions of University Grants Commission. The university syllabuses are also being reviewed and revised in the light of the syllabuses of the best universities of the world. A special panel of senior professors has been set up in CCS university to study the course syllabuses of world’s best universities and adopt them into the CCS university syllabuses. This exercise will introduce a new standard into the courses and enable the students to have an edge in the job market, the vice-chancellor felt. The revised syllabuses will be introduced from 2009-10 academic session, he said. Under the self-financed scheme, BCA, BBA, MCA, MBA and journalism courses are available. B.Sc., B.Sc. (physical education), BA, LLB, LLM and other MA courses are being run in all the government-aided colleges affiliated to the university. The university finance committee has already sent a proposal to the state government for upward revision of the fee structure of the courses. |
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Fire at Faridabad oil plant
Faridabad, June 6 The fire raged for about three hours before it could be brought under control by the Haryana Fire Services men. Nine firefighting engines were used in the operations. The incident occurred in morning. The firm, christened Adani Wilmar Ltd., is located on Wazirpur Road in the Old Faridabad area. It deals in production of refined oil. According to Shashi Kant, owner of the firm, goods worth huge amount of money have been burnt in the fire. He said that the exact value of the damage could not be assessed immediately. There was no human injury in the incident. According to the police, the cause of the fire was being investigated.
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Check DJB’s working: Kohli
New Delhi, June 6 Kohli said given the sweltering heat conditions in the Capital, the government should take immediate steps to mitigate water scarcity in the city The BJP pradesh president points out that the crisis of drinking water is reported to have arisen due to the fall in the production level in Chandrawal and Wazirabad treatment plants of Delhi. Accusing the Haryana government for the crisis, he said “The Haryana irrigation department is not at all bothered about the problems of Delhi and is ignoring the issue terming it to be a problem of Delhi. The people are feeling cheated by both the Delhi as well as Haryana.” He added that even though the scarcity of water had been haunting Delhiites every summer, the government had not been able to reach a solution yet. “Every year people in several parts of Delhi fight for water but the government turns a blind eye to the problem. The meaning of development is not only constructing flyovers and big malls, its real meaning lies in the delivery of basic amenities ,” stated Kohli. Kohli added that the government had to resort to concrete measures to streamline the functioning of the DJB.
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Civic agency hastens to clean drains
New Delhi, June 6 In a meeting with senior MCD engineers and the additional commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Delhi standing committee chairman Ram Kishan Singhal said that to ensure that heaps of silt do not result in “insanitary conditions” during the rains, the process to clean up the city’s drains and roads must be hastened. “While passing through the roads, it is a common sight to see malba (silt) lying here and there. Residents have a tendency of throwing garbage on the heaps of malba. It leads to insanitary conditions during rainy season. An exercise to remove this should begin from Monday,” Singhal told the engineers. Singhal also asked MCD commissioner K.S. Mehra to identify the sites where residents throw garbage. “These sites should be properly barricaded and the malba removed on a regular basis. This will prevent people from throwing muck all over the place,” Singhal said. Ahead of the monsoon, agencies like the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) are attempting to clean drains full of accumulated rubbish to avoid waterlogging on the roads.
— IANS |
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Wanted criminal shot in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad June 6 Senior superintendent of police Akhil Kumar said
Saleem, alias Tunda, a resident of Khazoori village of Meerut district, was gunned down in the early hours of Saturday at Raj Nagar district
centre. His accomplice suffered gunshot wounds. The police recovered a pass book of Allahabad Bank, a PAN card, a voter identity card, a driving
licence, two revolvers and a large number of bullets. According to police, the two were on a motorcycle when they were asked to stop at a checkpost at GT Road in
Sahibabad. The criminals ignored the instruction to stop and fled. A high speed chase ensued, during which the two started firing at the policemen. According to police, Saleem died in the retaliatory fire while his accomplice managed to escape. Police said that Saleem had a reward of Rs 10,000 on his capture and was recently involved in a Rs 20-lakh heist at a flower trader’s house.
— IANS |
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Four held with heroin worth Rs 1 crore
Noida, June 6 Senior superintendent of police Ashok Kumar Singh said the four - Sanjay Sharma, Rajeev Sharma, alias Raju, Santosh and Munna - were arrested on Friday evening. “The recovered quantity of heroin costs nearly a crore (rupees) in the international market. A police team arrested them from Sector-58 while they were bringing the drug on bikes,” he said. “These people used to buy heroin from the Bahjai area near Moradabad and then bring it here to be sold in Delhi and its suburbs. They had a well-organised network for sale and purchase of the drug,” the official said.
— IANS
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Boy killed in truck mishap
Gurgaon, June 6 According to the eyewitness, the deceased Dharmendra, alias Dharo, used to pass through the road every day in the afternoon. “Today also he was going for his work when a truck coming from the opposite direction hit him,” he said. The native of Bihar, Dharmendra used to sell chana kulcha. The police reached the spot and took him to the hospital, but he died on the way. The police has registered a case against the driver of the truck who fled from the spot leaving his truck. |
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The Delhi police on Saturday announced it would be stepping up video surveillance in time for next year’s Commonwealth Games by beaming real time footage from across the Capital to “digital video walls” to be set up at the police headquarters here.
