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5 labourers, 1 engineer perish
Metro mishap snaps power, water lines; hits traffic
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Delhi Cabinet to mull Sreedharan’s resignation today
RWAs for review of Metro
FIR registered; probe on
Five drunkards beat up cops in Noida
Gt Noida accidents claim 3 lives
Row brews in premier museum and library
Between slum and public toilet, a monument lies neglected
Court forcing men out of homes for domestic violence
IMSAR offers special MBA courses
Book on Muslim culture in Hindi cinema released
Killer of girlfriend commits suicide in Tihar Jail
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5 labourers, 1 engineer perish
New Delhi, July 12 All the six, five labourers and one engineer, were working for private company, Gammon India. This morning after the accident, there was commotion at Jamrudpur near Greater Kailash in South Delhi.There were a few lucky ones also. An unidentified labourer said he was standing barely a few inches away from the spot of the crash, but was lucky as the falling concrete and debris missed him. Such was the impact of the accident that locals described it like “an earthquake or a thunderbolt”. The falling concrete slab punctured underground water supply lines and also disrupted power supply. Several people who stay in the vicinity had to wade through knee-deep water. A resident of the vicinity in Jamrudpur, Suresh said, “I was in my house and on hearing a loud bang, I rushed out to see the metro line on the ground.” Divyana, resident of Jamrudpur, says, “One of the pillars came right down. People were running in fear of getting trapped.” A relative of a labourer said there were two cracks on pillar 67, and the Metro authorities knew about it quite some time back, but no corrective action was taken. At the AIIMS trauma centre, the first victim was wheeled in at 5:20 am. And within half an hour, 15 people were admitted to the hospital in PCR vans and ambulances. Centre spokesperson Nirmal Thakur said three were dead by the time they reached, three others were discharged while seven are still under observation. As many as 15 were taken to the AIIMS trauma centre. One injured was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital and two were discharged after treatment at Moolchand Hospital. The three deceased taken to AIIMS include the site engineer Ansuman Das, 28, Niranjan, 18, from Bihar and Badam Singh, 35, from Jamrudpur. Amar Singh, 32, and Amarnath, 34, are critical and admitted to ICU. Seven people whose condition is stable and are under observation at AIIMS trauma centre, include Prakash, 38, with fractured left wrist and ankle; Chavi Raj, 20, with fracture in right wrist; two brothers Mahavev, 33, with possible internal injury and Gopal, 22, with wounds; Hari Poth Sahu, 25, with chest injury; Kumar Dilip, 20, with wrist fracture, besides Anil Yadav. The trauma centre spokesperson informed that three people—Ravinder Kumar, 26, Pappu, 26, and Dhananjay, 23, were discharged from the emergency. Gopal, a resident of Khorda in Orissa, said, “I was on of the launchers, and that is why perhaps I was saved from coming under the huge bridge that collapsed when a launcher was being erected. But the one of the pillars—pillar 67, which had cracks in it, couldn’t take the pressure and came down.” |
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Metro mishap snaps power, water lines; hits traffic
New Delhi, July 12 The accident that took place around 5 am at Zamrudpur near East of Kailash. A Delhi Jal Board water supply pipe has burst, swamping the area in ankle to knee deep water. Electrical supply in the area has been temporarily disconnected as heavy cranes are working to clear the debris and there was fear of their entanglement in the overhead powerlines, the officials said. Residential areas like Amar Colony, Vikram Vihar and Zamrudpur have been affected. “Traffic has been diverted at the Kailash Colony market, Amar Colony, the nearby Lady Sri Ram College and Blue Bells School till 6.00 a.m. tomorrow (Monday),” DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said. Dipin Nayyar, a resident of Amar Colony said: “They cut off electricity at around 7.45 a.m. And since then there has been no water either - it is difficult. We may be able to cope today since it is a Sunday. But we hope the situation will improve by tomorrow morning.” Shops in the nearby Zamrudpur area have been closed as six cranes are trying to clear the debris and damaged bridge. The bridge, unhinged from one pillar is still attached precariously to the other pillar and fell in close proximity to the shops. Siddharth Aggarwal, a shop owner in Zamrudpur village, told IANS: “With no water, life is miserable and without electricity, it is very hot. The shops have been shut down that will affect business. Their pace of removing the debris and clearing the damaged area is slow - I don’t think they will be able to clear the area by tomorrow morning.” DMRC has started a helpline number - 23414461 - to inform public about developments.
— IANS |
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Delhi Cabinet to mull Sreedharan’s resignation today
Compensation
Rs 5 lakh for kin of deceased Rs 2 lakh for seriously injured Rs 50,000 for minor injuries
New Delhi, June 12 An official of the Chief Minister office said that the resignation of the DMRC chief had been received in the evening. But no decision has been taken so far whether to accept the resignation letter. It is likely to be taken in tomorrow’s cabinet meeting. The Chief Minister has also announced to constitute a committee to investigate the incident, the official said. Just after the incident, the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit and health minister Kiran Walia visited the hospital where the injured were admitted. This was the second such incident. The first accident occurred near ITO when a part of under-construction bridge collapsed. She has also announced Rs 5 lakh as an ex gratia to the nearest kin of the deceased. An amount of Rs 2 lakh would be paid to each in case of serious injuries, while Rs 50,000 would be given in case of minor injuries. The amount would be released by the
DMRC. |
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RWAs for review of Metro
New Delhi July 12 “The RWAs had been demanding underground metro. About 300 km elevated track on pillars has left a complex unsafe web of reinforced concrete hanging over our heads,” said Rajiv Kakaria of Greater Kailash-I RWA. “Vast concretisation of city because of 300 kms of elevated metro track on concrete pillars has already choked the city with commercial activity at metro stations. The entire project in South Delhi was rushed despite the RWA’s protest in the area and Delhi High Court intervention,” added Kakaria. “There is an urgent need to take most of the existing and new Metro rail routes underground. Events like the Commonwealth Games force an unnatural speed upon the project that leaves no time for impact or investment assessment, expert planning inputs,” pointed out Promod Chawla, convenor, URJA Bharat, an apex body of RWAs in the Capital. |
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FIR registered; probe on
New Delhi, July 12 The DCP South East, Shalini Singh said, “We have registered a first information report but responsibility is not fixed on the culprits yet. Investigations are under way and law will run its course. Relief work is on at the site of the collapse.” Heavy cranes and firefighters are deployed at the site to help rescue people and relief operations are expected to continue through the night till dawn on Monday. The chief, Delhi Fire Service, S.C. Sharma said, “Relief operations are currently under way and will continue through the night. Some 40 firemen are working at the site and we have sent six vehicles, heavy machinery and cranes to the site.” Delhi Metro spokesperson Anuj Dayal said it was a structural collapse and the matter was under investigation. There appears to be a problem in the design of the bridge. The bridge fell on a water pipeline which led to some flooding in the area. |
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Five drunkards beat up cops in Noida
Noida, July 12 The police reinforcement reached the spot immediately and the police team overpowered them. The incident took place at 1.30 am on Saturday at Khora crossing. The five who had assaulted the cops were identified as Dashrath, Neeruj Kumar, Titoo, Bachhu Singh and Kishenpal. Neeraj runs a taxi stand while Dashrath is a realtor. The five were having a drunken revellery on the road by placing liquor bottles atop taxis. They were creating a ruckus. Two cops on a Leopard, Rajiv Kumar and Vijay Pal, reprimanded them and told them to behave themselves at that late hour. The five abused the cops and started beating them up. When Vijay Pal was informing the police control room, one of the miscreants had even tried to snatch his wireless set. In a matter of a few minutes, cops from sector 58 and another Kotwali reached the spot. The assailants tried to flee, but cops were able to overpower them. They have been booked for abusing and assaulting government servants on official duty. |
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Gt Noida accidents claim 3 lives
Greater Noida, July 12 Pawan of Dadpur village was going to Dadri early in the morning on his bike. He lost his balance near Greater Noida Authority office and his bike hit the road divider. Some wayfarers rushed him to the Kailash hospital where he was declared brought dead. The second accident occured at Sigma crossing at 2 pm. Jagveer and Praveen, residents of Sigma, were going to get a gas connection in Delta Sector. A truck hurtling down at high speed hit their bike, crushing Jagveer to death while Praveen was seriously injured and rushed to the Kailash hospital. Villagers collected at the site tried to torch the truck after they had badly beaten up the driver. In the third accident, a Radhey Mohan, 20, of Kanpur was going shopping on his scooter. On the main road, he was hit by a truck. He also died on the spot. The driver was able to flee with his vehicle. Police has sent his body for autopsy. |
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Light showers in evening catch S. Delhiites unawares
New Delhi, July 12 People in several parts of South Delhi were caught unawares due to intermittent rain. However, the Met department could record just traces of rainfall. The maximum temperature was recorded at 39.0 degree Celsius, three degrees above the average while the minimum was two notches above the normal at 29.5 degree Celsius. The high humidity level being at a maximum of 77 per cent gave a difficult time to the Capital’s residents. Meanwhile, the weather officials have predicted a partly cloudy sky for tomorrow with the maximum and minimum to be some where at 38 and 29 degree Celsius respectively. |
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Row brews in premier museum and library
New Delhi, July 12 A group of 57 scholars including Rajmohan Gandhi, Sunil Khilnani, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Ramachandra Guha, Nayanjot Lahiri, Sumit Sarkar, Krishna Kumar, Partha Chatterjee, Sugata Bose, Joya Chatterji, Nivedita Menon, Rukun Advani, Mahesh Rangarajan and Mushirul Hasan, in an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urged him to set in motion steps necessary to revive the NMML. “Until 1990, the NMML was a world class centre of scholarship and research and a worthy memorial to Jawaharlal Nehru, the great democrat and scholar after whom it was named. In recent years, however, the institution has been trapped in a culture of apathy and mediocrity,” the scholars said in their letter sent in June. They said the library has discontinued its publication programme, acquisition of rare manuscripts and oral histories have come to a standstill and it has “abandoned its principled non-partisanship by opening its door to political use and misuse”. In their letter, a copy of which is with IANS, the scholars urged the prime minister to “end the nepotistic tenure of consultants, induct into the executive council of NMML three or four respected scholars, encourage the executive council to restore the NMML to its position as India’s pre-eminent centre of dispassionate scholarship in humanities and social sciences”. They demanded that “once the present director Mridula Mukherjee’s term ends in August, her successor must be chosen through an open, transparent process”. When contacted in Bangalore, historian, social scientist and writer Ramachandra Guha, one of the signatories to the petition, told IANS on phone to “quote the petition because it contained the complete scenario”. However, some other scholars who refused to be named alleged that the petition was an effort to “remove eminent historian Mridula Mukherjee”, a former professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, from her post as director and was “an attempt to cover up certain serious irregularities in the NMML under the previous bosses in 2004-05”. NMML, a repository of the personal memorabilia of the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was founded at the initiative of the government under the ministry of culture in 1964 after Nehru’s death. Housed at Teen Murti Bhavan where Nehru lived, it also serves as an advanced research centre. It has been allocated Rs.26.50 crore in the budget by the culture ministry for modernisation, said a senior official of NMML. In a statement on the website of the museum, director Mridula Mukherjee said: “The entire activities of the library will be automated through computerisation, thereby reducing paper work.” Mukherjee, who is out of the country at the moment, said in the statement that the digitisation work has two objectives - preservation and to make the contents available to the world. The digitisation committee, which met in January 2009 to approve the bids for it, shortlisted 10 vendors in May. The terms of reference to the shortlisted vendors have been issued in June. Citing new projects initiated by the library, an official said the director has been reaching out to rural, marginalised and challenged children across the country with the message and values of Mahatma Gandhi and the secular and scientific ideals of Nehru through interactive programmes based on music, painting, dance and theatre. The library has seen several eminent personalities like V.P. Singh, Thich Nhat Hanh, Martin Luther King III, Amitav Ghosh, Medha Patkar, M.S. Swaminathan and Robert Jessop debate on issues like the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, right to information, the Gandhian Legacy, globalisation and the environment.
— IANS |
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Between slum and public toilet, a monument lies neglected
New Delhi, July 12 Uncared for by authorities who are supposed to protect it, about 10-12 shacks have come up around the “protected” sandstone structure in which Bijri Khan’s Tomb is located in south Delhi. The Mughal-era monument stands just 10 metres from a busy road in Sector 3 of R.K. Puram, with a slum on one side and a public toilet right next to it. The DLTA tennis courts that will host the Commonwealth Games next year and draw thousands of visitors is a few hundred metres from it. The neglected structure that is supposedly protected by law projects none of its former glory. A south Indian temple is located close to its encroached compound wall, within which there is even a playground - with broken swings for children from the nearby slum of 1,000 residents. The outer walls are damaged and empty glass and plastic bottles are strewn around. One can’t even fathom that the monument, on a high mound, belongs to the glorious Lodhi dynasty that ruled much of India before the Mughals. Having set up his cot just outside the majestic tomb, 70-year-old Shiv Shankar is content enjoying his free afternoon. He is enjoying the traffic on the roads and the slum children running around the eroded compound wall that serves as a common courtyard and playground. Asked about the tomb, Shankar told an IANS correspondent: “I don’t know anything about this monument. I have been staying here 12-13 years and we have seen no official showing concern about the monument or asking us to move out.” None of the other residents knew anything about the monument - except its name. Pradeep Kumar, another resident, said: “We have been here since 1993. We don’t know about the tomb. No one has ever come to remove us from here. We have our own electricity meters and we get our water supply. No problem.” With no signboard in sight and odd graffiti running across the thick walls of the structure, a passerby can just guess that the monument may be a tomb. Through the iron bars that keep the inside of the tomb locked up, dark shadows reveal that it houses five graves - two of which appear badly damaged. “The police used to frequently round up couples who used to go into the tomb. After that the tomb was locked up,” Kumar recalled. Despite its pathetic state, Bijri Khan’s tomb is a conserved monument under the State Department of Archaeology (SDA) and is covered under by the Delhi Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004. A cleaner appointed by the SDA comes once a week to pick up the garbage in the complex, residents said.The presence of a slum so close to Bijri Khan’s tomb shows that the authorities have failed to abide by the Delhi High Court’s directions and building bylaws which stipulate that there will be no building within 50-100 metres of any structure of archaeological significance. SDA consultant Kishan Lal told IANS: “We have no infrastructure to remove the encroachments nearby. Our first target it to protect the monument. The maintenance of the surrounding area is the responsibility of the civic body and land development authority. It is their job to remove the slums.” A.K. Aggarwal, Deputy Land and Development Officer of Delhi Development Authority (DDA), said he had “no idea there is a tomb like this and we are not aware of our land there”. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a non-profit heritage conservation organisation, has graded Bijri Khan’s tomb of archaeological value ‘A’ - “extremely important for historical, archaeological value”. With help from INTACH, DDA listed 1,208 heritage buildings more than 100 years old. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) manages 174 protected monuments in Delhi. The SDA looks after 250 of them in understanding with INTACH. A.G.K. Menon, convener of INTACH’s Delhi chapter, told IANS: “Despite the MoU, bureaucracy is getting in the way. We can’t get anywhere. We have surveyed 90 monuments. Based on the data we have notified around 20 monuments as legally protected. After this the government can start spending money on conservation. Getting to smaller sites is always tougher.” Tombs like Bijri Khan’s aren’t fortunate enough to figure on heritage routes planned by INTACH. Conservation architect Vikas Dilawari says incentives by the government and civil society action are the only way out. “There should be incentives from the government like an area being invited to adopt a monument, which would give custodianship to the people in the area for upkeep,” he said.
— IANS |
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Court forcing men out of homes for domestic violence
New Delhi, July 12 Life took an ugly turn for Sharma when a Delhi court asked him to vacate his newly bought house in Gurgaon near Delhi and hand over possession to a wife who had left him three years after marriage. The dramatic development took place after his wife slapped a case of domestic violence. Sharma pleaded with the court to be lenient but was forced to move to a rented accommodation. The Domestic Violence Act of 2006 seeks to provide protection and compensation for all kinds of abuse at home directed at women — including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and economic. Sharma, who works with an IT consultancy company, explained what he underwent: “I was happily married to Sunita. But since she could not adjust with my parents, I bought a house on loan. However things did not work between us. She left the home on her own after five months to live with her parents in Delhi. I explored every option to bring her back but failed.” His wife slapped a case of domestic violence and dowry harassment against him and his family. “Within a month, a court directed me to vacate the house and give its possession to my wife,” Sharma said. At the same time he had to keep paying the loan instalments of Rs.40,000 a month. On top of it, he pays the rent for the Dwarka house where he lives. Sections 18-23 of the Domestic Violence Act provide a large number of avenues for an abused woman to get relief. She can get protection orders, residence orders, monetary relief and custody order for children. “I pleaded with the court that I will get her a rented accommodation but the court asked me to give the keys of my house to her and directed me not to visit that house,” Sharma said. According to him, Sunita works with a multinational, earning Rs.6 lakhs a year. Sharma’s is not the only case where a husband has had to vacate the house. Sandeep Bhartia, founder of the Gender Human Rights Society, which fights for the rights of men accused of domestic violence, said that married men were daily losing their homes under the Domestic Violence Act. He said the act was so stringent that judges at times overlooked points that may show the husbands in good light. “In some cases the husband and wife were staying separately for more than two years, in some maintenance had already been decided. But all that is immaterial when the act comes into play. Judges have to give some relief, at least a right of residence to her,” Bhartia said.
— IANS |
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IMSAR offers special MBA courses
Gurgaon, July 12 Talking to The Tribune on a visit to the MDU’s Institute of Law and Management Studies (ILMS) here yesterday, Ajay K.Rajan, director, IMSAR and Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences, MDU, said the decision had been taken in view of the city’s requirements and potential. “We have been running an MBA (International Business) programme at the ILMS for several years. For quite some time, there was a demand for general MBA as well as specialisation in other areas,” he maintained. Dr Rajan asserted that while the admission process for MBA course was already on, the university had also issued the admission notification for a week-end MBA (Executive) programme at the Gurgaon campus. “Thus, apart from the LLB and MBA (International Business) courses, the ILMS now offers MBA with specialisations in marketing, finance, human resource management and disaster management, besides a week-end MBA (Executive) programme especially designed for in-service professionals,” said Poonam Datta, coordinator of management programmes at the ILMS. The classes for the MBA (Executive) course would be held on Saturdays and Sundays, she said, adding that the last date for receiving application forms was July 28. Rajan further informed that several senior functionaries from the industrial sector had also been roped in to guide the students about the skill-set required to suit the latest requirements of the industry. In response to a query, he maintained that the weekend programme would have an edge over the correspondence and distance-education management courses as it had been designed and developed as per the latest trends and job market requirements. |
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Book on Muslim culture in Hindi cinema released
New Delhi, July 12 The “Islamicate Cultures of Bombay Cinema” was written in almost two years by Ira Bhaskar, an associate professor of cinema studies at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Richard Allen, chair of Cinema Studies at New York University. The films have been classified into four categories: historicals (now popularly called costume dramas) like “Mughal-e-Azam”, courtesan films like “Umrao Jaan”, socials like “Chaudhvin Ka Chand” and new wave films like “Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro”. — IANS |
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Killer of girlfriend commits suicide in Tihar Jail
New Delhi, July 12 “We received a call in the morning that an inmate (Kapil Sharma) has committed suicide in Tihar Jail. The manner and timing of the act is still not confirmed,” a senior police official told IANS. Kapil Sharma was arrested after he allegedly murdered his girlfriend Sunita inside her rented accommodation in East Patel Nagar area on Thursday. Sharma suspected she had relations with another man. Sharma stabbed Sunita to death after the two argued over her alleged affair. Sharma was preparing for a business management entrance exam while Sunita was pursuing a secretarial course in Delhi.
— IANS |
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