New Delhi, August 24
The Delhi cabinet has decided to continue targeted subsidy which is linked to limited consumption of power in case of domestic consumers and has also agreed to continue subsidised power to agricultural consumers in the Capital.

The cabinet has also approved a proposal of salary hike for Lokayukta and Upalokayukta in tune with the existing salary in respect of Chief Justice and judges of the high court, respectively.

It has also approved the revised age limit for appointment of contractual teachers and exemption of payment of stamp duty for NGOs, societies, trusts working in the field of women empowerment.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the targeted subsidy of Re 1 per unit for all domestic consumers restricting their consumption up to 150 to 200 units per month in off-peak and peak months would continue. She added agricultural consumers would also continue to be benefited with the special subsidy.

The period of these subsidies had expired on May 31, 2009.

Dikshit said the decision had been taken in view of the government’s commitment to provide relief to those domestic consumers who were vulnerable and had been restricting their monthly consumption.

As per the decision, the targeted subsidy would continue at Re 1 to all domestic consumers who restrict their monthly consumption to 150 units during off-peak summer months (March and April) and off-peak winter months (September, October, November and February).

The targeted subsidy at Re 1 per unit to all domestic consumers who restrict their consumption up to 200 units per month during peak summer months (May to August) and peak winter months (December and January) would also continue.

The agricultural consumers would continue to get electricity at Rs 1.55 per unit less than the normal rate.

New Delhi, August 24
Bearing the fact in mind that the H1N1 fatalities in the national Capital has been due to pronounced delay in treatment and reaching to the designated hospitals, the city health department has decided to direct all the private practitioners and hospitals to refer all suspected cases of H1N1 influenza with immediacy.

An advisory is going to be issued tomorrow to the private doctors by the city health department. The decision comes on the lines of the union health department’s latest amendments for H1N1 treatment.

With this the idea of roping in of the private hospitals for treatment seems to have been put on the backburner for the time being.

Sources say the step comes in the wake of the latest improper handling of H1N1 patients that cost their lives.

The principal health secretary of Delhi, J P Singh stated, “As only the designated government health facilities are adequately equipped with the treatment infrastructure, including the Tamiflu, all private hospitals should send all persons with H1N1 symptoms to the designated centres. The direction comes due to spoiling of cases. ”

Adding that the health department has been constantly urging all people showing clear signs of the pandemic flu to report at any listed hospital, he said “People should not waste time in browsing the private hospitals or wait after having the flu signs as per the Centre’s guidance.”

On the sampling and diagnosis of the viral infection front, with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) still struggling to clear the backlogs of samples, the city health department is engaging its officials for assessing the logistics and testing capability of five private laboratories.

“The backlog of samples to be tested is quite evident with today again 37 positive cases coming up. Instead of waiting for the NCDC’s reports, we are carrying out our own inspection task, and it is almost in the final stages. Tomorrow, it is likely that we might declare the names,” briefed J P Singh.

While, Super Religare Laboratories (SRL), Dr Lal Path Labs (DLPL), Dr Dang Labs, Auroprob Laboratories (AL) and Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences are being zeroed in by the Delhi health department, the NCDC had subjected the Era Health, Quest Labs and Piramal Laboratories besides SRL, DLPL, AL for proficiency testing of samples earlier.

Importantly, the death of a 48-year-old man of Panchsheel Park reported yesterday as a suspected victim of H1N1 has been due to renal failure, said the medical superintendent today after his swab report from the tested him negative for the viral infection.

Meanwhile, the spree of the pandemic virus continues with 37 new positive cases of H1N1 flu surfacing today in the national Capital, and this takes the cumulative figure of confirmed transmissions to 478, out of which 423 have been treated.

New Delhi, August 24
The Delhi government’s Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) has cleared three proposals worth Rs 37 crore of the PWD. The proposals are related to Games 2010.

Talking to mediapersons, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that the PWD would construct a parking lot for the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) near Indraprastha Power Station at Ring Road. An estimated sum of Rs 10.49 crore would be spent on the project and the work would be completed in eight months.

She said the parking lot was needed to accommodate buses being procured for the Commonwealth Games.

The government has also sanctioned Rs 16.37 crore for widening approach roads connecting to road over bridges at road number 37, Prembari Pool and Keshavpuram. For this, the government would have to purchase land from the Haryana government. Rs 9.15 crore would be released for it. However, the construction cost would be Rs 7.22 crore.

Dikshit further informed that Rs 10.22 crore had been sanctioned for the strengthening a 4,200-meter long section on the main carriage way of Sri Anandmayee Road that was strengthened last in 2003-04. The work would be completed in 10 months.

This road goes to Okhla Industrial area and is the route for Faridabad from south Delhi. Heavy vehicles comprising sanitary waste trucks, dumpers, containers, trailers and other heavy vehicles ply on this road round the clock. This road also leads to Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range to be used during the Commonwealth Games 2010.

New Delhi, August 24
A young man who works with a security company in Gurgaon has been arrested for allegedly thrashing an elderly woman and dragging her on the road because she asked him to drive slowly, the police said.

The 22-year-old man, identified as Ashu, was arrested from his home in Pira Garhi village late on Sunday.

The incident took place on Saturday evening when Kiran Anand, 57, was riding pillion with daughter Aneesha on a two-wheeler. They stopped at a red light in Paschim Vihar, when a speeding black Alto car braked suddenly and stopped very close to them, scaring them.Things turned ugly when Anand, a cancer patient, told the youth to drive slowly. She was beaten and dragged by neck some distance by the angry motorist.

“Anand had requested Ashu to drive slowly as it could lead to some accident,” said DCP Sharad Agarwal.

“He held her by neck and dragged her for about 20 metres before throwing her on the road. She has suffered head and elbow injuries and was admitted rushed to a hospital,” Agarwal informed. However, she was discharged on yesterday.

The police identified the youth and traced the car on the basis of the number of the car provided by Anand’s daughter.

“We have arrested the man and his car has been impounded. We will now be taking his statement. A case has been registered,” Aggarwal said. — IANS

Gurgaon, August 24
Slain Delhi police’s encounter specialist Rajbir Singh’s parents are living in fear these days.

His father Mamchand and mother Savita Yadav have alleged their daughter-in-law Narmada might kill them. The feud began just after a few months of Rajbir’s death. They alleged since then she had been planning to grab their property.

Mamchand claimed Narmada had forcibly acquired their house at Lajpat Nagar in New Delhi. He said in February Narmada along with some people entered their Sushant Lok house and attacked their younger son. They even threw him out and acquired the house.

Mamchand maintained Narmada had threatened them that if they did not transfer the property in her name she would kill them. He said he had reported to the police, but it was also dilly-dallying the matter.

Meanwhile, commissioner of police S.S. Deswal termed it as Mamchand’s family matter. He said the family members needed to settle it among themselves. But the police was investigating the threat.

Mamchand had served as a DIG in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). However, he is now compelled to live in fear. Despite various attempts made by The Tribune to contact Narmada, she could not be contacted.

Rajbir was shot dead on March 24, 2008, allegedly by a property dealer.

Noida, August 24
A software engineer working with a multi-national company was made captive and robbed of Rs 57,000.

The robbers had abducted Abhishek Pal from Noida and had drove him to Delhi. They forced him to use his ATM card and withdraw Rs 57,000. After they got the money, they dumped him there and fled.

Unfortunately, Pal is being shooed away by both the Noida and Delhi police over jurisdiction row. The hapless man has been making trips to Delhi and Noida police stations for the last three days to get an FIR registered.

Pal who was abducted in an Indica car lives in the Vikas Puri area of Delhi. He works with Alston Engineering Company in Noida. On Friday evening, he had to go New Delhi railway station to catch a train for Dehra Dun. At Sector-19 crossing in Noida, he signalled an Indica car to stop and asked the driver if he would drop him to New Delhi railway station.

Three persons were already sitting in the car. They suddenly pointed a gun at Pal and overpowered him. They snatched his mobile phone and purse containing Rs 3,000 and two ATM cards. They then took him to Mayur Vihar and forced him to withdraw Rs 47,000 from an ICICI Bank ATM booth and another Rs 7,100 from SBI’s ATM booth.

The robbers then blind-folded Pal and dumped him in the Trilokpuri area of Delhi. After they left, Pal removed his eye band and reached Mayur Vihar police station to lodge an FIR. But the policemen there asked him to go to the Noida police. The policemen at Sector-20 Kotwali, Noida, shooed him away saying that he was robbed in Delhi.

Though Noida SSP A.K. Singh had directed the Sector-20 Kotwali to register an FIR, the police is trying to cover up the issue. The policemen maintain Pal has not yet come to complain.

Meanwhile, it is being feared the robbers may be from the same gang that had robbed a media professional of Rs 1.12 lakh in Greater Noida last week. That gang had also used an Indica car.

Gurgaon, August 24
The city-based First India School of Business (FISB) and London School of Management (LSM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here today.

Besides assisting each other in providing quality management education to their students, the association includes students’ exchange, certificate level courses, faculty exchange and joint management development workshops.

The MoU was signed by Kamlesh Vyas, director, First India School of Business and Sarwan Kang, director of marketing (International Projects), London School of Management. Also present on the occasion were Roger Gardiner, registrar, LSM and students and faculty members of FISB.

Kang said that the association between LSM and FISB will offer students in the country and Europe opportunities to study partly in India and the rest in England. The first batch of MBA students from First India School of Business will be at London in August next for their certificate programme where they would undertake modules with LSM faculty, industry interactions and student workshops.

New Delhi, August 24
A surprise check by hostel wardens, junior and senior resident doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has brought three senior students of the country’s premier health centre under the scanner for ragging two freshers.

The inquiry report on the matter will be submitted to the AIIMS director tomorrow.

The AIIMS authority is back in news again and this time it is because of three students who have dared to tarnish its image.

As per the letter addressed to AIIMS director Dr R.C. Deka and dean of students Dr Rani Kumar, the incident took place on Friday evening when the anti-ragging squad found freshers in a room of seniors.

The squad would carry surprise checks till August 31. It had started the checks that day after it received an anonymous call.

Even though seniors, including an intern, maintain it was an interaction related to ‘studies’, the matter has been subjected to inquiry. Dr Kumar said that an inquiry had been ordered after a formal complaint was registered by the hostel authorities.

A report on the matter would be submitted tomorrow as most of the first-year students were out on weekend. Dr Kumar added, “Due to vigilance and cooperation of senior students, the AIIMS has been away from ragging and in this case strict action would be taken.”

New Delhi, August 24
The Delhi High Court today sought the response of the Medical Council of India (MCI) on a plea by 15 doctors, whose application for an eligibility certificate was rejected by it.

Hearing the plea of doctors who had applied to the MCI in August 2007 but were informed of the rejection of their request in August 2008, Justice Anil Kumar asked the panel to explain why there was so much delay in rejecting the plea if their university was not recognised.

The MCI has been asked to reply by October 7.

The doctors, led by Pawan Gupta, had submitted that they were informed about the recent decision that their university — Jinggangshan University in China — was not in the list of recognised universities from where students could pursue their studies. — IANS

New Delhi, August 24
The Capital today continued to reel under the effects of Friday’s two-hour downpour — trees and branches blown down during the storm were still lying on roads and traffic lights were non-functional, leading to traffic snarls and accidents.

While the civic agency claimed to have cleared out the mess from the storm, the scene on Monday morning showed a different story. Fallen trees and branches clearly blocked carriageways on busy roads.

Mayor Kanwar Sain decried this, saying, “The clear-up operations should have been done on an emergency basis, irrespective that it was a weekend.”

“Our horticulture department carried out a survey of all roads under our jurisdiction. Wherever there was a problem, trees should have been cleared. Still there may be areas like on public works department (PWD) roads or the New Delhi Municipal Corporation roads where residents are facing problems,” said Sain.

But on one of the main roads under the MCD’s jurisdiction, many branches lay on south Delhi’s Outer Ring Road in front of the IIT campus, leading to accidents and four-kilometre-long traffic queues.

A motorcylist who was squeezed between a fallen branch and an autorickshaw on the other lane took a hard fall on the stretch as he was going towards Panchsheel Park.

The autorickshaw driver, who stopped and dragged the branch off the road as passersby helped up the fallen rider, said, “I have been seeing fallen branches all the way from Janakpuri. Nobody has cleaned anything.”

Megha Suri, a doctor who had stopped to see if the motorcyclist needed medical attention, wondered, “Why do we pay road tax if we have to run an obstacle course between fallen trees and potholes all the time?” — IANS

Ghaziabad, August 24
After having expelled senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh at Chintan meeting in Shimla, party president Rajnath Singh seemed to be a worried man.

Talking to press correspondents at his Raj Nagar residence in Ghaziabad, BJP president Rajnath Singh said expelling a senior leader like Jaswant Singh from the party was like swallowing a bitter pill which the party had to do as it was not left with any other option.

Rajnath was quick to add that at personal level, he had great regards for the former foreign and defence minister in the NDA government.

Though he had refused to be drawn into a discussion of national issues, Raj Nath accepted that BJP was not so strong in parts of UP, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as it should have been. “The party has become weak in many parts of the country,” he agreed, “But we have initiated our plans to rejuvinate the party. We shall soon launch a campaign to strengthen the party by connecting it to maximum number of people. A new membership campaign will also be undertaken, the BJP president said.

Referring to the national scene, he said, “We shall soon launch campaigns and agitations on various issues connected with the welfare of common man.”

In UP, including Ghaziabad, the BJP would launch an agitation against power, water shortage, corruption and rapidly deteriorating law and order.

Rajnath said the BSP government in UP had failed on all points. It appears helpless against most problems.

He called upon BJP workers to mobilise the people against anti-people policies of Mayawati’s government.

New Delhi, August 24
With the arrest of Anand Thakur, the south district police has solved the case of burglary committed at Kakkar Tent House in Lodhi Colony on August 21.

On the day of incident, Sanjiv Kakkar, the owner of the tent house, reported to the police that when he reached his shop in the morning, he noticed that around Rs 3 lakh, some documents and credit cards were missing from his locker.

When Sanjiv tried to find out, he observed that the criminals entered the shop from the back and escaped with the cash. 

In order to crack the case, a team was then constituted. 

During investigation, the police suspected a few employees who had earlier worked at the tent house.

It was further revealed that some employees of the tent house have been arrested in theft cases in the past and a few of them used to go to Dasna jail, Gaziabad, to meet one of their accomplices.

Anand Thakur, Anand and Brahmdev were identified as the prime suspects as they disappeared from the scene after the theft. Subsequently, the raiding team kept a watch in the area of Babu Park.

On August 21, the accused Anand and Brahmdev were nabbed from Shiv Mandir Babu Park when both of them were trying to move to their native village in Bihar.

The police recovered Rs 80,000, some credit cards and other documents stolen from the tent house. 

Anand, alias Mota, the third accused involved in the incident, had left Delhi a day before with maximum booty. 

The rest of the money is to be recovered and Anand is yet to be arrested. 

He has earlier been involved in truck robbery cases. 

In 2008, he took away a garment-laden truck from Noida Phase-II and disposed it of in Okhla. 

Anand was arrested after the incident and remained in the Dasna jail for six months.