New Delhi, September 8
Anonymous calls warning of bomb blasts on Tuesday affected two busy Delhi Metro stations, two hospitals and three government buildings, causing panic and leading to the evacuation of thousands from some of these places. In the end, it all turned out to be one big hoax.

A Delhi police spokesman said that their control room got four telephone calls between 10 am and 2.21 pm. The first one warning that bombs would go off soon at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the heart of the Capital, the Palika Kendra as well as Vikas Minar.

The caller called back again to say that the bomb had been placed at the Safdarjung Hospital in south Delhi and not at the Lohia hospital. However, a search was ordered in both hospitals.

Two more phone calls in the afternoon said bombs would also explode at the Rajiv Chowk and Chandni Chowk Metro stations, two of the busiest in the network. Another call warned of mayhem at the Town Hall in Old Delhi, housing the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the office of the Mayor.

“Police was immediately pressed into service at these places. Bomb experts and dog squads were also sent. Ambulances and fire engines were brought in,” a police officer said.

The Safdarjung Hospital, one of the oldest in the Capital, was evacuated, affecting hundreds of people, many of them sick.

“I was in the OPD around 10.30 am when we were asked to immediately leave the hospital building,” said Rakesh Kumar, a patient who had come to the hospital.

A hospital official admitted that people were asked to leave.

“Though it caused inconvenience, such steps are necessary to ensure the safety of the people,” said the official.

As hundreds of panicky and confused people suddenly poured out of the building, it caused a traffic jam outside on one of the busiest roads in the city.

But the RML Hospital, located not far from parliament, was not evacuated, said medical superintendent N.K. Chaturvedi.

Intensive searches were also carried out at the Palika Kendra, which houses the New Delhi Municipal Council, and at Vikas Minar, the office of Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The Palika Kendra is located in the very heart of the city, close to the Parliament Street police station. Vikas Minar is walking distance from the Deihi police headquarters.

Thousands of employees were asked to leave both the buildings. “Palika Kendra was evacuated,” NDMC spokesperson Anand Tiwari said.

The searches everywhere took about two hours to complete. In the end, the police ruled that every call was a prank.

“It was probably meant to cause panic,” a police officer said. “The identity of the caller has not been established yet. We are investigating the matter.” — IANS

New Delhi, September 8
The national Capital today reported a record number of 84 fresh cases of swine flu. Thirty eight of these 84 victims are children. With this the total tally of people infected with influenza A (H1N1) in Delhi has reached 994. However, city health minister Kiran Walia said that the situation was under control and that Delhiites should not panic. Urging people showing symptoms of the flu to immediately visit a doctor, she said that the government was ensuring that all possible contacts of the patients were traced and if required tested.

To ensure an effective mechanism at work, the health department has asked all four empanelled private pathological laboratories to report all the confirmed cases of H1N1 flu to the government.

Among the new cases of the viral infection, 36 are under home quarantine and the rest are under treatment at several designated hospitals in the city.

Besides the new cases, 63 old patients are currently under Tamiflu medication at various hospitals and their homes.

New Delhi, September 8
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today sought two weeks’ time from a Delhi court for finding new options in securing the presence of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors payoff case, following the withdrawal of Red Corner Notice against him.

The additional solicitor general P.P. Malhotra, appearing for the CBI, submitted an application before the metropolitan magistrate Manish Yaduvanshi, seeking two weeks’ time for examining the options for proceedings against Quattrocchi.

Earlier, on April 30, Malhotra had informed the court that the Red Corner Notice issued against Quattrocchi had been withdrawn in November last year. The ASG had also sought two months’ time to decide on the future course of action in this politically-sensitive case.

The Bofors case was a sensational corruption scandal of 1980s, in which then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several others were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors A B for winning a bid to supply the Indian Army with 155 mm howitzer guns.

The FIR in the Bofors case was registered by the CBI on January 22, 1990. It was three years after the Swedish Radio claimed that Bofors had paid kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defence officials to secure the Rs 1,437-crore gun deal.

Quattrocchi is the lone surviving suspect in the scandal. The next hearing is on October 3.

Ghaziabad, September 8
The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (Nagar Nigam) appears to have kicked up a turf row with the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA). The master plan department of GDA had approved the layout plans of 47 townships for which, according to Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam, the GDA had not obtained NOCs from the property department of the Nigam.

Now the Nagar Nigam has decided to hold a probe to determine the land under these townships.

Sources in Nigam suspect that some of the townships might have usurped parts of Nigam land.

According to master plan department of GDA, the land on which township plans were approved was not included in GDA’s own schemes.

The land in question had been purchased by builders directly from the private people. The land is very much within the residential zone, so the plans were approved by GDA.

Forty-seven townships had been built between 2002 and 2008 and they were outside GDA’s own schemes. The property department team of Nigam will look into the whole matter in which the help of officials of the Tehsil revenue department will also be taken, so that no controversy arises about the measurement of the land.

The GDA has handed over the copies of the plans of 47 townships to Nigam along with data concerning Khasra numbers of the land in question.

The list of all the villages on whose land townships have come has also been given to Nigam.

The villages include Dundahera, Noor Nagar, Sihani, Sadarpur, Dasna, Karheda, Arthala, Sahibabad, Kanavni, Makanpur, Bhovapur, Bonjha, etc.

New Delhi, September 8
The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) will be upgraded to an international level institute and its four new branches would be launched in across the country, said Ambika Soni, Minister Information and Broadcasting.

The four branches will be launched in Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, southern and western region of the country. She was addressing the 42nd convocation ceremony of the institute.

“Giving the growing demand of trained media professionals in the country, there is need for more branches in other regions of the country as well. Like there are so many branches of IIMs and IITs, IIMC will also soon have its branches,” said Soni.

The institute currently has only one branch in Dhenkanal.

She said the ministry was already working on the proposal of its upgradation. “The upgradation will make it a world class institute and it will become on a par with international standards. Our ministry is already working upon the proposal,” said the minister.

She said apart from diploma courses, the institute would soon begin undergraduate, post-graduate, M.Phil and Ph.D courses. It will also conduct research works, she said.

Around 5,000 students appear for the entrance exam of IIMC every year and only 247 get selected. “This overwhelmingly increasing interest of students in media demands for more IIMCs in the country,” she said.

The institute conducts two major training programmes, four one-year post-graduate diploma courses and two four-month diploma courses in development journalism. The institute also conducts every year a number of specialised short-term courses to meet the training needs of media personnel working in government and public sector organisations.

New Delhi, September 8
The Delhi Government may save hundreds of megawatt power if energy efficiency equipment is installed in government and commercial buildings, said Delhi industries minister Haroon Yusuf.

He said the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) for installing the equipment in commercial and government buildings. For an individual, it is difficult to install the equipment, as it is costly.

He said the government would save 20 to 30 per cent power, amounting to about 900 MW. The total demand in peak season is 4000 MW and in normal days 2800 MW. At present, Delhi is not generating sufficient energy. With the equipment installed, the power crisis can be managed.

He said by 2010, the government would be able to generate 6000 to 7000 MW power.

The minister said Delhi was the first city to have signed the MoU for saving power. The cost will be covered up by the energy saved after the installation of the equipment.

Director-General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency Atul Mathur said the union government had taken decision to implement energy efficiency in government buildings in three years. The Delhi government had also taken same decision both for new and existing buildings.

He said the equipment had been installed in Rashtrapati Bhawan, Prime Minister Office Sanchar Bhawan, Shram Shakti Bhawan and Transport Bhawan, R. R. Hospital, airport and Rail Bhawan.

He said that Rashtrarpati Bhawan saved 0.8 MW power, PMO 0.3, Sanchar Bhawan 1.2, Shram Shakti Bhawan 0.8, RR hospital 2.9, Airport 1.6 and Rail Bhawan 0.6 MW power.

Nuh (Mewat), September 8
Nuh is said to be the capital of Meos which spreads from Haryana to Rajasthan, but post-delimitation, the Nuh Assembly seat has lost its original status in which a high percentage of Meo voters existed.

Now about 35% of voters are Hindus in this Assembly and it is very likely that the BJP may field a Hindu candidate from here.

Post-delimitation, several villages of the Nuh Assembly seat have been included in Punhana and Ferozepur Jhirka seats.

Politics in Mewat, and especially Nuh, has been based on personal contacts rather than on any party. The ruling Congress continues to be weak in the region. In the last Assembly elections, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had come to Nuh to campaign for the party candidate Aftab Ahmad, who is presently district Congress president of Mewat, but he lost to an independent candidate Habibur Rahman by a substantial margin.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls too, Rahul Gandhi had visited Mewat to campaign for the Congress candidate Rao Inderjeet Singh, but the BSP nominee Ch Zakir Hussain secured a huge lead from the three constituencies of Mewat, namely Nuh, Ferozpur Jhirka and Punhana.

In the upcoming Assembly polls, there is a string of young leaders that are claiming the Congress ticket from Nuh and one of the prominent is Zahid Bai, chairman, Minority Cell.

However, the dilemma before the Congress is whether to bring a young, new face or to retain its former candidate Aftab who has thrice lost elections.

Surprisingly, the ruling Congress does not have any MLA or ex-MLA for candidature in Mewat whereas the INLD has a sitting MLA in Sahida Khan as well as Ch Hamid Hussain, ex-MLA and ex-chairman Wakf Board Haryana as strong claimants.

The HJC-BJP alliance is yet to mature and the

BJP may field Sanjay Singh, son of the late minister Kanwar Surajpal. The HJC does not have much presence in Mewat as the Meos have been anti-Bhajan Lal since 1993 riots in Mewat where Meos were allegedly subjected to police atrocities.

The BSP seems to be in a dilemma as its Meo leader Zakir Hussain has not disclosed from where he wants to contest. If he chooses not to contest from this seat, his uncle Hamid Hussain might contest as the INLD candidate.

The Hussains had always refrained from contesting against a family member.

It is yet to be seen whether these Assembly elections in Mewat are fought on Hindu vs Meo issue, which was the major issue during the recent Lok Sabha polls, or some other issue arising till the date of polling.

Gurgaon, September 8
As many as 20 post offices of Haryana will be modernised under Project Arrow initiated by the department of post of the central government.

The project envisages beautification, modernisation and upgradation of post offices, both in terms of appearance, work environment as well as service quality level in all spheres, including mail, savings bank and all IT-enabled services.

This was disclosed by the chief postmaster general, Haryana circle, Ambala, Indu Gupta, here today.

She was here to dedicate the modernised head post office of Gurgaon to public.

Gupta maintained that 52 post offices across the country had been modernised in the first phase and 500 under the second phase of the project. “In phase-III, as many as 1,100 post offices will be modernised,” she said, adding that the same process would be continued to modernise 1,50,000 post offices throughout the country in a phased manner.

To implement this ambitious project, entire work has been divided into two segments, which include modernising the look and feel of the post offices and improving the quality of traditional services provided there.

To modernise the look and feel of these post offices, the department of post has launched a new logo throughout the country.

All post offices identified under Project Arrow shall have a uniform exterior and interior look.

Special counters have been designed for the selected post offices, besides making new hardware like computers, passbook printers, scanners etc. available to these.

Information boards have been displayed prominently inside the public halls.

Apart from the “look and feel”, the quality of services would be improved by ensuring same day delivery of mail and money orders, computerising savings bank work and scanning and storing the signatures of the customers for speedy transactions.

The staff members posted at these post offices had been given special technical as well as soft-skills training for better customer management and satisfaction, she added.

Ghaziabad, September 8
A case was registered on Monday against the brother of BSP legislator and Uttar Pradesh power minister Ramvir Upadhyay for running over two persons here on Saturday, the police said on Monday.

Both the victims sustained critical injuries in the accident. The police on Sunday night said Vinod Upadhyay, brother of Ramvir Upadhyay, was driving the Ford Endeavour car which ran over two youths— Pankaj, 16, and Kush, 17— in Vasundhara locality of Ghaziabad on Saturday.

Pankaj and Kush were dragging their punctured motorcycle when a speeding car hit them from behind. Locals rushed them to the hospital where their condition was said to be critical, police said. — IANS

New Delhi, September 8
Taking the security issue of Commonwealth Games seriously, chief secretary of the Delhi government Rakesh Mehta today said that the city needed 30,000 trained volunteers for this.

He discussed this at a civil-military liaison conference organised by the home department.

The conference was addressed by Lieutenant Governor Tejender Khanna, who appreciated the manner in which the armed forces had proved to be helpful during crises, including insurgencies and natural calamities.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit lauded the coordinated efforts of the Army and the civil administration in the issues of common concern.

The conference was attended by GOC-in-C (Western Command), Lt. Gen. T.K. Sapru and Delhi police commissioner, Y.S. Dadwal. They addressed security-related issues of mutual concern.

Issues concerning civic amenities in the Cantonment Area, problems related to making land available to the defence establishments and common issues pertaining to the forthcoming Commonwealth Games were also discussed.