New Delhi, September 25
On the occasion of the first run of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC) broad gauge train today, Metro chief E. Sreedharan travelled with other passengers on the Central Secretariat-Jehangirpuri line.

While interacting with the media, the Metro chief said the recent derailments were due to human errors. “Dwarka accident happened because the train operator crossed the danger signal, while the Yamuna Bank derailment took place because the track maintenance team raised the inner rail and lowered the outer rail instead of the other way round,” said Sreedharan.

The DMRC has suspended the train operator and the junior engineer and they have been served with penalty chargesheets. He added that further action would be taken on the basis of their replies.

Regarding the Zamrudpur accident, Sreedharan said DMRC was going through the legal documents and considering the implications of blacklisting Gammon India after receiving its reply to the show-cause notice.

Sreedharan announced that one of the most-awaited lines of Metro, the Yamuna Bank-Noida, would finally be opened by December this year. “Seven trains required to open the section will be made available to the DMRC by the end of November. Meanwhile, the strengthening of cantilever pillars in Noida will be carried out so that there are no concerns about safety of structures,” said Sreedharan.

He added, “Depending on the availability of trains, Yamuna Bank to Anand Vihar section would be opened by the end of December or January 2010 beginning.”

Sreedharan said that work on Inderlok-Mundka section was likely to be completed by November this year and trials would start after that. The Qutub Minar-Gurgaon section would be opened by March next year.

However, DMRC chief said the Central Secretariat-Badarpur line was five months behind schedule, including the two months it lost due to the Zamrudpur accident. He added, “DMRC hopes to make up the delay and open the line in August 2010.”

New Delhi, September 25
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to work on the Commonwealth Games-related projects in a coordinated manner. “If there is any problem, discuss it and go ahead with the work,” the Chief Minister suggested.

Dikshit issued the direction in a cabinet meeting attended by only three ministers of the Delhi government. Those present in the meeting include labour minister Mangat Ram Singhal, education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, health minister Kiran Walia, Mayor Kanwar Sain, chairperson of NDMC Parimal Rai and officers of different departments.

The meeting was called after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked Dikshit to ensure that all Games- related projects were completed in time by establishing coordination among all agencies concerned, sources said.

The Chief Minister directed the MCD to complete construction of the parking lot being built over the Sunehri and Kushak drains near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, road underbridge near Prem Nagar, streetlights on all roads leading to stadiums, complete landscaping, horticulture work and road repair works.

According to sources, the MCD plans to renovate 600 guest houses in Pahargunj and Karol Bagh areas. These guesthouses have 10,000 rooms that are expected to accommodate 10 to 15 per cent of the Games visitors. These places attract tourists also and so all roads and by-lanes in the areas have to be reconstructed and repaired.

Six hotels in the lanes and by-lanes of Chitra Gupta Road, Deshbandhu Gupta Road, Chamsford Road and Kutab Road will be renovated. Hanging wires will be put in order and parking lots will be constructed. The work is being done in coordination with the union ministry of tourism.

The MCD will also construct roads around the Games venues.

If sources are to be believed, so far only 50 per cent of the total work has been done.

The NDMC is renovating the Talkatora Stadium with an investment of Rs 800 crore. The civic body will also put up fences on both sides of roads, repair and construction roads in areas under its jurisdiction and renovate Connaught Place. Renovation of three parking sites at Sarojini Nagar, Kasturba Gandhi Marg and Gole Market was also on NDMC’s agenda, sources said.

The Chief Minister said at some places roads under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government and the MCD were located adjacent to each other, and so at such places the two agencies should work in coordination with each other. 

New Delhi, September 25
Thieves broke into a school owner’s house in the Patel Nagar area of central Delhi yesterday afternoon and decamped with cash and jewellery worth Rs 60 lakh.

The incident took place at Sudhir Giri’s West Patel Nagar house when he and his family members were out.

Meanwhile, Giri has lodged an FIR at Patel Nagar police station.

Giri, owner of Giri International School at West Patel Nagar, told the police that he had left home for school around 8 am while, his wife Babita had come to school around 11 am.

He said that his maid informed him about the incident. She discovered the theft around 1 pm when she returned from a clinic with Giri’s son. She had taken his son for a medical test.

However, the police believes the theft took place between 11 am to 1 pm.

“The theft took place on the second floor of the house where the thieves reached after breaking the locks on the ground floor. Sudhir Giri said that Rs 40 lakh and jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh was missing,” said a police official adding that a forensic team had visited the house and had collected fingerprints and other evidences.

Giri told the police that he had kept such cash in the house as he had to give it to someone as advance for a plot.

Meanwhile, the police has asked Giri to furnish details of the money and the source. 

Gurgaon, September 25
All polling stations will have ramps for the convenience of the physically challenged voters during the coming Assembly elections in the state. Besides, Braille ballot papers will also be available at the polling stations to enable the visually-impaired voters to cast their vote without the help of an escort.

Disclosing this here today, Gurgaon deputy commissioner-cum-district electoral officer Anurag Agarwal said 48 sector magistrates and 54 sector supervisors had been appointed to ensure free, fair and smooth polling in the district.

“Four poll observers have been deputed to keep a vigil on the election process in all four Assembly constituencies in the district,” he said, adding that all of them would remain available between 4 pm and 6 pm daily.

Agarwal said as per the guidelines issued by the Central Election Commission, the polling centres had also been categorised as “vulnerable” and “critical” apart from the sensitive and hypersensitive categories followed earlier.

The areas where the voters are likely to be intimidated would be called vulnerable, while those areas which had witnessed more than 75 per cent polling during the last elections and more than 75 per cent votes polled went in favour of a particular candidate would fall under the critical category.

In response to a query, the DC asserted that as many as 18 voter registration and information centres had been set up to provide the required information to the voters of the district. These centres are functioning from 9 am to 8 pm daily, except on Sundays and gazzeted holidays.

“Besides, the residents can access voter helpline on 155212 or www.ceoharyana.nic.in to confirm their status in the voter lists,” he added.

Meanwhile, DCP (west) Rakesh Arya revealed that as many as 3,878 police personnel and home guards would be deployed to tighten the security arrangements during the polls. He said seven companies of the armed police and para-military forces would be pressed into election service.

Noida, September 25
A bio-tech second year student of Amity University has alleged that her cousin sister’s husband had been harassing her by sending indecent and vulgar SMSes.

The girls’ mother has reportedly lodged a report at Sector 39 Kotwali. She had specially come from Dehra Dun to lodge the complaint.

Meanwhile, the police are trying to arrest the accused.

The girl stays at Amity College hostel. Her mother had come to Noida on Wednesday to lodge a complaint.

She told the police that Parbodh Malik, a resident of Jawalapur in Haridwar, was her niece’s husband and had allegedly been harassing her daughter by sending indecent and vulgar SMSes.

Malik had even sent death threats to her daughter. When her daughter opposed, he allegedly used abusive language.

The girl’s mother alleged that Probodh Malik had been doing this for the past three months.

The family members tried to counsel him but of no avail.

When the girl’s mother asked him why he was harassing her daughter, he allegedly used foul language and even sent vulgar messages to the woman.

Meanwhile, the police is trying to nab Malik by using electronic surveillance. 

Ghaziabad, September 25
The blood-soaked body of a realtor has been recovered from a Santro car near Liti village under Babugarh police station area of Ghaziabad just on the border of Meerut district.

The realtor was shot in the head, but the cause of his murder is not known yet. Somebody informed the police on Thursday that under the Modavli Kotwali area, blood was seen dripping down from a Santro car, parked near Liti village in Babugarh area.

When police opened the car door, the body of about 35-year-old man was found in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound in his head.

The deceased was later identified as Balram, s/o Gopi Chand, a resident of Bita-I in Greater Noida.

Police said Balram was a property dealer, who had told his wife Anjali on Thursday morning that he was going to Ghaziabad.

The DSP, Kithure, said Balram came to Babugarh with some friends and was driving his car while returning. Some assailants are believed to have stopped his car and shot him in the head.

The killer could not be identified so far, though Balram himself was also having a criminal background, the DSP added.

New Delhi, September 25
With Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) looking into the matter of hefty power bills for July and August, the government sources revealed that the problem is also prevalent in NDPL areas as it is in BSES areas.

The three power distribution companies, including NDPL, BYPL and BRPL, are said to have submitted to the Delhi government the information regarding variations in the consumption in the domestic category of consumers for June, July and August.

According to a government official, the figures submitted by the discoms indicate that 24% of NDPL consumers have witnessed an increase of over 50 per cent in their electricity bills whereas in BRPL and BYPL, the percentage for corresponding figure is 22.2 and 21.47.

The official said that the consumption pattern in NDPL is much higher than that of BSES consumers.

“All the three discoms have submitted their data to us, which shows that the so-called high bills are prevalent in NDPL areas as well,” said the official.

He said that according to the data, 6 per cent of NDPL consumers have witnessed an increase between 40 and 50 per cent in their bills, while only 3.7 and 3.87 per cent of BRPL and BYPL consumers have experienced such increase for the respective figures.

Similarly, 7 per cent of NDPL consumers have received around 30 to 40 increased bills, whereas corresponding figures for BRPL and BYPL are 4.6 and 4.93 per cent, said the official.

BRPL and BYPL provided data of all its consumers which is 13.7 lakh and 10.34 lakh respectively. However, NDPL serves to 10.65 lakh consumers in the Capital and it provided the information of only 4.98 consumers.

New Delhi, September 25
In a strange accident reported from the Delhi Cantonment area, a Honda City car hit by a truck from behind went into a truck in front of it.

The accident led to the death of Ravindra Kumar, 60, who was with his son Manoj, 35, who received serious injuries. They were rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences where the father was declared brought dead.

Police officers have arrested the truck driver and impounded his vehicle.

The father-son lived in the D block of Tagore Garden.

Ghaziabad, September 25
A 22-year-old girl on Thursday complained to the Sahibabad police that her father had been raping her for the past 10 years.

Akhil Kumar, SSP, Ghaziabad, said though the rape had been proved prima facie and the accused arrested, the final report was awaited.

The girl, a BBA student at Arsala in Sahibabad, alleged that her father threatened to sell her and her mother in case she protested.

According to the police, the accused, Ghiazuddin (name changed), was a supervisor with a factory in Sahibabad. He raped his daughter almost daily.