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62.75% turnout in Gurgaon
5 injured during polling in Mewat
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Fireworks sale norms tightened
HC reserves order in Tiwari paternity case
Labourers at Games sites denied fair wages
BPL cardholders get no ration for 6 months
JNU don suspended for sexual harassment
Properties of cop with assets over Rs 20 cr raided
1,000-quintal fake ricotta cheese seized in UP
ACP slaps junior
Power bill defaulters to
be penalised
Atta underpass to open after Oct 27
3 go missing in Noida
Gang of Bangladeshi criminals busted
School shuts after student gets swine flu
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62.75% turnout in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, October 13 Approximately 62.75 per cent polling was recorded in the four Assembly segments of the district and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the district. The polling was reported to be peaceful in the entire district. Today, the local administration had set up voters’ assistance booths at eight locations in the DLF and Palam Vihar areas, besides setting up 18 voter registration information centres (VRICs) at various places in the city. Computerised search facility for the voters was available and they could search their name in the voter list. A helpline was also operational. In addition, the administration had installed 30 hoardings, both in English and Hindi, at different points in the city to inform the residents about the helpline and location of VRICs. The details of the VRICs were also uploaded on the Gurgaon district administration’s website. The VRICs and helplines remained functional during the entire polling process today. Booth-level officers were deputed at each polling station with voters’ list in alphabetical order, which helped the voters trace their voter number as well as polling station. According to the tentative figures of polling received from the district election office, a maximum of about 73 per cent polling was recorded in the 78-Sohna Assembly constituency, while minimum about 55 per cent polling was recorded in the 77-Gurgaon Assembly constituency. The 76-Badshahpur assembly area had 60 per cent and the 75-Pataudi Assembly segment recorded about 63 per cent polling. However, despite repeated requests from the administration, the voters of Khoh village in the Pataudi Assembly constituency boycotted the polling process and no voter cast his or her vote at polling station number 72 in this village having 1,141 votes. There were also a few complaints of certain residents being denied the right to vote despite having voter identity cards, though the district authorities had clarified well in advance that merely the possession of voter cards was not enough and the voters should ensure that their names were on the electoral rolls. With the completion of the polling process today, the fate of 63 contesting candidates, including 30 independents, has been sealed in the EVMs. District election officer-cum-deputy commissioner Anurag Aggarwal thanked the electors and the contesting candidates for cooperating in organising free and fair polling in the district today. |
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5 injured during polling in Mewat
Mewat, October 13 The quarrel took place between Congress and Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) supporters in Mewat district. The INLD has filed a complaint to the Election Commission about booth capturing by Congress activists in Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency. Voting was stopped at a few places due to pelting of stones for some time. In another incident, INLD supporters attacked Congress candidate Maman Khan and broke the screen of his car. The administration then deployed more forces who asked him to leave the spot as his presence could lead to more trouble. The supporters of INLD candidate Mohamad Iliyas and Independent candidate Ikbal Jaildar then pelted each other with stones at Lhuhinga village. Later, in the afternoon in Jayant village, some supporters of other parties fired shots in the sky to terrorize people. They fled the spot soon after. Some unknown persons also attacked former sarpanch of village Jodhriyawas while he was returning along with two others after voting. |
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Fireworks sale norms tightened
New Delhi, October 13 The authorities have tightened norms this year, under which they license fireworks sales to make it a safer festival, while they conducted anti-pollution campaigns as well. The Delhi government’s anti-cracker campaign has been advocating reduced use of fireworks for a less polluted Divali on Saturday. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said: “The cracker campaign has been a success. For schoolchildren now tell me that they will burst only a few crackers and this will bring down the pollution level.” In continuation of its efforts, the government has displayed advertisements in newspapers, urging Delhiites to help making the festival less polluting. “One night’s celebration or a lifelong celebration! Celebrate a pollution-free Divali,” the advertisement says. The Delhi Police is also issuing licences to sell crackers to only those shopkeepers who meet safety requirements and guidelines. The shop has to be on the ground floor, between nine and 25 sq m, equipped with fire safety equipment and the electrical wiring must be sealed. The shop should not jut out on the pavement, children should not be involved in the sale and the stock should be within the authorised quantity. Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said they had given licences to nearly 1,000 shopkeepers hitherto. “We have received over 4,000 applications for licences. We gave around 700 licences on Sunday and yesterday we gave over 200. We don’t have any restriction on the number of licences as long as the shops meet the safety requirements,” Bhagat said. Like last year, this year also Bhagat expects the number of licensed shops for fireworks to be around 1,200. “Besides firecrackers, we also have a stringent security system in place for Divali like Quick Reaction Teams (QRT) and crowded markets like Sarojini Nagar, Greater Kailash and Paharganj are being monitored by CCTV cameras,” he said.
— IANS |
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HC reserves order in Tiwari paternity case
New Delhi, October 13 Justice S.N. Dhingra reserved the order after hearing both the parties. Sharma told the court in a written statement that Tiwari drew her into an extra-marital relationship. Believing the repeated requests and being convinced of the love and affection shown by Tiwari, hailing from a respectable and prestigious family, I submitted to emotional pressure and that culminated in the birth of Rohit Shekhar, Sharma said. Tiwari has been in the thick of controversy following Shekhar’s suit seeking declaration from the court that he is the biological son of the former Congress leader. Tiwari has been a central minister as well as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Sharma filed her response after Tiwari refuted Shekhar’s claims and contended before the court that the petition was scandalous and filed only to defame him. Sharma, legally separated from her husband, alleged in her plea that Tiwari started losing interest in Rohit after becoming an MP and started threatening her. After the death of his wife in 1993, Tiwari had once again assured her that he would acknowledge Rohit publicly as his son by way of adoption but when reminded in 1995 he refused to talk to me, Sharma said.
— IANS |
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Labourers at Games sites denied fair wages
New Delhi, October 13 Over a dozen workers drawn from labour chowks, labour settlements and massive construction sites of the Commonwealth Games presented testimonies on issues related to their wages and work conditions in the hearing organised by Citizens for Workers, Women and Children. A permanent resident of Orissa, Jagbandhu has been working on construction sites in Delhi for 12 years and has never got the minimum wages. “I get Rs 100 a day as my wages at a construction site in Dwarka. I get only Rs 95 in hand. Too much work is given to us; I start at 8 am and get back home at 7 pm,” said Jagbandhu. He and his wife both work at the same construction sites and they have two children to survive in the money that they earn. The couple gets leave only for two days in a month. Forty-four-year-old Teekam Chand has been living in Delhi and working as a mason for the last 22 years with his wife. Their four children study in a government school. “My total income does not exceed Rs 5,000 a month and the family expenditure is between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000 per month,” he said. He added, “I had been working at the Commonwealth Games site earlier, but given very less money. We were made to work for 12 hours.” The same was the story of 30-year-old Lalji, who has been working at Indira Gandhi National Stadium site of the Commonwealth Games. “There are few toilets at the site. We have to work for more than eight hours. What is more, we are expected to put in three to five hours overtime without being paid for it,” he said. He said the contractors cut their wages if the labourers took a single day off. The jury at the public hearing comprised special rapporteur of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Lakshmidhar Mishra, former Indian ambassador to the United Nations Arundhati Ghose, member of Planning Commission Sayeda Hameed and senior advocate Nitin Benjamin. Hameed stated that while the review of the 11th Five Year Plan was going on, the testimonies could be kept into consideration while sanctioning the financial plan for the coming phase. Chief secretary of Delhi, Rakesh Mehta, also attended the hearing and replied from the government’s point of view. He said the basic problem was the unavailability of data with the government on the migrant labourers and their conditions. “Lakhs of labourers, who lived in slums, were surveyed under the mission convergence of Delhi government. However, many more who stayed in posh localities as the construction work was concentrated in those areas could not be reached,” said Mehta. |
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BPL cardholders get no ration for 6 months
New Delhi, October 13 Around 50 persons from Burai and Bawana today met the Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Jayshree Raghuraman. They told her that they had not been given ration for the last six months. The shopkeepers of their areas told them that their ration cards had been cancelled. Pushpa said when she along with a few ration card holders met the officer concerned to know the reason for cancellation, she was not given a satisfactory reply. She said 250 persons had filed an RTI application for the same. In response, the applicants were told that they could not submit the relevant documents required for the BPL cards, thus, their cards had been cancelled. The ration card is renewed every year. When they applied for renewal of the card this year on the basis of documents they had submitted last year, the officer cancelled their cards. She said 260 residents of ward No. 55 in north Delhi had applied for renewal of the cards but nothing had been done hitherto. Anjali, a resident of Bawana, said she was issued a BPL card one-and-a-half year back. When she submitted for renewal this year, the officer concerned in the north district cancelled it saying that relevant documents were missing. When this Correspondent tried meeting the Additional Commissioner, Food Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Raj Kishore, he refused to meet saying that only secretary was allowed to meet the press. Sources said the cards were issued after the Union government’s direction to the state government that people below the poverty line should be given wheat at the rate of Rs 2 and rice at the rate of Rs 6 per kg. The Delhi government had identified over 1 lakh persons who needed BPL cards. But, there are complaints from all districts that the card holders do not get food commodities from the government shops. |
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JNU don suspended for sexual harassment
New Delhi, October 13 According to decision taken by the JNU administration yesterday, the associate professor from Hindi department would be suspended for one year, suffer a cut in his increments for three years and disallowed from holding administrative posts in the university for 15 years. The victim was a student of the Sanskrit department when she filed a complaint against the professor of sexually harassing her after promising to marry her. The girl had later left the university even as the GSCASH was investigating the case. |
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Vocational institute for Tihar inmates
New Delhi, October 13 She said: "Tihar Jail is becoming world-class correctional institute." "Jails in Delhi have become qualitative reform centres, with inmates feeling trained and reformed on release. Delhi prisons lay emphasis on recreational activities like sports, cultural events, yoga, legal aid and vocational training," she added. Telephone service is also being provided to the inmates. The Chief Minister added that a business house had shown interest in giving jobs to the released prisoners who had maintained good conduct. The vocational training institute has been established under the Skill Initiative Incentive Scheme (SDIS) of the Ministry of Labour with the assistance of the Directorate of Training and Technical Education, Government of Delhi. Tihar Jail has identified 80 modular employable skills courses in 14 sectors, including automotive repair, beauty culture and hair dressing, carpet, electrical, fabrication, garment making, hospitality, khadi, printing etc. |
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Properties of cop with assets over Rs 20 cr raided
New Delhi, October 13 Raids were conducted against inspector Roshan Lal, also SHO of the Kalyanpuri police station in east Delhi. The ACB officials searched his Karol Bagh residence and other properties purportedly belonging to the inspector. “We also searched three hotels — India International, Silver Shine and Carlo Castle in Paharganj — which are said to be owned by Lal, but registered in the names of his father Rajender Lal and brother,” said an official. According to officials, Lal purportedly owns a cinema hall in Uttar Pradesh and his total assets might be over Rs 20 crore. They, however, refrained from divulging details of their findings. |
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1,000-quintal fake ricotta cheese seized in UP
Ghaziabad, October 13 Over 24 persons, who were carrying the cheese in five mini-trucks, were also arrested. The spurious cheese, manufactured in Meerut and Muzzafarnagar districts, was to be supplied in New Delhi and the NCR. The accused admitted supplying similar consignments earlier as well, Superintendent of Police (rural) KK Asthana said. Police teams have been sent to Meerut and Muzzafarnagar to nab those involved in manufacturing the spurious cheese, he added. The accused have confessed to using chemicals, edible oil and other adulterated items in manufacturing the cheese. The names of those who bought the spurious cheese from them had been found and raids would be conducted to nab them, Asthana added. Akhil Kumar, senior superintendent of police Ghaziabad, said: “We have arrested many persons and have recovered small quantities of adulterated cheese in the past, but this is the largest recovery this year. Food inspectors and police teams have been deputed on all entry points of the district to check the menace.”
— IANS |
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ACP slaps junior
New Delhi, October 13 DCP (central district) Jaspal Singh said that HC Hari Singh has alleged that he was slapped by ACP, Surender Kumar Verma. Meanwhile, DCP, Jaspal Singh said that Hari Singh is not disciplined. "We do not know whether the ACP slapped him. If Hari had been rebuked by the ACP, he should have come to senior officer. There was no need for him to go to the media," stated Singh, adding that the inquiry is being conducted. According to some police officials, Hari Singh has been pulled up for indiscipline in the past also by the ACP and he often came to duty drunk. Chain snatched
An 80-year-old woman was attacked by two scooter-borne assailants who rode away after snatching her gold chain in the Rani Bagh area of Pritampura in north-west district this afternoon. A senior police officer said that the victim, Kamlesh Walia has been living in a rented accommodation in Rani Bagh along with her family and was returning home after visiting a doctor when she was attacked. "Her son Dinesh Walia who is working for an English magazine informed us about the incident," he said. |
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Power bill defaulters to
be penalised
Noida, October 13 Chairman of UPCL Navneet Sehgal has ordered strict action against consumers who indulge in power theft or do not pay their power bills on time frequently. A list of big defaulters is being prepared by the corporation. Divisional engineers will monitor the campaign while SDOs and their staff will carry out the campaign. The power connection of those who habitually steal power or don't pay their power bills on time will be disconnected. UPCL superintendent engineer A.P. Mishra says that the campaign for enhancing power load had completed on September 30, but some people were still stealing power. A door-to-door campaign to check power meters will be carried out to detect the defaulters and penalise them. |
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Atta underpass to open after Oct 27
Noida, October 13 Deputy CEO Noida N.P. Singh said yesterday that the opening of the underpass was delayed as the Delhi Metro authorities had not yet finished the work on pillars near the underpass. DMRC officers are understood to have told Noida officials that Metro construction works in the area will be completed by October 20. After DMRC clearance, Noida Authority would require a week to make the underpass operational. Senior Noida project engineer Sandeep Chandra said if underpass was opened without clearing the cuts and roads on either side, it could lead to many problems. Entry from Sector-29 into Sector-18 is posing the biggest challenge. It can lead to a perpetual traffic jam below the film city flyover, he said. |
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3 go missing in Noida
Noida/Gt Noida, October 13 Huma 13, a resident of Deepak Vihar in Khoda colony, had gone for tuitions, but has not returned. A missing report about her was lodged with Indirapuram Kotwali. On Karva Chauth day, a five-year-old boy from Jagat Farm and another person from Greater Noida also went missing. The five-year-old son of Raj Kumar, who lives near Dadri Railway station had gone to Greater Noida Jagat Farm market with his mother. He was lost in the market. All efforts to trace the boy did not produce any result. Kamlesh Kumar, a native of Bihar is missing since October 2. He had come to visit his brother Sunil Kumar in Chuhdpur village a month ago. Sunil, a carpenter in Greater Noida, said Kamlesh had gone to Tughlaqpur market along with a neighbour, from where he never returned. The neighbour had told Sunil that his brother had gone missing. The police has not registered Sunil's complaint, he said. |
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Gang of Bangladeshi criminals busted
New Delhi, October 13 According to information, the gang was also engaged in the January, 2008, armed robbery case of Kucha Rehman, Chandni Chowk, and decamped with cash worth Rs 10 lakh and gold worth Rs 10 lakh. The trio was apprehended from the JJ Colony, Bawana, yesterday. The police said the trio confessed that it had committed the aforesaid dacoity at Kucha Rehman, Chandni Chowk, along with accomplices Noor and Shahid. After committing the crime, accused Mohd. Tara had fled to Bangladesh to dispose off the looted property and had returned to Delhi after around five months. Mohd. Yasin sent the looted property to his relatives in Bangladeshi through another Bangladesh citizen’s (courier), who rendered such services and charged 25 per cent commission. |
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School shuts after student gets swine flu
New Delhi, October 13 A class 10 student in the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya in Lodhi Road tested positive for the flu, a health official said. “The school was shut on Tuesday after the student tested positive for the flu. The school has also advanced Divali leave by a day,” said a school official. Tuesday reported 26 new swine flu cases, including 18 children. So far, 15 people have died of swine flu in
Delhi. — IANS |
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