New Delhi, October 26
The Delhi Cabinet today gave approval for revision of DTC bus fare and purchase of 1,000 low-floor buses, including 750 non-air conditioned (AC), and 250 AC CNG buses against earlier decision to purchase 1,000 semi-low floor buses. 

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) had been striving to augment its city transport fleet, for which huge capital investment was required. 

Further, the DTC has implemented recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission resulting in a substantial burden on its finances.  Apart from this, the operational cost is increasing. 

Dikshit said considering this in mind, it became necessary to bring out a justified hike in the fare structure so that at least a portion of deficit and losses could be taken care of. 

It has been decided to implement new fare structure in three stages in non-AC buses. For a journey up to three km, Rs 5 will be charged whereas Rs 10 for a journey between three to 10 km and Rs 15 for a journey above 10 km. 

New fare for non-AC Green Lines, Limited Services, Railway Specials and night services will be Rs 15 and Rs 25 for AC buses. 

In respect of AC buses, the new structure will be Rs 10 for a journey up to three km, Rs 15 for a journey between three to 10 km and Rs 25 for a journey above 10 km.  For travelling in AC airport services, new fare will be Rs 75 whereas it will be Rs 50 in non-AC buses.  There has been no hike in monthly passes for senior citizens and press that will continue to be Rs 250 in non-AC buses and Rs 350 in AC buses for senior citizens. 

Journalists would continue to avail the facility at Rs 100 per month in non-AC and Rs 200 per month in AC buses. 

However, monthly passes will now cost Rs 800 in non-AC buses and Rs 1,000 in AC buses.  New rate for monthly student passes is Rs 100. The last revisions were made in October, 1999, December, 1999, May, 2002 and marginal revision in June, 2007. The DTC would purchase 1,000 low-floor buses, including 750 non-AC, and 250 AC CNG buses.

New Delhi, October 26
Crossing the border for the first time and entering the NCR, Metro’s trial run between Yamuna Bank and Noida, Sector 16, station began today.

The trial began at 12.30 pm after a puja was performed at the Yamuna Bank Depot.

Two trial runs were conducted between 12.30 pm and 4 pm on this section.

Director (electrical) Satish Kumar, director (finance) RN Joshi, director (operations) Raj Kumar, director (rolling stock) HS Anand, director (projects) Kumar Keshav and chief project manager (east) HK Sharma were present.

“The runs would continue for one week and are likely to be extended from Noida, Sector 16, to Sector 32 in the first week of November. The entire section from Yamuna Bank to Noida, Sector 32, may be opened by mid-November or the first week of December,” said Anuj Dayal, spokesperson, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC).

Around 53,000 passengers are expected to join the Metro after the opening of the Noida corridor.

During the trial runs today, the interaction of the Metro with physical infringement (civil structure) was checked to ensure that there was no physical blockage during the movement of the train on the track between Yamuna Bank and Noida, Sector 16, station.

The train was run at a slow speed of 10 to 20 km per hour since it was the first run. The speed would be increased to 50 km per hour, and then 80 km per hour would be generated during the trial runs.

“The signalling system that is based upon the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) is being tested,” added Dayal, when asked about the previous accident that happened due to non-use of the ATP.

The signalling system has been provided by Siemens. The response of the train at different speeds, braking of the train and the inter-connection with Operations Control Centre (OCC) was also monitored along with the behaviour of the track system and the overhead electrification.

During each 24-hour cycle in two weeks of trial running, trains would run for about eight hours daily and the remaining time would be used for completion and rectification of various works.

“Special emphasis will be given on safety that is the prime concern during a trial, as DMRC has to ensure that the system is safe for use before the section is opened,” Dayal said.

This section would be integrated with the existing 34.3 km Yamuna Bank to Dwarka, Sector 9, section and would require special focus on extension of the existing signalling system to the 13.1 km extension from Yamuna Bank to Noida, Sector 32. The total length of Line 3 would then be extended to 47.4 km.

New Delhi, October 26
The Union has accepted the long-awaited demand of the Delhi government by delegating most of its powers to it in connection with the Delhi Municipal Corporation.

This decision was taken today after a consideration by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

A spokesman of the Home Ministry said the Central Government had decided to delegate its powers and many provisions of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, to the Delhi government.

The powers have been delegated with certain conditions. It may be exercised with the previous approval of the Central Government; however, some powers will continue to be delegated to the Lt. Governor.

The spokesman further said there had been numerous requests from time to time that the powers of the Central Government ought to be delegated to the government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).

Recommendations to this had been made by the Balakrishnan Committtee, Virendra Prakash Committee, Ashok Pradhan Committee and Omesh Saigal Committee, and recently by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Veerappa Moily, Union Minister, Law and Justice.

The Central Government has consulted the GNCTD, Lt. Governor of Delhi and Municipal Corporation of Delhi before taking the decision to delegate its powers in connection with the MCD to the Delhi government, he added.

The Central Government will observe the working of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, after the revised delegation of powers and will consider delegation of further powers for the relaxation of conditions at an appropriate time.

Reacting to the Union government’s decision, leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra, said this decision would not affect the MCD as the Centre had delegated its powers to the Delhi government.

The Centre always used to exercise its powers through the Lt. Governor, irrespective of whether the powers were with the Centre or state, he added. 

New Delhi, Oct 26
The newly constructed Ghazipur slaughterhouse continues to be mired in controversy with the Quresh (slaughter) community now challenging its hygiene, capacity and other facilities.

After the Idgah slaughterhouse was sealed by the Municipal Corporation of delhin (MCD) officials on October 21 and butchers went on a mass strike, Sirajuddin Qureshi, president of All India Jamiatul Quresh today addressed media persons stressing that the MCD has been misleading the Supreme Court by furnishing wrong information.

Terming the newly constructed abattoir in Ghazipur ‘insufficient’, the organisation said that it can slaughter only 500 large animals and 5,000 sheep and goats per day against the enormous meat demand in the Capital of nearly 5,000 large animals and 25,000-30000 sheep and goats.

“The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) allotted 80 acres to MCD, but only 20 acres had been utilized to construct modern abattoir, while the rest 60 acres is being used as sanitary landfill site where almost 45 lakh tonne garbage mass with dead animals is lying on the ground till date. The slaughterhouse is blatantly unhygienic and compromising on the health of lakhs of Delhiites,” said Qureshi.

Also, the slaughtering fee at Idgah slaughterhouse was Rs 12.50 for a large animal and Rs 5 for sheep and goats. It has gone up to a whopping Rs 560 and Rs 90 respectively at Ghazipur.

Akil Qureshi of Meat Merchant Association said, “It is not a slaughterhouse but a meat factory. None of the butchers is allowed inside the new abattoir. No one would get to know of any discrepancies inside the slaughterhouse. It seems the MCD is bent on throwing us out as they want the land.”

However, an MCD spokesperson maintained that every thing is done in accordance with the Supreme Court’s guidelines and there is not a single aspect that the court is unaware of.

New Delhi, October 26
Strike by meat traders for the past three days, protesting closure of a two-century old abattoir, has seen the price of chicken shooting through the roof and mutton simply unavailable in Capital. The traders association will meet late on Sunday to decide how long the strike will continue.

The two-century-old abattoir near the walled city was closed down on Thursday after a five-year battle between the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and meat trader associations here.

Amid protests and on the Supreme Court’s directives, slaughter activities have been shifted to the high-tech slaughterhouse in east Delhi’s Ghazipur. Muhammed Shagir Qureshi of Bhai Saheb meat shop in south Delhi’s Gulmohar Park area, said: “Our previous slaughterhouse has been sealed and the government is forcing us to shift to a place which is the dump house of Delhi. The new area where we have been asked to shift is very dirty and not a place fit to prepare anything that is to be consumed,” said Qureshi.

The immediate implication of the butchers-strike has been on the meat shops, a number of which are closed or have hiked prices.

Ravi, a worker at the Green Chick shop said there has been no mutton supply for the past three days.

“Considering it was a weekend a number of people are coming to buy mutton, but we have had to turn them away because we simply have no supply. We even have people calling us all through the day to know when the supply will resume. But we have no idea,” Ravi said.

Qureshi claimed that almost 75 per cent meat shops here are closed because there is no supply.

Yasin Husain, a meat shop owner in north Delhi said the price of chicken has risen from Rs 100 a kilo to almost Rs 150.

“Mutton supply has been hampered because of the strike but we have made alternate arrangements. Even three days back, mutton was selling at Rs 250 a kilo and chicken has gone up to Rs 150,” he said.

Anubha Verma, a homemaker, who had guests coming over to her place on Saturday said she had a tough time deciding the menu. — IANS 

New Delhi, October 26
“Delhi is not a safe city for people of northeastern states. This murder is a gruesome example of the threat many of us face in our day-to-day lives in the Capital,” says Alem Lang, a student from Nagaland at Miranda College.

The northeastern community in the Capital on Monday was badly shaken in the aftermath of the murder of a young girl from Manipur at her home in Munirka, south Delhi.

Police officers inform that the girl was murdered by her neighbour, Pushpam Kumar Sinha, a Ph.D. scholar of IIT-Delhi.

Alem adds, “Many girls from the NE face problems in Delhi. We are subject to teasing. Some girls are molested. Almost each one of us receives unwelcome attention. Yet no one is ready to do anything about our security.”

Atte from Nagaland who works at a restaurant in south Delhi, says, “Delhi is not a safe city for anyone, but for northeastern girls it is very unsafe.”

She adds, “We are far away from home and many of us are living alone or in groups and we are subject to unwelcome attention all the time. Take my case, I have to fend off unwelcome attention on the streets and the market place all the time. I work at a restaurant and there are often unpleasant clients.”

Pui, a tribal from Manipur, works at a restaurant in Connaught place and is also a student at a polytechnic college. “This murder is one of the worst incidents involving a northeastern girl in Delhi. We do not feel safe here. Bombay is much better. We are far away from home and friends. The trouble begins in the evenings. One has to be very careful if one is a single woman in Delhi.”

Pui adds, “Some people say it is our western dress that attracts unwanted attention but then this is what we wear back home.”

Brajrani from Imphal in Manipur is a housewife in Delhi.

She says, “I am shocked at this terrible murder. This is not the only incident. Today’s paper carries report of a girl from Arunachal who was molested by school boys.”

New Delhi, October 26
Based on the incriminating graffiti in his room and entries in his personal diary, Delhi police believes that the accused Pushpum Kumar Sinha, who was arrested last night for the murder of Ramchanphy Hongray (19), was suffering from Compulsive Obsessive Disorder—a mental disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce anxiety and repetitive behaviour.

According to HGS Dhaliwal, DCP (South), the study of his diary, laptop and writings on the wall suggest that he was suffering from maniacal obsession besides being a pervert.

The police officer also cleared that the postmortem report of the girl did not show that she had been raped before murder. Pushpum was doing his Ph.D. in Wave Mechanics from IIT Delhi and lived close to the rented accommodation of the deceased.

The police got a shock when they searched Sinha’s room which was one floor below the girl’s accommodation. “He had written graffiti on the walls like ‘This will be your last date’ among many others indicating some kind of mental disorder. A diary was also uncovered in which he had written, ‘This is the right time for me to make a girlfriend. I am finally making one’,” said Dhaliwal.

He added that the arrested accused also bought gifts for the girls but never gave them.

According to the police, it took them four hours to make Sinha confess to crime. “During interrogation, he made an alibi. He also said that he was playing with the children of neighbors. He had everything planned in his mind,” said Dhaliwal.

He added, “Sinha confessed that he killed the girl because he was afraid she would complain to police about his misbehavior.” 

According to police, Sinha had made acquaintance with the girl during Divali, but nothing had developed further.

Advances were totally from Sinha’s side. His diaries and files in laptop suggested that he was very sad as he could not marry.

Ghaziabad, October 26
A young man paid with his life for opposing the engagement of his girlfriend to another man. The family of the girl shot dead the boy in Salah Nagar locality of Ghaziabad, the police said today.

The police has arrested five persons for killing Rakesh, a resident of Salah Nagar under Loni police station around midnight on Sunday.

The boy’s father, Desh Raj, filed a complaint with the police, stating that his son was in love with Mamta, daughter of Ram Singh. The families of Ram Singh and Desh Raj were close. Their children developed intimate relations.

But Mamta’s family arranged her marriage with another boy. Angry over the development, Rakesh barged into the girl’s house to oppose her engagement. Her family members also got enraged and fired at him, critically injuring him. The victim’s family rushed him to the MMG Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

“On Desh Raj’s complaint, we have registered a case against five persons. They are all residents of Loni. They have been arrested,” said additional superintendent of police Happy Guptan. — IANS

New Delhi, October 26
When it comes to effectively getting the orders implemented, the Central Information Commission (CIC) ranks third from bottom in the list of all state information commissions with just 29 per cent effectiveness.

Surprisingly, out of the 7,500 analysed orders passed by the CIC in 2008, about 20 per cent are found to have been disposed of by saying that information had been provided.

As per records, while information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi closed 50 per cent cases by saying that information had been provided, MM Ansari closed down nearly 33 per cent cases. However, almost 70 per cent people said they had not got information.

According to the data given by the Public Cause Research Foundation, out of total 66 commissioners ranked nationwide, three commissioners from the CIC are in the bottom 10 - M L Sharma (11.1%), Shailesh Gandhi (21.2%), MM Ansari (21.5%). Others are S N Mishra (25%), O P Kejariwal (26.6%), Padma Balasubramaniam (28.2%), Annapurna Dixit (29.6%) and AN Tiwari (40%).

An exception in the list is Wajahat Habibullah, who gets maximum orders implemented within the Commission with effectiveness of 62.5 per cent. He is at the fourth position at all-India level.

Hundreds of people, who have received orders issued in favour, still fail to receive information.

Hari Dev Goyal sought information from the DDA regarding allotment of flats of 23 persons. The Commission directed the DDA to provide him information but he has not received any information even after an year despite three letters to the Commission.

Ravi Prakash, who worked in a cooperative bank, was suspended and terminated from the job. When he asked for reasons under RTI, the Commission directed that information should be provided by November 10, 2008.

Despite several visits and letters to the Commission, no information has been recieved yet.

Nationally, only 40 per cent people said they had got the information.

While 60 per cent said they did not get the information and the case was closed by the commissioner without hearing them and by making a false remark that information had been provided.

New Delhi, October 26
Talking about the “breaking away” of Indian cinema from what was considered stereotypical, Bollywood’s new-age actor Abhay Deol said he signed films that had characters he could identify with.

“I cannot pull roles that are larger than life and I do not fit in parallel cinema either because filmmakers think I am from the other (commercial) side. So for me choosing film close to reality was the only way to survive in the industry,” said Deol.

The actor who has become representative of the next generation in the Indian cinema was in the Capital for an interaction on his critically acclaimed film ‘Dev D’ at the Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival today along with director Anurag Kashyap and co-actor Kalki Koechlin.

He said film festivals like Osian’s gave platform to alternative cinema and non-mainstream actors to showcase their talents. “There is a lot of international interest in the Indian cinema as Bollywood has become a genre today. Giving the right push to new wave movement in cinema that breaks the stereotypical larger than life films’ concept would help us grow,” Deol told The Tribune.

After shooting more than three films in and around Delhi, the actor said the city was like his office now.

“I have come close to the city. It is like my office and I feel its time to change my address,” he said.

Talking about the increasing nudity and abuses in Indian films, Deol said “reality always hit harder.” However, he added some item numbers were vulgar and did not make sense.

Apart from being an actor, Deol has written scripts for films. He was the one who asked Anurag Kashyap to make ‘Dev D’.

“The idea of ‘Dev D’ arose in a drunk conversation between me and Abhay. He was giving me clues one after the other and finally, spelt it out when I could not guess where he was heading,” said Kashyap.

Kashyap who hated the novel ‘Devdas’ said he liked the idea of re-constructing it in a modern backdrop. “I wanted to explore how the young generation reacts and thinks. The idea of shooting the film in Paharganj came even before the framework of the film,” he shared.

Talking about his complicated women characters, Kashyap said he only chose characters that would intrigue him. “I would not want to have a cup of tea with a simple next door girl,” he said.

He added that women characters did not need to be necessarily refined through morality.

Kashyap’s girlfriend and theatre actor Kalki said the society boxed a woman in certain way if they deviate from the given norms.

“It was good to play a character in ‘Dev D’ who did not apologise for her actions and took her decisions,” she said.

New Delhi, October 26
The Capital today recorded one more dengue death, taking the total to two, health officials said.

Delhi has reported 255 positive cases of the vector-borne disease so far, they added.

“One death was reported today. This takes the toll to two in the Capital,” said NK Yadav, chief medical officer of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

“On Monday, we have recorded 24 positive cases of dengue. This has taken the total number of cases up to 255,” Yadav told IANS.

“Looking at the previous year’s statistics, we have fewer dengue cases this year. However, we are not taking any chances and taking all precautionary measures to spread awareness among people to stop the breeding of mosquitoes, thus, the spread of the disease,” Yadav added.

In 2008, Delhi recorded 1,321 cases of dengue. — IANS