New Delhi, November 7
Nine students of Delhi Public School, Mathura Road, were injured when their van overturned after it was hit by a mini truck in the Kashmere Gate area of north Delhi this morning.

The van was carrying 12 students, nine of them were injured, said a senior police official. Two of them are critical.

“When the van was taking a U-turn near ISBT, a Tata 407 coming from the opposite direction collided head-on with it around 7:15 am. As a result, the van overturned injuring nine students,” the official said.

He added that the mini truck had broken the traffic signal and was running at high speed. “The truck driver is absconding,” he said.

Seven of the injured students have been admitted to the Bada Hindu Rao Hospital, while two others have been admitted to private hospitals, the official said.

According to the police, the injured students were in the age group of 7 to 12 and were going to school for special classes. Some of the injured have been identified as Yukta (7), Mahima (10), Mithi (10), Neha (10), Dharmik (7), Kabir (10) and Vidharb (10).

A case of negligent and rash driving has been registered against the truck driver and efforts are on to nab him. 

New Delhi, November 7
The much-awaited Delhi Metro corridor connecting Noida and Yamuna Bank here is all set to open for the public on November 13, DMRC officials said today.

‘’Before the flag-off, the section will be inspected by the Commissioner for Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) on November 10 and 11. After receiving the clearance from him, the inauguration will be done on November 12,’’ DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal told mediapersons.

He informed that the 13.1-km-long line would be opened for general public from the next day, that is November 13, from 0600 hrs.

‘’We have been putting all efforts to open the link connecting Yamuna Bank and Noida Sector 32 before the start of India International Trade Fair on November 14,’’ Dayal added.

The Yamuna Bank-Noida City centre Metro corridor is completely elevated and has 10 stations, namely Akshardham, Mayur Vihar-I, Mayur Vihar Ext., New Ashok Nagar, Noida Sector 15, Sector 16, Sector 18, Botanical Garden, Golf Course and Noida City Centre

Residents of Mayur Vihar and New Ashok Nagar are particularly exited about the opening of the Noida line. “I am desperately waiting for the Metro to start here. It would be a boon. The journey to my office in Connaught Place would not only reduce to ten minutes but would be comfortable too,” said Akansha Gupta, a resident of Noida Sec-16.

Even students who commute in buses to attend coaching classes or colleges in Delhi find it a safe mode of transport.

“Soon we will not have to suffer by travelling in the packed buses commuting from Noida to Delhi. Metro in Noida is definitely going to be a big hit,” said a group of students waiting to board a bus at Sec-18 bus stand.

While most of the residents in the satellite city are happy that their journey would be safe and quick, many also think that Metro would beat the bus transport system because of the recent hike in bus fares.

“Why would a person pay Rs 10 for a bus ticket to Mayur Vihar from Noida Sec-15 if he gets Metro for almost the same price?” asked Arun Anand who works in HCL at Sec-15, Noida.

Meanwhile, the DMRC is expecting about 53,000 passengers per day after the opening of the Noida corridor.

Decks were cleared for the DMRC to cross Delhi and enter NCR when Parliament passed a Bill to give legal cover for construction, operation and maintenance of the Metro rail system in the National Capital Region.

The Metro stations on the Noida corridor will have a completely new look. The exterior of the station will be made using a special technique called ACP (Aluminium Composite Panel).

Parking facility has been provided at all the stations till New Ashok Nagar and in Noida at Botanical Garden and Noida City Centre.

New Delhi, November 7
Indian National Lok Dal MP, Tarlochan Singh, today said that so far only Sikhs had written books on 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Non-Sikhs should also come forward to write books on the carnage.

He suggested this at a debate organized by the

Sikh Forum, Civil Liberties and human rights organizations to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 1984 pogrom.

Tarlochan Singh pointed out that when Israel can arrest the suspects of 1948 carnage in its country after 61 years of the incident, why the suspects of 1984 riots cannot be arrested. The MPs should try to get a resolution passed in both the Houses of Parliament to condemn the riots.

Speaking in the debate, he suggested, “Let us follow the South African way of accepting guilt. When South Africa had become independent and Nelson Mandela taken over as President of the country, a commission was constituted in which it was said that those who would come forward to accept their guilt would be forgiven. The commission was known as ‘Truth and Confession’. Here in India a commission should also be constituted where the guilty should come forward to accept their guilt.”

Speaking on the occasion, senior leader of Janata Dal (U) Jaya Jaitly said that the incident of 1984 was very bad. “We could not imagine that a man will kill another man.”

Retired IPS officer Maxwell Pereira regretted that the reports published on riots demanded capital punishment for the guilty but did not name several police officers who bravely tried to control the massacre. 

New Delhi, November 7
Delhi has finally lost the gains of CNG programme, says the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in its latest analysis of recent air quality data in Delhi.

“It’s air is becoming unbreatheable, bringing back the pre-CNG days when diesel-driven buses and autos had made it one of the most polluted cities,” it adds.

And today’s unprecedented smog is a clear indicator, says the analysis.

In 2001, when the CNG programme was on, the annual average level of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM, or PM10) in residential areas stood at 149 mg per cubic/m. After registering a drop in 2005, the level shot up to 209 mg per cubic/m in 2008. Eight-hour maximum level of Carbon monoxide (CO) is touching 6,000 mg per cubic/m, above the safe level of 2,000 mg per cubic/m. Levels of Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), though lower than the standard in most areas, have also been increasing marginally.

“In 2007, it was said Delhi would wake up every winter to more smog and pollution; more wheeze and asthma,” says Anumita Roychoudhury, head of CSE’s Right to Clean Air campaign.

In the past five years, the city has done all to reduce pollution. It has advanced emission norms of vehicles; strengthened its ‘pollution under control’ system, capped autorickshaws; converted buses to CNG and restricted entry of commercial vehicles.

But, pollution level is still on the rise. Delhi has over four million registered vehicles. The city adds over 1,000 vehicles each day. This is almost double what was added in the city in pre-CNG days.

The Society for Indian Automobile Manufacturers says market share of diesel cars is expected to be 50 % of total car sales by 2010. The CSE’s estimates say the number of diesel cars in Delhi is equivalent to adding pollutants from nearly 30,000 diesel buses.

Diesel vehicles are known to emit higher smoke, particles and NOx than petrol counterparts. Even the ‘clean’ diesel running on fuel with 350 ppm of sulphur, allows higher limits for NOx and particulate emissions compared to petrol cars.

Decreasing ridership of Delhi buses is a worrying trend. According to a study last year, the bus’s share in the modal split has fallen from 60 per cent to 41 per cent from 2001 to 2008.

Delhi’s second generation reforms will need to address problems like exponential growth of private vehicles and in particular, diesel vehicles here, and the need to have a viable public transport system.

It is in this context that the proposed air quality norms acquire significance. Says Roychoudhury:

“If the health implications of emerging pollution data were considered, the ministry of environment and forests would have rushed to set new air quality targets. 
The health ministry has warned that India is experiencing a rapid epidemiological transition, with a rising burden of chronic diseases. 

New Delhi, November 7
A 36-year-old woman was found dead in the Tagore Garden area of west Delhi last evening. ‘’Samiksha, alias Neeta, was at her Tagore Garden home with her five-year-old son when the incident took place. The case was reported around 9 pm,’’ said a senior police official.

He said that Neeta’s husband Rajiv Verma had been living in Dubai for the past five years.

Neeta used to live on the first floor of her house while her parents and brother lived on the ground floor in the same building.

The police suspects it to be a case of enmity as nothing was missing from the house except the victim’s mobile phone.

New Delhi, November 7
Normalcy returned to Ghazipur abattoir today, bringing down the price of meat from Rs 250 to Rs 220 in the Capital.

The first day at the new abattoir saw 100 per cent increase in animal slaughtering, after the 15-day-long tussle between meat traders and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) came to end.

“It was a hundred per cent increase in slaughtering today, as the abattoir worked to its highest capacity since its inception,” said Fazal Qureshi, general manager of Ghazipur abattoir.

A total of 4,000 sheep and goats and 300 buffaloes were slaughtered at the abattoir. The halal section slaughtered 1,000 animals, while 250 animals were slaughtered in jhatka. The number of livestock animals purchased was 30,000.

“Slaughtering saw a rise. Animals from other states were also brought for slaughtering. They were struck for the last 15 days because of the strike. Over 150 trucks of livestock came from UP and Haryana. We also sent 100 truck of mutton to Jammu and Kashmir,” said Aquil Qureshi.

The butchers getting back to work in the modern abattoir gave respite to thousands of meat shop owners in Delhi and also helped in controlling the meat prices from soaring further.

The strike by Idgah butchers, who were protesting against moving to Ghazipur abattoir, had led to an increase in illegal slaughtering in the city.

The new abattoir might help in doing away with illegal slaughtering taking place in Delhi, though not 100 per cent.

“The capacity of Ghazipur abattoir is very less and it would not be enough for entire Delhi. Illegal slaughtering will continue here or it would be difficult to meet the meat demand in the Capital,” said Qureshi.

The Ghazipur centre also has facilities to prevent meat contamination.

Noida, November 7
A security agency owner was allegedly assaulted by four persons in a case of road rage in Noida, yesterday. The injured has been admitted to Kailash Hospital where his condition was stable till late evening today.

Ravi Yadav (22), owner of a security agency at Chhijarsi, was driving his car when the incident took place. At Chhijarshi crossing, a tractor halted behind Ravi’s car and asked him to give way to it. When Ravi told the driver of the tractor to wait for some minutes as there was no space to turn the car, the tractor driver became furious.

Thereafter, the tractor driver Rameshwar Kumar and three others reportedly assaulted Ravi with sticks.

“He suffered head injuries and was admitted to the intensive care unit. His condition was critical till late evening today,” said, V.B. Joshi, spokesperson, Kailash Hospital.

“Victim’s brother, Omesh Yadav, has lodged an FIR against Rameshwar Kumar and three others. All accused were absconding till late evening today,” said Hari Mohan Singh, station house officer, Sector 58.