New Delhi, November 13
The bandh called by the Delhi unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against rising prices was successful, as major markets and establishments remained closed throughout the day.

However, 500 party workers were detained in various areas for forcing traders to close down their shops.

However, the bandh did not disrupt essential services like transport. Students, office goers and other commuters did not face any difficulty in reaching their destinations. Transport was moving as its usual pace.

BJP activists moving in groups in markets had given space for the traffic to pass.

They marched half naked from the Red Fort to Chandni Chowk and burnt effigies of the UPA government. They held high black flags when Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit reached the GTB Hospital to attend a function.

Markets in Chandni Chowk, Sadar Bazar, Ajmal Khan Road, Rajendra Nagar, Patel Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Naraina Industrial area, R.K. Puram, Khazuri Khas, Seelampur, Karawal Nagar Road, Babarpur Road, Janakpuri, Tilak Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Najafgarh, Malviya Nagar, South Extension, Lajpat Nagar, Kalkaji, Mehrauli, Badarpur, Rohini, Budh Vihar, Adarsh Nagar, Indira Nagar, Azad Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Pitampura, Ashok Vihar, Narela Mandi, Jehangirpuri, Yusuf Sarai, Hauz Khas, Green Park and Safdarjung wore a deserted look.

Initially, traders in Connaught Place and Janpath were reluctant to close their shops. But when party leaders appealed to them to support the bandh, they closed their shops.

Former Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan who led workers in east Delhi rode a cycle rickshaw on Vikas Marg appealing to traders to support the bandh.

The leaders who led the bandh at various places were Delhi BJP president Prof Om Prakash Kohli, leader of the opposition in Delhi Assembly Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra, national general secretary Vijay Goel, former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana, former state presidents Harsh Vardhan and Mange Ram Garg, former leader of opposition in Delhi Assembly Prof Jagdish Mukhi, leader of the house in the MCD Subhash Arya and other senior leaders.

Kohli said today’s Bandh had proved there was great acrimony among people against price rise and they held the UPA government at the Centre and the Congress government in Delhi responsible for this. 

He held the Congress’ wrong economic policies and economic mismanagement responsible for price rise. He warned the government that people would not remain silent for long and if the government did not change its policies, the acrimony of people might become uncontrollable.

New Delhi, November 13
Protesting against the increased fee and hike in fares of public transport, students of Delhi University (DU) stayed away from classes today.

Responding to the call of DU Students’ Union (DUSU), hundreds of students turned up in front of Khalsa College and took out a march across the north campus addressing students to boycott classes against the ‘exorbitant’ examination fee hike introduced by the university administration recently.

DUSU president Manoj Choudhary asked the university administration to consult the students’ representatives before taking any decisions that affected the students.

“The university authorities should have discussed the fee hike with the students’ union before increasing the examination, revaluation and fee for re-checking. We are the representatives of students and the university has no right to bypass us,” said Choudhary.

Warning the administration against making it a commercial business, he said, the investments made in higher education were for the national interest.

The examination fee for graduation courses has been increased in DU from Rs 50 to Rs 100. The fee for masters courses has been increased from Rs 75 to Rs 150. A drastic hike has been introduced in the thesis fee of PhD students from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000.

Also, the fee for re-evaluation of marks has been hiked from Rs 200 to Rs 500 per paper and from Rs 100 to Rs 300 for rechecking. The university has started charging the students Rs 10 per examination form, which was previously given to the students free of charge.

The students blamed the DTC management for the bus service running in losses and asked the Delhi government to look into the financial mismanagement instead of putting extra pressure on the students.

Present office-bearers of DUSU have also been agitated over the university’s move to shut down their office that, according to the students, has witnessed the history of students’ movement in DU.

“DU administration is also targeting the students’ union by taking away our office building. This is total dictatorship,” said Choudhary.

In 1968, the DUSU office was officially inaugurated by the then union tourism minister Karan Singh when Harcharan Singh Josh and CD Deshmukh were the DUSU president and DU vice-chancellor respectively.

There are two types of provisions for allotment of land to any department and office in DU, the first is on the lease basis and the second is permanent allotment.

The students’ representatives have claimed that there was a memorandum of understanding signed between the administration and DUSU before the office was given to DUSU.

“We only want the administration to show us the memorandum of understanding and the university is not even ready for that,” he said.

The DUSU office-bearers said they would go to the court if the university does not show them the papers.

An RTI would be filed by the DUSU in this regard soon.

New Delhi, November 13
In the wake of large crowd expected to visit the International Trade Promotion Fair starting tomorrow, the Delhi traffic police has made elaborate arrangements around Pragati Maidan.

“In order to avoid the hassle of parking around Pragati Maidan, motorists should park vehicles at pre-designated sites and avail free shuttle service to and from Pragati Maidan. The service will run at regular intervals,” assured a senior traffic official adding the area around Pragati Maidan would be a ‘no parking zone’.

“No vehicles will be allowed to be parked or wait on Mathura Road, Tilak Marg, Bhagwan Dass Road, Purana Quila Road, Bhairon Road, Shershah Road, Ring Road and ‘C’ Hexagon. Vehicles parked on these roads would be towed away besides being prosecuted and fined. The traffic police has deployed cranes to tow away such improperly parked vehicles,” said the official.

The traffic police has also appealed to the public to use Metro and buses to visit the trade fair.

The Delhi police has made elaborate security and crime prevention arrangements for the fair. Adequate anti-sabotage and anti-terrorist measures are being implemented at parking lots, entry gates and important pavilions. Observation towers are being put to prevent chain-snatching, pickpocketing, eve-teasing and molestation and also to keep watch on the activities of suspicious persons.

Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will run special buses from various locations in Delhi and also neighbouring districts of other states like Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida. According to police, temporary DTC terminals will function at Kasturba Gandhi Marg Radial Road at India Gate and Bhairon Road.

New Delhi, November 13
A Delhi court today directed the police authorities to file the forensic test reports in the murder case of IT executive Jigisha Ghosh’s murder, the probe into which led to cracking of murder mystery of TV scribe Soumya Vishwanathan.

The court said that this would be the last chance for the police authorities to file the report.

Issuing a notice to the investigating officer (IO) in Ghosh’s case, additional sessions judge (ASJ) said the reports should be filed on December 5, the next date of hearing, as it would be the last opportunity.The articles, clothes and other objects, belonging to Ghosh, were sent to forensic science laboratory by the police for examination.

The court was to hear arguments on framing of charges against five persons. They are Ravi Kapoor, Amit Shukla, Ajay Kumar, Baljit Malik and Ajay Sethi. They have been booked under various provisions of IPC and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) dealing with robbery, murder, criminal conspiracy and running an organised crime syndicate.

Jigisha Ghosh, 28, was killed on March 18 this year while returning from a call centre. The recovery of the weapon allegedly used in the murder of the IT executive led to the cracking of the killing of Soumya also.

Soumya Vishwanathan was shot dead on the night of September 30 last year when she was returning home from office in her car in the wee hours.

Police had claimed robbery was the motive which ultimately led to the gruesome killing of Ghosh and the scribe of the Headlines Today news channel.

The accused had used Ghosh’s ATM card to withdraw Rs 77,000 from an ATM in Mahipalpur besides using her debit card to buy expensive goggles, wristwatches and shoes from Sarojini Nagar market.

Noida, November 13
Noida is in the grip of viral fever, dengue, bronchitis and asthma these days. The number of patients suffering from these ailments have shot by over four times, say doctors.

Dr Ajay Agarwal of Noida Medicare Centre said that on an average, the hospital received 15 dengue patients daily. He said the number of patients suffering from bronchitis and asthma had increased alarmingly.

On an average, the hospital received 15 patients suffering from both the diseases daily. About 50 per cent of them are admitted, while rest are treated in the OPD.

Dr Agarwal pointed out that the change in weather had led to a rise in the number of patients suffering from those ailments.

Dr Deepak Talwar of the Metro Hospital here also spoke in the same vein. He said that the number of bronchitis and asthma patients had risen in the last three-four weeks. About 70 patients admitted in the hospital suffered from viral fever, dengue, asthma and bronchitis.

He added it would take three to four months to bring the situation under control.

Talking about the Indian Oil Depot fire in Jaipur, Dr Talwar said that the situation could be like the London fire of the 1930s, wherein the winds had carried the smoke to nearby areas. It is a weather- related scourge and can create acute problems for asthma and bronchitis patients and those suffering from viral diseases.

Dr Mahesh Sharma, chairman of the Kailash Hospital here, said that over 100 patients suffering from viral diseases had been admitted to his hospital. There are about 15 asthma and dengue patients each.

He said the government medical authorities were misleading the public by claiming that the incidence of these ailments had become negligible in the area.

New Delhi, November 13
Even as there were 39 fresh cases of dengue reported today in the national Capital, the nodal officer for dengue Dr Debashish Bhattacharya said the number of cases are expected to see a dip with the winter effect taking over the city gradually.

Now rapid tests alone won't be enough for confirming a case of dengue and it is either through ELLISA NSI antigen test or Ellisa antibody test, available free of cost at government hospitals that a case of dengue would be declared.

This was decided at a high-level meeting between microbiologists and health experts from both government and private hospitals and health officials of the Delhi government.

The instructions, which come after some discrepancy was identified in the reporting of suspected and confirmed cases of the vector-borne disease, have been intimated to all the city's hospitals.

New Delhi, November 13
Come winters and worries about disrupted flights are bound to crop up as flight delays and cancellations become a routine feature due to poor visibility.

To minimise inconvenience to passengers and ensure continuity of operations during poor visibility conditions at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi International Airport (P) Limited (DIAL) has initiated several proactive measures.

Where maximum temperature in Delhi today was around 22.6(-6)°C and minimum 17.0(+5)°C, predictions for tomorrow are maximum being 24 °C and minimum being 17 °C.

While the rainfall level today was 0.2, thundershowers are expected tomorrow during daytime. Fog is expected in the days to come, which will halt the rail, air and road services. The airport authorities have already pulled up their socks and put in place some remedies.

Thus, traffic circulation plan has been modified at the domestic airport that will separate the vehicular traffic at the departure and arrival terminals. The approach road to the international terminal is also being widened and resurfaced.

DIAL has deployed additional customer service staff inside and outside the terminals to assist the passengers throughout the season.

Additional flight information displays have been installed inside and outside the terminals to keep the passengers updated on flight status.

The new domestic departure terminal 1D with spacious check-in concourse, in-line baggage handling system, capacious security hold area and various passenger amenities is also ready.

The terminal has multiple foods and beverage outlets, rest and recreation options that would minimise inconvenience to passengers during flight disruptions.

During winters, IGIA will have the 3 runways equipped with the Instrument Landing System available for operation. Nearly 55 parking bays, including 36 at the domestic aircraft apron, have been provided with CATIII compatible lighting systems.

An advanced Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System is also available that would provide live flight information to passengers.

New Delhi, November 13
“The bus and Metro hike were the last nails in the common man’s coffin. With travelling becoming too expensive, the labour class is the worst hit. While we earn just Rs 100-120 per day, around Rs 50 go in commuting. I wonder how we will survive,” said Mohan Lal who lives at Badarpur border.

“The daily travelling expenses have almost doubled. Now, commuting costs me Rs 40 per day that used to be Rs 20 earlier. We have no option but to comply,” said Rahmad, who puts up a stall at the Pragati Maidan Metro station.

Similar views echo from people belonging to lower and middle class. Most, who were too dependent on the DTC buses and Metro services, seem disheartened.

The daily travelling expenses have gone up drastically. Where the average increase in one’s travelling and kitchen expenses have gone up by 30 to 40 per cent, there seems so be no respite for the common man.

While a common man seems to be struggling with the increased fares, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said the bus fares were revised after a long gap of eight years.

Maalti, who lives with her two children in Garhi, said: “I work as a maid in Alakhnanada apartments. My two kids are studying at a government school in Munirka while my husband is a rickshaw puller. The increased prices are levied but when we ask for salary hike, we are laughed upon.”

She rued that it’s not just rich people who have problems. No one will pay my husband Rs 20 from a distance that costs Rs 10 if he asks to, then why should we pay extra.

New Delhi, November 13
A Delhi court today acquitted two men who had been accused of being members of terror organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and were arrested for possessing explosives to carry out terror activities in the Capital three years ago.

Sessions judge Dharmesh Sharma absolved Gulzar Ahmed Ganai and Mohammad Amin Hajjam of the charges under the IPC, the Explosive Substance Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Ganai (23) and Hajjam (32) were arrested on December 10, 2006, following a tip-off by a team of Delhi police special cell officials led by inspector M C Sharma, who was killed in the Batla House encounter here on September 19 last year.

The police had claimed to have recovered 1.5 kg explosives and Rs 6 lakh hawala money from their possession.The prosecution produced as many as 13 witnesses to prove their allegations.

The court in its judgement did not find any substance in the charges that both the men, hailing from J&K, were members of the LeT.

During trial, the police had claimed that they got the information through technical surveillance that the duo would come to the Capital to deliver the hawala money and explosives to their associates at the behest of one Mohammad Akmal of Pakistan who was a district commander of the LeT.

M.S.Khan, the counsel for the accused, had contended that there was no proof to show that the names of the accused were revealed during technical surveillance.

New Delhi, November 13
A 28-year-old biker was allegedly rammed over by a Scorpio driver at Mangolpuri this evening.

The deceased had reportedly, developed illicit relations with the wife of the accused. When the accused came to know about it, he decided to kill him.

DCP (outer) Atul Katiyar said the accused Pawan Kumar was arrested and a case of murder was lodged against him. Investigations in the matter are on.

The deceased identified as Sanjeev Kumar was pursuing JBT course and lived in Kirari village. The accused, Pawan also lives in the same area and runs a utensils shop in there. Pawan had asked his wife to end her relations with Sanjeev.