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Vaishali line faces hiccups
Metro trial run begins on Anand Vihar section |
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Noida property rates look up along Metro
Noida, December 12 Within a month, Metro has not only become a lifeline for lakhs of Noida commuters, its impact has also been felt in property values. The demand of Noida Authority’s group housing projects, which had slackened in recent months, has again been revived.
Govt asks Tata to fix problem
Yearender: New Delhi Railway Station Police Station
DERC Infrastructure Probe
Noida prepares to host mega horse show in March
RAW ex-official allowed access to seized papers
109 kids among 190 new H1N1 cases
Bag with Rs 8-lakh items stolen at McDonald’s
Insurance manager jailed for graft
Youth killed in bike mishap
House burgled
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Vaishali line faces hiccups
Ghaziabad, December 12 Now, the UP state power board, responsible for removing the overhead 220 KV line over the proposed route of Metro line, is yet to take the first steps. The GDA had already paid Rs 6 crore to UP power board to relocate this line away from the Metro line The GDA is reported to have written to the Ghaziabad district magistrate R. Ramesh Kumar asking him to intervene in the matter. In a meeting conducted at the DM's behest earlier, the three parties had decided that the state electricity department would relocate the line at the earliest. But the board is yet to begin the work. "Work to remove the sub-station at Vaishali station has already begun. Once it is done, it will not take us long to transfer the line," said a board official. Earlier in a meeting between Metro authorities and GDA, DMRC had raised this issue with the GDA. Meanwhile GDA decided that it would release Rs 80 crore for the completion of the extension line between Anand Vihar and Vaishali to DMRC at the earliest. "We are confident that the Metro will run in this section from May 2010," said a senior GDA official. He said that another sore point-removal of an electric substation near the Vaishali Metro station-has also been sorted out. |
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Metro trial run begins on Anand Vihar section
New Delhi, December 12 The trial run began this morning from Lakshmi Nagar station and the train went up to Preet Vihar station. DMRC said the trains will run up to Preet Vihar for some days before the trial runs are extended till the Anand Vihar station.Today’s trial runs were successful, said a DMRC official. The entire signalling system which is based upon Automatic Train Protection (ATP) is also being tested during the trials.The response of the train at different speeds, braking of the train and the interconnection with the operations control centrewill also be monitored during the trials. The behaviour of the track system and the overhead electrification will also be checked, said DMRC officials.The section, once opened, is expected to draw huge crowds. Anand Vihar being located on the border of Uttar Pradesh, people from that state will also use Metro to commute to Delhi. Over 1 lakh will join the new age transport system by 2011. The stretch, which will be integrated with the newly constructed railway terminal, is scheduled to be opened to the public by the end of this month. However, DMRC officials say the inauguration of the line is subject to the availability of trains. |
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Noida property rates look up along Metro
Noida, December 12 The demand of Noida Authority’s group housing projects, which had slackened in recent months, has again been revived. Earlier, in Sectors 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 38, 39, 40, 50 and 57, a two-bedroom flat used to command a rent of Rs 6,000. It has now gone up to Rs 8,000 to Rs 9,000 a month. Similarly a three-bed room flat in these sectors which was available for Rs 10,000 a month previously has become costlier by 2-5 thousands a month. On average property values and rentals in sectors, especially in close proximity to Metro stations in Noida, have also looked up. Even demands and rentals of commercial property have gone up by roughly 30 to 50 per cent. Indications are that in the coming days, there will be further hike in rates . According to Vikas Tyagi, general manager of Super Tek, “After the Metro line had been laid there was a great rush to acquire property in the nearby areas. With Metro’s extension to Greater Noida on the cards, the property rates are likely to shoot up. Meanwhile, out of six Metro stations in Noida, parking lots for four stations have been set up. Two out of these, City Centre and Botanical Garden stations now have parking facilities round the clock, while at other two stations, Sectors 15 and 16, vehicles can be parked from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. At one time, 4,000 vehicles can be parked there. |
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2 low-floor buses catch fire
New Delhi, December 12 According to fire officials, the first incident took place at around 9.15 am near Prahaladpur in south Delhi while the second bus caught fire around 12 pm near the Akshardham flyover in east Delhi. This was the third incident of fire in the past 17 days in the low-floor Tata buses running on compressed natural gas (CNG) in the Capital. The first incident was reported when the bus plying on Badarpur Border/MG Road-Gurgaon had an overheating of engine leading to melting or short-circuiting of wires in the rear part of the bus. This resulted in jamming of rear wheels. Consequently, the smoke started emanating from the rear engine part and passengers were somehow let out averting a major mishap. According to information, there were more than 70 passengers in the bus. In another incident later in the day, another DTC's low-floor bus developed similar mechanical snag at Akshardham on Noida route around 12 noon as its rear wheels got jammed, leading to smoke and fire. "A strong burning smell started and the bus was filled with thick smoke. I took the bus on to the side of the road and stopped it. The passengers got out. The front wheels were jammed and one of them was burning," said the driver of the bus. The fire engines were rushed to douse the fire. The Delhi government has ordered an inquiry into the incidents and asked Tata Motors, which supplies the buses, to mend the fault. Five DTC buses have caught fire since November. Dec 12: Low-floor bus catches fire near Prahaladpur in south Delhi. Dec 12: Another bus goes up in flames near Akshardham flyover in east Delhi. Dec 3: Low-floor bus catches fire in Moti Nagar in west Delhi. Nov 30: Low floor bus was engulfed in flames near Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in central Delhi. Nov 26: Fire breaks out in a DTC school bus in east Delhi. |
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Govt asks Tata to fix problem
New Delhi, December 12 Each low floor DTC bus costs the Delhi government over Rs 50 lakh. Asked about the spurt in such incidents, transport commissioner and DTC chairman R.K. Verma said: “These kind of incidents keep happening and its a mechanical problem.” “There is no need for concern. We have pulled up Tata Motors, the manufacturers of low floor buses, in the matter. We are regularly holding meetings to look into the issue,” Verma told IANS. The burning incidents of newly purchased buses have put the government in the dock as it had plans to phase out the Blueline buses before the Commonwealth Games next year and replace them with 3,500 low-floor CNG-fuelled
buses. — IANS |
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Yearender: New Delhi Railway Station Police Station
New Delhi, December 12 However, regulars at the station — the coolies, canteen and stall owners, vendors, parking contractors and even the cigarette shop owners in the vicinity of the station —refuse to believe that a mere 376 cases had been reported at the NDRS Police Station till December 8, 2009. “At any given day, 10 to 15 cases of all kinds are reported at the station. However, they hardly go into police records as no FIRs are lodged,” said Ramesh (name changed) who works as a parking attendant just across the police station. A similar view is expressed by the four or five people surrounding him. “376 cases in the year average just about one crime in a day. Who would believe it? Multiply them with 15 or 20 and you would get the correct figures,” said other parking attendants who are witness to hordes of people thronging the station every day to get their complaints lodged. As per the latest data of crimes at NDRS police station, compared to 437 FIRs last year, 2009 has so far recorded only 376 FIRs, a decline of 61 cases. “Not only has there been less crime, we also worked out 221 cases, close to 60 per cent (58.7 per cent exact),” says Anil Kumar, SHO, NDRS police station. According to station records, 124 cases of pickpocketing and 92 cases of luggage lifting were recorded this year and the police has worked out 106 and 62 cases, respectively. He added that his men were able to work out 3 of the 4 robberies reported this year. However, all these claims are considered fabricated and false by the people working in and around New Delhi railway station. A man on the condition of anonymity said he happened to spend about three hours at the police station last month for some work and in that period, seven persons came with their complaints. No FIR was lodged in any of them. “A woman who was on her way to Kolkata was robbed of her two bags which contained her mobile and purse. She came to the station, crying. The police took a written complaint from her and sent her away without lodging any FIR. The same happened with others,” said he. When a policeman was confronted with people’s perception about their claims, he merely grinned and asked “Do you think it happens at our police station only?” On an average, 5 lakh people visit the New Delhi railway station everyday and about 70 policemen are deployed on every day duty in three shifts of eight hours each. |
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DERC Infrastructure Probe
New Delhi, December 12 The DERC had recently issued notice to the discoms saying it wanted to check whether they actually bought and installed the infrastructure they claim to have purchased by spending crores of taxpayers’ money over the past six years.
“We have done everything as per the guidelines and are open to any kind of scrutiny,” said a senior official of the Reliance-backed discom BSES. Similarly, Tata-backed discom NDPL said that the investigation was a necessary step to ensure better power supply to the citizens of Delhi. “We fully support the DERC in its investigation and can produce all necessary documents and supporting information for the convenience of the commission. All the assets have been well installed by us,” said the official spokesperson of NDPL. “Our infrastructure is well in place which is also reflected in our service,” he added. According to DERC, irregularities could be found in all the three discoms— BRPL, BYPL and NDPL. “Consumers complain that discoms don’t actually install supply infrastructure but only arrange fake purchase bills. The veracity of these allegations can only be known after an inquiry,” said a senior official in DERC. It is learnt that a Hyderabad- based agency Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) will conduct the inquiry for DREC and submit a report by February 2010. The investigators will check every purchase order placed by the companies since 2003 and visit sites to check whether the equipment was put to use or not. Complaints about supply breakdowns that fuelled suspicion that some power equipment the companies claim to have bought by spending nearly Rs 6,025 crore of taxpayers’ money was never purchased at all. Therefore, the DERC ordered an investigation to physically verify whether the equipment the companies claimed to have purchased since 2003 exists on the ground or not. |
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Noida prepares to host mega horse show in March
Noida, December 12 The event will be one of the biggest horse shows of India. Horse riding, show horse riding, decorating the mount and horse races will be its highlights . In all, 34 competitions have been lined up in the senior and junior divisions each. These competitions will be held at different venues. The Equestrian Association of Uttar Pradesh had written to the CEO of the Noida Authority to make available suitable venues for the event. The participating horses will have to fulfill several rigid criterions like attractiveness, speed, alertness, jumping capacity, gait-trot, canter and gallop. It is the first time that horse riders and their mounts will come to Noida to participate in such a prestigious show. Suitable arrangements are being made by the association in Noida. The association is meticulously planning the minutest details of each event in which the Noida Authority is extending all help, it is leant. |
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RAW ex-official allowed access to seized papers
New Delhi, December 12 Chief metropolitan magistrate Kaveri Baweja rejected the contention of the CBI that the accused, a former joint-secretary of RAW, was not entitled to copies of the documents as they were secret papers. Singh moved the application before the court stating that the documents were required in order to prove that the allegations contained in the chargesheet were wrong. He submitted that documents, including his passport, were seized by the CBI on August 21, 2007. The court also accepted Singh’s plea asking release of his passport, but directed him not to leave the country without permission. Singh, who also wanted copies of the statements of some witnesses, did not get the same after CBI submitted it had not recorded the statements of those witnesses. Singh and Vivek Garg of Manas Publication were accused of revealing “secret information” through a book named ‘India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of RAW’. The CBI had on September 20, 2007, registered a case against Singh and Garg saying that the contents of the book were a violation of the Official Secrets Act. |
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109 kids among 190 new H1N1 cases
No dengue case on
Saturday Delhi recorded no fresh case on Saturday. Health officials said that this was because of the drop in
temperatures. “No dengue case was reported in Delhi today . This is because mosquitoes causing dengue cannot breed in temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius,” said Debashish Bhattacharya, the state’s nodal officer for dengue cases.
— IANS
New Delhi, December 12 “Delhi recorded 190 new cases of swine flu on Saturday. Of this, 109 were children. The cumulative number of cases now stands at 7,209,” said Anjana Prakash, assistant nodal officer, swine flu. “Of the total number of people detected with H1N1in the Capital till now, 4,244 are children,” she added. Thirty-nine deaths have been reported until now. — IANS |
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Bag with Rs 8-lakh items stolen at McDonald’s
New Delhi, December 12 According to information, the incident took place on December 7. “The victims, Umesh Vashisht and his wife, live in the Shekh Sarai area and run a readymade garments shop in Sarojni Nagar. On December 7, they had gone to McDonald’s to have lunch where the woman’s purse was allegedly stolen by two women. The purse contained about Rs 3.5 lakh in cash, diamond and gold jewellery and other valuables,” said a police officer. Umesh said he and his wife had gone to CP to deposit cash and jewellery at the Punjab National Bank. “My wife had kept the bag on the table and gone to the counter when a youth approached me. He started questioning me about a chair when two women wearing expensive sarees picked up the bag and went outside. I came to know about it only when my wife asked me about the bag,” said
Umesh. Umesh then checked the footage of the CCTV cameras installed at the restaurant. The footage showed that the youth had come with the two women who stole the bag. |
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Insurance manager jailed for graft
New Delhi, December 12 Special Judge A S Yadav imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 on N K Arora after holding him guilty under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Arora was arrested by Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) sleuths of the Delhi government on February 1, 2000, while taking Rs 7,500 as second installment of bribe amount from Balwinder Kumar to help him get a claim of Rs 1.12 lakh for his stolen Maruti car. Kumar, who lodged a complaint with the ACB, alleged the convict had earlier taken Rs 5,000 as first installment of the bribe from him for the purpose. The court, after taking the evidence, including the statement of witnesses into account, convicted Arora and awarded him the prison term along with the fine. |
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Youth killed in bike mishap
New Delhi, December
12 The incident took place around 11.50 pm when the duo was returning after attending a friend’s marriage. “The accident took place near K-Block of Mangolpuri when the bike hit a divider. The boys were probably speeding and lost balance. They were rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri, where Chinki succumbed to his injuries,” said the police. The two were residents of Mangolpuri and the accident took place about 2 kms from their residence. |
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House burgled
New Delhi, December 12 According to information, Shyam Singh Khetri, who lives in Sector 9, was out of station when the burglary took place. He along with his family had gone to Port Blair on December 2. He discovered the theft on his return today morning. “A case has been lodged and investigations are on. According to the family, Rs 50,000 in cash and some jewellery is missing from the house,” said the police. Khetri said that a thief had tried to enter his house once in the past also when he was out of station. “Had the police done something then, this theft would not have happened,” said
Khetri. |
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