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Fog-hit passengers cool their heels for hours
Fog claims three lives in Delhi
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City records marginal rise in crime
17 senior citizens killed
Anti-obscene calls cell a hit
Spotlight on theatre music at NSD’s fest
The homeless take recourse to ‘thia walas’
Let’s not pee, spit on roads for Games’ sake: MCD
Showers likely today
26 new cases of H1N1
Chaos at Faridabad railway station
Journey to Ghaziabad smoothens as
much-awaited railway overbridge opens
Runaway criminal killed in encounter
Thieves posing as armymen held in Noida
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Fog-hit passengers cool their heels for hours
New Delhi, January 2 Similar scenes could also be seen at the airport while passengers were waiting outside the terminals before checking in. They were seen waiting with their relatives inside the private vehicles before confirming the time for their rescheduled fights. Their problems were made worse with a visibility device becoming non-functional at the runway. Several flights were off and passengers were taken to check into hostels. The relatives of hundreds of passengers on board the diverted flights were waiting at the airport trying to get in touch with the passengers on phone. Besides relatives of passengers on board three trains that met with accidents in western UP rushed to New Delhi railway station to get information of their dear ones. Many passengers complained of lack of information. A family had been camping at a platform of New Delhi railway station for hours. “I am sitting here in this chill with my kids. The benches on platforms are not enough,” said Amita Kadiyan, who had to board a train to Mathura. Another passenger was running from one platform to another looking for his train to Allahabad. “Every year fog affects trains. Passengers could not be expected to travel by train only in summers; it is high time the Indian Railways did something about the problem,” said Rajeev, running around New Delhi railway station with three huge bags. Hundreds of families were seen waiting at the platforms all ears for the public announcement. “There is complete confusion here. There was announcement that our train to Ahmadnagar was about to arrive, but it has already been three hours,” said Shefalika, who was on the platform with her three-year-old son. One pregnant woman finally retired to the waiting room after looking for a place close to the platform. Passengers complained that the people at railway helpline did not have updated information about the schedules. “There are huge queues outside the enquiry booths and the phone helpline is useless,” said Harmeet Singh, who had been at New Delhi railway station for three hours and still did not know when his train to Bareilly was arriving. In place of the trains cancelled due to fog, substitute trains were arranged by the Northern Railway. “We have been informed that some special trains have been arranged, but even after standing in the long enquiry queue thrice, I did not get any information about my train,” said Vijay, who was waiting for his train Shiv Ganga Express to Banares.
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Fog claims three lives in Delhi
New Delhi, January 2 A man was killed when his car rammed into another after hitting a road divider in south Delhi’s South Extension-II late on Friday. Two persons were injured in the accident. In east Delhi’s Jehangirpuri, a car ran over a cyclist, killing him and the boy who was in the car. Three persons were injured and rushed to hospital, a police officer said.
— IANS |
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City records marginal rise in crime
New Delhi, January 2 According to Y S Dadwal, commissioner of police, the IPC crime has gone up from 46,414 to 47,072 cases this year—a 1.42 per cent increase. “There is a slight increase of IPC crime this year, but if we look at the total IPC crime per lakh of population – a yardstick generally followed in major world cities – it showed a decline in Delhi from 286.32 in 2008 to 277.11 in 2009,” said Dadwal while addressing an annual press conference in south Delhi today. According to Dadwal, even the heinous crime has come down by 3 per cent during 2009 while the success percentage in detection of heinous crime has gone up. “The overall success rate of 88.36 per cent in 2008 has been bettered to 89.04 per cent this year. The twin success of reduction in heinous cases and increase in the percentage of detection has been a result of sustained police professionalism,” said Dadwal. There was also a decline in the incidence of molestation of women, snatching, hurt and burglary. However, there was a substantial increase in the cases of kidnapping/ abduction from 1,502 to 2,417 (increase of 60.9 per cent). This has happened as cases of missing children up to the age of 16 years were registered straightaway, claimed the commissioner. There was also major increase of motor vehicle theft by 19.5 per cent and the total incidence of such thefts, i.e. 11,892 cases account for 25.2 per cent of the registered crime in Delhi. “Significantly, the three major crime heads murder, dacoity/robbery and rape per lakh population declined by 4.05 per cent, 7.61 per cent and 1.48 per cent respectively. Incidentally, crime of 277.11 per lakh population has been an all-time low,” revealed the police commissioner. The special cell of Delhi police also succeeded in arresting 20 terrorists belonging to different organizations during the year. 452 cases of rape
The year witnessed 452 cases of rape, fall of 3 per cent compared to 466 cases in 2008. According to police, 94.25 per cent cases have been solved. Giving the details, Dadwal said of the persons arrested on rape charges, 35 were relatives, 64 were friends, 212 (47 per cent) were neighbours, 129 (29 per cent) were other persons known to the victim. In only 12 (3 per cent) of rape cases, the crime was committed by a person previously unknown to the victim. “Of the accused, 83 per cent were illiterate, 67 per cent were below 25 years of age and 68 per cent belong to the lower economic strata,” informed Dadwal. The commissioner further said that 532 cases of molestation of women were reported in 2009 against 597 cases of the corresponding period last year. |
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17 senior citizens killed
New Delhi, January 2 Of these 17 cases, 11 have been solved. Only one murder was committed by the servant. In 2009, the city police received 309 distress calls. Dadwal said that 791 complaints were received from senior citizens. The Delhi police commissioner said police officials paid 1,74,230 visits to registered senior citizens and made 1,03,760 phone calls to them. Knife used in most murders The Delhi police’s data says the major weapon used to commit murder in 2009 was ‘knife’. Knife and sharp-edged weapons had been used to commit most murders. The data stated that pistols and other fire arms were used only in 11% cases while sharp-edged weapons were used in over 60% cases. However, 2009 saw a decline of 21% in fire arms used to commit murder. In 2008 fire arms were used to in 71 murders while in 2009 only 56 murders were reported in which firearms were used. |
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Anti-obscene calls cell a hit
New Delhi, January 2 “We received 12,108 complaints and action was taken in 11,625 cases. The cell has been looking into cases of women being harassed by lewd and obscene phone calls, SMSes and MMSes. There is no need for the victim to come to a police station as complaints can be registered over the phone, e-mail or SMS,” said Y.S Dadwal. Complaints can be e-mailed to acp-sit-dl@nic.in or lodged over phone. Last year the Delhi police had launched 24-hour helpline numbers — 1096, 27894455 and 9911135446. Objectionable SMSes and MMSes along with the senders’ phone number can be forwarded to these numbers. Rise in fatal accidents
Even though Delhi witnessed a drop in the number of accidents in 2009, cases of fatal accidents and drunken driving increased during the year. “As compared to 8,108 accidents in 2008, 6,752 accidents were reported in 2009, marking a decrease of 17 per cent. However, the number of fatal accidents increased from 1,927 in 2008 to 2,165 the last year,” said Dadwal. He added that cases of drunken and dangerous driving and overspeeding also rose in 2009. The Delhi police issued 41.77 lakh tickets for various offences in 2009, an increase of 22 per cent from 34.1 lakh in 2008. |
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Spotlight on theatre music at NSD’s fest
New Delhi, January 2 Billed as the largest festival of theatre in Asia, the 12th edition of Bharat Rang Mahotsav will present 87 plays in eight locations across the Capital and Bhopal, NSD chairperson Amal Allana told the media today. The festival will begin with a series on ‘music in theatre’ directed by Bansi Kaul at Kamani Auditorium. Some of the important plays to be staged during the festival include ‘The Caine Mutiny Court Martial’ directed by Naseeruddin Shah, ‘Hamlet, the Clown Prince’ by Rajat Kapoor, ‘Rajnaitik Hatya’ (based on ‘Crime Passionel’) directed by Saoli Mitra, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play ‘When the Dead Awaken’ by Ratan Thiyam and the first play in the Thangkul Naga dialect from northeastern India — ‘Ashang Eina Aton’. “The National School of Drama is dedicated to training and this festival is an extension of the training process. This time, the festival will encourage young and experimental theatre and new formats of expression to see where the country’s theatre movement is heading and explore the new boundaries that can be crossed. The idea is to provide a platform for a vibrant future of Indian contemporary theatre,” Allana said. Thirteen countries — China, Japan, Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Israel and France, the UK and Italy — will take part in the festival, some of them for the first time, the NSD chairperson said. The highlights of the festival will be two special sessions — a series of nine expositions exploring the impact and legacy of music in Indian theatre titled ‘Natyanaad’ and ‘Natya Manthan’, a two-day round-table on January 7 and 8 to debate on issues like censorship in theatre, theatre portals, archives and the relationship between theatre, medicine and science. “Indian theatre and music have been inseparable. Since the time of Bal Gandharva, who sang on Marathi stage in the 19th century, stalwarts like Rabindranath Tagore, Habib Tanvir, Mohan Upreti, K.N. Panniker and B.V. Karanth have used music extensively in Indian theatre. In the 1970s, the Indian stage witnessed a theatre of the roots movement when we went back to folk traditions. Karanth used to say ‘speak your lines in such a way so that they sound like music’,” said Allana. The ‘Natyanaad’ series will comprise songs by different theatre companies from across the country accompanied by narratives. Shedding light on the nature of representation, NSD director Anuradha Kapur said, “India is seeing interesting genres of theatre. This year, we have tried to broaden the horizon of the festival to see the formats of theatre that engages young India. We are also briknging folk-based new language theatre from places like Sawai Madhopur and Ranthambore in Rajasthan and Murshidabad in West Bengal. Contemporary expressions like mixed forms, gibberish and non-verbal theatre will also find place in the festival in 16 languages.” Altogether 450 plays were submitted to the NSD for selection to the festival. — IANS
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The homeless take recourse to ‘thia walas’
New Delhi, January 2 The shortage of night shelters in the city has probably forced the homeless and the poor to go in for such rented space during the night. Even after regular complaints by the social activists to the authorities concerned for increasing the number of night shelters and tents, no action has been taken so far. There are no separate shelters for the women and children in the city. After toiling hard all day long, Suleiman who hires a cot from these thia walas, says, “I am a labourer and presently working at a site nearby. I have to go for work again early in the morning. Night shelters here are full to capacity. There is no choice than to hire a cot from them.” The acute shortage of space in the already crowded shelters has resulted in the flourishing business of these thia walas. Meeting the demands of homeless people, these businessmen are renting hundreds of quilts and cots from the local tents in the city. Rajesh Chouhan, a thia wala who stands near Delhi Gate, says, “I earn a profit of Rs 10 on every cot and Rs 7 on every quilt. Looking at the demand of those who sleep on streets, I thought of renting them a little space where they can sleep and save themselves from the biting cold.” Asif, a 20-year-old boy who sits near the Chandni Chowk area and rents cots, says, “I know this is not allowed legally. But so long as the police is not taking action, I am making my profit. Moreover, what is the harm in renting cots to these people when the government can’t help them escape from biting cold and barking dogs.” “I stayed in the night shelters provided by the MCD for two days in December, but it is not comfortable. I am ready to spend a little more if I get sound sleep for five hours at night,” says Jaswant Mishra who works in a shoe shop at Chandni Chowk. Women and children are mainly going for the cot and quilt services provided by ‘thia wala’, says Ashok Kumar, an NGO worker. He added that due to the inhuman conditions in the night shelters put up by the Delhi government and MCD, the homeless sleep on the pavement which is not a safe option as they are vulnerable to accidents, theft, police brutality and sexual violence, especially in the case of women and children. Geeta Rani who hires the cot says, “I feel more comfortable this way. The night shelters provided by the government are packed to capacity. Moreover, I find myself very unsafe sleeping with men all around.” She adds, “I think the government should instead hand over the work of providing night shelters to these thia walas only.”
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Let’s not pee, spit on roads for Games’ sake: MCD
New Delhi, January 2 The MCD has created characters like ‘Mr Su Su Kumar’ and ‘Mr Kuda Kumar’ to dissuade people from urinating on roadside and throwing garbage. ‘Mr Thu Thu Kumar’ embodies those who spit on roads and public places without bothering how it offends other citizens. ‘Poly uncle and Poly aunty’ represent citizens who use polythene bags. The final message says, “We hope, from now on Delhi will have less number of Su Su Kumars, Thu Thu Kumars, Kuda Kumars, Poly uncles and aunties and more of enlightened citizens.” MCD spokesman Deep Mathur said the civic body would soon launch this multi-media advertisement campaign entitled “Let’s get ready” to create civic awareness with regard to sanitation ahead of the Commonwealth Games to be held here from October 3 to 14. The advertisement says, “Hosting an international event like Commonwealth Games is a matter of pride for our country” and asks citizens: “Together, let’s get ready to welcome sportspersons, delegates and sports lovers a clean and green Delhi.”
— IANS |
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Showers likely today
New Delhi, January 2 “It is expected to rain on Sunday. We are predicting thundershowers in parts of the Capital,” said an Met department official. The official said the fog situation would remain the same Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 15° C on Saturday and a minimum of 8.4° C. On Sunday, the maximum temperature will hover around 16 degrees and the minimum around six degrees Celsius. |
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26 new cases of H1N1
New Delhi, January 2 The last few days have witnessed a marginal decline in the infection cases. “The city did not report any casualty today. With the surfacing of 26 new cases, the number of cases has gone up to 9,426. The cases of the viral infection have registered a decrease and in coming days if similar conditions prevail, cases would maintain the low,” said Anjan Prakash, the city’s assistant nodal officer for H1N1.
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Chaos at Faridabad railway station
Faridabad, January 2 Beginning from early morning and stretching till evening, the disturbance continued for several hours. The snag led to confusion and frayed tempers among passengers at the Faridabad railway station. A large number of trains were re-scheduled and trains going to Delhi had to be converted into shuttle trains from Faridabad. The worst sufferers were the local commuters, especially the officer-goers who travel in trains to nearby towns. The main complaint of the commuters was that the Railways did not make proper announcement about the changed timings of the trains. Had it been so, they could have made alternative arrangements like catching buses to reach their offices, they said. As a result, many reached their offices late or some of them had to take leaves. As an emergency measure, the Tamil Nadu Express was converted into a shuttle train for the local commuters. There were reports of passengers of long distance trains exchanging heated arguments with the daily commuters at Aaswati railway station, near here. However, things were brought under control by the personnel of the Railway Police Force.
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Journey to Ghaziabad smoothens as
much-awaited railway overbridge opens
Ghaziabad, January 2 The ROB would smoothen the flow of traffic on the stretch that had once been one of the biggest bottlenecks of the city. Vehicles coming from Noida and Delhi on National Highway 24 can now easily enter areas like Raj
Nagar, Kavi Nagar, Nehru Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar via this bridge. This would save people’s time by as much as 30 minutes as they won’t have to travel all the way from Delhi to Mohan Nagar and then on the congested
G.T. Road. The Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation (UPSBC) took three years to construct the 200 metre long, four-lane ROB. The cost of the project, initially estimated at Rs 12
crore, escalated to Rs 16 crore.“The project took slightly longer than the stipulated time of two-and-a-half years as the railways took considerable time to erect the central girder portion. The bridge was also delayed due to the Kavi Nagar Industrial Area Association, which protested that the bridge would affect the entry of container vehicles into their compounds,” a GDA official said. “Based on their recommendations, we had to realign the project in a manner that could allow easy passage to trucks and container trolleys,” the official added.
— IANS |
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Runaway criminal killed in encounter
Noida, January 2 The encounter took place after the police intercepted a stolen car in the service lane of the expressway that falls in the Noida, Phase II police area. According to reports, the police retaliated after the criminals started firing at it. Several bullets hit the police jeep. One criminal was killed on the spot, while the other managed to escape. A Maruti Wagon R car, allegedly stolen today from Sector 37, an AK-47 gun and a revolver were seized from them. The dead criminal has been identified as Salim Khan. There was a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head. He had escaped from police custody in Meerut in 2007. “We are searching for his crime records. He has reported to have killed over 150 persons during loots and thefts. We are searching for other members of the gang,” said A. K. Tripathi, superintendent of police.
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Thieves posing as armymen held in Noida
Noida, January 2 “The accused revealed that to avoid detection, they used to move in a Gypsy painted in Army colour scheme. This made their entry into high security sectors very easy, as the guards would think that the vehicle was an army jeep and never intercepted or doubted them. They have been identified as Noor Mohammad, alias Babloo, Mohhammad Chhote, Shahid Mohammad, Rizvan Khan, Mohdammad Mujahid,” said V. C. Tripathi, deputy superintendent of police. “They used to target locked houses. A Gypsy, four knives and tools used for breaking locks were recovered from them. Stolen goods worth lakhs of rupees have been recovered from them,” said Tripathi. In another similar crackdown, the Sector 58 police arrested three more thieves. “They were identified as Pramod Kumar, Bhoop Singh and Mukul Kumar. Nine mobile phones and two country-made pistols were recovered from them. They confessed to have committed several snatchings and house thefts in the Noida areas,” said Ambesh Tyagi, deputy superintendent of police. However, the crackdowns were not enough deterrent, as while the police was arresting these two gangs, another group of thieves struck at a sweet shop in Dadri and decamped with some cash. Further, four motorcycles were stolen from different areas. The victims — Harpreet Singh, Hari Singh, Neeraj Kumar and Niranjan Gupta have lodged first information reports (FIRs) at respective police stations. |
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Substantial increase in kidnapping cases
