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Unrecognised institute told to pay Rs 75,000
Delhi shivers in fog, drizzle
Power situation returns
to normal
Inbuilt fire safety plan for Games venues
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Hanging wires to go
City to get IT-driven industrial policy
Delhi govt to develop fashion institute in Himachal
Temple robbed of cash, jewellery
Court raps police for manipulating evidence in case
Unsupported account of rape victim can’t lead to conviction: Court
Delhi revenue collection up
Rohini to get new streetlights
Delhi Diary
Doc in dock over DIL’s death
Petrol pump looted
3 hurt in expressway accidents
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Unrecognised institute told to pay Rs 75,000
New Delhi, January 3 “It is beyond imagination how much trauma must have been caused to the students who lost two precious years apart from the loss of money,” the Delhi District Consumer Forum said while ordering one such institution to refund the fee to an aggrieved student besides paying compensation. The forum, comprising president J P Sharma, members S M Mazumdar and Premlata, directed West Delhi-based Indian Institute of Aeronautics to pay a compensation of Rs 75,000 to Vaibhav Saxena for causing mental agony and harassment. The order came on his plea, seeking direction to the institute to refund the fee as it was not recognised under the provisions of UGC and Distance Education Council (DEC). He had lost the entire money paid towards fee and for purchasing books which were of no use to him later. “At the time of taking admission, Saxena was never told about any request or requirement for ex post facto approval made to the authority, he has been much harassed and there is a loss of precious two years in the young age when a student has to go for a career,” the forum said. Saxena had taken admission in 2004 but withdrew after coming across a notification in 2005 that the respective institute was not recognised by the UGC and DEC. When the institute did not refund the fee, he moved the tribunal which gave him relief while rejecting the institute’s contentions, holding it responsible for deficiency in service and unfair trade practices. — PTI
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New Delhi, January 3 The minimum temperature was recorded at 9.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the average while the maximum hovered around 15 degrees Celsius, seven degrees below the average. “The reducing gap between the minimum and maximum temperature in the city is the main reason for the chill. It will continue for the next few days. This is because of a western disturbance,” said an official of the India Meteorological Department. However, the fog in the national Capital cleared as the day progressed but several flights were cancelled, delayed or diverted due to a backlog from the previous day, airport officials said. “There was fog around midnight but it started clearing by early morning which helped us in maintaining the operations,” an airport official said. The visibility on runways at the airport today improved to 600 metres. — IANS Noida schools closed till Jan 8 due to cold Noida, January 3 The dense fog has affected rail traffic while vehicles crawled on Expressway. District magistrate Deepak Aggarwal said, “All public and private schools from nursery to Class VIII has been ordered to be closed till January 8. Schools will reopen on January 9.” Milk supply to Delhi was affected as milkmen could not take milk to the national Capital from Dadri and Dankore due to disruption of rail traffic. Several daily rail passengers too had to take leave today. “Trains were running late by three to four hours in the morning due to dense fog and failure of northern grid,”said P.C. Mina, deputy station superintendent of Dadri. |
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Power situation returns
to normal
New Delhi, January 3 The Transco officials said that power was normal on Sunday afternoon. Whereas, according to the Transco officials, nothing can be said about the days to come. “There were no power cuts in many parts of Delhi today. But since the lines are interlinked, the supply gets affected even if tripping occurred outside,” said a Transco official. He said that the drizzling on Sunday afternoon will help in clearing the fog and regular power supply will be ensured in the Capital. “The situation will be safe once the fog is over,” he said. The officials said that Delhi did not face much disruption by the collapsing of regional electricity grid as the power lines are maintained well. “The situation in Delhi is comparatively better than other states as we do the timely maintenance of transmission lines,” said the official. He said that the dust and pollutants that get deposited on the disc-isolators or power lines attract moisture leading to short-circuit. The northern grid first collapsed in the wee hours of Saturday and then late at night the same day. According to the officials, the failure in both the cases was due to wires getting moistened leading to the shutdown of 440 KW line. Various parts of the Capital had gone without electricity late on Saturday. The northern grid is the inter-state supply line or transmission which supplies power to the northern states of the country. |
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Inbuilt fire safety plan for Games venues
New Delhi, January 3 A technology is also being installed in every building for throwing smoke outside. The agencies involved in the construction work of buildings of Games venues – stadiums, accommodation for sportspersons and officials – have been informed of the plan. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Public Works Department (PWD) of the Delhi government and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are doing the construction. The fire service will inspect all the buildings before issuing a completion certificate to the authorities concerned. Sharma said that in-built arrangements include availability of hydrant, internal firefighting system, wet-riser, fire extinguisher, exit signs besides standby generators. He said that with the in-built system, it would be easy to control all kinds of fire. Delhi Fire Service vehicles have only 45000 litre water that is finished in a short time. The in-built system keeps two lakh liters of water. If this system is developed, there will be no need to go back to fire station to get water. Control rooms will be set up in all the stadiums and venues, said Sharma.
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Hanging wires to go
New Delhi, January 3 Delhi finance planning and urban development minister
A.K. Walia has said that private power distribution firms have been asked to convert all overhead lines crossing the main roads into underground. Talking about the need to do away with overhead wires, Walia said they looked shabby and were not in tune with a world-class city like Delhi. The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission
(DERC) has approved Rs 50 crore for BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL), BSES Rajdhani Power Limited
(BRPL) and North Delhi Power Ltd (NDPL) for this assignment. Walia said conversion of overhead lines into underground ones would help in overcoming break downs in power supply. The conversion work would be carried out in Chandni
Chowk, Paharganj and Karol Bagh in the first phase. “The conversion would have an added advantage that cutting of trees, which is carried out every year, could be avoided,” added
Walia. |
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City to get IT-driven industrial policy
New Delhi, January 3 According to sources, it will be an IT information technology (IT)-driven policy. The policy would not only boost revenues of the Capital but also deter polluting industries, sources said. A draft of the new policy has been drawn. The policy aims to make Delhi a global hub for clean, high technology industries encouraging eco-friendly knowledge-based industries, generating high amount of revenue without demanding much electricity, manpower, land and water. The policy makes it clear that even existing industries in the Capital need to be made environment-friendly and create employment for skilled operators, sources said. According to sources, this is for the first time after 1982 that an industrial policy is being framed for the national Capital. Its objectives are to promote non-polluting and clean industries, high technology industries, develop world-class industrial infrastructure, promote cluster approach and facilitate business through e-governance. The policy will advocate promoting cluster development, high-technology and skilled industries in new industrial areas through private public partnership (PPP) mode, facilitating business by simplification, e-enabling and investor-friendly face along with promotional measures relating to skill development and allowing knowledge-based industries in the areas. To remove multiplicity of agencies, the policy will stipulate that the DSIIDC will own and manage all existing and new industrial assets of the city.
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Delhi govt to develop fashion institute in Himachal
New Delhi, January 3 The Delhi government has assigned this job to the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC). The NIFT campus will be developed with a cost of Rs 44 crore, said managing director, DSIIDC, Chetan Bhushan Sanghi. It will have a centre of apparel and textile studies, the first of its kind established in the country. The present infrastructure is not able to meet the objectives. The campus will be developed over an area of 21,125 square metres, comprising a hostel for girls, administrative and academic blocks and others things required for an institute. Sewage treatment plant, rainwater filtration system and ground water recharge shafts will also be set up by the corporation. The building will be in compliance with green buildings norms like cavity in the building walls, rooftop garden, external paths and corridors covered with poly-carbonate sheet, solar and energy-efficient lights.
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New Delhi, January 3 Debutante director Sangeeta Datta wielded the megaphone for ‘Life Moves On’. The 122-minute bi-lingual venture also stars seasoned actors like Girish Karnad and Om Puri and is the first outing together of the mother-daughter actress duo. “It is about the identity of the diasporic person,” Datta said. Sharmila Tagore spoke about the benefits of such festivals. “These kind of festival platforms are important for films by NRIs because these forums showcase small budget films... The Indian diapsora is dependent on such fests as they have their own concerns and issues to showcase through cinema,” she said. Pankaj Dubey, festival co-director, also echoed the view. “The film fest is a beginning. We have just taken an initiative with 45 films from more than 15 countries. We want NRI filmmakers to get a bigger and better market and opportunities to take their craft further,” he said. Titled ‘Coolie Pink and Green’, the 23-minute short film from Trinidad and Tobago has been directed by Patricia Mohammad. Being organised by the international bi-lingual monthly Pravasi Today in collaboration with the India Habitat Centre (IHC) with the support of the Mauritius high commission in India, the event will conclude on January 6. Films made by Indians living abroad will be showcased during the festival. — IANS
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Temple robbed of cash, jewellery
New Delhi, January 3 The incident took place at Sanatan Dharma temple in Ashok Vihar police station area in the wee hours, the police said. Bharatlal (24), the priest of the temple, claimed that he was sleeping inside the temple when the trio barged in. He woke up after hearing some noise following which they took him in their captivity and asked him to remain silent. The priest said one of them hit him on his face when he resisted them from taking the jewellery from the temple. “Lal had sustained injuries in his face. We are investigating the matter and trying to identify the culprits,” a senior police official said.— PTI
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Court raps police for manipulating evidence in case
New Delhi, January 3 Additional Sessions Judge N K Gupta questioned the veracity of the probe in which police recovered two stones allegedly used in smashing the head of the murder victim and sent only one of them for the forensic test. “The version of recovery of a stone at the instance of Johny (one of the accused) is manipulated and the fact also remains that another stone which was also blood-stained had not been shown to the doctor for advice...,” the court said. The court allowed the plea of defence lawyer Ajay Paul that accused Santosh and Johny were framed and circumstances did not link them with the offence, witnessed by no one. “Not sending the stone, earlier recovered by police from the place of incident, to FSL for ascertaining the presence of blood and its group or to a doctor rather reflects that second stone had been an implanted one and the fact remains that only one stone had been sent to the FSL,” it said. The accused were charged with killing a man named Ajit on February 22, at Mahipalpur in south Delhi by smashing his head with a stone. They were charged with dumping the body in a canal in the area. The court discarded the testimony of Umed Singh, a sub-inspector of Delhi police, who claimed that he had seen the victim in the company of the accused at 1.30 am near a hotel here on the night of the murder. “If the postmortem report is considered, the time of death is about 9 pm ...,” the court said. Tapan Kumar, another witness who allegedly saw the victim with the accused, turned hostile and did not second the findings of the police in the case. The court also questioned the recovery of the victim’s purse from one of the accused. The case hinged on circumstantial evidence and the police could not prove that the chain of events was complete which could conclude that “in all probability, the crime was committed by the accused and none else,” it said. —PTI
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Unsupported account of rape victim can’t lead to conviction: Court
New Delhi, January 3 It shall be “highly unsafe” to record a conviction on the sole testimony of the victim “who has given two different versions of the incident”, additional sessions judge Arun Kumar Arya said. “The gaps in evidence and the entirely different versions of incident (given by the girl) make the prosecution case highly doubtful and requires independent corroboration,” the court said, absolving accused Mohd Raquib, a resident of south Delhi, of kidnapping and rape charges. The court, however, said the conviction in a rape case can be based on the “solitary statement” of the victim if the same is “trustworthy and inspires confidence”. An FIR was lodged at New Friends Colony police station on May 20, 2007 by the girl, a major. She alleged that the accused, her neighbour, had lured her away to Jaipur on the pretext of marriage and raped her several times for seven months during the “illegal” confinement. The complainant, during the trial, however, testified that the accused met her in a market in the Capital and asked her to come with him as her mother was ill. Later, she became unconscious after smelling a handkerchief and when she regained consciousness, she found herself in Jaipur, the girl deposed. Discussing the flip-flops of the complainant, the court said the girl was a consenting party. Citing a Supreme Court judgement, the court said the girl had “sufficient opportunity” to either run away or complain to the neighbours about the alleged incident. Two diametrically opposite statements of the girl made the case doubtful and the accused cannot be convicted unless the alleged victim’s versions are corroborated, it said.—PTI
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Delhi revenue collection up
New Delhi, January 3 As per the latest data, the city government collected a total tax revenue of Rs 8394.2 crore in the first eight months of 2009-10, which is an increase of 3.4 per cent comparing to the corresponding period of the last fiscal. The government had set a target of Rs 13,174 crore as tax collection for the year 2009-10 but after a dip in revenue generation in the first four months it was apprehensive of meeting the target. Reeling under the impact of the economic slowdown, the city government had reported a fall of over Rs 1,300 crore in tax revenue in the last fiscal. Last year, the government collected a total of Rs 12,180 crore from various taxes. “Now we are confident of meeting the target as the revenue collection has improved significantly,” said a senior official of the finance department. Officials said the collection of excise tax increased by 13.2 per cent while that of betting tax grew by 14.1 per cent against the corresponding period of last year. The VAT collection in the last eight months was around Rs 6,331 crore while the revenue collected from stamp duty was Rs 635 crore.
— PTI |
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Rohini to get new streetlights
New Delhi, January 3 The project, which is costs Rs 4.34 crore, is expected to be completed in six months and will involve the installation of 800 streetlights in sectors 2, 3 and 4 of Rohini. These streetlights, comprising GI octagonal poles, are similar to the streetlights being installed for the Commonwealth Games at all major roads in the national Capital. The power project was launched today by public works minister Rajkumar Chauhan. |
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Delhi Diary As the curtain came down on 2009, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) looked back on the year gone by with mixed feelings. On the one hand, it had reason to be satisfied with the expansion of the Metro network which extended beyond the boundaries of the national Capital, on the other, Delhi Metro’s unblemished image was also tainted last year given the number of accidents reported from the various Metro construction sites and on running trains. The DMRC had to pay a heavy price as many of its officials were suspended or transferred in connection with these accidents. The officials have now started blaming this bout of bad luck on the new swanky Metro Bhawan, housing the DMRC offices. One senior official even called an astrologer to take a look at his cabin and move the furniture around. Another official has started keeping Feng Shui charms in his room. Ask me another, says top cop
Delhi police commissioner Y.S.Dadwal is usually at his best while addressing the media—witty, forthright and always dressed in spotless khakhi. However, at his annual press conference on Saturday, the commissioner was a trifle irritable when he was asked the same question repeatedly by reporters even though he had clarified his position on the issue. The commissioner was equally curt when a journalist pointed out numerous flaws in policing and alleged that police does not lodge FIRs to show less crime rate. The commissioner’s only response was, “I accept all what you said. Now, can I have another question.” The questioner then had nothing more to add. Police ka maal, not a piece of cake!
Catching a journo with a full plate during the lunch following the Delhi police commissioner’s annual press conference, a deputy commissioner of police (DCP), known for his jolly nature, asked, “Are you enjoying the meal.” Even as the journalist struggled to reply with his mouth full, the officer warned, “Friend, it is not easy to digest police ka maal. Be careful.” Compared to the West where every citizen is addressed as “sir” by a policeman, the cops here like to be addressed as ‘sir’. However, an inspector in Delhi police has made it a habit to call anyone ‘sir’ and it was pleasant to hear him talk about his view on the issue. When called on his cell to seek information about an incident in Alipur, Surinder Kumar, the SHO responded with a crisp ‘Yes Sir’. Taken aback since he had never met the officer, the journalist identified himself and told him that he was probably younger than him. “I am a public servant and I have made it a habit to address everyone as ‘sir’. I don’t care if you are younger, journalist, peon or a security man. They are all ‘sir’ for me’’. Quite a refreshing change, one might say. Would-be couples offered discount
Even before parents go through the ordeal of getting admission for their children to nursery classes, they are faced with the uphill task of getting them into a reputed play school. Given the soaring demand, a leading play school in the Capital has started offering special discounts to prospective couples if they get the registration done for their would-be child before marriage, irrespective of the time they take to bear a baby. Last heard, several yuppie couples were actually planning to grab this offer. Heavy price of staying at night shelter
A middle-aged man dressed in an impeccable white pullover, a black blazer and shiny black leather shoes stood at the entrance of a night shelter at Delhi Gate. He even offered the caretaker Rs 40 for a comfortable spot. However, there was a virtual brawl next morning at the shelter when the man found that somebody had walked away with his wallet, blazer and pullover along with those shiny black shoes. Taking pity on him, the caretaker told him, “Take this money which you had given me yesterday…. You need it more than I do.” It later transpired that the man in question works as a manager in a reputed bank outside Delhi. A real-life ‘idiot’ follows his heart
This is one real-life story straight out of the blockbuster, “Three Idiots”, when a boy followed his heart and passion in deciding his career. Sanjeev Grewal, an exceptionally brilliant student made it to the Delhi IIT in his first attempt and was doing well in his studies there. What could have been a “dream come true” for any other student did not satisfy this boy, who realised that his heart was not in engineering. Unlike the movie, Grewal had his family’s full support when he decided to chuck up IIT and enrolled for a B.A. (Hons.) in economics at Delhi University’s St. Stephen’s College. Grewal went on to do a doctorate and is now a senior member of the economics department in the same college he graduated from. All visitors are customers here!
The men in black at the Tis Hazari courts are always on the look out for business. Anybody walking in is accosted by the advocates who reel off details of the services they can provide and how they can fix everything at a price, of course. And if a couple is spotted on the premises, it is always assumed that they are there to get married. Recently, a young brother and sister were sipping tea at a stall when an advocate’s middleman approached them and asked if they were looking to arrange for a court marriage. Sidling up to them, he launched forth, “Ji apko court marriage karwani ho to meri kafi jugaad hai andar. Asani se ho jayega. Kuch aadhe ghante me. Bas ye papers sign kar dijiye.” The duo were given no time to explain their relations. (Contributed by Akhila Singh, Sandeep Yadav, Himani Chandel and Rashi Agarwal) |
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Doc in dock over DIL’s death
Gurgaon, January 3 An FIR was lodged this evening against civil surgeon S S Dalal, his wife Nirmala, his son Ankit and daughter Anika under IPC sections 498-A (dowry harassment), 323 (beating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) on a complaint by Suresh Chhikara, deputy commissioner of police (West) Rakesh Arya said. In his complaint, Suresh said his daughter Neha, who had married Ankit Dalal on October 5, 2008 was regularly harassed and beaten up by her husband Ankit for not bringing enough dowry. He alleged that she had committed suicide by jumping off the deck of an American luxury cruise ship in the Bahamas sea on December 31, 2009 after she was beaten black and blue by her husband. Her body is yet to be recovered from the sea, the father said. The DCP said that as soon as police get confirmation of her death, the relevant section 304-B (dowry death) would be added against the culprit Neha’s brother Anuj claimed that she had sent an e-mail from the ship before committing suicide in which she had written about her harassment. “Ankit has been beating me every day on the ship ... I have lost the strength to live,” he said, quoting her e-mail. He alleged that police took three days to lodge the FIR because S S Dalal was a close friend of Haryana DGP Ranjiv Singh Dalal. The surgeon could not be contacted for comments.—PTI |
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Petrol pump looted
Ghaziabad, January 3 However, the police was clueless about the robbers till tis evening. Eyewitnesses said that a Honda city car stopped at the petrol pump and got its tank filled. When salesmen Vijay Chauhan and Rakesh Chauhan asked for the payment, they were threatened with dire consequences. One of them took out a pistol and fired at the salesmen and snatched the cash from them. Then the robbers fled towards Akhapur village. The injured salesmen were admitted to a private hospital. Their condition is stable. |
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3 hurt in expressway accidents
Greater Noida, January 3 A Scorpio car rammed into a Bolero car near Safipur village. The car drivers shared heated arguments. While they were quarreling, a car rammed into the green belt and its car driver Kumender was injured. He was rushed to a hospital. The second incident took place on G.T. Road where a truck rammed into a car. The car was mangled and its driver Harbir Singh was injured. He was admitted to a private hospital. While in the third incident, an Alto car hit motorcyclist Subodh Kumar near L.G. Crossing. Kumar was critically injured and has been admitted to a private hospital. However, the condition of all three injured persons is stable. |
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