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CP traders say revamp of parking lots to reduce car capacity
Construction work is on in full swing at CP ahead of the forthcoming
Commonwealth Games, in New Delhi on Friday. Tribune photo
Case of father kidnapping daughter
Grading system burdens students, teachers
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Temp soars to a record 42.9°C
Pamphlets on Maoists distributed in JNU
Order on Sajjan’s plea on April 22
CWG shooters arrive for practice session
Utilise senior citizens’ experience: CM
Over 100 threat, vulgar messages sent to MPs
2 students held for snatching
Govt moots radiation policy
One more suffers burns
Police to buy radiation meters
Speeding truck crushes man
Labourer electrocuted
Teen girl sets herself afire
Civic body caring for abandoned circus tuskers
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CP traders say revamp of parking lots to reduce car capacity
New Delhi, April 16 “The corporation might be working with good intentions, but the manner in which the work is being carried out is incomprehensible. They have dedicated special areas in the parking lots for growing plants and saplings, which would automatically reduce the parking space,” said members of the New Delhi Traders’ Union. “Earlier, there used to be space for approximately 7,000 cars, but after the completion of the beautification projects, not more than 3,000 to 4,000 cars would be able to find parking space in the entire area,” they said. The NDMC senior officials, meanwhile, said that the attempt was to make the parking space and traffic more organized. “The work is being carried out to smoothen the parking of vehicles and organise the movement of pedestrians. The functionality of the area would be improved once the work is completed,” said a senior NDMC official, looking after the renovation work. He said that the main road and the walkway in the Inner Circle would be divided by a green buffer. “A green buffer for plants and saplings would be developed alongside the walkway so that the pedestrians are not hit by vehicles,” he said. The corporation has also started the renovation work of footpath surrounding the Central Park. The grills of the park will be changed to match the colonial era. “We will replace the grills of Central Park with the grill made up of wrought iron, as it would go with the design of CP and give a look of the colonial period,” said the official. The footpath at the circumference of the park would be replaced with granite tiles. “We will use the combination of sandstone, granite and tactile tiles. Tactile tiles are used to guide the visually impaired people and would be safe for them,” he said. Earlier, the bone of contention between the traders and the authorities was the choice of flooring of the corridors, with the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) recommending sandstone to ensure the original look while the traders wanted shiny granite. Ultimately, the authorities zeroed in on sandstone as recommended by the commission. “The idea is to pronounce the view of Central Park from the corridor and the view of corridor from the Central Park,” added the official. |
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Case of father kidnapping daughter Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 16 The police filed the FIR against the father following a complaint by his wife on April 14 under Section 363 of the IPC. Taking note of the callous attitude of the police authorities concerned, metropolitan magistrate Gaurav Rao asked the SHO the reason behind the delay caused in registering the FIR even after the court’s orders came over a month ago. “The court orders were passed on March 19. What took it so long to file the FIR? File a reply by April 26,” Rao told the SHO. The court also pulled up the ACP for showing a callous attitude in carrying out the investigations. On April 13, the court had issued a notice to the DCP (west) asking him to appear in person and explain the loopholes in the investigation. Complainant Avneet Kaur, alias Sweety, was married to accused Ravinder Singh on October 17, 2004. She was allegedly being harassed and maltreated by Singh for bringing less dowry. Later, her husband threw her out of his Kirti Nagar house. Sweety was compelled to stay with her parents at Chander Vihar where she delivered a girl in October 2006. On March 6, when the child Jasbani Kaur was playing outside Sweety’s parents’ house around 8:30 pm, Singh took her away without seeking Sweety’s permission. Since then she has not seen Jasbani. In her appeal to the court, Sweety alleged that even after repeated complaints were made to the SHO and ACP of Nihal Vihar police station, no action had been taken against her husband. She added that the SHO had not even bothered to take Jasbani’s photograph who is in the illegal detention of her husband. Terming Singh’s act as ‘wrongful confinement’, the court has ordered the police to take action.
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Grading system burdens students, teachers
New Delhi, April 16 The new system comes in with a more interactive form of education. But do students perform better under this altered system or are they left more pressurised and confused. Students across a cross-section of schools in the Capital said that mere academic learning had been replaced by a system that relied on a more creative way of education. The new system uses teaching aids like quiz contests, debates, group discussions, project works and field trips. The Tribune has found that students feel “confused” and “more burdened” by this new system.
Siddharth, a class IX student from Springdales School, said, “We are being graded on everything. Earlier, we had only academics to worry about. Now it appears we have to get good grades in extra-curricular activities too. Even our class work is being assessed. Most of the project work is being graded. Exams seemed easier. At least you knew that there was an exam on which you would be marked. I feel I need to monitor all my steps in school. This leaves no time for
fun.” Mukesh, a class X student from Ahlcon International School, said, “These days we are getting more homework and a lot more project work. After finishing my home-work, I am mostly awake in the nights as I am busy completing the projects. We need to put in extra work for debates and group discussions. My work load has increased drastically. We have to work not only for academics but also pay attention to extra curricular activities.” Apart from students, many teachers are also complaining of the pressure. A teacher from Springdales School said, “I have to take extra care to prepare my lessons as most teaching is carried out in innovative way. We introduce a lesson to students through group discussions, plays, debates and all this require tedious preparation.” The teacher added, “We have not been prepared enough for the new system. A mere workshop is not enough.” Meanwhile, brighter students too are unhappy with the new system as the competitive edge has been lost. They miss the thrill of getting a rank in class. They rue that the new system is anonymous as they are not able to figure out where they
stand. Aditi from Bluebells School said, “In class VIII, I scored 95 per cent and stood third in class. Today I don’t know where I stand. I got an A1 grade in class IX but no rank. This is unfair.” Leave alone students and teachers, parents too are speaking in the same vein.
Sarita Bhasin, a parent, said, “I find my daughter who is in class IX only working. She has no time to relax ever since this system has come into force. She is getting a lot of home-work and an equal amount of projects. Besides, she has to prepare for some debate or other activity at school. This system has been implemented and nobody has tried to balance it.” |
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Temp soars to a record 42.9°C
New Delhi, April 16 “The maximum temperature was recorded seven degrees above average at 42.9 degrees Celsius. It is not only the highest temperature this season, but also the highest recorded on April 16 in the past five years,” confirmed an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The minimum temperature was 23.5 degrees Celsius, four notches above average. The Met department data marked west Delhi as the hottest with the maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, while Palam stood second with 43.6 degrees and Ayanagar third with 43.5 degrees Celsius. “Last year on this day, the temperature was 40 degrees Celsius. The 43-degree mark was touched only on April 30,” he added. “The city recorded 42.6 degrees Celsius yesterday. And today the mercury rose further. If April, the month of spring is like this, one definitely has reasons to fear May and June” said Gopal, a sales executive. The weatherman has attributed the blazing heat to a lack of any western disturbance over Delhi. “The temperature will be around 43 or 44 degrees Celsius tomorrow. The situation will remain similar for the next two-three days,” the official said. “However, things are expected to improve with likelihood of a western disturbance which will lower the temperature,” the official added. |
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Pamphlets on Maoists distributed in JNU
New Delhi, April 16 The university administration has noted that the unsigned pamphlets have been spreading “misinformation” in JNU, a small campus where both information and rumours travel at light’s speed. “We have found many unsigned pamphlets being distributed on the campus and most of the contents spread misinformation,” said Sachidanand Sinha, associate dean of students’ welfare. He said it was important for the JNU community to sit together and formulate a code of conduct for maintaining the decorum of the campus. Following a recent incident of violence between alleged Maoist supporters and members of the Anti-Naxal Front, the administration had decided to call representatives of all the organisations to discuss the matter. However, not many representatives turned up, said Sinha, who had visited the spot of violence from the administration’s side. Now, the dean’s office has decided to call a meeting of the hostel presidents to discuss the code of conduct. Also, the newly-formed Anti-Naxal Front of the ABVP and NSUI has been putting pressure on the university authorities to zero down on Maoist supporters. “The Maoist supporters hold events on campus in different names,” said Vineet Chaturvedi, president, ABVP, while demanding that the name of JNU be removed from an organisation called JNU Forum Against War on People. Chaturvedi alleged that on the night of the violence last Friday, members of several organisations like AISA, Democratic Students Union (DSU), Progressive Students’ Union (PSU) and All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO), were “celebrating the killings of CRPF personnel in Dantewada”. Holding the “deep biases” in JNU administration responsible for the university’s inaction against culprits of the recent violence on the campus, students have decided to take their voice outside the campus. |
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Order on Sajjan’s plea on April 22
New Delhi, April 16 The addditional sessions judge, Suneeta Gupta, after hearing the arguments from both the sides, reserved the order for April 22, the next date of hearing. During the arguments, the CBI stuck to its point that the accused should not be allowed to seek the documents at this stage. The documents include a copy of the memorandum of action taken on the report of Justice G .T. Nanavati Commission of inquiry which was set up to probe the riots. The counsel for Kumar, I.U. Khan, argued that the production of the documents was necessary and desirable for the purpose of any enquiry, trial or proceeding of this case because the documents were the wheels of the case and were related to the investigations made earlier regarding the killing of some persons. The CBI had, on January 13, filed two chargesheets against Sajjan Kumar and others. The chargesheets were registered on the recommendation of Justice G. T. Nanavati Commission, which had investigated the sequence of events leading to the riots.
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CWG shooters arrive for practice session
Gurgaon, April 16 The players are being accommodated at the CRPF campus hostel in Kadarpur. They will stay here till April 24. The practice commenced today, though the 1-km Firing Range at Kadarpur is yet to be formally inaugurated. During the trial the players will practice on electronic targets similar to the format for Commonwealth Games. The CRPF full-bore shooting range is of international standards with a maximum range of 1,000 metre. It has been completed in one year at Rs 25 crore. The Indian team comprising eight shooters arrived at the camp hostel on April 10 to have a first-hand feel of this world-class facility. The trial competition constitutes of two events – 300 metre and queen’s prize. The prize distribution ceremony will be held at the end of this eight-day trial event. Graham Hudson, president, Commonwealth Shooting Federation, appreciated that the shooting range met international standards and provided world-class facilities. He, however, seemed somewhat apprehensive over the hot weather. “The weather is unexpectedly hot, which might cause some discomfort to foreign players. Hence, the event timings have been rescheduled to 9 am and the breaks have been made longer,” he maintained. |
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Utilise senior citizens’ experience: CM
New Delhi, April 16 The social welfare department, Delhi, in collaboration with Anugraha, an NGO, had organised the event. The workshop aimed to increase awareness about the rights of older people, different schemes for them. It also aimed to bring to light the activities at senior citizens’ recreation centres. Dikshit exhorted the elders to help each other as far as their security was concerned. The elders must be given due respect in society. She reiterated her government’s commitment to provide all help to senior citizens. She added that her government would implement various schemes for their welfare. The government has constituted a senior citizens’ council that meets regularly to monitor the status of schemes. The city government has been offering the highest amount of pension to aged persons in the country. A pension of Rs 1,000 per month is being offered to each senior citizen. A number of old age care homes and recreation centres are functioning in the Capital. |
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Over 100 threat, vulgar messages sent to MPs
New Delhi, April 16 Out of the 100 messages, around 40 were sent on April 13 and 14. The recipients of the messages include Shashi Tharoor, Brinda Karat, Mehmood Masood Madani, Rashid Alvi, Om Prakash and Sandeep Dikshit, police sources said. After the detention and release of a west Delhi resident, Manik Verma, the police is known to have detained another person in connection with the incident. Investigations have revealed that one of the two connections, procured using the documents of a gym instructor Manik Verma, was later transferred to another name using a different set of identification papers. “The police has detained one Yashpal, as investigators found that his identification papers were used for procuring one of the SIM cards used for sending the messages,” said a senior police official close to investigation. “We have zeroed in on some persons and are calling more people for questioning. Details cannot be shared as it will hamper the investigations,” he said.
The investigation was taken up by the special cell of the Delhi police in relation to a text message received by Tharoor. In the message, the minister was asked to apologise to Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, and was advised to stay away from the Kochi team or face death. |
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2 students held for snatching
New Delhi, April 16 One snatched cell phone and a motorcycle used in the commission of crimes have been recovered from the accused. According to the police, the adult accused, Pawan Kumar (19), is a resident of Hari Nagar Ashram. According to H.G.S. Dhaliwal, Pawan and one juvenile, Harnam (name changed), were apprehended from the Sarojini Nagar Market area on April 14 while trying to dispose of the snatched cell phone. “On verification, the cell phone was found to be snatched from the area of Safdarjang Enclave police station. Pawan was arrested, whereas Harnam was handed over to his father with a direction to produce him before the juvenile board,” said Dhaliwal. During interrogation, Pawan disclosed that he had many girlfriends and in order to bear their expenditure and maintain a lavish lifestyle, he along with some boys of his neighbourhood has been committing such criminal activities for the past few months. He has confessed to his involvement in several other snatching incidents and the same are being verified. Pawan, 19, is a student of BA second year. Harnam is a school dropout. |
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Govt moots radiation policy
New Delhi, April 16 Officials said that Delhi’s market had always been full of all types of scraps, but such kind of a radiation had occurred for the first time and had taken them by surprise. “The government believes that it is a serious issue and needs to be tackled with a policy,” an official said. Delhi has a policy to deal with the problems of scraps, but it does not include radiation, the officer added. The meeting has also showed the government’s new-found concerns, as immediately after the incident, Dikshit had refused to take any responsibility, claiming that the problem fell in the domain of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Further, keeping in view the Commonwealth Games, the government has decided to open a special ward of 40 beds in the LNJP Hospital to deal with radiation victims. The health minister held a meeting with medical experts to materialise the plan. The Mayapuri incident had brought to forth the government’s inability in providing treatment to radiation victims, as the family of Deepak
Jain, the scrap dealer who is the most serious among the eight radiation victims, had alleged that they were turned away by the AIIMS and had to go to a private hospital. The chief secretary, Rakesh
Mehta, also held a meeting with environment experts and directed the environment department and the police to submit a report about how the radioactive scrap reached the Capital’s market and its affect on the environment. The report has to be submitted within 15 days. A survey would also be conducted to find out the areas where dealers trade in dangerous scraps, after which the government would make a policy , the sources said. |
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One more suffers burns
With the surfacing of yet another case of radiation exposure, the total number of people affected with the radioactive isotope Cobalt-60 has climbed to eight in the Capital.
Ajay Jain, a junk dealer in Mayapuri market, was admitted to the Max Hospital in Pitampura with burns and patches on the skin yesterday. Ajay likely received the high-intensity radiation from a pin that he had received from Deepak Jain. He is stable, said hospital. Ajay carried the radiation source with him when came to the hospital. Sources from the Max Hospital said that Ajay had come to the hospital with patches on the hands and thigh burns. A metal that he carried in his pocket caused the injury. “The authorities concerned were informed. Officials of the NDMA and the BARC took the sample of the patient today,” said a source at the hospital. Adding that members of Ajay’s family would be screened for suspected exposure, officials of the NDMA said that the new radioactive source— a 3.8-cm long and 2-mm wide pin— had properties equal to that seized from Deepak Jain’s shop.
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Police to buy radiation meters
New Delhi, April 16 As per the Delhi police officials, the police will be procuring four radiation meters which can detect radioactive materials following directions from the National Disaster Management Authority. "We will be buying devices weighing around 1.5 kg which can detect alpha, beta, gama and X-rays. If the device can detect nuclides, then it is more preferable," the official said, adding that the police is looking for equipment like Geiger-Muller counter that can detect and measure radiation in environment, besides nal and CSL scintillation diode. The police is also not averse to buying these sophisticated instruments from a foreign company they match the requirement. According to Rajan Bhagat, PRO, Delhi police, a tender in this regard has been issued to manufacturers and authorised distributors in both public and private sector. "Foreign companies can participate through their India-based agents and the equipment is to be purchased within 60 days from the date of contract," said Bhagat. In a first-of-its-kind case in the Capital, seven people suffered burn-like injuries after coming in contact with a radioactive material in the Mayapuri scrap market on April 8. After a team of scientists from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, rushed to the Capital, the source of radiation was detected to be Cobalt 60.
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Speeding truck crushes man
New Delhi, April 16 “The deceased has been identified as Rajesh, a resident of Harsh Vihar. He was on his way to home on a bike when a speeding truck hit him from behind and crushed him to death. He was rushed to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, but was declared brought dead,” said a police officer. Rajesh used to work with a private factory and lived in a rented accommodation in the area with wife and two kids. The police further stated that the errant driver, Manoj, has been arrested and a case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against him.
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Labourer electrocuted
New Delhi, April 16 The incident was reported from the B- Block area of Ashok Nagar around 10 pm. “The deceased has been identified as Jahoor (16), a native of Bhagalpur, Bihar. The incident took place when the victim was working with a grinding machine. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared brought dead,” said a police officer. Jahoor used to work as a labourer and stayed in a rented accommodation in Khoda Colony of
Ghaziabad. “At the time of the incident, he was working at the second floor house of one Lokesh Kumar,” said the police.
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Teen girl sets herself afire
New Delhi, April 16 “She came out of her house and poured kerosene on herself. Then she set herself on fire. Her family rushed her to the Safdarjung Hospital where she was declared brought dead,” said a police official. The reasons behind her act is not known.
TNS |
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Civic body caring for abandoned circus tuskers
Gurgaon, April 16 “As the owner of the Western Circus has left for Dehradun without taking the two elephants, we are looking after them. We are providing fodder to them and they have been kept at Gadhi Harsaru village,” a MCG official said. The elephants— Sita and Anar— have been tied at a vacant plot in old Gurgaon ever since the Western Circus had its last show in Gurgaon April 5.
— IANS |
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The ongoing renovation work at Connaught Place (CP) is once again in news for bad reasons.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today concluded its arguments before a Delhi court on an application moved by Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, seeking directions to the probe agency for providing copy of some documents and the entire judicial and police records related to the three FIR’s registered against him in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Kumar is the key accused in the two cases registered with the Sutanpuri police station.
