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60 tyre shops gutted in central Delhi
Fire safety norms for small buildings to be reviewed
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Thanks to CWG, no hostel for DU
students till November
Delhi Diary
DDA engineer’s son still not traceable
DTU opens doors to NRIs
Checking Dengue
Gzb facing acute power shortage
Rs 30 lakh for loss of vision in mishap
Abu Salem's shooter nabbed
Murdered banker’s girl friend held
Man gets 7-yr RI for rape
Rs 22 lakh stolen from ATM cash van
2 caught with 142-kg ganja
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60 tyre shops gutted in central Delhi
New Delhi, July 17 The incident took place around 2:30 am in the tyre market situated on Rani Jhansi Road. Officials said had the fire occurred during the day, it could have been a big disaster. Goods worth lakhs are estimated to have been gutted. Around 37 fire engines were rushed to the spot. The fire was brought under control after a long battle for four hours, said a Delhi fire official. "Almost 60 shops were gutted, but nobody was injured in the incident," the official said. According to the preliminary reports, the fire broke out due to short-circuit. We are still investigating to find out the exact reason behind the fire, a police official said. "Thankfully, the incident took place at night. If it had taken place during the day, it would have injured many people," said a shopkeeper. Fire official said that they were informed about the incident around 2:45 am.
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Fire safety norms for small buildings to be reviewed
New Delhi, July 17 This has been decided at a meeting held recently after a petition was filed before the government by an NGO, Public Interest Litigation Watch Group (PILWG). Chief of Delhi Fire Service, R. C. Sharma said that fire norms have already been notified. Earlier, fire safety norms were mandatory only for high-rise building but after a fire had broken out in a small building in Connaught Place a few years back, the Delhi High Court had ordered fire safety norms for small buildings also. Thereafter, the small buildings have been included into the purview of the Delhi Fire and Prevention Act. However, keeping in view that some buildings are very old in which installing fire safety measures are not possible, the government may do some amendment, he said. The petition filed by the NGO alleged that officials of the department concerned harass the building owners in the name of fire safety norms. Some buildings in old Delhi are so old that cannot bear weight of the huge overhead water tanks. In its petition, the NGO asked the authorities concerned to remove the unauthorized construction from unsafe buildings.
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Thanks to CWG, no hostel for DU
students till November
New Delhi, July 17 Most college hostels are undergoing renovation process to accommodate the international guests who will arrive before and during the Games and have asked the students to vacate the hostels till the first week of November. Most colleges offering hostels, including Miranda House, Ramjas, SRCC, Hindu and Hansraj and LSR, will complete the allotment procedure for hostels before the session begins. However, they have told the students that the rooms will be available only in the first week of November. The second and third year college students have been sent notices with the instructions that they should return to hostels only in November. While some colleges claim they have informed well in advance, students are having a hard time finding a feasible option outside the hostels. Nandini Dutta, former member of Miranda House hostel committee, said, "Miranda's hostel can accommodate nearly 300 students. We have a good percentage of physically handicapped students studying in the college who will have a hard time adjusting locally. Moreover, young girls who come to the university from smaller towns will find it hard to get a safe option elsewhere." Kumar Amrindra, warden of Kirori Mal College, said, "KMC will complete the merit-based hostel allotment procedure within the next week. We can accommodate nearly 150 students who are being told about the situation arising out of the Commonwealth Games. Students will get the benefits only when the renovation is done--new electrical fitting, almirahs, new flooring, etc. They will have to just wait till November." However, students are worried that with the new semester system in place and the hassles of shifting now and then in November, there will be no time to study. Anoop, a second year SRCC student is among those who are unable to find a suitable PG in Kamla Nagar. He said, "Accommodation in most places is already full with freshers. The rates have increased and the quality has deteriorated. The PG owners are also cashing in on this situation." Srishthi, a Miranda House student, pointed out, "Safety is a big issue for girls. Most private hostels and PGs are now offering least amenities. In fact, they have asked the previous tenants to shift out so that they may demand more rent." |
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Delhi Diary Delhi government ministers and officials keeping a tab on the Commonwealth Games have gone quiet in the last few days, a complete turnaround from the earlier situation when they seemed to be trying hard to outdo one another in getting publicity. Their contradictory statements had added to the confusion over the status and standard of CWG works. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who has been receiving most probing questions, issued gag orders to her ministerial colleagues. They have been asked to monitor the works without making a noise. The ministers now spend a couple of hours every day at the project sites and inform the Chief Minister of their status in the review meetings while keeping the media at bay. Will Sheila pass muster?
The whopping expenditure for the conduct of the Commonwealth Games and controversies surrounding the event have caused some black mirth. The talk in the secretariat the other day was how many medals Sheila wins for Delhi. The gossipy officials said that nothing less than a successful conduct of the Games would get her praise equivalent to a gold medal. The public mood, they explained, is now either indifferent or to some extent hostile to the Games due to massive amount of money spent which has forced government to jack up prices of commodities. A far cry from world-class city
One of the universally accepted criteria for a truly world-class city is the way it takes care of its citizens. Delhi, an aspiring global city, is certainly not equal to the challenge. An elderly woman called up the emergency number (100) during the July 12 downpour when she saw smoke emanating out of her car. She said she called up many times before she finally heard the ring and then a voice machine answered her call, asking her to wait. The prospect of a fire breakout in her car was too frightening for her to wait any more and she cried for help from commuters. Some of them took care of the engine problem, but the stationary car on the road only added to the jam and chaos. A quick survey of the people would reflect her sentiments that the government is little prepared to meet any civic emergency triggered by natural causes like rains. Sajjan’s counsel gets an earful
It may be a long time before courts take a final decision on the fate of anti-Sikh riots accused and Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, but he and his counsel seem to rub people the wrong way. During the recent examination of a witness, his counsel entered into a verbal fight with the counsel for riots victims. It wasted good 15 minutes before the court could sort out the issue between the men in black. The judge pulled up Sajjan’s counsel asking him to express regret, which he duly did. (Contributed by Syed Ali Ahmed, Kumar Rakesh, Himani Chandel, Rashi Agarwal) |
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DDA engineer’s son still not traceable
Noida, July 17 Initially, the case was registered in Delhi but later it was transferred to Noida. The kidnappers had allegedly contacted the engineer’s family once and had demanded a ransom of Rs 15 lakh. “Harsh Vardhan Gupta (24), son of Gyan Prakash Gupta, a resident of Sector 36 in Noida had gone missing on June 23. That night, when Harsh’s father called him, he told him that he was in Rajendra Place, Delhi. After an hour, Harsh told his father that he was in Connaught Place. Later, his mobile phone was switched off. Since then, Harsh’s family has not been able to contact him. After his family received a ransom call of Rs 15 lakh, it lodged a kidnapping report at a Delhi police station,” said R.N. Mishra, deputy superintendent of police. “The victim is a marketing executive with some company in Delhi and his father is an engineer at DDA,” Mishra added. “On June 24, the victim’s Ford Figo car was seized from the Sector 51 area here. However, the investigations carried out by the Delhi police preliminary has revealed that victim was last seen in Sector 31, Noida. Then the Delhi police transferred the case to the Noida police,” said Mishra. “On July 4, fresh kidnapping report was lodged at the Sector 20 police station. We have contacted his family members who have named certain persons as suspects,” said Mishra. “Investigations revealed that there were some other persons in the car the day Harsh went missing. He had got petrol filled in his car from Sector 71 petrol pump station. The petrol pump staff there were two or three more persons with Harsh,” said Mishra. “Some blood stains have been collected from the car and have been sent for forensic test,” Mishra added. |
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DTU opens doors to NRIs
New Delhi, July 17 The university has commenced the procedure to admit foreign nationals, non resident Indians (NRI) and persons of Indian origin (PIO) in its B.Tech. and M.Tech. programmes from the 2010-11 academic session. At least 5 per cent of the seats in B.Tech. and M.Tech. courses will be given to such candidates. Admission to these seats will be made strictly on the basis of merit. For 14 B.Tech. courses, the admission will be done on the basis of SAT-II score. A student needs to have minimum 60 per cent in PCM (physics, chemistry and maths) in class XII or an equivalent and minimum of 50 per cent score in SAT-II (maths-II, physics and chemistry). Also, the student must have passed in each subject. There will be 45 seats on offer in B.Tech. courses for the students under the categories of NRIs, PIOs and foreign nationals. Rashmi Sablania, university spokesperson, says, "For 17 M.Tech programmes, an applicant needs to have minimum 60 per cent marks in BE, B.Tech or equivalent examination and a valid GRE score. Selection will be made on the basis of GRE score. There will be 17 seats on offer in the M.Tech courses for the above-mentioned categories of students." The fees for foreign students, NRI and PIOs for both B.Tech and M.Tech courses will be US$ 5,000. The application form can be downloaded from the university’s website www.dce.edu. and submitted along with a demand draft of Rs 5,000 by July 30, 2010. The list of selected candidates will be out on DTU website on August 5. They will be required to take admission by August 12.
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Checking Dengue
New Delhi, July 17 Whenever it rains, waterlogged markets, parks and other areas are a common sight. Nowadays, construction work is in full swing. Waste material is found on road sides and these are the places where rain water get collected. They provide an apt environment for mosquitoes to breed. In such a situation, construction workers can be the victim of dengue fever, a senior official said. These challenges have been kept under control as surveillance posts have been set up at 21 CWG construction sites. One surveillance post and one mosquito control unit was set up at Games Village in 2008, health director N.K. Yadav said. Keeping this in view, the MCD has launched a training programme for sensitising government nodal officers and private institutions on prevention and control of dengue. The World Health Organisation has stressed on the need for inter-sectoral coordination as one of the key strategies for preventing and controlling of dengue. Mosquitoes causing dengue breed in clean water in houses and other places, including offices. Hence, inter-sectoral departments have a greater role, Yadav said. The MCD's health department has recognised engineering, building, sanitation, horticulture, education departments, Delhi police, Delhi Metro and DTC as inter-sectoral partners whose support is solicited in the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases, Yadav added. He has called for active participation from the participants of the training programme in the prevention of dengue. He has also asked them to ensure that all coolers were cleaned, mopped dried before refilling every week. Temephos granules should be put in coolers that cannot be cleaned or drained. Temephos granules are available for free at all malaria offices of the MCD.
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Gzb facing acute power shortage
Ghaziabad, July 17 While the posh colonies of Rajnagar, Kavinagar, Sashtrinagar, Govindpuram, Ashoknagar, Vasundhara, Vaishali, Kaushambhi and Indirapuram are getting 12 hours power supply, many rural areas are getting just two hours of power. The tehsil headquarters of Modinagar, Muradnagar, Hapur and Garhmukteswar are getting power for four hours. According to villagers contacted by this IANS correspondent, some villages in the interiors are not getting any power supply at all. The residents’ welfare associations and federation officials said they do not recall such a grim power situation in the near past. Col. Tejendra Pal Singh Tyagi, president of the Federation of Ghaziabad Residents Welfare Associations, complained that the power corporation employees were non-cooperative with the public. According to Vipin Tyagi, a medical practitioner, due to the non-availability of power people were running diesel-based power generators that spew smoke, which was having an adverse effect on peoples’ health. He claimed these factors were causing problems to hypertension and asthma patients. The lack of electricity has also affected water supply. “Families are forced to wash utensils and clothes with minimum water and forgo baths, despite the scorching heat. The city has been converted into a hell,” said Rakesh Bhalla, president of Kaushambhi Residents Welfare Association. District magistrate Hridesh Kumar, faced with the barrage of complaints, said in his defence: “I admit there is a problem on the power supply front. The power corporation employees informed us that the city is getting 18 hours power supply while rural areas are getting 13 hours, but I have come to know that the power supply is not meeting parameters and frequent cuts are being reported.” — IANS
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Rs 30 lakh for loss of vision in mishap
New Delhi, July 17 Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT) judge Gurvinder Pal Singh held the driver of the autorickshaw that hit the victim guilty and directed the insurance company to pay the compensation amount to petitioner Bali Ram Singh. “A driver behind the wheels of a mechanically propelled vehicle is bound to observe necessary caution for avoiding striking other vehicles or users of the road. Having failed to observe such caution and struck the motor cycle of the petitioner, causing him grievous injuries, Rohtash (the driver of the autorickshaw) was berserk and thus negligent,” the court said. It further directed IFFKO Tokio Insurance Company to pay the compensation within 30 days along with an added interest rate of 7.5% from the date the case was filed till its realisation. On April 28, 2009, Singh who with the MCD suffered 100% loss of vision along with injuries on the head after an autorickshaw hit him in Nangloi. The petitioner has become visually handicapped and shall face extreme hardship in doing daily chores. He has suffered loss of amenities of life. Such loss cannot be recompensed in terms of money, the court said sympathising with the victim.
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Abu Salem's shooter nabbed
Khan was arrested on July 16 from Kalyan Puri. A pistol and one cartridge have been seized from him. He admitted his involvement in trade of disputed properties and land-grabbing activities in Delhi and NCR. He frequently visited Mumbai and was in touch with the underworld, said ACP (east) K.C. Dwivedi. |
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Murdered banker’s girl friend held
New Delhi, July 17 They had revealed that she was the main conspirator in the murder. Dilip Kumar, 27, an employee of Canara Bank, went missing on May 8 and his burnt body was recovered from Ghaziabad two days later, the police said. On sustained interrogation, Renu disclosed her affair with Rakesh, alias Rahul, since 2001. She knew that Rahul was a bad character involved in many cases. Meanwhile, Dilip Kumar also became close to her in a short span of time and one day he proposed to her for marriage. Initially, she accepted the proposal, but later she found that Dilip was not financially strong. She started getting away from him, but Dilip was pressurizing her for marriage as he had already introduced her to his family members. Feeling the pressure, Renu opened her heart to Rahul who had gone on a couple of occasions to make Dilip understand that Renu was his beloved and he could not marry her. Even then Dilip did not give up, Rahul then conspired to eliminate Dalip Kumar.
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Man gets 7-yr RI for rape
New Delhi, July 17 “The convict committed such a dastardly act on a hapless child of seven years and the incident of child abuse should be dealt with strictly,” the court said while pronouncing the judgment.
“What disturbs me most is what a seven-year-old girl could know of sex or rape,” he added. The court also expressed concern over the growing cases of rape involving acquaintances of the victim and referred to the National Commission for Women (NCW) data stating that 92 per cent cases of rape involved people known to the victim while 7.5 per cent were their relatives.
The decision came after the court relied on the statement of the girl saying her version was credible and trustworthy. Jaffar was arrested on May 14, 2008 after a case was registered against him with Sadar Bazar police station here. The convict was alleged to have ravished the victim in the house of his employer with whom he worked for about two years. |
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Rs 22 lakh stolen from ATM cash van
Noida, July 17 “A security cash van of Writer Safeguard Company had come to the Deustche Bank at Sector 18. The custodians, Shailendra Kumar and Kuldeep Singh, went inside the ATM counter of the bank for cash reconciliation and driver Hari Om went to drink water. However, guard Rajvir Singh remained inside the van,” said R.N. Mishra, deputy superintendent of police. “Suddenly, someone knocked on the window of the van. When the guard looked out, he saw a Rs 10 note lying on the road. He came out to collect the note. Meanwhile, some youths stole the cash bag from the van. The bag contained Rs 22 lakh,” said Mishra. “The company has contracted with various banks for filling cash in their ATMs. A week ago, an employee of the same company had disappeared with Rs 6 lakh from Bisrakh. He was supposed to deposit Rs 10 lakh in an HDFC Bank ATM, but he put just Rs 4 lakh and ran away with the rest of the money. He is still absconding,” said Mishra. “Involvement of company staff in this incident too is being investigated,” Mishra added. |
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2 caught with 142-kg ganja
New Delhi, July 17 With their arrest, the police claims to have busted an inter-state gang of drug smugglers. The arrest was made after the police learnt about ganja being brought from other states in bulk and distributed in Mangolpuri and Sultanpuri.—
TNS |
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Delhi government ministers and officials keeping a tab on the Commonwealth Games have gone quiet in the last few days, a complete turnaround from the earlier situation when they seemed to be trying hard to outdo one another in getting publicity. Their contradictory statements had added to the confusion over the status and standard of CWG works.
New Delhi, July 17