New Delhi, August 25
In what has now become a familiar scenario during rains in the national capital, lakhs of commuters crawled for hours on their way to offices and other destinations as a result of waterlogged roads and failed traffic signals in various parts of the city.

According to information, besides rains and waterlogging, diversion of traffic after the closure of Old Yamuna bridge and several annual Jhulelal Mela processions culminating on the banks of Yamuna in east Delhi aggravated the traffic snarls in the city, especially in Central and east Delhi.

Serpentine queues of vehicles were the order of the day in many roads like the Vikas Marg, Gazipur-Nizamudin Road,Ring Road, Mathura Road, Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, DND flyoverand Delhi-Gurgaon Road. The misery was compunded for commuters on Gazipur-Nizamudin Road after the police restricted movement of vehicles by putting trucks across the road while entering Ring Road, which was waterlogged.

Same was the case with those coming through Raj Ghat to IP Estate. So much so, that it took close to hours for the commuter to reach ITO from Akshardham during the afternoon hours when the traffic is generally less on the roads.

“I was on my way to CP from Lakshmi Nagar around 2.45 pm. However, I reached the ITO after 3.40 pm. Almost all roads leading from the ITO chowk were choc a bloc with vehicles,” said Ankur Aggarawal, a college professor.

As a result of incessant rains, the drainage system across several parts of capital failed miserably as water reportedly entered many facilities like Inter-State Bus Depot in Kashmere Gate, DTC depot at Indraprastha and some Commonwealth Games venues.

There were also reports of road cave-ins from some parts of the capital besides those of waterlogging, tree-felling, building collapses, vehicle-breakdowns. Waterlogging on roads took its toll on the traffic on Ring road IP flyover on both sides, Qutub Metro Station towards Gurgoan, Minto road underpass, Dwarka underpass, Hanuman Road-Pandara Road.

According to the traffic police, traffic signals broke down in about 30 important chowks of the city leading to manual management of traffic. “Traffic signals usually fail due to short circuit of wiring. We cannot do much about it and it is the same story every time it rains,” said a traffic constable who managed the traffic in east Delhi.

New Delhi, August 25
Having observed the rising flow of water in the river, the authorities today ordered the closure of Old Yamuna Bridge for rail and road traffic. The bridge connects East Delhi to the heart of the national Capital. The Yamuna level has touched 205.9 cm while the danger level is 204.8 cm.

The bridge has been closed as the water level went above the danger mark around noon, said an official of irrigation and flood department of the Delhi government.

Railways have stopped services on the Old Yamuna Bridge and are diverting the trains bound for Old Delhi railway station.

The closure of the bridge resulted in the diversion of traffic onto a highway linking Delhi with Uttar Pradesh, which resulted in further choking of roads.

There is no chance of receding water as Haryana has released more than one lakh cusecs of water from Hathini Kund that will reach Delhi soon.

The official of the irrigation and flood department warned that entire Usmanpur, Wazirabad, Batla House and nearby areas of ISBT may go under water.

Meanwhile, the government has alerted the fire personnel, divers and deployed more ferries in the affected areas. Drains that fall in the Yamuna have already been closed and water from them is being pumped out. If the level rises, some residents may have to vacate their houses, cautioned the official.

New Delhi, August 25
Though the government has claimed that flood-hit people are being evacuated and provided with basic facilities in tents, the victims have complained that the tents leak in many places and there are no amenities given by the irrigation and flood department.

The government has so far evacuated 1,800 residents from the areas submerged in flood water, said deputy commissioner of east (Revenue), S. S. Ghonkrokta who has been given charge to rehabilitate the victims.

Iqbal Ahmed, putting up in the tents, said, “The government has just erected tents. It has not made any arrangement for food. Two water tankers were parked today near Dhobi Ghat in Okhla. But they do not come regularly. We depend on a nearby mosque for water. Some social workers distribute food in the evening.”

He said there are holes in tents which leak when it rains. The victims cannot sleep. They just sit throughout night.

Noor Mohammad, who was in a rented room in Batla House, said that he had come to the camp as water entered his house. There is no facility here. People use candles at night and at least 10 persons live in one tent.

Narender Kumar, a policeman posted near the tents, said that more than 600 persons live in tents. If the Yamuna water level increases further, more residents of Batla House will come here. The government is planning to erect more tents.

However, Mahender Singh, a resident of Usmanpur, said that erecting tents is not enough during floods. The government should also make arrangements for food as many people do not get work during the rains.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today visited various camps put up in low-lying areas and instructed officials to ensure food packets and proper lighting. She appealed to people not to panic.

The government is monitoring the situation round the clock through a control room set up by the DC (East).

Divisional commissioner D. M. Spolia said that all necessary arrangements, including mobile medical teams and DJB tankers, are in place. 

Gurgaon, August 25
As part of preparations for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and to spread a message of "Green Games, Green Gurgaon", nearly 8,000 saplings were planted today on the premises of the CRPF Shooting Range here today.

It may be pertinent to mention here that full-bore shooting event is scheduled to be held here during the CWG Delhi-2010.

The drive was launched amidst drizzling by Deputy Commissioner Rajender Kataria in presence of Divisional Forest Officer M.S.Malik.

The CRPF trainees at CRPF Camp Kadarpur assisted in the plantation drive. Additional deputy commissioner VS Hooda, assistant commissioner (under training) Sumit Kumar, SDM Gurgaon (North) Satender Duhan, SDM Gurgaon (South) Naresh Narwal, DPRO R.S.Sangwan, commandant of CRPF Group Centre Dheeraj Kumar and commandant of CRPF Academy BB Vaid also planted saplings.

The Kadarpur Shooting range in the foothills of the Aravallis and a target of planting 20,000 saplings before the games has been fixed, of which 8,000 were planted today itself.

The coordinator of the CWG shooting event, IGP (retd) TS Dhillon said the range had been constructed at Rs 28 crore and meets international standards. Shooting competitions of 300, 500, 600, 900 and 1000 yards would be held here.

It has a facility block of 2280 sq yards and a seating capacity of 345 spectators. The shooting range is unique in the sense that the electronic moveable target system will be experimented for the first time in the world in this range. Under this system, the target is connected electronically and it changes automatically after every hit.

New Delhi, August 25
After the MPs voted themselves for a hike in their monthly allowance, the municipal councillors have now raised the demand for a fixed salary.

At a meeting of the MCD Standing Committee today, the opposition councillors said that municipal councillors should also get salaries as they are approached more by the general public.

"MPs and MLAs are getting salary hike, but councillors do not have a fixed salary. This, despite the fact that people approach us first whenever they face any problem," said an opposition councillor.

At present, MCD councillors do not get a fixed allowance. They get Rs 400 for attending a meeting of the civic body's Standing Committee and the House.

Several councillors from the ruling BJP also supported the demand.

BJP councillor Vijay Prakash Pandya pointed out that the MCD had earlier sent a proposal to the Delhi government for fixing salary for the MCD members, but it did not forward it further to the Centre.

The meeting also discussed the closing of sluice gates of 17 nullahs falling in the Yamuna. The councillors expressed concern about the closing of the gates which might lead to insanitary conditions in the city.

The commissioner K S Mehra assured that the closing of gates was a routine exercise undertaken by the flood control department to ensure that water from the Yamuna does not flow into the city.

New Delhi, August 25
The Chhattarpur Metro station, on the Central Secretariat - Gurgaon corridor, is all set to be operational tomorrow.

The Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS), R.K Kardam, inspected the station today and gave the statutory clearance necessary for the beginning of commuter services. Earlier, the Chhattarpur station could not be opened with the rest of the Qutab Minar-HUDA City Centre corridor in June as DMRC got the requisite land for the construction of the station only in October last year.

The DMRC engineers constructed the station in just nine months by adopting a unique method where they used special pre-fabricated/structural steel. The conventional technique of making stations by concrete would have taken at least two years for the construction.

New Delhi, August 25
The Commonwealth Games (CWG) organising committee (OC) today launched the sale of tickets from 30 retail outlets amid concerns that a huge chunk of economy tickets has been grabbed online. The online sale of tickets started on June 2.

The OC today unveiled the tickets and said they would be available at 30 outlets across the city, which includes one at Dilli Haat and another in state government office. They would also be available at 20 selected Central Bank of India branches and seven Hero Honda showrooms and IRCTC counter in central Delhi.

Those who have booked their tickets online and got coupons can redeem them for actual tickets at the bank branch in OC headquarters, Parliament Street, and at the IRCTC outlet in central Delhi.

Officials said large numbers of tickets have been sold so far, generating revenue of about Rs 10 crore. Countries like abroad have also placed their orders. Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the USA have registered maximum bookings.

The maximum demand is for the opening and the closing days' ceremonies whose tickets cost Rs 1,000, 5,000, 25,000 and 50,000. Their tickets have made for 25 per cent of the total sales, said the officials. "The tickets for the opening and the closing ceremonies are in huge demand and we are satisfied with the sale," said Lalit Bhanot, secretary general, OC.

There are apprehensions that cheaper tickets for the opening and the closing day ceremonies have almost run out of their inventory even as the common man, who does not use Internet, would get access to them in retail outlets.

The Jawaharlal Nehru stadium which would host both the ceremonies can house 60,000 persons and not more than 42,000 tickets are available for sale, with rest reserved for different categories.

"We have a target of 17 lakh tickets and will achieve it as people are showing keen interest in the Games. Many tickets have been sold abroad and we are also getting requests from corporate for bulk purchase," said Bhanot.

"The tickets have been printed at India Security Press, Nasik, which also prints currency for the government. To protect them from being counterfeited, the tickets have been printed on the same paper used for currency notes. It has visible and invisible security features like-- security thread," added the officials.

New Delhi, August 25
A woman having two moanths of pregnancy died under mysterious conditions on her way to hospital even as her family alleges that their daughter was killed by her husband for dowry.

The incident was reported last night from S block, Milap Nagar in south west Delhi. According to the police, the 42-year-old Sunita Sharma died on her way to the B M Gupta nursing home while she was being taken there by her husband.

During preliminary interrogation, her husband, Rajiv Sharma, told the police he had got a call from his wife that she was not feeling well. He was at his sister's house on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

"Rajiv took her to the nursing home, but the doctors declared her brought dead. Sunita's brother alleges that his sister has been killed for dowry. We are investigating the matter," said the police.

According to information, both Sunita and Rajiv were divorced, who remarried in Hissar and were living in the city.

The police also said that according to the landlord she was actually not well yesterday and her husband along with a few neighbours took her to the nursing home. 

New Delhi, August 25
A six-year-old boy was killed while his mother and sister suffered injuries when the portion of a old dilapidated building they were residing in collapsed, probably due to rains in the Ballimaran area of North Delhi today afternoon.

According to the police, the incident was reported from the three-storeyed building in Ballimaran around 1.20 pm and the deceased has been identified as Masood.

His mother Shehnaz and sister Fiza (8) were injured in the incident and have been rushed to LNJP hospital where the girl is said to be in a critical condition.

“The roof of the ground floor where Mohd Atique Siddique and his family stayed collapsed after which the three were trapped inside. Sidduque was not at home when the incident took place. The trapped trio was rescued by firefighters and the police. They were rushed to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital where Masood was declared brought dead,” said a senior police official.

The family had recently sold off the second floor of the about 100-year old building and was staying in the ground floor.