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DTC drivers to get CWG
security training
Report by ministry of youth affairs and sports
CWG cycling: Cost-cutting discussed
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Delhi Diary
District court opens in Saket
Bofors Case: Court orders fresh proceedings on CBI’s plea
Civil disobedience against governance collapse
In-laws’ beatings make woman partially blind
Robbers’ gang smashed
3 held for extortion bid
Man tries to burn first wife
Jail chief gets notice
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DTC drivers to get CWG
security training
New Delhi, August 28 The drivers will be given tetra communication sets and conductors mobile phones. This is being done keeping in mind that if a network of mobile phones fails, the tetra communication set can be used. Sources said that of the 574 DTC buses selected for the Games, 200 will be used for the sportspersons and the remaining for the media and technical staff of sports section. These buses will not have speed governors and can be driven at 70 km per hour. Their speed can be increased, if need be. Even the Supreme Court has given permission to this effect. Generally, they ply at 40 per km per hour. As a precautionary measure, recovery vans will be deployed at India Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Thygaraj, Chhatrsal and Yamuna Sports Complex. If a technical snag is reported in any bus during the Games, the recovery van will carry the bus to the workshop. Besides, there will be 15 bikes to rush to the spot for repairing the bus. The depots will have special security where the buses for sportspersons will be parked. Camera will be installed in every corner of the depot. According to sources, the regional and depot managers have also been authorised to engage contractual drivers for 89 days to fulfill the commitment towards the Games. The decision to this effect has been taken in a meeting of the DTC Board. The board has also taken a decision in respect of the wages of contractual drivers. At present, they draw Rs 6,000 per month. According to the board’s decision, the wages could go up to Rs 14,000 per month, excluding ESI and PF, depending on the performance of the drivers. |
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Report by ministry of youth affairs and sports
New Delhi, August 28 The report, however, is silent about the status of the projects under the Delhi government, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). The report said that a total of Rs 4459.48 crore has been spent on the construction of sports complexes. The report says that all the projects under the Sports Authority of India or Central Public Works Department (SAI/CPWD) have been completed. According to the report, Major Dhyan Chand (MDC) National Stadium and Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges were inaugurated in January, JN Sports Complex for lawn bowl and IG Sports Complex for gymnastic and wrestling in April, IG Sports Complex for cycling in June, SPM Swimming Pool and JN Sports Complex for athletics in July and weightlifting in August. Beside, shooting ranges at CRPF sports complex in Khaderpur was inaugurated in May this year, R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium and Delhi University main ground for rugby was inaugurated in July. Apart from this, the training venue of rugby at Jamia Millia Islamia was inaugurated in August. The report also declares the money spent by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on sports infrastructures. A sum of Rs 961 crore has been spent on JN Stadium Complex, Rs 262 crore for MDC National Stadium, Rs 669 crore for IG Stadium Complex, Rs 377 crore for SPM Swimming Pool Complex and Rs 149 crore and professional charges of Rs 42 crore for Karni Singh Shooting Ranges.
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CWG cycling: Cost-cutting discussed
Noida, August 28 The members of the committee include officers of the Noida Authority and Greater Noida Authority. Chairman Mohinder Singh, Noida deputy chief executive officer C.B. Singh, Greater Noida deputy chief executive officer P.C. Gupta, senior superintendent of police A.K. Singh, senior officer of the CWG committee Sudhir Mittal and other staff members were present at the meeting. "The payment issue has been settled. The CWG organising committee has sent us a letter promising payment of Rs 10 crore. We have completed almost all the work. Only some minor works are pending and they will be completed in a week," said C.B. Singh. "CWG Organising Committee members suggested cost cutting measures like decreasing the number of security towers and change in view cutters. Instead of steel sheets, we have been suggested to use steel grills," added Singh. SSP A.K. Singh said, "There will be no compromise in security. We will ensure optimisation of resources. However, wasteful expenditure will be eliminated." P. C. Gupta said, "The committee had suggested widening of U- turn of the cycling tracks. The work has begun and will be completed in a week."
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Delhi Diary Amid the dark clouds of missing deadlines and mounting media criticism, Delhi government officials have found something to cheer about. Inauguration of a one-way traffic on Ring Road bypass has instilled hope in them that the Commonwealth Games projects would be completed on time. A group of beaming officials said the bypass and Barapulla elevated road were the two big projects which they all considered difficult. Even in developed countries, it takes more than three years to complete such projects, said Sarvagya Kumar Srivastava, an engineer who is in charge of Barapulla road, the bypass and UP link road. The technocrats involved in these projects said that politicians went overboard in announcing one deadline after another, ignoring the ground realities. OC favours
foreign media
The Organising Committee (OC) of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) has come in for criticism from the national media for hardly bothering about it while making elaborate transportation plan for the foreign media. It was ironical that the OC called a press conference, which consisted almost completely of Indian media personnel, to announce all the grand transportation arrangements it had made for the foreign media to cover the event. Officials just went blank when a reporter asked them about the facilities for the Indian media as local journalists would have to move around more than the visiting journalists. The media was later told that they would have no other option than to follow the 'park and ride' facility, which means parking one's vehicle one to two kilometers from the stadium and then walking to the venue or waiting for the shuttle service. Sanitary staff at it in poor colonies
The outbreak of dengue, affecting an unprecedented number of people in four days this week, has forced callous government departments to examine the sanitary conditions in colonies, many of them unauthorised and teeming with the poor. A semblance of cleanliness has been brought about in these places with sewage and drainage lines being fixed. One may term it a cruel joke that people have to wait for the outbreak of a disease to see their living places cleaned. However, many families are still happy that it has forced the officials to pay some attention to their plight. Another positive aspect, if one can call it so, is that people have become conscious of their health and are seeing doctors at the slightest suggestion of any symptoms. A mosaic of
merriment
Delhi, a mosaic of different cultures, is truly reflected in Chandni Chowk these days. Kinari Bazaar is resplendent in different colours of Janmashtmi with lights, bright colours and buntings adorning the market. If Hindus are preparing to celebrate the birthday of Lord Krishna; Muslims, who live here in large numbers, are observing the holy month of Ramzan, which would conclude with Eid, their biggest festival. Many shops are selling different wares of Janmashtami, ranging from Krishna's idols to jhulas, jewellery and handicrafts, and then are many others hawking a variety of food items for Iftar, the meal Muslims take in the evening to break their fast. Besides, families have begun doing shopping which would peak in the coming days as Eid approaches. So you know where to go if you want to enjoy different spirits of Indian festivals. SAI's extension centre in Jamia
Jamia Millia Islamia, which boasts of an extensive sports infrastructure, has got another feather in its cap. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) has adopted the university as an extension centre and will use it as a special training centre. Simi Malhotra of the varsity said schools and colleges, which promote sports among their students and have adequate infrastructure, could also benefit from the SAI's scheme. The varsity last week hosted trials for hockey, athletics and volleyball for players in the 14-19 age group. (Contributed by Syed Ali Ahmed, Himani Chandel, Ananya Panda, Rashi Agarwal, Charu Singh) |
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District court opens in Saket
New Delhi, August 28 Justice Kapadia said with the commissioning of a district court at Saket new facilities had been ushered in for the benefit of litigants, advocates and visitors. It would facilitate documentation of records and maintenance of legal issues in a better way. He also appreciated the city government for its efforts in this direction. He described the judiciary and the courts as knowledge organisations. He said, “We are fortunate that the rule of the law prevails in our country. It is the need of the hour to make the condition of lower courts better. The new court at Saket has been developed as the best lower court in the country”, Justice Kapadia said. Dikshit said the Delhi government was conscious of its responsibility for providing easy access to justice at low cost. “The government has taken the initiative of bringing law and justice in the day-to-day lives of citizens,” she said.
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Bofors Case: Court orders fresh proceedings on CBI’s plea
New Delhi, August 28 Chief metropolitan magistrate Kaveri Baweja decided to hear the argument afresh as the court had received the trial court record two days ago. The court has on eight occasions reserved its order and deferred the pronouncement of verdict on the CBI's plea saying, "Since the documents pertaining to this case are with the Supreme Court, the city court cannot pass any order." The court has fixed the next date of hearing the arguments on September 9. On October 3 last year, the probe agency had moved an application before the city court to quash all charges against Quattrocchi, saying that the case could not be kept pending after its failure on two occasions to get the 71-year-old Italian businessman extradited from Malaysia and Argentina to face trial in India. Earlier, CBI's counsel additional solicitor general P.P. Malhotra had said, "The continued prosecution of Quattrocchi is unjustified in the light of factors, including failed attempts to extradite him." But senior advocate Ajay Agarwal had challenged the CBI's move to withdraw the case, saying it was trying to close the "politically-sensitive" case despite having "sufficient evidence" against Quattrochi. Rejecting the charge, CBI counsels had submitted that publicity and politics had no role to play in such matters and also questioned the lawyer's locus standi. On this, Agarwal had countered their plea saying that the Supreme Court had already accepted his locus in the case as it had accepted the appeal filed by him against the Delhi High Court verdict. In November 2008, the agency had asked the Interpol to take Quattrocchi's name off the Red Corner notice. Quattrocchi is the sole surviving accused in the case after the Delhi High Court quashed the charges against the other accused on May 31, 2005. He has never appeared before any court in the country.
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Civil disobedience against governance collapse
Gurgaon, August 28 "Due to utter lack of the basic civic amenities and services in Gurgaon, we have decided to rename it as 'Minimum City' instead of 'Millennium City' to underline our point," said the protesters while talking to newspersons after submitting their charter of demands to the local administration here today. "The city's infrastructure has crumbled to such an extent that it cannot bear even an hour of rains. While the government seems adamant on using the provisions of JNNURM for imposing property tax, all other provisions of the same programme related to the devolutions under 74th Constitutional Amendment Act and forming of mohalla samitis and participatory planning are completely ignored," said Sameer Kochhar, who heads a think-tank on urban development issues. SP Dawar, general secretary of the Sushant Lok Residents Welfare Association (RWA), maintained that the handiwork of the builder-bureaucrat lobby was behind the collapse of the system in Gurgaon. The representatives of the protesting RWAs, including Gurgaon Citizens Council (GCC) president RS Rathee and Federation OF RWAs (FORWA) chairman Dharam Sagar said their main demands were decongestion of Sushant Lok, DLF City, South City and other residential colonies and commercial complexes by removal of illegal parking lots, solution to the severe water-logging and sanitation problem by the HUDA authorities, regular power supply and provision of other basic infrastructure. "It has been decided to boycott the payment of all municipal and property taxes and maintenance charges to builders if the situation does not improve within three months. We have also kept "ghoos paatras" (bribe boxes) at different points for the time-being," said Rathee. Gursharan Dhanjal, an expert on infrastructure and development, pointed out that with Gurgaon losing its edge, residential as well as commercial units have already started relocating to better avenues in the NCR like Greater Noida.
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In-laws’ beatings make woman partially blind
New Delhi, August 28 The incident took place on Friday when the victim, Geeta, who hails from Haryana, failed to bring from her parents Rs one lakh as demanded by her in-laws. When Geeta failed to do so, she was allegedly beaten up. She lost partial vision in one eye after her husband attacked her with a
sharp-edged weapon. Her in-laws then snatched the baby and threw her out of the house. The victim was taken to hospital by the neighbours who saw her lying in pain, asking for help. She was admitted to a hospital in Bahadurgarh, but was later transferred to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, police officials said. Geeta’s mother has alleged that her in-laws had earlier too attempted to kill her. “Geeta got married two years ago. Just four months after the marriage, her in-laws started demanding money and beating her,” said Geeta’s mother. According to Geeta’s family, her in-laws had even tried to hang her once, but she was saved after they paid Rs 20,000 to them. The police has registered a case of disrupting peace and said that the dowry case will be registered at the women’s cell. |
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Robbers’ gang smashed
New Delhi, August 28 With their arrest, the police claimed to have solved several cases of motor vehicle thefts and highway bus robberies. The accused were apprehended on August 27 from Sector-16, Rohini. They assembled here to highjack a bus and rob the commuters. One of their accomplices managed to escape, said the police. |
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3 held for extortion bid
New Delhi, August 28 They were arrested after a businessman Ajay Gupta filed a complaint. In his complaint, he stated that on August 26, three youths came to his factory situated in Ashok Vihar and demanded money from him at knifepoint. They asked the complainant to arrange the money which they would collect later, the police said. Investigations revealed that the accused were moving around the factory. A police team immediately reached the area and apprehended the accused. On sustained interrogation, the trio admitted to have committed the offence. The police has also recovered a knife from their possession. All the accused have been involved in criminal cases. |
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Man tries to burn first wife
Greater Noida, August 28 "Investigations have revealed that Kavita was married to Manoj 12 years ago and the couple has three children. But three months ago, Manoj married another woman Anju and started living with her in another house," said Singh. "Last month, the panchayat decided to give half of Manoj's property to Kavita. One of the two houses he owned was given to Kavita," said Singh. "But last afternoon, Manoj came to Kavita's house and asked her to vacate it as he and Anju wanted to live there. When Kavita refused, he tried to set her ablaze. Had the villagers not saved her, Kavita would have died. According to our investigation, Anju was pressurising Manoj to kill Kavita," said Singh. |
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Jail chief gets notice
New Delhi, August 28 Taking a serious view against the Uttar Pradesh jail authorities for not producing the gangster, presently lodged in Bareilly jail, additional sessions judge Shalinder Kaur asked the jail superintendent to submit an explanation till September 13. The court's decision came after Srivastava was produced before the court today in the afternoon even though the matter was scheduled for hearing at 10 am. Meanwhile, the court also issued bailable warrants of Rs 5,000 each against prosecution witnesses-- Delhi police sub-inspector Anil Kumar and inspector Ashok Singh-- on their failure to appear before it to record their statements despite notices. Srivastava was extradited from Singapore in 1995. He is accused of threatening businessman Sheetal Prasad Singh for paying Rs 25 lakh. Singh had lodged an FIR against him and others with the Delhi police's special cell in 2003. Srivastava and his three accomplices-- Fazlu-ur Rehman, Pradeep Khurana and Jitender Singh-are facing trial in the case. Khurana and Singh are out on bail while Rehman is lodged at Tihar Jail.
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Amid the dark clouds of missing deadlines and mounting media criticism, Delhi government officials have found something to cheer about.
Inauguration of a one-way traffic on Ring Road bypass has instilled hope in them that the Commonwealth Games projects would be completed on time.
