New Delhi, September 20
Delhi Wakf Board, which has drawn flak for not getting CCTVs installed at the Jama Masjid repaired which would could have otherwise provided the footage of the two terrorists, today defended itself and said it was in the process of getting them repaired. The board said it had received a complaint about their malfunctioning only 15 days back.

"The assessment of repairing cost was being taken from a number of companies that had expertise in these technicalities," said the board's chief executive officer, M.A. Ashraf.

"We received the complaint 15 days back and just after that, the repairing process had been started. The incident of firing has meanwhile taken place," he said.

However, the Imam in a statement to the media yesterday said that the cameras had not been functioning for the last six months. When the Wakf Board did not pay heed to his complaint, he got the cameras removed.

A senior official of the board said on condition of anonymity that the department had received the complaint 15 days back. If the cameras were not functional, the police should also have informed the board.

The police was monitoring one of the cameras installed in the police post which had connection from the mosque. All the activities in the mosque were visible in the cameras, the board official added.

A total 16 cameras were installed in the mosque with a cost of Rs 16 lakh following the request of the Delhi police in 2006 when an explosion had taken place near a hauz (small pond) for ablution. One of the cameras was installed in the Imam's office also.

In response to the statement of a Delhi police PRO that cameras should be monitored by the agency that had installed them, the CEO of the board said that it did not have expertise to monitor the cameras. It is the job of the security agencies.

New Delhi, September 20
Crowd was milling around and quite a few foreigners, despite the advisories issued by many countries to their nationals, were taking in the old world charm of the historical mosque.

If there were any signs that the Jama Masjid area had witnessed a terror attack yesterday, they were visible only in the presence of a large number of cops, keeping alert--stopping and questioning many people.

"It was just a shooting incident. The car could have gone off and caused serious damage. Anyway, it was not a big terror incident. Why bother so much," Parvej Alam, a shopkeeper said as he dealt with some customers.

A foreign tourist, who identified herself as Sofia, said the yesterday's incident was obviously scary, but there is so much "vigour and life" in the place that "you tend to put your worries to rest".

"If I am in my hotel room watching all these troubling media reports, I might think twice before stepping out. But once you are out, you are surrounded by endless stream of people who look so much at ease. It makes you feel good," she said.

Many locals said they felt happy that terrorists could not cause much damage. A few youngsters said it showed terrorists were desperate and lacked capability. "I am not scared. We have seen worse things in Delhi, but life was never disrupted. Why should we be sitting at home now," said Suresh Sahni, a DU student, roaming in the locality.

The incident has, however, made the police step up security measures in the area with the cops checking vehicles and verifying details of people at random.

Most of the shops opened on time and the area saw the hustle and bustle of life as the day progressed.

New Delhi, September 20
In the last-minute preparations for the Commonwealth Games, Delhi today got its first-ever tourists’ information café at the Red Fort.

The information cafe is an extension of the government-to-citizens (G2C) kiosks. It aims at giving a brand name to Delhi. These kiosks will provide tourists and visitors with immediate information about the city.

The café was inaugurated by Mayor Prithviraj Sawhney.

The huge touchscreens installed at the café will give information about the Commonwealth Games (CWG), Delhi's tourist attractions, culture, shopping, food, accommodation and night life. Along with the description of these places, people will also get to know how to reach these places using various modes of transport.

The itineraries on the touchscreen will be displayed in eight languages, including foreign ones. Information about NCR, Agra and Jaipur can also be accessed from the touchscreens. These screens will also provide information about ATMs, police stations and hospitals along with important contact numbers. They will be used to flash important news or messages to viewers.

The information can be downloaded using bluetooth on mobile phones and mail IDs.

The civic agency has planned to set up 40 such tourist info-cafes at prime markets of the Capital.

"Delhi has a fair representation of handicrafts, textiles and food from all states of the country but lacks a strong branding of its own. Therefore, some souvenirs have been developed carrying the name-- 'Delhi Memories'.

These limited editions of souvenirs include T-shirts, caps, bags, crockery, chocolates, stationery and key chains. The coffee-table books on Delhi will be available at the café counters," said Sawhney.

Another counter at the café offering beverages and quick bites of jalebies, golgappas and chat has been added to make the concept of café complete. It shall be manned by staff trained and sensitised in public dealing, especially foreign visitors.

"The experience has been unique and satisfying as it has created social cause-generated employment. It is an opportunity to come together for a common cause of branding Delhi and pay tribute to this wonderful city," he said.

New Delhi, September 20
Heavy frisking and barricading across the national Capital, including entry points, continued today in the wake of the attack on two foreigners outside the Jama Masjid in Central Delhi yesterday.

Following the shooting, the police has mounted vigil at heritage sites, railway and Metro stations, airports, markets and deployed heavy police and paramilitary personnel in and around the Commonwealth Games sites. As a result, the police presence was far more visible all around.

"At each venue, we have increased the deployment of security personnel. Besides, we have instructed our officers to be alert at major markets, airports, railway stations and parking lots," said Additional DCP Rajan Bhagat, adding that the parking near high-rise buildings and Games venues has also been prohibited for the time being.

Meanwhile, the elite National Security Guards, formed from the Indian Army's frontline infantry battalions, will take over the Commonwealth Games Village tomorrow. The NSG will be in charge of the security of the village located on the banks of the Yamuna. The stadiums will be locked and totally under the control of security forces. Visiting athletes will be allowed to practise in the stadia from September 23 onwards.

The police has also come out with a list of 470 sites where security has been upgraded and restrictions imposed on parking. "No parking will be allowed within 100 metres of these sites. Also bikers with pillion riders will not be allowed anywhere near these sites. The decisions were taken on the direction of Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna," said a police official.

Some of the heritage sites where these curbs will come into force include the Qutab Minar, Jama Masjid, Purana Qila, Humanyun's Tomb, India Gate, Jantar Mantar, Red Fort, Safdarjung Tomb, Delhi Gate, Kashmere Gate, Turkman Gate, Fatehpuri Masjid and Tughlaqabad Fort. Among the vital installations and iconic buildings where the restrictions have been imposed are Lotus Temple, Akshardham Temple, Kalakji Temple, Jhandewalan Temple, Indian Oil Coporation building, Birla Mandir, Reserve Bank of India, Press Trust of India building, police headquarters, Shastri Bhavan, Delhi University, Palika Sadan, Palika Bazar, New Delhi Municipal Council building, Connaught Place and Safdarjung Airport.

New Delhi, September 20
Delhi irrigation and flood control minister Raj Kumar Chauhan has directed the agencies concerned to be alert and monitor the Yamuna round-the-clock. The direction came after Haryana released 7.5 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathanikund barrage yesterday.

In an emergency meeting today, the minister said it was for the first time in 100 years that water in such amount had been released in the Yamuna. The river's level was 205.58 metre at 8.00 am but it might reach 207 metre by tomorrow evening. Even the Central Water Commission has warned about it.

It is likely that the water might reach low-lying areas in Delhi tomorrow night or day after.

However, Chauhan claimed that there was no flood-like situation . He added that the government had made arrangements at the Yamuna bank and nearby low-lying areas to tackle such a situation.

Chauhan has appealed to people in low-laying areas to vacate the places. The revenue department along with its counterparts in the irrigation and flood control department has been warning residents of low-lying areas to shift to safer locations.

The flood control department has 85,850 empty cement bags; 3,582 cubic metre stone; 5,275 wooden pole; 2,700 iron nets, 11 trucks, 422 life jackets, 45 dragon lights to meet flood challenge.

Chauhan said 100 big and small pumps were installed at different locations to stop water to fall in the Yamuna.

The department officials have also been asked to install pumps in the low-lying areas of Ring Road, Okhla, Majnu ka Tila, Burari, Batla House and Jehangirpuri.

They have also been directed to keep the staff alert about any breach of bund due to the heavy flow of water along the river.

The government had positioned 74 boats on the riverside, and 68 divers and has deployed a team of the National Disaster Relief Force.

New Delhi, September 20
Contrary to the general belief that dengue is more likely to hit slum dwellers due to unhygienic conditions in the slums, a study done by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) says that a good amount of dengue-afflicted people come from the most sophisticated areas of Delhi.

According to an analysis of the data of 1,000 dengue patients, about 40 per cent of them live in posh areas of south, central and New Delhi Municipal Corporation of Delhi (NDMC).

The study revealed that most of those who died due to dengue were below 26 years of age.

The analysis also states that males outdo women in catching the disease. Out of the 1,000 patients who were analysed for the study, 674 were male and 326 female.

The trend could be attributed to the fact that women go out of house comparatively less than men.

Further, the worst hit from the disease are those in the age group of 11-40 years. The age bracket accounts for the largest number of dengue patients, 758. This further indicates that those who spend maximum time outside house are more prone to dengue.

"After a detailed study of dengue patients in Delhi, it has been learnt that the worst-effected are students and working professionals. We have appealed to schools, offices and commercial establishments to take adequate precautions against dengue for the sake of their students and employees," said Dr V.K. Monga, chairman health committee, MCD.

"Those heading any institution should ensure that places with high possibility of mosquito breeding are thoroughly scanned and dried or treated with anti-mosquito chemicals," he said.

New Delhi, September 20
The Delhi University Teachers' Association today gave a call for a three-day strike starting from tomorrow to bring the attention of the public and the Union human resource ministry to the "illegal occupation" of the office of the vice-chancellorship at Delhi University.

DUTA said in a statement that HRD minister Kapil Sibal should not keep his eyes shut on the "irregular and illegal acts of commission" of Deepak Pental during and after his term of office.

Pental has accused DUTA of adopting disruptive tactics. He said that he would be in the office so long as the ministry did not announce the name of his successor.

DUTA said Pental was legally and morally responsible for the sale of three ton gamma irradiator as scrap in open market which resulted in the radioactive leak at the Mayapuri market in Delhi. "Even though he pompously assumed moral responsibility, he is doing his worst to derail any effective independent enquiry into the gory sale which brought international disrepute to DU and the nation," the DUTA statement said.

Following the deadly lapse on the part of DU, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) has withdrawn its permission to DU for using any radioactive material. This has affected hundreds of science research scholars and professors and brought to a halt many postgraduate science courses employing radioactive material.

DUTA said rules guiding the VC's term clearly said that a vice-chancellor, whose term of office has expired, would continue in office not exceedingone year, only after a specific direction from the Visitor.

New Delhi, September 20
With the arrest of two accused, Ruby (19) and Jairam (19), the outer district police has worked out a case in which an old woman was killed by her own daughter along with her boyfriend in the Kanjhawala area.

During the course of investigation, relatives of the deceased and local residents were examined and the motive of murder was tried to be ascertained. The enmity angle was also probed. Surajbhan, brother-in-law of the deceased, said that on the day of the incident, he had seen Ruby, daughter of the deceased along with one Jairam while they were leaving the house around 9.30 am.

On this information, the police focused on Ruby and Jairam and both were examined at length. They broke down and confessed to have committed the murder of Ishwanti Devi, alias Guddi.

During the course of interrogation, Ruby disclosed that after her father had died in a road accident, her mother started living in the house of her maternal uncle in village Chhawla, Delhi. Meanwhile, her mother developed illicit relations with one Balraj of village Barhana, district Jhajjhar, Haryana.

Ruby disclosed that she also came in contact with one Jairam and they became close friends.

Later, they decided to marry, but her mother had objected and started ignoring her.

She further disclosed that she had been fed up with the illicit relations of her mother. Along with Jairam, she then planned to kill the old woman.

Greater Noida, September 20
A two-and-a-half-year-old boy who was kidnapped from Dadri in April has been found at Motihari in Bihar. A childless rickshaw puller had kidnapped and taken him to Bihar. A police team is expected to reach Dadri with the boy, Shivam, by tomorrow morning.

"Shivam's father Om Prakash is a resident of Roopvas village. Shivam had come to Dadri along with his mother for his uncle's marriage. On April 12, while he was playing on road, a bike hit him. The bikers gave some money to a nearby rickshaw puller to take Shivam to a clinic for dressing of wounds. But after getting Shivam treated, the rickshaw puller took him to his house," said Pramod Kumar

Singh, SHO, Dadri police station.

"The rickshaw puller told Shivam that he would take him for sightseeing in Delhi, but instead took him to Bihar," said Singh.

"The location of the boy was traced after the police happened to meet a friend of the rickshaw puller. The police contacted its counterpart in Bihar and Shivam was recovered from Motihari in Bihar," said Singh.

"The rickshaw puller told the police that he kidnapped Shivam because he was childless even after ten years of marriage. However, we are investigating his claim and trying to find out if he was planning to sell the boy," said Singh.