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Cabinet okays corporatisation of cluster bus service
‘84 riots victims relive their pain
MCD HQ not yet ready
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Building green global society stressed
Parents to intensify stir on fee hike
Files, computer parts stolen from bank
Computer graduate held for human trafficking
Brothers arrested for woman’s murder
3 killed as bus ploughs into shelter
HC backs govt on phasing out Bluelines
Dengue abates, chikungunya rises
Metro airport line to start soon
Light fog in Delhi
Man robbed of Rs 2 lakh
Tibetans protest
against China
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Cabinet okays corporatisation of cluster bus service
New Delhi, November 1 Speaking to the media after the meeting today, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that in order to replace Blueline buses, it had been decided to award work to clusters 2, 3, 4 and 5. This will help add 682 more buses. In November 2009, the cabinet had decided to award work to cluster one for deployment of 232 buses under the scheme. Meanwhile, bidding process for cluster one, comprising 32 routes, has been completed. The bidder will induct 232 buses in a phased manner up to April 11, 2011. It has been decided that the floor level of the buses should be at a maximum height of 900 mm from the ground level. The government will also offer financial support to cluster 2, 3, 4 and 5. It has been decided to modify the ratio of DTC and private buses. The ratio would be 40 and 60 respectively. The new scheme for operation of private buses through corporate entities will replace the existing Blueline buses run by individual private operators. The corporatisation will help bring discipline in private operators, the Chief Minister said. Homes for
mentally retarded
The cabinet has also decided to ensure better management of two new homes for mentally retarded persons at Dwarka and Bindapur. The homes were made functional after the Asha Kiran complex was found to be much congested with intake capacity of 738 inmates against 350. The government decided to hand over the management of these two homes to NGOs - FCS Foundation for Dwarka Home and GRS Security Services for Bindapur. The cabinet has approved draft agreement for management, operation and maintenance of the homes. The Chief Minister said that Rs 6,016 per person per month has been proposed for Dwarka home with capacity of 100 inmates whereas Rs 5,509 per person per month has been proposed for Bindapur home having 120 inmates. The NGOs will not be allowed to make commercial use of the building. Specific penalty for deficiency in service has been provided in the agreement. The NGOs will give monthly report to the government. The homes offer facilities like accommodation, food, clothing, medical care, recreation, vocational training and security to mentally retarded persons. |
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‘84 riots victims relive their pain
New Delhi, November 1 Holding placards carrying the message, 'We want justice', several Sikh families sat at Jantar Mantar for hours. Apart from those who are fighting court battles for 26 years against rioters, which include senior Congress politicians, many others also turned up, narrating their pathetic stories of the riots. One such victim Satpal Kaur (40) told The Tribune how she along with her three younger sisters became orphans in a few hours. Satpal lost her parents, brother, but somehow escaped from the spot and saved the lives of her sisters. Shockingly, the case never reached the court as the investigating cops turned a deaf ear to her complaints and did little to bring the accused to book, she said. "My only hope is that the big names like Sajjan Kumar who organized the riots would be finally convicted," she recalled her trauma. "We were sitting inside our houses in Nand Nagri in East Delhi when several policemen came shouting and banged our doors. They first poured petrol on our car and set it on fire. When my brother and father went out, they set my brother on fire and killed my father with a sickle. I and my three sisters managed to escape from the back gate and hid ourselves in a small tank for around two days till the Army rescued us," Kaur said. She had shuttled between Bangla Sahib Gurudwara to Nari Niketan before she moved to a flat allotted by the government. A similar story was narrated by 42-year-old Pappi Kaur who lost ten family members while they were having tea. "We were watching television and having tea when thousands of people entered our locality to kill us. Soon all the Sikhs formed a group to save their families. The two groups then started fighting when the police intervened and opened fire in the air. The policemen asked us to go to our houses, saying 'no one will fight…go back to your homes'. Everybody then dispersed and it was only an hour after that incident, the same people along with policemen broke into our house and killed our family members," said Pappi. "I saw my father being set on fire and my brother was brutally killed with a sickle…my beautiful house turned into a pool of blood," Pappi said while crying. She had her residence in Trilokpuri. Her mother who survived with seven children turned insane after the incident. Pappi being the eldest at 15 took care of everybody. |
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MCD HQ not yet ready
New Delhi, November 1 Though the agency has been announcing its transfer to the new building for past three years, the municipal leaders and officers are not sure when exactly they can work from the new address. According to sources, the building is going through finishing work and the interior decoration work is also pending. It is already more than six months since the building was inaugurated in a rush by Home Minister P. Chidambaram during the tenure of Kanwar Sen as mayor of the corporation. The building had reported waterlogging in the basement area during the monsoon, following which an inquiry was ordered to look into the matter. The MCD is also yet to decide upon a suitable party that will take up the maintenance of the Rs 650-crore building. In July, it had floated a request for proposal (RFP) to outsource the task of maintaining its new headquarters. At that time the civic body had claimed all staff would shift to the new centre before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games. The corporation has, however, floated fresh tenders now, inviting parties for the maintenance and housekeeping of the 28-story building, the tallest in the city. The reason for floating a fresh tender, the MCD claims, is that even though a number of private firms had expressed interest last time, the agency realised that there was a technical glitch in the terms and conditions of the RFP drawn up at the time. The MCD has now issued a fresh RFP and has also decided to increase the contract period for maintenance work from one to three years. |
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Building green global society stressed
Greater Noida, November 1 Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of Planning Commission, said, "There has to be a global agreement on the issue of climate change and only cumulative efforts could meet the green objectives. India's plan for climate change is drafting a way forward to reduce carbon emissions." During the session, Prof. Jeffery Sachs, director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, gave an overview of the problems such as food, energy and water security. He said, "Being a monsoon country, India has to accurately assess the risks associated with the climate change and manage the challenges that will crop with progressive urbanization." Earlier speaking at a symposium, Dinesh Trivedi, Union minister of state for health and family welfare, emphasized the need for India to develop all the parameters and not just stark GDP figures. On the closing note, the Prime Minister of Bhutan, Jigme Y Thinley, focused on holistic growth models that could make the societies across the world happy and sustainable. Bhutan has been instrumental in promoting the concept of Gross National Happiness by avoiding the conflicts between nations. |
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Parents to intensify stir on fee hike
Faridabbad, November 1 The parents, who have been agitating all over the state under the aegis of Haryana Abhibhavak Ekta Manch for more than a year, allege "collusion" between the managements of the schools and the government machinery. The wide-ranging suspicion of the parents against the government machinery stems from the continued practices of the schools to raise fees without following the norms. Summing up the mood of disappointment among the parents, Monica Coley whose daughter goes to a private school here, lamented that the schools were continuing to effect steep hike in the fee structure in violation of a July 6, 2009 directive from the office of the commissioner cum director general, Education, Haryana. In 2009-10, the schools effected hike ranging from 30-40 per cent. The parents from Faridabad along with their counterparts from other districts of the state staged demonstration outside the residence of education minister Geeta Bhukal in Jhajjar yesterday and submitted a memorandum to her. According to the general secretary of the Haryana Abhibhavak Ekta Manch, Kailash Sharma, the parents who have already conducted dharnas at all the district headquarters have now decided to agitate outside the residences of the MLAs and state presidents of the political parties from November 10 -30. The Manch along with the office-bearers of the All India Parents' Association will stage demonstrations at Jantar Mantar in the national Capital on December 3. Thereafter, a memorandum would be submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the same day. |
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Files, computer parts stolen from bank
New Delhi, November 1 According to the police, the incident came to light around 6 am when neighbours saw smoke billowing out of a Cooperative Bank branch in Shiv Market of Alipur. They informed the fire department about it. The police suspects robbery to be the motive behind the crime and believes it to be the handiwork of some miscreants who entered the bank premises, after drilling a hole in the roof. "It seems the robbers failed to open the locker where in the cash was kept. The locks are trampled but could not be opened. Unable to get the money, they took some computer parts and set the bank on fire," said a police official, adding that the bank did not have a guard on duty in night. He said that papers and furniture in the bank got damaged in the fire, but the cash was safe. The investigators are also irked over the fact that the bank has not installed any CCTV cameras in its premises thus, making things difficult for them. "We have repeatedly appealed banks in the city to install as many CCTV cameras as possible in their premises. These not only discourage criminals, but helps in investigation," said a senior police official. Asked about the missing files, he said that it was difficult to say why the robbers have taken them, but the bank employees are being quizzed. |
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Man held for duping students of over Rs 2 cr
New Delhi, November 1 Additional commissioner of police (crime) Neeraj Thakur said that nine criminal cases have been lodged against the accused Shashi Shekhar Sharma (35). He was arrested from Safdarjung Enclave on October 27. "In the past two years, he has duped more than 30 students of over Rs 2 crore. He was found wanted in nine criminal cases registered in Delhi, Mumbai and Jaipur," Thakur said, adding that Sharma runs a management institute in Patna. He had started his career by taking coaching classes. He had allegedly given advertisements in newspapers, promising to provide admission to students in management courses in well-known institutes of the country. In one case, Sharma allegedly posed as the assistant director of Management Development Institute in Gurgaon to cheat a Delhi student of Rs 13 lakh in April, this year. "To convince the victim, he produced his visiting card, bearing his name and the name of the institute. Sharma even met the victim outside Bihar Bhawan. He took Rs 13 lakh and bank drafts from the victim against a fake fee receipt. He then provided the victim with a fake admission letter," Thakur said. The police has froze all his bank accounts in which he allegedly deposited the bank drafts and money. "He had deposited the bank drafts and money in his bank accounts, all of which are linked with the crime. His accounts in the Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and Standard Chartered Bank have been frozen," said Thakur, adding that his computer and hard disc have also been seized. Meanwhile, investigation in the case is on. |
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Computer graduate held for human trafficking
New Delhi, November 1 According to O P Mishra, DCP (Airports), the accused has been identified as Adil Vali Mohammed. While returning from Guatemala, he was found in possession of 31 passports apart from his own at Delhi Airport. "The recovery of such a large number of passports was alarming. When questioned, he revealed an organized network of carrier agents, middlemen based at the point of origin and destination. Everybody has been assigned different roles and paid a handsome amount by the kingpin of the racket," Mishra said. According to the officer, it came to light that the seized passports belonged to 31 passengers, 29 of whom belong to Gujarat and their journey was organized by local agents Jayesh Desai and Manish Patel of Ahmedabad. These agents got their journey arranged with the help others, Kamal and Billa of Delhi, Tajudin and Zakir of Mumbai. "These passengers were taken to Guatemala on different dates where one Ronnie organized their entry into the US through jungles or borders of Mexico or Canada. Guatemala was used as a safe transit route. The journey of a passenger was arranged for Rs 20-30 lakh," Mishra revealed. Mohammed, a computer graduate, has also worked as a salesman in Dubai for some time. Further investigation is on. |
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Brothers arrested for woman’s murder
Greater Noida, November 1 Under the cover of running a transport company, the killers had been engaged in loot and other criminal activities for a long time. The accused have been identified as Deepak, his brother Akash and Vinay Sharma--all from Dankore. It may be recalled that on October 5, the criminals snatched the gold chain of Asha Pandey and killed her in Alfa-2 Greater Noida. A report was lodged against unknown chain snatchers by the family members and residents of the sector who had jammed the traffic at Pari Chowk in Greater Noida the next morning. Later, the residents of Greater Noida attended the funeral and demanded the arrest of killers. Inspector P.P. Singh of Kasna Kotwali said Deepak and Vinay Sharma are accused in the murder case. When they tried to snatch Asha Pandey's chain, she put up resistance. They said they had not planned her murder, but shot her because of the fear that they might be caught. |
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3 killed as bus ploughs into shelter
Ghaziabad, November 1 "Three persons were killed on the spot and five of them sustained critical head and fracture injuries. The injured are admitted to a local government hospital, while the bodies of three victims have been sent for autopsy," circle officer Dr Praveen Ranjan Singh said. According to the police, the bus plying on the Meerut-Delhi route was transporting office-goers to their offices in the Capital. Around 9 am, a motorcycle swerved in front of the bus and the driver turned left to avoid collision. As a result, the chartered bus ran over a group of people on the adjoining bus stand, police said.
— IANS |
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HC backs govt on phasing out Bluelines
New Delhi, November 1 The direction was passed on a petition filed by a federation of Blueline buses challenging the Delhi government's October 27 notification, ordering the phasing out of the last 2,400 privately-run buses, responsible for hundreds of deaths on roads. The division bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Valmiki Mehta said that the government had the power to take such a decision. The court asked the government to file its response within four weeks on the plea of Blueline bus operators. Last week, the high court had allowed the Blueline owners to operate in south Delhi, saying that the notification for a complete phase-out of the service from the city by December 14 will not apply to cluster one. Over 1,000 new low-floor buses, which were used to ferry athletes and dignitaries during the just concluded Commonwealth Games, have now joined the Delhi Transport Corporation's (DTC) fleet. The DTC will induct more buses in its fleet in the coming days, as per the notification.
— IANS |
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Dengue abates, chikungunya rises
New Delhi, November 1 As dengue's threat recedes, the concern over another vector-borne disease, chikungunya, has increased manifold with a drastic increase in the number of persons affected by it. The problem for the municipal authorities is double-fold as despite the clear signs of increase in chikungunya numbers, there are no definite figures available as it is considered less dangerous than dengue and most hospitals treat like a routine flu and do not report it to the municipal authorities. The official number for chikungunya victims stands at 33 but it could be in hundreds, VK Monga, chairman, Public and Health Committee, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, said. |
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Metro airport line to start soon
New Delhi, November 1 A technical staff team of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had recently inspected the line and found it fit for operation. Mangu Singh, director (works), DMRC, said, "We have examined all aspects of the service and found it fit. Reliance Infrastructure just needs to acquire fire safety clearance. After this, we will invite the commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS) to inspect and give safety clearance." Last month, the Airport Express line had failed to get safety clearance from the CMRS due to signalling problem and non-conduct of speed trials. It was the first time that a Metro line in the country had failed to get the safety nod on first inspection. It was then the CMRS had insisted the consortium conduct of speed trials as trains on the section will run at a speed of 120 km per hour. To avoid embarrassment, the DMRC has decided to invite the commissioner only if it found the line fit for operation. The DMRC's move came, after the consortium led by Reliance Infrastructure asked it to make proper arrangements before inviting inspection. |
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Light fog in Delhi
New Delhi, November 1 The sky will remain partly cloudy with the possibility of thunder towards the evening, said a Met department official. "The maximum temperature will be around 30 degree Celsius, while the minimum will be around 17 degree Celsius," the official said. "AA gradual fall is expected from the next week," he added.
— IANS |
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Man robbed of Rs 2 lakh
New Delhi, November 1 The police said that the incident took place around 10:30 pm near Amrita Public School in Neb Sarai. "The victim has been identified as Pankaj Gupta, a resident of Raju Park in Khanpur. Gupta was robbed of Rs 2 lakh and a gold chain by two bike-borne assailants, after holding him hostage at knifepoint," said a police official. He added that a case had been registered. The police suspects someone known to the victim to be behind the incident. |
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Tibetans protest
against China
New Delhi, November 1 According to a senior police official, around 50 protestors raised slogans against China in front of Nehru Memorial Library in Teen Murti Bhavan around noon. The protestors were detained and taken to Chanakyapuri police station from where they were released later. |
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