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Rain lashes city
IMA opposes rural health course
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8 bookies held for betting on cricket match
Illegal colony RWAs decide to not pay development fee
3 burglars arrested
Guard, maid rob employer
Cong gears up for post-budget rally
Maya pulls up ‘slack’ officials
Metro to reach Vaishali, Ghaziabad by June
Gang of CNG kit thieves unearthed
Youth held for bid to rape minor
Emergency van for crowded areas
Chatterati
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Rain lashes city
New Delhi, February 20 Post the showers, the evening turned chilly again after relatively warmer weather for the past few days. "The city received a total of 8.6 mm rainfall in 24 hours till 5.30 pm. The maximum temperature today recorded at 26.4° C, while the minimum settled at 10.3° C," said an IMD official. Several areas of the Capital were hit by rain that started around 3.20 pm and continued till late in the evening leading to waterlogging in various stretches. Some parts of the city also experienced hailstorm. Traffic was not affected much as it was a Sunday and vehicular movement was less on the roads. A road near Aurobindo Marg in south Delhi caved in after rain and vehicular movement became slow on the busy intersection. There was a huge waterlogging under Minto Bridge and two-wheelers were not allowed to ply there. Sun has been shining very brightly for the past few days in the Capital and the lowest temperature was recorded at 10° C yesterday. The weatherman has predicted a dry day tomorrow with no rain forecast for tomorrow. There will be rainfall and squalls during the night, but it will be over by the morning. The sky will remain partly cloudy on Monday. Shallow mist is also expected in the morning," the IMD official said. The maximum and the minimum temperatures have been forecast to be around 23° and 10° C for Monday. An MCD official said nine complaints of waterlogging were reported from Malviya Nagar in south zone, Meera Bagh underpass in west zone and Minto Bridge in city zone. |
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IMA opposes rural health course
New Delhi, February 20 The IMA has managed to garner the support of the young brigade, with nearly 950 representatives from across the country coming forward to express their views during a national convention of medical students and young doctors held today in the Capital. While gathering consensus on several issues, such as the post-MBBS exit-test, along with the introduction of rural medicine course, an All-India Young Doctors' Association - a forum for newly formed medicos, including MBBS students, junior residents and senior residents, was formed under the banner of the IMA. With the representation from countrywide medical students and doctors, the IMA's youth wing would observe a black badge day the next month and a one-hour token protest in the subsequent month if their demands were not met. While the IMA is trying all it could to mobilise young doctors in its fight against the rural medical course, supposed to be run by the state governments, could become official anytime, with several states keenly waiting for it. Dr Ranjitroy Choudhary, member of the board of governors of the Medical Council of India (MCI), told The Tribune, "The BRHC can start anytime and many states have already showed their interest. Some of them, like Assam, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, are running it." Besides, the MCI is also working out the modalities of proposed exit-test for the MBBS. In this direction, Dr Choudhary stressed, "It is an elective test that an MBBS pass-out can opt for if he or she desires and it would especially be helpful for those with degrees from less-known colleges, thus avoid discrimination." However, the IMA considers both BRHC and exit-test as retrograde. "Why should the students be subjected to such an exam after passing-out from approved institutes? Any qualification less than MBBS would actually bring down the quality of treatment. Especially, when they are ready to serve in the rural parts provided they are given adequate infrastructure and incentive in the form of salary hike," said IMA president Dr Vinay Aggarwal. The forum would also take up other matters and grievances that bug the section concerned and in this regard would approach the ministry in the next few days, informed IMA's joint secretary Dr Narendra Saini. In view of protests becoming a routine feature in the government hospitals, among various demands, ensuring proper security and standard working conditions to the serving doctors have surfaced in addition to the dissatisfaction against the imposing of ESMA. In this regard, with very few states, having any provision in the form of the Act for Violence Against Hospitals and Medical Professionals, the youth forum has called in for adequate protection to avoid untoward happenings. "Only when there is a genuine reason, strikes take place. Very few strikes have happened for money and majority has been due to violation of rules and protocols and the inability of the administration to implement them. Very, often doctors are manhandled and such an act should be passed and properly implemented by all states," said Dr Saini. "Last year, due to obvious reasons protests have taken place on and off which affected the healthcare. The doctors work with inadequate infrastructure and conditions are really bad in the dispensaries," said a resident doctor of centrally-managed Safdarjung Hospital. |
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8 bookies held for betting on cricket match
New Delhi, February 20 The arrests have led to the nabbing of three cricket betting syndicates operational during yesterday's World Cup match between India and Bangladesh. According to the police, the bookies were dealing in bets to the tune of around Rs 3 crore for the match. Speaking about the arrests, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Chand said, "Yesterday, we received information that betting was taking place at a hotel in Karol Bagh, a flat in Rohini and a house in Pitampura. We raided the places and apprehended eight bookies." Four laptops, four TV sets, 30 mobile phones and tree data cards have also been seized from their possession. Four bookies - Gaurav Sharma (32), Shanku Arora (29), Goldy Verma (28) and Pankaj Saluja (33) - were held from two rooms of a hotel at Karol Bagh in central Delhi. "They had received bets to the tune of Rs 1.15 crore," Chand said. While two arrests were made in Rohini - Devener Rana (32) and Tarun Bhatia (24) - who had received bets to the tune of Rs 53 lakh, another two persons - Anil Kumar Gupta (43) and Navin Kumar Gupta (41) were also arrested as they had received bets for Rs 1.10 crore. Investigations yielded that Rana, Arora, Verma and Saluja are property dealers, while Navin is a pharmacist. Most of the eight arrested men have been in the business for several years and Anil was arrested in 2005 for a similar offence. During interrogation, the accused said betting rates originated from outside India. "The modus operandi of the betting is that the rate of the odds between the two cricket playing teams originates from outside India. On the basis of that, the bets are taken during the match," said Chand. The police found that after the match, the profit and loses were calculated by specifically generated software known as "Back 'N' Lay PRO" and the rates kept fluctuating with the fall of wickets and the runs scored. These bookies were watching the cricket match on TV yesterday and were using the laptop to enter the data. They used their mobile phones to get the rates of the odds on the match and for taking bets from the clients. "The recording facility on the mobile phone is used for keeping records of the bets placed by the punters. One set of mobile phones is specifically used for receiving the rates of betting which fluctuates ball by ball. They also received the rates on internet for which they used the data cards. The data for betting was also maintained manually on the notebooks as a backup," Chand added. |
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Illegal colony RWAs decide to not pay development fee
New Delhi, February 20 The Delhi government, at a cabinet meeting a few weeks back, had approved a proposal for imposing development charge for the regularisation of unauthorised colonies. The BJP in a statement today claimed that residents of unauthorised colonies were not ready to deposit the charges as earlier the government announced that colonies would be regularised without charging any money. Office-bearers of more than 100 resident welfare associations (RWAs), including Harsh Vihar, Ganga Sahaye Colony, Milan Garden, Sushila Garden, Rajiv Nagar, Mandoli Extension, Harijan Basti, Meet Nagar, Shiv Vihar, Jyoti Nagar, Jeevanpur Colony, Gokulpuri, Pratap Nagar and Ambedkar colony attended the meeting. Delhi BJP president Vijendra Gupta said when the government was recovering fee at the rate of Rs 500 per square metre in the name of power, water, sewer, sanctioning of map etc. then what was the justification of recovering extra development fee. |
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3 burglars arrested
New Delhi, February 20 Mohammed Muzaffar, 23, Shiraj Ali Sheikh, 21 and Mohammed Qateel, 30, were arrested on Friday from Shastri Park and Seelampur. With their arrest, around 35 fresh cases of burglaries and house theft reported in various localities of south, south-east and east Delhi have been solved, H G S Dhaliwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South District said. Stolen goods worth Rs 10 lakh, including Rs 5 lakh in cash, gold and silver jewellery, LCDs, colour TVs, digital cameras, DVD players, imported perfume, designer sunglasses and other household items have been recovered from the three accused. Also, documents of properties purchased by them in Bihar's Arariya district have been recovered. The gang had allegedly struck at the house of one Sohan Lal, a senior officer of Education Department in Delhi Government and resident of Lado Sarai on February 10. They also allegedly struck the house of a councillor in Lado Sarai and decamped with laptops and cash. The kingpin, Irshad, hails from Arariya in Bihar. |
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Guard, maid rob employer
Ghaziabad, February 20 The incident occurred in the posh Chiranjiv Vihar area. The guard and the maid, who are husband and wife, were employed seven months back without any police verification. According to the police, Major (Retd) SN Mukherjee (75) was alone at home, as his wife had gone to hospital with her ailing brother. Taking the opportunity, maid Sunita and guard Anil attacked Chatterjee, tied him up and locked him in the bathroom. The same happened to his grandson when he came home from school. The two fled the house when Mukherjee's second daughter reached the house for lunch with her parents, but was not allowed to enter the house by the maid, who said her employee had forbidden anyone not known to come in. "Then I called my mother on phone who told me that my father was inside the house but his mobile was found switched off. I again knocked and shouted loudly for someone to open the gate but received no response. In the meantime, my nephew, who had somehow managed to loosen his bonds, came crawling and somehow managed to open the gate. When I entered, I found the whole house ransacked and wardrobes broken. My father was found lying in the bathroom with his hands tied behind his back and mouth gagged. Sunita and Anil had fled," she said. Mukherjee and his grandson were taken to a local hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit. They both sustained factures. "My father sustained fracture in his ribs while my nephew sustained fracture in his left arm with a sharp cut over his right arm, apart from other injuries all over their bodies," she
added. — IANS |
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Cong gears up for post-budget rally
Faridabad, February 20 The decision for the Congress' rally was said to be taken a couple of days ago. A formal announcement was likely to come soon. The party was said to be in the midst of drawing up the schedule for the rally. Irked by its rival INLD, the Congress has decided to shed off its reserve and go all out against it, especially following the move of its leadership to malign Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The INLD, however, appears to be in a mood to continue with its ongoing campaign against the government in Haryana and the Congress-headed UPA government at the Centre. However, according to many, the Congress' hard stand against the INLD was conspicuous as its leaders are considered to be low key in taking on their political opponents. A Congress insider said the schedule of the proposed rally was yet to be finalised. Presently, the Congress was in the midst of organising assembly and district-level public meetings which were addressed by the Chief Minister. The Congress leaders claimed that the rallies were getting good response from the public. The other parties in the frame, the BJP and the Haryana Janhit Congress (BL), have decided to give momentum to their current campaign against the ruling party and its government. BJP state unit president Krishanpal Gurjaar said here that his party would intensify its campaign as follow up to the NDA's "mahasangram' rally held in Rohtak today. The Congress rank and file appears to be piqued at former Chief Minister and INLD supreme Om Prakash Chautala meeting Governor Jangannath Pahadia, along with his party leaders, a few days ago, allegedly making out a case for prosecution against Hooda in connection with land related issue. The think tank of the Congress has decided to take INLD head on both in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha during its coming Budget Session as well as outside among the masses. Working president of the state Congress Kuldip Sharma said the leadership of the INLD had gone "berserk" and was trying to keep up its chin even though it was embroiled in a criminal case of "income more than known source" which was pursued by the CBI. He said the Congress under the leadership of Hooda had always abided by the ethics of not attacking any opponent of the Congress personally for political gains. However, after the INLD leadership's "populist" move to sling mud on Hooda, the Congress was now determined to expose his deeds when his party was in power. The INLD was still not able to come to terms with the charisma of Hooda which led the Congress to power for the second consecutive time, he added. He said: "The INLD will have to be more innovative in its thinking to halt the Congress juggernaut; otherwise the Congress was heading for the record third consecutive win in the next assembly election in the state under the leadership of Hooda". A spokesperson of the INLD said his party was determined to "gherao" Parliament on March 3 on the issue of corruption and Centre's failure to control price rise. In Haryana the party will continue with its campaign against the Congress government, he added. |
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Maya pulls up ‘slack’ officials
Noida, February 20 Unsatisfied with the pace of disposal of cases, she pulled up the SHO of sector 39 police station, directing the officials to take action against a former SHO over maintenance of a complaint register there. The Chief Minister, however, did not visit the under-construction Ambedkar Park and a multi-specialty hospital at section 30. The Supreme Court recently gave a green signal for construction of the park. Govt offices
function on Sunday for CM
All government offices here remained opened today, despite being a Sunday, in the wake of the visit of Chief Minister Mayawati to the district. District magistrate Hredesh Kumar said all government offices in the district were functioning today due to Chief Minister's scheduled visit to Ghaziabad and Meerut districts to review the implementation of development works in the regions. The offices were open so that any information required by the chief minister could be made available to her and she could inspect the works being carried out in the district, he said. — PTI |
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Metro to reach Vaishali, Ghaziabad by June
New Delhi, February 20 This stretch will be an extension of Line 4 (Yamuna Bank-Anand Vihar ISBT) of the Delhi Metro network. The two Metro stations on this elevated corridor are Kaushambi and Vaishali. With the opening of this stretch, the total length of Line 4 will be 8.74 km. The extension to Ghaziabad will benefit the commuters from areas like Kaushambi and Vaishali. The commuters from Ghaziabad city who now travel to Anand Vihar ISBT to board the Metro will also be benefited. Besides these areas, the Metro corridor will cater to the Sahibabad Industrial area as well as the offices of many private sector majors such as Dabur. Visitors to many shopping malls in the vicinity such as Ansal Plaza and Pacific Mall will also be able to use the Metro services. About 40,000 passengers are expected to use this stretch. Currently, the average ridership of Line 4 is about 90,000. Both the Vaishali and Kaushambi Metro stations will have parking facilities. While the Vaishali Metro stations parking will accommodate about 250 cars, the space at Kaushambi will accommodate about 100 cars. The DMRC is also constructing foot overbridges at the Kaushambi and Vaishali Metro stations which will provide connectivity with the Sahibabad Industrial Area. This will be the second occasion when the Delhi Metro network will enter Uttar Pradesh. Metro services are already operational between Dwarka Sector 21 and Nodia City Centre. |
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Gang of CNG kit thieves unearthed
New Delhi, February 20 Monu was arrested on Friday from Sector 3 in Pushp Vihar, a senior police official said. A switch-operated knife was also seized from his possession. In the past, Monu and his gang usually targetted CNG kits fitted in the vehicles. It was also learnt that the gang of five to six members used to move around the city in a stolen Honda City car. After spotting a vehicle, they used to take the vehicle to an isolated place and take out the CNG kit, CNG cylinder and music system and other items, the police said. They used to operate in the wee hours. The next day they would deal with the notorious receivers of Meerut and Noida and sold a kit in Rs 8,000 each. The area of west and northwest Delhi has been severally affected with the activities of the gang. Deputy Commissioner of Police of south District HGS Dhaliwal said, "During the investigation, Monu confessed that he, along with his other gang members Zaved, Naresh, Mahender and Raj, was involved in as many as 250 incidents of CNG kit thefts in Delhi and NCR region." The accused have earlier been involved in 10 cases and spent many months in jail. Efforts are on to arrest Zaved, Naresh, Mahender and Raj, added Dhaliwal. |
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Youth held for bid to rape minor
Ghaziabad, February 20 A criminal case under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) has been registered against the accused, they said. The youth, who fled the spot after the failed attempt, was nabbed this morning and sent to jail. — PTI |
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Emergency van for crowded areas
New Delhi, February 20 The vehicle is named Emergency Response (ER) One. This is an air-conditioned compact first response vehicle built on tempo traveller with the seating capacity of five persons and equipped with modern gadgets for disaster management. It is a specially designed vehicle for the purpose. It's a small vehicle that can be driven through narrow lanes of the congested city areas unlike the bigger emergency vehicles. It will be able to work as an effective first response unit, said an NDMC fire official. The first disaster management centre of the NDMC will be connected to Delhi police, Delhi fire service, NDMC and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority control rooms through hotline and will be operational round-the-clock. Beside the ER One, the disaster management centre will also have an emergency rescue tender, water tenders and browsers, modern equipment like cutters, spreaders and breathing apparatus, portable boats and other accessories for personnel. The vehicle has been designed by the Grand Lumos Technologies and one vehicle is of Rs 40 lakh. The vehicle has high-power LED lights, plan-tilt flood lights, crowbar, drill machine, fire extinguisher, folding stretchers, first-aid bags, weather-proof zoom cameras etc. |
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Hero Honda tops Garden fest contest
New Delhi, February 20 About 32-odd categories of potted plants of dahlia, hanging baskets, foliage, cactus and succulents, aromatic and medicinal, bonsai of different specifications, bougainvillea, floral animals, tray gardens, cut flowers in earthen vases, vegetables, flower decoration, flower arrangements and roses etc were exhibited in the festival. A magic show and cultural programmes were presented by Punjabi Academy. |
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Chatterati Polo for Delhiites always means a nice sunny afternoon at the polo grounds. Glamour, style and a life of the rich, is what polo lovers and players are associated with. The galloping of the expensive horses with the handsome players are anyway a delightful sight. The rhythm of both can easily give any spectator a high. In the winter season, the polo grounds of Delhi host many national and international matches. The army along with their steeds is always an integral part of this sport. Recently the Amity Polo Cup exhibition match was especially dedicated to the support of the girl child. Every year this event is organized to support "Amitasha" for the well-being of underprivileged girls through the Amity Humanity foundation. Sultanah Zandriah and princess Naseera Iskandar of Johar Malaysia were the chief guests. The surprise of the afternoon here and adding to the glamour quotient were Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh with her golfer husband Jyoti Randhawa. Designer Ritu Kumar is of course a regular at polo matches. On another sunny Sunday recently through a breezy afternoon, Delhi's glamorous lot were seen enjoying the Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve Polo day. Then the elegantly dressed Royalty was at its best. The dapper charming Vikramaditya Singh of Kashmir is a great player and hosts an event every year. Royalty is an integral part of polo. It is said polo originated from Ladakh. Hectic social season
This is a hectic social season at the moment in the Capital. Most politicians plan their dos on week days or when Parliament is on. Then you are sure to have maximum attendance at your party. Major Dalbir Singh of the Congress hosted his annual dinner last week. His circle of friends range from generals of the Army to diplomats. Of course, there is Mrs Gurcharan Singh, the Prime Minister's wife who has never missed this evening in years. The others who are permanent at his dinners are Montek and Isher Ahluwalia. Here you can spot Randhir Singh of Indian Olympics chatting with Satyavrat Chaturvedi of the Congress or Moti Lal Vohra discussing serious matters with Virbhadra Singh, minister of small scale industries. The rain did not dampen anyone's spirits as the gathering got bigger and bigger. M. S. Gill, Anil Sashtri, Vinod Duggal and his elegant wife Madhu made a rare appearance. Dalbir joined the Congress many years back after he took early retirement from the Army. A thorough gentleman, maybe a little misfit in today's politics but he has a huge circle of well-wishers, one could see. A cheerful evening with the right mix of people, drinks and food to call it successful. Music lovers disappointed
Delhi seems jinxed as far as live rock shows go. Bryan Adams was the most recent victim of this jinx last week. Sell-out concerts in Mumbai and Bangalore under his belt, Adams was looking forward to rocking Delhiites with his brand of high voltage music. In the past too touring live acts have often had to skip Delhi performances and organizers insist it's a mixture of untenable demands for free passes, security concerns and a whole host of such excuses that make Delhi's citizen miss out on this entertainment. The police version insists that traffic concerns and the presence of "resettlement colonies" around the venue were to blame. Of course, there is word also that too many tickets, well above capacity, had also been sold. Music lovers of Delhi and those from around the Capital hoping to hear Adams will now have to wait for the promise held out that a show somewhere else in the national capital region may still happen, before Adams leaves India. |
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