New Delhi, September 13
On the third anniversary of the September 13, 2008 serial blasts that ripped through Delhi, the security at malls and markets was strengthened in the national Capital today to prevent a similar disaster.

The security was tightened following two emails that were sent from West Bengal, allegedly by the Indian Mujahideen. The emails apparently read that malls would be the next target after the Delhi High Court blast.

Sudhir Kumar, senior manager of the TDI mall at Rajouri Garden, said that malls are safer than government buildings.

"If a mall does not have a fire safety and public address system, it is not possible to get a licence for the complex. The public address system comprises mock drills which we have been conducting every second day since the bomb blast. After the incident, there have been regular meetings with the police. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, West District, has also written a letter to the owners and managers of all the malls. The letter carried basic security guidelines that the managers of the malls are to follow," he said.

Kumar said that there are four to five beat constables regularly patrolling the TDI mall.

A Delhi police armed guard is also positioned at the two entrances of the TDI mall.

Kumar added that a bomb disposal squad with sniffer dogs has been patrolling around the mall regularly.

Besides the police, there were 33 security guards from Main Guard India, a private company, patrolling the premises.

The mall also has 35 CCTV cameras with two of them positioned at both the entrances.

Some visitors to the TDI mall feared another bomb blast, but felt somewhat relieved now.

"Today there is more security than any other day. We are scared, but there is nothing we can do about it," said Sahil Saluja, a regular visitor at the mall.

Om Prakash, assistant manager of Paragon, said the mall authorities have put in extra efforts to ensure the safety of visitors.

"We have 23 security guards and 23 CCTV cameras at our mall. The beat constable also comes regularly. Some nearby residents who park their vehicles at our mall are on a monthly contract. We regularly check the proof of their residence, driver's licence and the RC of the car," said Prakash.

There was also heavy police patrolling in markets located at Lajpat Nagar, Greater Kailash- I and Janpath.

"All the entrances at Lajpat Nagar main market were barricaded. There were also doorframe metal detectors at the entrances. The LED screen near the police picket at the market was flashing police helpline numbers," said Priyanka Chaturvedi, a south Delhi resident.

New Delhi, September 13
Three years have passed, but the families who lost their dear ones in the 2008's bomb blast at Karol Bagh's Gaffar Market continue to live with the scars. Life for them has not moved on and the gory memories still haunt them.

While September 13 reminds Son Bhati, who lost three family members, of the horror and the trauma that followed, she hopes that sanity dawns on the people--the terrorists responsible for the tragedy.

She lost her husband Harchandra (55), son Ashok (30), daughter Saroj (22) and now lives with her only daughter Yoshada (18) at the same lane in Bedonpura.

"Sleeping has never been peaceful and a constant fear of losing somebody else troubles her. I lost three people and can't take anymore. Every year on this day, the fears come alive," said Son with a shaky voice, trying to stop her tears from rolling down.

After a pause, she added, "Memories have been painful and will go only with this life. My granddaughter Simran stays with her mother Kamlesh at her nani's place at Raghuveer Nagar. She is studying there."

She along with many others offered prayers and lighted candles in memory of the deceased and with it the chilling pain was back on their faces. Son's sister Krishna was also bereaved after her husband and two young daughters (Santosh and Pooja) succumbed to their injuries after the blast at lane 42.

At Gaffar Market which was bustling with people and business, most of these families were spotted with numb and indifferent faces.

Among other families, Basanti's family, whose two-year-old grandson Krishna died, is also living at the same place and has in a way accepted life as it is. Krishna's mother Meera (25), blessed with another baby two months after the tragedy, said, "My child died and then I had another child."

Her mother-in-law added, "We felt the trauma for a year and now we have accepted the hard reality."

Most of these families, including that of Raju (25) and Ramlal (55), both dead, want to leave the lane and ask the government to offer them some alternative place. They claim that the major part of the compensation has finished in the last three years.

New Delhi, September 13
With the festive season knocking at the door, the traders at one of the most famous commercial places in the national Capital, Connaught Place, are apprehensive about the slow pace of redevelopment undergoing in the area.

The redevelopment of the place that was stalled during the Commonwealth Games 2010, has resumed at a very slow pace. The traders who have already suffered 20 to 30 per cent losses due to the delay are now having nightmares ahead of the festive season which is the most profitable time for them in the whole year.

The construction in the place was started by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) as part of its 'Return to Heritage Project' about two years ago and has continued ever since. The ongoing project will take time till December 2012 to be finally completed.

"Business is almost nil since the work has started and now when the festivals are round the corner, there is still no space to sit, walk or even park outside," complained KK Kapur, owner of Kapurbhai Jewellers in the middle circle.

His showroom faces heaps of mud and several onlookers avoid the somewhat treacherous path to his shop, filled with rainwater.

"It seems to be a never-ending project," said another shop owner.

Though the New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) holds internal meetings regularly to discuss the development in the area, it also holds meetings with NDMC to check the status of things. While 70 to 80 members who run businesses in the area are invited to these meetings, several miss out.

"We know the problem of people but since this is a large-scale project, it takes time to be finished in a phased and proper manner. Special techniques are being used to carry out the work which causes problems to the visitors," said a senior NDMC officer.

Several book shops are worst affected by the ongoing construction work. With nowhere to stand while browsing the books, except an nstable wooden plank, book lovers have ignored them.

New Delhi Trader Association president Atul Bhargava acknowledges the loss to business in the area, but is hopeful.

"We held a meeting with the Chief Minister last month and with her involvement, we hope that the things will move fast. Our priority is to minimise the losses and finish the job."

The renovation in inner and outer circles is nearly complete, the middle circle still remains chaotic and mismanaged, added Bhargava.

New Delhi, September 13
Starting tomorrow, Delhi Airport Metro Express will begin its feeder bus service on the corridor. The service will be available at Shivaji Stadium only.

Reliance Infrastructure, the concessionaire of the line, has said that the services will be introduced at other Airport Metro stations in the near future.

Lalit Jalan, CEO Reliance Infrastructure, said, "We regularly listen to the demand of our commuters through our in-house survey 'Voice of Consumer'. Based on the feedback of commuters travelling on Airport Metro, and after studying locations of various offices in Connaught Place, we identified the feeder bus route that will provide seamless connectivity to commuters going to Connaught Place."

He added, "We are also planning to provide feeder bus connectivity at other Airport Metro stations. Talks are already on with DMRC and DTC for providing the service connectivity."

Keeping the commuters' convenience in mind, the bus service with a capacity to carry 50 people will start from Shivaji Stadium and connect various strategic locations around Connaught Place. The distance of five kms around Connaught Place will be covered in 40 minutes and help thousands of office commuters who use Airport Metro every day.

The route will start from Shivaji Stadium and cover Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, YMCA, Jantar Mantar, SBI, Tolstoy Marg, KG Marg crossing, Hans Plaza, Barkhamba Road and the Hotel Lalit flyover before coming back to the starting point, i.e. Shivaji Stadium.

Elaborating the service details, Anil P. Gupta, president, Reliance Infrastructure, said, "The feeder bus service will help both the office goers and airport-bound passengers. More and more office goers can now utilize the benefit of safer, faster and reliable mode of transport. Airport-bound passengers who want to check in early can use the opportunity to check out the shopping hubs of Conaught place."

He added, "The feeder buses will be available between 8 and 10 in the morning and between 17 and 20 in the evening. Three buses will be in the service to match the train frequency of 15 minutes. Both the bus timing and number of buses in the service can be increased depending on the demand."

Initially, the service will be operational for 6 days and will not be available on Sunday.

New Delhi, September 13
Though the people of Delhi are suffering from shortage of basic amenities like power, water, roads, sewer, drainage, the Comptroller Auditor-General (CAG) of India has in its report pointed out that the Delhi government did not spent Rs 3,000 crore received for development works. Now this money will stand refunded to the Union government, said the BJP.

The CAG has said that Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her Cabinet wanted that the fund received for the development should be spent on big projects so that there might be improvement in the vote bank, said BJP chief of Delhi unit Vijender Gupta.

Gupta decided that a delegation of the party will meet the Lieutenant Governor (LG) to demand a high-level inquiry into the issue. The ministers and officers, who have obstructed the development of Delhi, should be punished so that there may not be any negligence in utilising the public money in future, he said.

The CAG has also raised a question on the efficiency of the government in tax collection and said that due to lack of coordination between various departments and shortcomings, the government exchequer sustained a loss of Rs 3,000 crore.

The CAG has examined about 2,696 cases and found that revenue of Rs 3,140 crore was lost by the Delhi government in these cases.

The government does not believe in working. It believes in making announcements. When elections approach, the government announces development works in unauthorised colonies and JJ clusters, but forgets everything once the lections are over, alleged Gupta.

New Delhi, September 13
The South West District police arrested a youth, Puneet Arora (20), who had stolen jewellery worth Rs 2 lakh. With his arrest, the police has also solved four cases of snatching, a case of dacoity besides a case of theft.

On September 11, the police was informed that Puneet was operating at Dwarka and he would be arriving at the spot during night.

The police laid a trap near Pratibha School, Dwarka. About 10 pm, the police apprehended him.

During the interrogation, Puneet revealed that he and his accomplices were operating their gang in north Delhi.

Puneet disclosed that he and his accomplices had stolen 300 grams of gold, two gold earrings, two gold pendants and cash worth Rs 24,000 from a jeweler at gunpoint.

"After snatching, they used to divide the booty and spent the same on expensive apparel, pubs, discos and prostitutes," said Anil Kumar Ojha, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South West District.

New Delhi, September 13
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) today told the Delhi High Court that it needed one and a half years more to hand over possession of residential plots in Rohini to 25,000 applicants who opted for the scheme three decades ago.

DDA vice-chairman GS Patnaik filed an affidavit before the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna that the entire process up to the stage of handing over the possession to the applicants will be completed within a period of about one and a half years.

The affidavit said as the scheme was 30-year old the applicants were required to update the records prior to the holding of a draw.

"The final possession can be handed over to the successful applicants making the entire payment within 210 days of the receipt for demand-cum-allotment letter," the DDA said.

The court earlier slammed the DDA and said: "Is it fair on your part? These people are waiting since 1981 for their residential plot."

The DDA affidavit said all residential pockets to clear the backlog of Rohini Residential Scheme had been identified in sectors 28, 29, 30, 34, 35, 36 and 37.

"The layout plan of these pockets for various categories of residential plots are duly approved by the screening committee for plots numbering 21, 328," it said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by applicant Rahul Gupta. Nearly 25,000 people applied for middle-income, low-income and janata (poor) category plots of the scheme in 1981.

Gupta told the court that the DDA had done nothing despite court orders dated October 21, 2009, and December 16, 2009, for speedy allotment and was "repeatedly misleading the court".

"There is something seriously wrong. Where is your infrastructure? What happened to your repeated commitments?" Justice Khanna asked the DDA earlier. — IANS