New Delhi, October 21
The water management in the city will now be overseen by a regulator to be set up by the Delhi government. Besides, in order to check wastage of water after privatizing the resource, the government will look forward to drafting legislation.

To begin with, the government has planned to privatize water supply to Malviya Nagar, Vasant Vihar and Nangloi as a pilot project. The supply to the rest of the city will be privatized in phases depending on the success of pilot project.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, also the Delhi Jal Board chairperson, said the government was intent on improving the water management system.

While indicating that the government will introduce legislation to curb wastage, Dikshit said there was need to 'make people pay for every drop of water they use'. Following the pattern in Gujarat and Maharashtra, the national Capital will also have partially privatized water supply, mostly in urban areas.

"At the moment, Delhi is facing a difficult and critical situation with regard to water. Existing laws are ambivalent and there is need for a strong legislation," Dikshit said.

"We are currently in the process of setting up a water regulatory body on a par with the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission," she said.

With as much as 70 per cent wasted through leakage in certain areas, she said that the effectiveness of privatization would be diluted if this wasn't done. Strangely, most of the resources, including water in the national Capital, are borrowed from neighbouring states.

According to Delhi chief secretary P.K. Tripathi the pricing of the resource is very critical. "Water must be priced on a par with electricity and it should not be priced according to the whims of the public but by an independent regulatory system," said Tripathi.

The Delhi Jal Board needs to improve infrastructure before privatizing the supply. The introduction of legislation had already taken place with the setting up of three magistrates who were looking into the cases related to water misuse, illegal connections and thefts among other problems.

Greater Noida, October 21
The Allahabad High Court order has made the investors happy as it has cleared the cloud of uncertainty over the Noida Extension projects. However, farmers have given a mixed reaction to the order and some farmers say they will move the Supreme Court.

"We will move the Supreme Court and challenge the order. Our only objection is illegal acquisition using the urgency clause," said Dushyant Nagar, a farmer leader.

Noida Extension Flat Buyers Welfare Association has welcomed the court decision. "It has provided relief to lakhs of investors," said RP Tyagi, association president.

On the other hand, farmers gave mixed reactions. While Patwari farmers distributed sweets and welcomed the order, villagers in Bisrakh and Haibatpur gave mixed reactions. Some were satisfied while others were not.

Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority chief executive officer Rama Raman said, "An additional burden of Rs 4,000 crore will be on the authority due to the court order. However, we accept the order. It is beneficial for all."

Noida chairman Balvinder Kumar said, "The court order is balanced. It has taken care of farmers and other stakeholders. This will help bring the cities back on the path of development."

The court has quashed the land acquisition of three villages Shahberi, Devla and Asdullapur. Two of these villages are in Greater Noida and one in Noida.

Farmers at these villages distributed sweets. The authority claimed that the acquisition process will start afresh as per the new rehabilitation policy.

Builders claimed they will try not to pass the additional burden on the existing allottees. "We will hike the rates for future allotments," said RK Arora of Supertech Builders.

The court has also given similar relief to the farmers of 20 villages in Noida. The hiked compensation will be calculated on the amount of compensation received by them and not on the present rate of land acquisition.

Ghaziabad, October 21
The Ghaziabad Development Authority has decided to build a new link road to connect NH-24 to G.T. Road. The road would start by widening the Hindon river bank from village Kanawani and would go a long way to decongest the traffic in the area.

According to GDA chief engineer R.K. Singh, this road will become 15 mt wide from the present width of 5 mt after making four lanes.

The 5.5-km link road will cost Rs 40 crore. After receiving the green signal from the housing department, the state irrigation department will start the construction.

Chief engineer R.K. Singh said Hindon banks would be widened from the Hindon barrage.

Irrigation department sources said after receiving the government's assent, the road will be built within 8 to 10 months.

GDA will bear the cost for building the road which will further be widened under the Hindon railway bridge.

As per GDA's traffic survey report, about 28 per cent traffic passing from Ghaziabad city is headed for Noida and Greater Noida.

The road will reduce traffic pressure on Mohan Nagar crossing, Kanawani culvert and CI SF Road.

New Delhi, October 21
With the arrest of a 19-year-old boy and his juvenile accomplice, the Delhi police has claimed to have solved the murder case of a 28-year-old woman who was found stabbed to death in her house in Jahangirpuri on the night of October 15.

Umesh allegedly stabbed Abha Gupta to rob the money kept in the house for purchasing a plot.

According to DCP Meenu Chaudhary, Umesh worked at the food cart of Abha's husband, Naresh Gupta. He wanted to take revenge from him for not giving him money for his father's treatment.

Naresh had employed Umesh and the juvenile boy only about 20 days before the incident. On October 13, the two left the job and demanded their salaries for the period.

"Naresh claims that he settled the accounts of both the accused, but Umesh says that Naresh paid him only half of the wage promised to him on the ground that he had left before Divali," said the DCP.

He added that this enraged Umesh, who then hatched a conspiracy to rob Naresh as he was aware that he had kept Rs 3.5 lakh in the house for buying a land.

As per their plan, Umesh and the juvenile boy reached Naresh's house on the fateful day. "The accused demanded the money from Abha, but she raised the alarm, which was followed by a scuffle. During the fight, Umesh slit Abha's throat with a chopper lying in the room. Hearing the commotion, Abha's minor children started crying and the accused left the house in a huff without the money," said Chaudhary.

Umesh, a native of Katiyar district in Bihar, is a school dropout. His elder sister Priya, who lives in Ramgarh village, had got her employed with Naresh. Umesh does not have a good reputation in his native village.

New Delhi, October 21
The Crime Branch, in its crackdown on betting syndicates operating during the India-England One Day Series, has again busted a betting syndicate operating at Keshav Puram. Two bookies have been arrested. A TV set, mobile phones, calculators and notebooks have been recovered from them.

While the cricket match was on, a raid was conducted in a house at Keshav Puram, Delhi. Two persons apprehended were identified as Sunil Sachdeva (29) and Sanjay Luthra (40).

They had received bets from the punters to the tune of Rs 57 lakh.

All the accused were subjected to intensive interrogation. 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. After the match is over, profit and loss is calculated by specifically generated software known as "Back 'N' Lay PRO".

The rates keep fluctuating with the fall of wickets and the runs scored. The TV is used by them to watch the matches. The mobile phones are used to get the rates of the odds on the match.

The recording facility on the mobile phone is used for keeping records of the bets placed by the punters.

Sunil deals in readymade garments at Tank Road. He had been operating as a bookie for the past one year. Sanjay Luthra used to work with a vegetable broker at Azadpur Sabzi Mandi, Delhi.

New Delhi, October 21
Delhi ranks first in curtailing its expenses during Divali and Dhanteras due to inflation. It is followed by Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Chennai, disclosed a survey report conducted in metro and other cities by Assocham.  

The steep rise in inflation has led many middle and lower income families across the country to cut around 35-40 per cent of spending on the festive season to manage their monthly budgets.

The survey was conducted in two months beginning from September to October 2011 in major places like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun, etc.

A little over 200 employees were selected from each city on an average.

The survey disclosed that lower and middle income groups are uncomfortable with the rising level of inflation.

Many lower and middle income groups indicate that they are finding ways to cut back spending now or indicating that they will do so in the future.

Nearly 69 per cent of the respondents said that they avoid shopping altogether or shop only for those things which are absolutely needed.

What’s more, 65 per cent said that they have restricted gift items and sweets this Divali.

Over 87 per cent of the respondents said that monthly grocery bills have jumped to about Rs 4,500 compared to Rs 2,000 in the last several months. The prices of vegetables and bakery products have also risen in the last few months.

Obviously, this has affected Divali celebrations.

A majority of the respondents said that increased prices during the festival are robbing the pockets of the common man. With most of the items expensive, people are cutting down the quantity.

Over 89 per cent of the respondents said, “It’s not just clothes that are costlier; the sweets are also priced higher by 25-30 per cent this year. The price of sugar has increased this festive season. Milk, butter, sugar, dry fruits and flour, everything that goes into making an irresistible sweet has turned dearer. On the other side, dry fruits or sweets are the most expensive item of Divali. So, everybody is feeling the pinch of rising prices”.

The price of gold is a big deterrent. The festive season calls for buying something made of this precious metal, but going by the global rise in gold prices, there is no denying the fact that one needs to find an alternative to gold, added a majority of the respondents.

Greater Noida, October 21
The district administration busted an adulterated sweets racket on Thursday during a surprise check conducted by the SDM on shops in Greater Noida and Dadri.

One quintal of adulterated khoya and other ingredients was confiscated in the exercise. As many as 50 raids have been conducted. Officials said checks would also be conducted in Noida in the coming days.

SDM (Dadri) Gyanendra Singh said, "We had received information about the spurious products after which a raid was conducted in various shops in the Greater Noida and Dadri areas. The team had picked up samples of sweets and their ingredients in the past," Singh said.

A district administration official said the spurious items were being sent to sweets shops in Delhi and other cities ahead of Divali.

"We have put SDMs on duty at all the entry points. Over 50 raids have been carried out and more will be conducted in the coming days," said the official.

New Delhi, October 21
The Delhi Transport Corporation suspended 40 drivers and nine conductors as they were reportedly found guilty of serious lapses during a special drive launched three days ago.

A total number of 166 drivers were caught for dereliction of duties, but action for suspension was taken against 40 drivers only, sources said.

The drive was launched to ensure passengers' safety and identify loopholes in the bus operation, said chairman-cum-managing director of the DTC, Vijay Dev.

Besides, 114 drivers and conductors have also been issued "warning" and told to be careful in future.

The DTC has deployed 1,500 officials, including 150 officers in the drive. A number of teams of the officials and drivers were constituted and they were deployed at different routes. In civil dress, the officers boarded the buses and quietly watched the attitude of the crew.

A total number of 2,300 buses had been checked in the last two days and disciplinary action was initiated against the crew found negligent in their duties, the sources said.

The officials said about 1,100 persons were found travelling without ticket and a sum of Rs 2.2 lakh had been collected from them as fine.

During the drive, a number of persons were found travelling in the buses with fake identity cards of Delhi police, Home Guards, paramilitary forces and fake bus passes.

The sources said that officials on duty took photographs of the passengers found travelling with the fake identity cards and the details were handed over to the police for further action. A total of 353 passengers were found travelling with bus passes whose validity had expired.

The drive will also check adherence to time schedule, violation of traffic rules by drivers, behaviour of the crew, frequency of the buses and cleanliness. The drive is also examining passenger load on various routes and recommend rationalisation of frequency depending on the feedback of the commuters.

New Delhi, October 21
The Delhi police today held a Commemoration Day Parade in remembrance of its 15 police personnel and 619 others who were killed in serving their forces between September 1, 2010 and August 31, 2011.

The parade, held at New Police Lines Ground, Kingsway Camp, saw Delhi police commissioner B K Gupta reading out the state and Central police organizations' list of personnel who were killed or met with unnatural death during the period. While the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) topped the list of casualties with 113, UP lost 112 men while the Border Security Force (BSF) stood third with losing 72 men while serving the country.

K.K. Paul, Member UPSC, retired commissioners of police, Delhi, Subash Tondan, M.B. Kaushal, R.S. Gupta, Ajai Raj Sharma, senior officials of Delhi police and CPOs placed wreaths at the memorial. A two-minute silence was observed in remembrance of martyrs.

The Commemoration Day is observed every year on October 21.

New Delhi, October 21
Mayor Prof. Rajni Abbi today announced a holiday for 'Chhath Puja' on November 1 in all the municipal offices and institutes.

The decision was taken after a delegation of Poorvanchal leaders led by Delhi BJP chief, Vijendra Gupta met the Mayor at her office at Dr S.P.M. Civic Centre and demanded that a holiday be declared for 'Chhath Puja' as the festival is important for Poorvanchalis who celebrate it with great fervour.

The Mayor, while announcing the holiday, said that Chhatt is a major festival for people from Poorvanchal and is also celebrated with much enthusiasm in the national Capital. A decision was, therefore, taken to declare holiday on 'Chhath'.

"The civic agency will also clean Chhath Ghats on the banks of the Yamuna so that worshippers don't have to face any inconvenience," said Abbi.

She said that mobile dispensaries would also be stationed near the ghats during the Puja period to provide free services.

The Mayor said that the MCD will try to provide all the basic services to the worshippers.

The BJP delegation will also meet the Chief Minister on October 24 to demand a public holiday on the occasion of Chhath.