New Delhi, December 9
The Delhi Metro is not happy with the Airport Metro Express corridor and wants its operator, Reliance Infrastructure, to improve speed, frequency and various other aspects of the train within the next three to four months, failing which today it threatened to take over its operations.

The unpleasant experience has led the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to decide against involving private parties in the ambitious modern mode of transport, its chief E Sreedharan said.

Sreedharan said their public private partnership (PPP) experience hadn’t been really pleasant with the airport model. The works were not completed on time, the line was supposed to be ready for the Commonwealth Games, but it got delayed by five months. Even after opening, they had not been able to increase the speed to (the promised speed) 120 kmph, he said.

He pointed out several deficiencies like the train speed still being maintained at 105 kmph, the proposed frequency of 10 minutes not being implemented and check-in time for fliers who use the corridor which had to be corrected.

“We would wait three to four months. Otherwise, we have to give them final notice. If they don’t improve, we will have to think of even terminating the arrangements. We can takeover and there is a provision for it in the agreement,” he said.

Sreedharan said he had met Anil P Gupta, president of Reliance Infra, four days back and drew his attention to the areas that needed improvement.

The DMRC chief also said he had constituted a committee on the issue which would submit a report within the next 15 days on the corrective measures that needed to be taken.

“The noise level inside the trains is very high and the concessionaire will have to do a lot of things to improve it. There should be double windows in the trains. They have only single windows. We have expertise in this field. So the committee will come out with measures,” he said.

Sreedharan said the operator had filed an application for increasing the speed to 120 kmph and the test was likely to be done by the end of this month. The Delhi Metro was a “little soft” with Reliance Infra because the ridership was low and the operator was making “a lot of loses”.

Reliance Infrastructure spokesperson was not available for comment on the matter.

New Delhi, December 9
Directions of the Delhi government to capital schools to reserve 25 per cent seats for children belonging to the economically weaker sections (EWS) during nursery admissions in the coming academic year has come as a relief to many families and has a mixed response from schools as well.

However, most schools said they still hadn’t received any written communication on the EWS guidelines.

With the complete nursery admission guidelines all set to be declared next week, the city schools are now gearing up for the enrolment process as well. Forms for the nursery admissions would be issued between January 2 and 16. The entire admission procedure will be completed by March 31.

“The schools will now be answerable to the government. Each school will have to submit its admission list and the number of vacant seats to the government by March 31 regarding the enrolment of poor children. There are many privately run schools in the city that miss no chance to earn an extra buck on a vacant seat.

With the government now becoming strict, it will be seen that all these 25 per cent seats go to the rightly deserving candidates,” said the principal of one of the Central Schools in Delhi.

“Under the new guidelines for EWS, parents will no longer have to run around and get harassed to secure nursery admission for their wards.

This time, there will be a single form for admission to all government-recognised schools in Delhi. Earlier, separate admission forms were issued every year by each public school.

“We definitely welcome the move,” the principal added.

“We still haven’t received any written communication from the government. We are hopeful that the guidelines may arrive along with other guidelines next week,” said Manju, headmistress of Modern School.

“The fact that all public schools are under the obligation of putting aside 25 per cent of their seats for the weaker section and impart them compulsory elementary education free of cost has come as a boon for families like us. One faces direct offers of money for a seat at many schools in the city. Most families do not have that kind of money. It becomes a burden, especially for poor families. The move is bound to relive some tensions for us,” said Malti Bhargava, one of the parents at KV, Vikaspuri Sector 33, who visited the school for more details.

New Delhi, December 8
Mayor Rajni Abbi today strongly objected to the decision of the Delhi government to take over 499 roads of more than 60-ft width from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The decision was taken by the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, in a Cabinet meeting called by her at a private hospital where she was admitted following health problem.

Prof Abbi said the government wanted to make the MCD out of use by taking over all its services one-by-one. “The strange thing is that what was the urgency for taking over the roads that made the Chief Minister to call the Cabinet meeting at the hospital itself where she was recuperating from the illness. She could have waited till she recover from the illness and take a decision thereafter in the office,” she said.

Calling the Cabinet meeting at the hospital as politically motivated, Prof Abbi said it implied that she wanted to make the MCD a defunct body. “The decision was taken especially on a day when the MCD commissioner had to present the budget proposals in the standing committee so that the media attention could be avoided,” she said.

Prof Abbi alleged that Dikshit’s intension to trifurcate the MCD was not for the sake of providing better basic services to the citizens but for political aspirations. “It is very much clear now from the budget proposals presented by the MCD commissioner that Delhiites will have to bear the brunt of heavy taxes just to make the local bodies run and make them self-dependent,” she said.

The commissioner is just working on the agenda of the Chief Minister and thus presented such proposals.

New Delhi, December 9
The Delhi government has decided to take up the issue of the National Thermal Power Corporation's dues towards discoms (private power distribution companies) in the cabinet meeting on Monday, sources said.

This decision has been taken following criticism by the opposition that the government is trying to bail out discoms from the financial crisis.

The NTPC had threatened the discoms (BSES) last week that if its dues were not paid, it would suspend the power supply to Delhi. If it happens, 70 per cent areas of the Capital will be affected.

The sources said that the government had planned to sanction finance to the power distribution companies last week to save Delhi from power crisis. But today it has taken a U-turn after the BJP and other opposition parties flayed it for helping the discoms. Now Delhi power minister as well as the Chief Minister is opposing the idea of financing the power companies.

The government is weighing various options to deal with the situation arising out of the inability of Reliance Infrastructure-backed discom BSES to pay around Rs 3,000 crore of dues to a number of power generation and transmission companies.

Sources said that the power situation was discussed in the last cabinet meeting also that was called at Escorts Hospital. But no decision was taken in that meeting.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) had also asked the city government last week to clarify its position in the matter.

DERC had slapped notices on BSES on November 25, asking why its licences should not be suspended for failing to clear huge dues to the generation companies and the discoms on Wednesday replied to the notices presenting their financial position to the regulator.

However, they assured DERC of making the payment as a loan was being arranged.

The sources said that the government might also consider cancelling the licence of BSES for distribution of power in Delhi as this is not the first complaint against it. Earlier, consumers had various complaints about inflated bills.

New Delhi, December 9
Some photojournalists waiting to cover a demonstration by activists of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) at Vijay Chowk this afternoon were taken in by surprise when the Delhi police at the site allegedly started manhandling them.

Chaos reigned for almost an hour leaving the photojournalists angry and distraught at the behaviour of the Delhi police.

However, the officials were quick to defend themselves, blaming the entire fiasco on a “misunderstanding.”

The incident finally landed at assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Headquarters, BS Dahiya in trouble after the additional commissioner of police, New Delhi district, KC Diwedi, asked him to apologise to the mediapersons in front of the cameras.

The ACP is also posted at the New Delhi district.

“Earlier, we were informed by the PETA activists that they would stage a demonstration at Vijay Chowk between 12 noon and 1pm today. They were, however, not given permission for it. And since Parliament was in session, the security was beefed up at Vijay Chowk and the surrounding areas. Some photographers were present at the same location and we thought that they worked with PETA. We asked them to leave the place immediately, but they refused to do so. Thereafter, there were heated arguments between the photographers and the police. They were pushed inside a mini-bus to take them to a police station for detention. The photographers then revealed their identity, saying that they are photojournalists. We then settled the matter and released them,” said a police official.

There were five photojournalists who were being taken to the police station for detention. Among them was a photographer working for this newspaper, who said the five of them told the police that they were mediapersons before being shoved inside the mini-bus.

“We were standing near Vijay Chowk taking pictures of the fog, when some police officials approached us and asked us to exit the place. The officer in charge was ACP Dahiya. He first abused us and then directed the police to take us to the police station for detention. We were shoved into the mini-bus, while making futile attempts to get out. Some other mediapersons, whom we had contacted, surrounded the vehicle which was heading towards the traffic light at Rajpath. After the bus halted, we ran out,” said the photographer.

After a row between mediapersons and the police, the matter was settled.

Even after repeated attempts, the ACP could not be contacted on the issue.

New Delhi, December 9
A Delhi police constable and his two women associates have been arrested by the crime branch of the Delhi police after he had allegedly extorted money from a property dealer in the Shakarpur area of east Delhi.

Surender, the constable, allegedly extorted Rs 93,000 from a property dealer for sexually harassing two women, job seekers, who had actually conspired with the accused.

The women have also been arrested.

Sources said Surender was a constable posted at the Delhi police first battalion. He contacted the property dealer, Firey Singh, on his landline number and tried to coerce him into giving Rs 1 lakh more, after already extorting Rs 93,000.

Following this incident, Firey registered an FIR with the Delhi police crime branch. Firey said two women, Radhika and Nisha, had contacted him on November 11 to seek employment in his real estate company. Firey told them to meet him at his Shakarpur office at 6 pm on the same day. The girls arrived there and were discussing their qualifications with him.

After a while, Surender approached them and questioned Firey for talking to the girls. He alleged that Firey was sexually harassing the women. Surender threatened to give the video footage recorded in the CCTV cameras installed in the office to a news channel to defame Firey.

The accused then asked for Rs 1 lakh from him. An unnerved Firey paid Rs 93,000 to settle the matter.

However, his predicament continued as Surender started contacting him again on his landline number, pestering him to give Rs 1 lakh more.

The accused threatened to defame him if he did not pay the amount.

Firey, instead, informed the police and lodged a complaint against the constable. The police investigated the matter, which led to the arrests of Surender and the two women who had conspired with him.

Firey said, “As a safety measure, I had installed CCTV cameras in my office. But, Surender used the cameras for his advantage and extorted money from me.” 

New Delhi, December 9
A high-profile cheat, Deepak Chauhan, resident of Bijnore UP, has been arrested by the Delhi police. He used to dupe unemployed people by giving them assurances about jobs in Indian Railways. Deepak is a graduate and also pursuing chartered accountancy.

He approached unemployed youth tempting them with government jobs. He would ask for a commission in return. Through his gang, he would set the deal. This gang came to light after the complaint of Vinit Kumar and three of his friends who were given fake appointment letters for the job of TC in Indian Railways. When they went to join the Zonal Railway Training Centre in Alipurduar, Jalpaigudi and West Bengal simultaneously, they were apprehended by the police there for producing fake appointment letters. Later, they were released on bail.

Vinit and his friends then registered an FIR against Deepak Chauhan and his accomplices. The accused Deepak Chauhan and
others had received a sum of Rs 12 lakh from Vinit and three of his friends and gave them fake appointment letters.

Investigation revealed that Chauhan frequently changed his accommodation and mobile phone numbers. He led a lavish lifestyle in posh NCR colonies.

Finally, he was apprehended from the Mangolpuri area near Sanjay Gandhi Hospital. At the time of arrest, he was travelling in an Endeavour bearing Haryana registration number.

The accused revealed that he is a graduate and also pursuing chartered accountancy. He came in contact with people connected to liaison work and soon dropped studies. He started his own liaison work to dupe the needy. He with his associates organized a gang. Their modus operandi was to introduce themselves as chairmen of certain boards/committees. In this process, they also cheated Vinit and three other boys. They also took the boys to Kolkatta and Jalpaigudi and supplied them fake appointment letters.

When they came to know that the duped boys were arrested by police, they all went underground. To avoid identification, he kept changing his accommodation and did not keep any link with his family and other associates. He also kept on changing mobile numbers obtained on fake IDs.

Chauhan was also running a security agency with an office in a prestigious complex in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad (UP). At the time of arrest he was residing in a duplex flat in Vaishali, Gaziabad. He never disclosed his address to any of his accomplices.

New Delhi, December 9
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in a major drive against unauthorised constructions today demolished illegal portions in 21 properties falling in the jurisdiction of Sadar Paharganj, south Delhi, Rohini and Civil Lines zones.

The building department of the MCD carried out the demolition action with the help of the local police.

The civic agency demolished illegal portions of the properties in Shashtri Nagar, Qutub Road, Nabi Karim, Marwari Basti, near Valmiki Mandir, Vishwakarma Colony, Rohini, Ambedkar Nagar, Saraswati Vihar, Kamla Nagar, Civil Lines and Burari.

The senior MCD officials said they had sent notices to the owners of these properties earlier this month with the vacation notices recently.

“These properties are part of the survey that we have been carrying out in the area,” said a senior MCD official.

The officials said more properties would be sealed. “Despite sending prior vacation notices, people didn’t let us carry out the sealing drive. Many property owners

are approaching the Appellant Tribunal of the MCD to get a stay order against sealing,” said the official.

New Delhi, December 9
A man held guilty of harassing his wife for dowry has been sentenced to two years in jail, with a Delhi court saying that it cannot accept his plea seeking leniency for the sake of his children when he himself had ill treated their mother, who had died in mysterious circumstances.

Shahdara resident Ajay Rawat, whose wife had died after a fall from the roof of her matrimonial house following a fight with him, had pleaded for mercy, saying he had two minor children to take care of. He, however, had been acquitted of the charge of pushing her off the roof to her death.

"In offence punishable under Section 498-A (husband or relatives subjecting woman to cruelty) of the IPC, there will always be the children of convict and the court cannot lose the sight of the fact that they were also the children of the mother who was ill treated," said Additional Sessions Judge Gurdeep Singh, dismissing his mercy plea and sentencing Rawat on the charge of harassing his wife.

Rawat had sought leniency on the ground that he had two minor children — a 10-year-old son and a 13-year-old daughter — who needed him in the absence of their mother.

The court convicted Rawat, noting that he used to demand money from his wife.

The court, however, acquitted him and his 76-year-old mother of the charges of destroying evidence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

According to the prosecution, Rawat married the victim in 1996 and he, along with his mother, used to harass, taunt and beat her.

The police told the court that on May 13, 2005, the woman died after falling from the terrace of the house. — PTI

Noida, December 9
Noida residents and industrialists have demanded the reintroduction of Special Police Officer (SPO) system to check the rising crime in the city.

“Industrialists of Noida under the banner of Noida Entrepreneur Association have demanded the reintroduction of Special Police Officer (SPO) system and arms licences,” said Vipin Malhan, president, NEA.

The representatives of Noida Residents Welfare Association have also demanded the SPO system. Till a decade ago, the system had been in force.

District Magistrate Hridesh Kumar and Senior Superintendent of Police Jyoti Narayan have assured the residents of redressal of their grievances.

The representative of Greater Noida Evergreen Federation of Residents Welfare Association, Vikram Kasana raised the problem of long power cuts and lack of traffic police force in the city.

“In winter too, residents are experiencing power cuts for eight hours a day. The officials of Noida Power Company Limited could not explain the reasons,” said Kasana.

Another resident AK Tiwari said, “We were promised 24-hour uninterrupted power supply, but it has not happened. The authorities should arrange the supply in advance before the gap between the demand and supply widens to unmanageable proportions.”

One more representative of Noida Residents Welfare Association, NP Singh raised the problem of illegal running of auto rickshaws in the city. “On one permit, around a dozen autos are running in the city carrying just photocopies of the original permit issued for only one auto,” said Singh.

Pradhans from Noida and Greater Noida villages complained about lack of public transport, traffic congestion and rising crime. A temple at T crossing was reportedly causing traffic jams.

The SSP said, “Though the city requires around 500 additional constables, about 200 of them will be posted soon. I appeal to the residents to cooperate with the police. With public cooperation, crime can be checked effectively.”

New Delhi, December 9
An imported dog from Australia transported by an international airline has been caught in a procedural tangle and left stranded at the Indira Gandhi International airport (IGIA) here for over a month.

The canine of greyhound breed is awaiting a mandatory “no objection certificate (NoC)” from the Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) under the department of animal husbandry dairying and fisheries of the ministry of agriculture for its release.

According to an official at Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the dog was brought from Australia by Malaysia airlines to be handed over to a person here.

The official, who requested anonymity, said that a letter has been sent to the airlines for bringing the animal without the NoC and violating norms.

However, he did not give the details of the sender from Australia and the receiver in India.

Efforts to reach Malaysian airlines proved futile. When contacted, Dheeraj Wadhwa, terminal manager for the airlines at Delhi Airport, also did not give any comment.

The DIAL authorities did not respond to a email query.

According to officials, the dog was sent to India on November 1 and since then it has been kept in a cage.

As per norms, a NoC has to be taken by the person from AQCS prior to the animal’s import, besides veterinary certificate and vaccination record of the pet has to be produced on arrival. — PTI