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At 3.3°, it’s hard to swallow chill pill
Held for medical admission racket
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DU student, brother thrashed for honking horns
Cylinder fire: Woman battling for life
Water treatment plant opens at Okhla
Delhi Metro completes nine years
Cabbies riding the gravy train
Transit fee levied on forest produce
Software to check govt employees’ properties
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At 3.3°, it’s hard to swallow chill pill
New Delhi, December 24 The day began with a shivery start forcing Delhiites to stay indoors. Those who ventured outside had to make sure that they were covered well in woollens to brave the chilling winds. "This is the first time that the minimum temperature settled below four degree Celsius this year. Today's minimum of 3.3 degree Celsius was five degrees below the normal for this time of the season," said a senior Indian Meteorological Department official. The maximum temperature today was recorded at 20 degree Celsius, two degrees below normal at this time of the season. For the coming week, the weather department has predicted the chill to get more intense. A further fall in the minimum temperature may be seen at Christmas tomorrow. The maximum temperature could also drop to the lowest around 19 degree Celsius," the official added. The coldest day of the season so far was December 16 when the minimum dropped to 4.7 degree Celsius and the maximum to 21.7 degree Celsius. Air traffic hit
Several flight schedules remained disrupted due to heavy fog at the destinations. From 1 am last night till 2 pm this afternoon, a total of seven flights were cancelled due to operational problems. Twenty flights witnessed a delayed departure due to bad weather at their destinations. Low Visibility Procedures (LVP) had to be implemented around 5 in the morning for almost two hours. Fifteen flights were operated under CAT - I. Trains late
As the minimum temperature hit an all-time low this season in the Capital today, dense fog over several parts of northern India affected rail traffic badly. Both the departure and the arrival of numerous trains got affected. "Thirty trains since the first day of this month have already been cancelled due to the foggy weather conditions. The Mahananda Express, Farakka Express, Jalianwalabagh Express and Jansadharan Express are running late by over 20 hours. The worst affected trains included Bhubaneswar Rajdhani that was running late by 15 hours. The train has now been rescheduled to leave at 7 am tomorrow," said a Northern Railway spokesperson. Passengers can check the latest status of their train at the railway enquiry number 139 or visit the Railways website or New Delhi fog helpline no. 011-23747110. |
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Held for medical admission racket
New Delhi, December 24 The arrested individual and a kingpin, who is still at large, deceived people by showing them recommendation letters of the ministry of health, which had forged signatures of Ghulam Nabi Azad, the union health minister. The south district police arrested Ranjan Kumar (27) on a complaint lodged at the Hauz Khas police station. According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Chhaya Sharma, the complainant, Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Bhatinda, Punjab, had read an advertisement in The Tribune. In the advertisement was regarding admissions in the MDS course at AIIMS, the phone numbers of Ranjan Kumar and the kingpin, Manjay Kumar, alias Satish Chandra, were also given in it. Paramjeet contacted the accused, who promised to arrange admissions for his daughter in the MDS course at AIIMS through the ministry quota. The accused asked him to arrange Rs 25 lakh for the admission process. Paramjeet paid them Rs 24.5 lakh on different occasions. Ranjan and Manjay showed him a letter of the Ministry of Health which recommended his daughter's admission. The accused also asked him to bring his daughter for counseling on December 20 at AIIMS. They further demanded Rs 5 lakh. Paramjeet, after verifying the claims of the accused, learnt that there would be no counseling for his daughter and he was cheated of his money. He accordingly reported the matter to the police. The police started its investigation and was able to nab Ranjan, who stays at Pushp Vihar. During the interrogation, Ranjan said Manjay had given the advertisements regarding admissions in medical colleges to leading newspapers. "Ranjan said that after receiving phone calls from people regarding admission in the medical colleges, they would fix meetings with them. The accused would boast of having contacts with ministers. They would also show recommendation letters for admissions in the MDS course. For admissions they would ask the victims to arrange Rs 25 to Rs 30 lakh. In the present case, the accused gave the complainant a fake sponsorship letter of the Ministry of Health. In the letter they forged Gulam Nabi Azad's letter head, said the DCP. Ranjan said he scanned the letters of the Health Ministry and forged the signatures of Gulam Nabi Azad for creating fake sponsorship letters. The police seized Ranjan's laptop which was used in the crime. Ranjan is a BTech graduate who used his expertise in "information technology" to create forged letter heads of the Union Health Minister. He also worked as a contractor in the railways sector. Manjay is a native of Samastipur in Bihar. After completing his graduation, he worked for various companies in Gurgaon and Delhi. The two accused together registered a firm in the name of Chetak Engineering Private Limited. |
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Xmas celebrators wine and dine
New Delhi, December 24 Numerous parties were hosted by the city's leading clubs where the city youth turned up in large numbers regardless of the cold. Amongst some of the most happening parties were the Christmas Bash at Club Sirroco, Jinyxx at Intercontinental Hotel, Nehru Place, and the V spot. "We had been getting an amazing response for the Christmas Eve party at Jinyxx. We have a White Christmas theme at the club so the décor has been done accordingly. For all those who miss out on the party today can join the post-Christmas celebrations at Club Mojos in Gurgaon on Monday. We have a "Spinning Santa" theme planned at Mojos with the in-house DJ Pratish playing. We are looking forward to a brilliant crowd tonight," said Rohit Tomer, club manager, Mojos. As the Christmas spirit cast its spell on people everywhere, churches in Delhi had their own special plans to mark Jesus Christ's birthday. With the Christmas trees in place and last-minute carol rehearsals under way, city churches have made sure that Delhi has a Merry Christmas indeed. Built in 1836, the oldest cathedral in the city, the St James church at Kashmere Gate held a traditional service at 11.30 pm. St James had organised a lunch for the underprivileged and a visit to a few old-age homes during the day today. "We will also hold a carol service on the 29th at 5 pm," said presbyter-incharge, Rev. Mohit Hitter. The Christmas service will begin tomorrow at 9 am. St Stephen's church in Fatehpuri organized a procession at 10 pm, followed by the Holy Communion at 10.30 pm. The church has scheduled a Eucharist celebration at 9.30 am tomorrow. Later, a huge fair at the Chruch's grounds will welcome one and all. Not just the city churches, even shopping malls, restaurants, major markets and clubs and five-star hotels wore the Christmas look with special decorations. "When I was a child, we used to sell real pine trees from the Himalayas and fruit cakes," said Shareel Goyal, the third-generation owner of Kriti Creations, a magnificent gift shop that has been brimming with human-sized Santa Claus statues and reindeer neck ties in Khan Market. "After India opened up to foreign imports in the early 1990s, Christmas started booming. We now have everything from Christmas trees and nativity straw to every kind of ornament you can imagine. And the sales have been rising day by day," he added.
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DU student, brother thrashed for honking horns
New Delhi, December 24 The motorcycle-borne victims said that they were attacked because they honked horns at the youths who were blocking their way. The victims, Javender Singh and his brother Jainender Singh are residents of East Gokulpuri. Javender is pursuing a bachelor's degree from PGDAV College. Javender said that the four youths, Dinesh, Anuj, Kapil and Vimal, had attacked them with baseball bats at Block D, Gokulpuri, around 1 pm. The police said that Javender was driving his motor-cycle, while Jainender was the pillion-rider when the incident happened. The victims first received verbal taunts and then attacked. Dinesh slapped Javender and spurred the others to attack them. Vimal and Anuj thereafter brought two baseball bats from their shops, while Dinesh and Kapil caught hold of the victims. The two brothers were being thrashed when a passerby informed the police. When the police arrived, the assailants fled the spot. Javender and Jainender were rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. The police said that they are out of danger. A case under Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and Section ?341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) of the IPC has been registered at the Jyoti Nagar police station. The police is searching for the accused.
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Cylinder fire: Woman battling for life
New Delhi, December 24 The fire spread across her house and reached her sister Govindama's neighbouring residence in Zamrudpur, Greater Kailash-I. In fact, the leakage started from the cylinder placed at Govindama's house. It sparked the fire that severely burnt four people, including Govindama's two children, who were asleep. The cylinder was not switched off last night, according to the police. "The incident occurred about 6.30 am today. The regulator in the cylinder which was placed at Govindama's residence was not switched off last night. Kolanji woke up this morning and turned her stove on to boil water for tea. The door next to the stove was ajar and the gas from the neighbouring house had leaked inside her house. The burning stove ignited the gas and sparked the fire," said a police official. The four victims, Kolanji (32), Govindam (30) and her two children, Ajay (5) and Pushpa (8) were rushed to the Safdarjung Hospital. "Ajay and Pushpa have small burns. Govindama has 50 per cent injuries, while Kolanji has 85 per cent burns. Doctors claim that Kolanji is battling for her life," added the official. Govindama's husband, Ramalingam, a car driver, was saved from the fire as he had gone to the bathroom. "About 6.30 am, I went to the bathroom, which is situated outside my house. I heard Kolanji screaming for help. When I came out, I saw that she was engulfed in flames. I doused her with water and noticed that her husband, Selvuraj, was also burnt. After the fire in their house was extinguished, I looked back and saw that my residence which is in front of theirs had also been engulfed in flames. I rushed inside and pulled my wife and children outside. I stopped an autorickshaw and took them to the Safdarjung Hospital. Luckily, the gas cylinder did not burst," Ramalingam said.
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Water treatment plant opens at Okhla
New Delhi, December 24 The estimated cost of the project is Rs 149.50 crore. YAP-II, which covers the entire Delhi along with Haryana and UP, is being implemented to improve the quality of the water along the critical polluted stretches of the Yamuna. Delhi has been identified as the top priority city because of the magnitude of pollution in the 22-km Delhi stretch and down stream. The proposed approach comprises capturing of waste water by strengthening the capacity of key elements-the sewers and pumping stations of the sewerage system of Delhi. An additional element is to strengthen and rehabilitate existing treatment plants and create new treatment capacities. The scope of work at the new plant includes electric power generation from the biogas produced from the sludge digestion by providing gas-based power engines. About 60 per cent of the power required for running the plant shall be met from the power generated through the gas engines.
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Delhi Metro completes nine years
New Delhi, December 24 With a current network of 200 km, the Delhi Metro ferries up to 14 lakh passengers on a daily basis. The year 2011 has been particularly significant since the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) also achieved its highest ridership by carrying more than 20 lakh passengers on August 12. "2011 was a year of transition for the DMRC as the organisation moved towards the start of work of Phase III after the successful completion of Phase II. This year, the DMRC added another 34.52 km of the Metro lines to its network taking the total length of the Delhi Metro system up to 200 km," said a spokesperson for the DMRC. Major highlights
The year started with the extension of the Central Secretariat-Sarita Vihar corridor up to Badarpur on January 14. The opening of this 5-km-long stretch took the Metro to Badarpur at the southern most end of the city, benefiting Faridabad residents immensely. On February 23, the Airport Express Link was also opened to public. With the opening of this 23.7-km-long corridor, the travel time between the IGI airport and the New Delhi railway station was reduced to 18 mins. The Dhaula Kuan and Delhi Aerocity stations which could not be opened earlier were also opened for the public from August 15. The air passengers can now obtain boarding passes of some select airlines from the New Delhi and Shivaji Stadium stations. Another major achievement of the DMRC during this year was the extension of the Metro services up to Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. On July 14, the services were extended from Anand Vihar ISBT to Vaishali in Ghaziabad, covering a distance of 2.5 km. The 3.32-km-long Kirti Nagar-Ashok Park Main link was opened on August 2, which formally completed all the corridors planned under Phase II. This small but vital link has connected line five (Inderlok-Mundka) with line three (Dwarka Sector 21-NOIDA City Center) which has added to the convenience of the locals. On April 11, the Delhi government gave its nod for the construction of 103 km of the Metro lines in the city. Presently, the DMRC is engaged in carrying out the preparatory works for beginning the construction of 117 km of the Metro lines across Delhi and Faridabad in Haryana. On the Central Secretariat-Kashmere Gate section, civil work has already commenced at Janpath and Mandi House and all the corridors are expected to be commissioned by 2016. Keeping in mind the commuter convenience, the DMRC also converted about 100 trains into six-coach from four-coach trains to control the problem of overcrowding. The rolling stock department has already placed orders for additional coaches to convert six-coach trains into eight-coach ones to handle the rise in passenger traffic in the future. Other measures such as automatic token vending machines, better signage at the stations were also introduced for the convenience of the commuters. |
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Cabbies riding the gravy train
"Safety comes first. We have already booked ourselves a service for New Year's Eve. Our customers agree that the price hike is bearable rather than driving drunk in this cold. We make sure our guests have a cab booking, if not, we engage one of our cabs for them," said a club manager at Urban Pind, Greater Kailash. San Marino Day celebrated
The problem of unemployment was discussed at a function held to celebrate San Marino Day in Delhi today. It was organised by Anal Jit Singh, chairman of Max Group and honorary counsel general of the Republic of San Marino. Leading diplomats of British High Commission, many other countries and ambassador of Holland were at the function. It was also attended by Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit, noted economist Abid Hussein and Delhi Minority Commission member Pushpinder Singh. San Marino is the oldest republic of the world. Low unemployment rate in the country is an example for other countries. Changes in
MPD-2021
With just a few months to go in for the municipal elections, the ruling BJP in the MCD is out to gain political mileage. As the Union urban development ministry announced that it would make changes in the MPD-2021 according to the changing needs of the city, the MCD has asked its councillors to suggest amendments in the plan. The corporation called a special meeting to take suggestions from the councillors that would be forwarded to the ministry. Most of them then advised against meddling in the current situation. However, the Leader of the House had recently said that the review of MPD-2021 by the Central government is nothing but eyewash. (Contributed by Jyoti Rai, Syed Ali Ahmed, Himani
Chandel) |
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Transit fee levied on forest produce
Noida, December 24 "Earlier, we were not collecting the transit fee due to a stay order issued by a court in response to several petitions. But the court gave its judgement last month. It cancelled a notification issued in October that hiked the transit fee from Rs 38 per tone to Rs 75 per tone. But the court has allowed to levy the transit fee on forest produce at the old rate," district forest range officer Ashok Kumar said today. "In view of the court order, the state government has sent us the revenue collection target. For December, the target is Rs 11.57 lakh from transit fee and Rs 20,000 from challans," said Kumar. "The break-up target for Dadri and Sikandrabad ranges is Rs 5.50 lakh each. For the NTPC range, the target has been set at Rs 20,000. Even the Okhla Birds Sanctuary has been given a target of Rs 37,000 for December," said Kumar. Clarifying dealers' confusion about what all constitute forest produce, Kumar said, "All minerals from mines and quarries such as clinker, fly ash, calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide, quick lime, hydrated lime, hard coke, gypsum, rejected coke, ash burn coke and soil are forest produce." "Clinker is used as raw material in the manufacture of cement. The district has three cement plants. We have sent notices to them. Sponge iron, stones or soil brought as raw materials from other states will attract transit fee," said Kumar.
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Software to check govt employees’ properties
Noida, December 24 The software will get operational from the New Year. This will help in detecting the investment through corrupt practices into real estate. "Though, in the present software, by selecting the profession head, documents registered in that head would be saved in a group and could be seen at a click of button. However, as desired suitable modifications have been done in the software," said Pawan Mangal, district information official at National Informatics Centre (NIC). This followed after the auditor-general had asked for details of properties of the government employees in Gautam Budhh Nagar, Ghaziabad and Lucknow. The details were sought from the period 2006 and onward. Presently in the software there is no segregation provision. "We have started scanning the properties registered in the names of the government employees since 2006. All the three sub-registrars are preparing the list from the old records," said an employee at the registration office. For the future use the department had requested the NIC to upgrade the existing PRERNA software by including segregation system to save copy of the registered properties of the employees in separate folder so that it could be available at the click of a button. "We will also upload the data list since 2006 which is expected to be prepared in next one week," said an official. According to the rule, the government employees, including officials, have to inform and take permission from the department to buy a property. He has to provide details of money from which he would buy it. The department head inquire whether it is disproportionate to his source of income and after satisfying him he gives permission. But the government employees do not follow these rules. Under the Stamps and Registration Rules (150), the department has to inform the department head of the government employee who registered some property. Here some laxity was seen. As per the data being prepared properties of around 1,600 government employees are detected so far. "As Gautam Budhh Nagar, Ghaziabad and Lucknow are on fast development mode, the government officials were expected to invest their money acquired to corrupt practices in buying properties at these places either in his own name or spouse and relatives' names," said Nawab Singh Nagar, former UP minister and BJP leader.
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New Delhi, December 24
With Christmas and New Year's Eve arriving, cab drivers in the city are missing no chance to cash in on the opportunities. With the city hosting numerous parties over the last week of this year, most party hoppers prefer to take a cab rather than drive themselves. Hence, many cab services have already hiked their night charges, almost 20 to 30 per cent.
