New Delhi, July 11
As many as 19 children, trafficked from UP and Bihar, were rescued today from the leather factories in Central Delhi's Nabi Karim where they were employed in making bags and purses.

Prior to the raids, which led to the sealing of five illegal factories, the target was to free around 150 children, all below 15 years, but the rescue team had to leave the place as many employers started throwing stones on the cars in which the rescue team and children sat, said activists of the NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA).

The team was led by Sub-Divisional Magistrate Mani Bhushan Malhotra and accompanied by the officials of the Delhi police, labour department and BBA activists.

"The joint rescue team was prepared to raid six different locations where child labourers had been identified in the area of Nabi Kareem, but only 19 children could be rescued. Last month, we rescued many children from the area. Ironically, they were engaged in Bachpan, a play school," said BBA activists.

Children, who have been sent to Mukti Ashram, a rehabilitation centre in the Burari area in Outer Delhi, were working for a weekly pay of Rs 30 for working up to 16 hours daily, much below the minimum wage per day.

The youngest child, just seven years old who was trafficked a year ago and sold into the factory by a local agent from his village, said: "I make bags from 7 in the morning till 12 at night."

Another 11-year-old child said, "I was brought to Delhi for sightseeing, but on reaching here, my brother forced me into a job. My employer pays me Rs 10 at times."

New Delhi, July 11
A fire broke out on the first floor of Vikas Sadan, near INA Market, in south Delhi this morning. According to unconfirmed reports, one person has been injured.

The building houses the headquarters of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The fire started from the records room. Several important documents are believed to have been gutted.

The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received the call about the fire at 9.10 am. Initially, three fire tenders were sent, but when the fire could not be brought under control, six more were dispatched.

The fire was finally doused one and a half hours after it began.

DFS officials claim that short-circuit in an air-conditioner may have triggered the fire.

However, the actual cause of the fire will be ascertained only after the DFS and police complete their investigation. 

New Delhi, July 11
Two persons, including a school student, committed suicide in the Capital in the past 24 hours, police said.

In the first incident, a 14-year-old student committed suicide by allegedly hanging himself from a ceiling fan in his house in the Chhawla area. The incident occurred on Tuesday night.

The deceased has been identified as Sahil. He was a class 8 student in a government school and lived with his parents.

Sahil's body was taken to the Rao Tula Ram Marg Hospital for a postmortem.

Investigators did not find a suicide note at the site of the incident. The police is questioning the victim's parents and friends to ascertain the cause of the incident.

In the second incident, a 40-year-old man committed suicide by allegedly hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his second floor rented accommodation in Prashant Vihar.

The victim has been identified as Govind. The incident occurred on Tuesday night. He was taken to the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where doctors pronounced him brought dead.

The police did not find a suicide note. They are questioning Govind's neighbours to ascertain the motive behind his extreme step. 

New Delhi, July 11
Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh today said that four enforcement teams would be constituted under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner (Transport) to keep vigil on the working of all the Regional Transport Authorities (RTAs) and check illegal activities.

The teams would make the system more transparent and quickly dispose of the work related to driving licence, motor registration certificates, etc.

The minister warned that strict action would be taken against those involved in illegal practices in the Regional Transport offices (RTOs). The Enforcement Team would also request the Delhi police to provide the necessary assistance to check such practices.

He said that three motor driving training institutes would be authorized to issue learner's licence. People could get it from the following institutes: Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR), Loni, Institute of Driving and Traffic Research (IDTR), Sarai Kale Khan and Driving Training Institute (DTI), Burari.

The Transport Minister said that help desks would be provided in every RTA. He instructed the officials of transport department to install information kiosks in every MLO office. 

New Delhi, July 11
The Delhi State Committee of the Students' Federation of India has decided to dissolve its unit at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and expel four state committee members for indulging in anti-organizational activities and violating the rules under the constitution of SFI.

Roshan Kishore, P K Anand, Zico Dasgupta and V Lenin Kumar have been expelled from the primary membership of SFI for violating the norms and pursuing an anti-organizational agenda.

The JNU unit had called a General Board Meeting on July 5 and passed a resolution taking a decision on an issue which is outside the purview of a unit committee and grossly violated the constitution of SFI, said Sumeet Tanwar, acting state president.

"The unit committee will have the absolute right to take decisions concerning issues at the institutional level or its defined area of work, provided such decisions do not have implications which go beyond the confines of the institution or the unit's area of work," he said, stating the Rule 4 (a) of the SFI constitution. 

New Delhi, July 11
Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit today directed the agencies concerned to speed up the construction work of the much-publicized Signature Bridge at the Yamuna at Wazirabad.

The Chief Minister also asked the agencies to provide a timebound schedule of construction in order to enable the government to keep an eye on the progress of the work.

She was inspecting the under-construction Signature Bridge sites on both sides of the Yamuna.

A new eight-lane bridge across the river on downstream of the existing bridge-cum-barrage at Wazirabad is under construction with an estimated cost of Rs 1,131 crore.

The work has been entrusted to Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation.

Dikshit made it crystal clear that no delay will be tolerated in commissioning of the project as the new bridge will be crucial for the smooth flow of traffic across the Yamuna and other major roads on both sides of river.

As far as the loops on western approach, they will be opened in November whereas other three are likely to be opened in June 2013.

Dikshit was also briefed on the schedule for completion of the main bridge.