New Delhi, October 2
Dengue is on a spiral in the national Capital and the cumulative number of people affected by it has spiked to 617 with 33 fresh cases surfacing today.

This season, two persons have succumbed to the vector-borne disease and almost all the zones have been severely affected after the diseases began spreading in the Capital early this month.

Drawing attention to the concerns, experts while discussing the current scenario in the prevention and treatment of dengue and malaria at an event organised by the Delhi Medical Association (DMA) and Directorate of Health Services, today called for better coordination between the government and civic bodies.

DMA president Dr Harish Gupta said, "Every year in September and October, 1-5 crore people are at the risk of developing dengue and many develop it with the associated complications.

“The Delhi Government and the Municipal Corporation should initiate an extensive cleanliness drive and public awareness campaign."

Attributing the present weather conditions to the breeding of mosquitoes, Dr Vijay Kohli said, "Mosquito repellants should be used. Besides, keep the surroundings clean and check stagnation of water."

He added that many patients stop taking the medicines once the symptoms subside which actually makes them prone to recurrent infections.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation reported the maximum number of cases at 234, while 211 cases were detected from the North Delhi Municipal Corporation area.

As many as 144 cases have been reported from the East Delhi Municipal Corporation while the rest were reported from the New Delhi Municipal Council and Delhi Cantonment area.

New Delhi, October 20
The Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Mangu Singh, today inspected the 22-km long Mukundpur-Moti Bagh stretch which is part of the 56 km Mukundpur-Gokulpuri corridor of the Delhi Metro's Phase III project.

Singh, who started inspecting the Phase III corridor from Mukundpur Depot, visited Azadpur, Zakhira casting yard, Naraina and continued his inspection till Dhaula Kuan and Moti Bagh.

During the inspection of the project which will be commissioned for the public in 2016, he instructed the DMRC engineers to ensure quality of work, safety apart from maintaining the speed of construction. Since this corridor is passing through the inner Ring Road of the Capital where there is always a huge traffic, Singh instructed that special safety measures should be adopted so that the public is not inconvenienced and the high speed traffic on this corridor is properly handled.

He told the chief project managers to maintain strict barricading at the construction sites and see that the movement of traffic is not disrupted.

"The DMRC has ensured that the Dhaula Kuan-Delhi Cantonment main road will continue to serve as a four-lane carriageway. Existing width of the road will be maintained by the Delhi Metro throughout this stretch," said a DMRC spokesperson.

Singh said that raising the height of the 220 KV power overhead line, the only source of feeding to the Bhakra Beas Management Board grid substation at Punjabi Bagh, is one of the challenging tasks. The DMRC is interacting with the authorities concerned of the board for raising the height of the power line so that the work of the Metro line is not hampered.

Some of the other challenges which the DMRC will come across on this stretch include the construction of the Dhaula Kuan Metro station which will be built at a height of 23 m above the ground, construction of underground stations at Azadpur, Shalimar Bagh, Netaji Subhash Place and Naraina Vihar.

New Delhi, October 20
Unknown assailants attacked and robbed a youth in the Krishna Nagar area of East Delhi on Friday night, said a senior police official.

The police said that the assailants stabbed the youth when he tried to shout for help. No one came to his rescue at that time.

"The victim was rushed to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital by the passersby. His condition is stated to be critical," said the official.

The official said that the victim identified as, Amit Saini had gone to Chandni Chowk on Friday night. "When he was on his way back to Gandhi Nagar, he was stopped by unknown assailants.

They asked him to hand over all his valuables, and when the victim resisted their attempts, they stabbed him," said the official.

An FIR in this respect has been lodged and further investigation is on, said the police official. 

New Delhi, October 20
The southeast Delhi police has arrested a travel agent for allegedly raping a minor girl, said a police official today.

The accused has been identified as Mehandi Hassan. He is a resident of Mavi Mohalla in Okhla, Phase-II.

The official said that on October 11, the victim approached the police to get an FIR of rape registered against the accused.

She told the police that she was known to the accused's wife. "She had been visiting her since March. Mehandi Hassan first raped her after giving her a glass of water laced with sedative. As she had fallen unconscious, he took advantage of her. He threatened her with dire consequences when she gained consciousness. Thereafter, he raped her several times," said Ajay Chaudhary, Additional Commissioner of Police, southeast district.

The police said that during investigation, it was found that the accused ran a travel ticketing business in the name of 'Hasee Bee' at I-B Bharat Nagar, New Friends Colony. In September, he fled to Malaysia after his wife came to know about the incident. On October 15, he was apprehended by the police on his return from Malaysia.

He married a Chinese girl in 2006, but divorced her in 2008. Thereafter he married another girl who was working as a secretary in his company.