Members disrupt House over attack on Cong MLA
New Delhi, March 19
The proceedings of the House meeting of Delhi Assembly today were disrupted in the wake of an incident where a Congress MLA from the Trinagar constituency, Anil Bhardwaj, was attacked near his office this morning. He was allegedly fired by a drunken man outside his office triggering panic in the area.

UPA plays into hands of capitalists, says Prakash Karat
New Delhi, March 19
General Secretary of the CPI (M) Prakash Karat appealed to the electorates to oust the Congress-led UPA government from the Centre that played in the hands of the US supported capitalists. It has anti-people policies that harm farmers, adiwasis, landless farmers and factory workers.

Supporters of the CPI (M) during the ‘Sangharsh Sandesh Rally’ at Ramlila Ground in New Delhi on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Pedestrians not safe on city roads: Survey
New Delhi, March 19
Delhi is a dangerous city for pedestrians. The city traffic police claimed that most number of road accidents in the national Capital take place at traffic junctions and pedestrian points.

Woman gangraped by husband, his relatives
New Delhi, March 19
A woman, 25, has alleged that three persons, including her husband and a lawyer, raped her inside the Patiala House Court yesterday. According to the police, the victim is undergoing divorce proceedings. She has alleged that her husband, brother-in-law and lawyer raped her.

DMRC, DTU sign MoU
New Delhi, March 19
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Delhi Technological University (DTU) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the purpose of jointly taking up projects in the fields of design development, research and indigenization of technology.

Members disrupt House over attack on Cong MLA
The police commissioner called in the assembly to give assurance on the matter
Himani Chandel
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 19
The proceedings of the House meeting of Delhi Assembly today were disrupted in the wake of an incident where a Congress MLA from the Trinagar constituency, Anil Bhardwaj, was attacked near his office this morning. He was allegedly fired by a drunken man outside his office triggering panic in the area.

Irked at an MLA for not taking his phone calls, a drunken man "fired" with a toy pistol outside the legislator's office. As soon as the session began in the afternoon, the MLAs of both ruling and opposition parties demanded personal security cover to each MLA and demanded that the Commissioner of Police be called in the House to give assurance on the matter. The members of the House said that there have been several instances of MLAs being attacked in the past including BJP MLAs Jaswant Rana and Bharat Singh who were attacked near their party office last year.

Leader of the Opposition V.K. Malhotra said that Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in her statement during previous assembly session in December had promised to provide security to the legislators, if the Delhi police fails to do so. "We request the Chief Minister to take note of increasing incidents of attack on MLAs and arrange security measures for us. It is really worrisome that the members of the House are being attacked," said Malhotra.

The Speaker later assured the House that the Commissioner will be called before adjourning the House till 3.15 pm. "It is a serious matter. If elected representatives are not safe in the capital, one can imagine the plight of the common man," said Congress MLA Mukesh Sharma.

Dikshit assured that the sentiments of the House would be communicated to the Union Home Ministry. "It is a matter of concern. I agree with the House that the Commissioner should immediately be called here, the issue debated and a solution found. I request you (the Speaker) to adjourn the House and call the Commissioner," the Chief Minister said.

The Commissioner reached assembly around 4 pm and remained present in the officers' gallery to witness the debate. He could not give statement in the House as he is not a member of it.

UPA plays into hands of capitalists, says Prakash Karat
Syed Ali Ahmed
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 19
General Secretary of the CPI (M) Prakash Karat appealed to the electorates to oust the Congress-led UPA government from the Centre that played in the hands of the US supported capitalists. It has anti-people policies that harm farmers, adiwasis, landless farmers and factory workers.

Addressing the Sangharsh Sandesh rally of the CPI (M) at Ramlila Ground here today which was attended by people of different states, Karat said that to provide food security, guaranty for a house, education for every child in the country, land to landless farmers and end the contract system, the country needs an alternative government other than the BJP and the Congress as both the national parties have similar national policies.

He said, "In such a situation only alternative is the CPI (M)-led Left parties that has policies for uplift of the poor, including farmers, factory workers, landless farmers, and adiwasis."

In the Budget tabled before Parliament no fund allocation had been made for farmers, though from 1999 to 2013 about 2.90 lakh farmers have committed suicide due to poverty while capitalists have been given tax rebate of worth Rs 2.73 crore."

Raising six basic issues - amendment in the Land Acquisition Act to benefit farmers, better ration distribution system, employment policy, education and health facilities for the poor, rights for women, social justice and corruption issues - Karat said that the defective UPA government's policy in the Centre was the only reason for the poverty in the country.

According to the government report in rural areas, who earn Rs 20 per day is a poor and those who earn Rs 26 or more than this does not come under the BPL category. This figure shows that the policy of the government is not in favour of common people. It is only for the capitalists and rich.

Pedestrians not safe on city roads: Survey
Shaurya Karanbir Gurung
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 19
Delhi is a dangerous city for pedestrians. The city traffic police claimed that most number of road accidents in the national Capital take place at traffic junctions and pedestrian points.

Last year, 832 pedestrians were killed and 2,280 were injured in such road accidents. Until March 15 this year, there were 330 deaths in road accidents that took place across Delhi. Out of 330, 135 were pedestrians.

In view of the safety of pedestrians, the Delhi Traffic Police has conducted a survey at the traffic junctions in the city. A traffic police official said, "We have identified the junctions where zebra crossings and road markings have either not been marked or the paint has faded." There are 480 such junctions where road markings need to be painted or repainted, said the official. The road markings are mainly a safety measure for pedestrians, he added.

Last week, a written request was sent to the civic agencies concerned to paint the road markings in these junctions. These agencies include the Public Works Department (PWD), Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

Out of the 480 traffic junctions, 318 are under the jurisdiction of the PWD. These have been identified as Delhi Gate Chowk, G T Road, traffic-signal of Shastri Park, Nangloi, Mayapuri Ring Road and Okhla. Seventy-one traffic junctions fall under the NDMC. These are at St Thomas School, Lodhi Road and Archbishop Road.

The MCD has about 33 junctions under it. The GMR Group also has three traffic junctions, including the Aerocity roads located near Indira Gandhi International Airport. The GMR Group with the Airports Authority of India and Fraport & Eraman Malaysia started a consortium called DIAL, which is managing the airport.

Woman gangraped by husband, his relatives
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 19
A woman, 25, has alleged that three persons, including her husband and a lawyer, raped her inside the Patiala House Court yesterday. According to the police, the victim is undergoing divorce proceedings. She has alleged that her husband, brother-in-law and lawyer raped her. "She claimed her sister-in-law had tied her hands and legs," said the official.

A rape case has been registered at the Tilak Marg police station.

The victim said her husband's lawyer R.K. Chaudhary called her to the Karkardooma Court on Monday afternoon to settle the divorce proceedings. When she reached there, she met Chaudhary, who was with her husband's sister and her brother-in-law.

About 6 pm, they went to the Patiala Court, inside chamber number six. The victim's husband and the lawyer's assistant were present there. The victim and her husband did not come to any conclusion. "She then alleged that her husband offered her a beer which she refused. The lawyer's assistant grabbed her and raped her. Then Chaudhary and her brother-in-law took turns to rape her. Her husband then sexually abused her," police said quoting the victim's complaint.

They threatened her of dire consequences, if she reported the matter to anyone and left her at gate number five of the court premises.

DMRC, DTU sign MoU
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 19
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the Delhi Technological University (DTU) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the purpose of jointly taking up projects in the fields of design development, research and indigenization of technology.

The MoU was signed at the Metro Bhawan by Director (Electrical) DMRC' Satish Kumar and Vice-Chancellor DTU P.B. Sharma in the presence of Managing Director DMRC Mangu Singh. The DMRC and the DTU will establish a joint interface committee to implement the MoU. The high-level committee will consist of representatives from both the organizations, with matching expertise in electrical, electronics and computer engineering.

Currently, the MoU has been signed with DTU's electrical, electronics and communication, computer engineering departments. However, the ambit of the understanding may be expanded further to other departments in the years to come.

As per the MoU, the DMRC may request the DTU to undertake consultancy projects related to design, analysis, development, forecasting, investigation, system integration, embedded systems and other software/ hardware based solutions.