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Ramban incident
RIP, dear telegram |
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Police ordered to hand over plot for hospital
Goel ‘padyatra’ to woo Dalit voters
Upgrading work of Bawana, Narela to be over soon
Pickpocket held for killing Kargil hero
DU holds IInd counselling for management studies (H) today
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Rights activists demand repeal of AFSPA
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 21 Activists marched to Jantar Mantar notwithstanding the heavy police deployment and barricading of roads. The protest was supported by many student and social groups such as AISA, Campus Front of India and Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Association. "The Ramban incident is a prima facie case of coercive methods adopted by the security personnel. It highlights the highhanded attitude of the security forces that they have acquired over a period time," said Ravi Nitesh, founder of Mission Bhartiyam. A core member of Save Sharmila Solidarity Campaign, Devika Mittal, said, "We know that this is not the first incident. These inhuman incidents are quite frequent in Kashmir and in the northeast states because of the draconian laws like AFSPA. We are here today to demand its repeal." "It is unfortunate that these incidents are happening in the world's largest 'democracy'. These killings are justified in the name of upholding the 'integrity' of the nation. We feel that development, basic amenities and justice should be used to uphold the 'integrity'," said V Arun Kumar of AISA. Ruing the long list of incidents where security personnel have violated the human rights in Jammu and Kashmir, Talha Hussain of Campus Front of India said, "There have been fake encounters, torture, rapes etc. in the state, but nothing has been done to prosecute the culprits."
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Four cyclists and miles to go to deliver the last messages!
Himani Chandel Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 21 "We have become busier than before and don't know how these messages will be delivered," said Kishan Kumar, scrutinizing the 2,191 telegrams registered on the day of the closing of telegraph services. Kumar is telegraph master at the Chief Telegraph Office (CTO). Thousands of people queued up at the telegraph offices to send messages, most of which were rather unimportant and some even promotional. The CTO at Western Court which earlier used to receive 200 to 250 messages daily was flooded with 2,191 messages registered on July 14, the last day of the service. "An era is going to be closed. Telegram becomes a history," said Avinash Mishra, a Doordarshan employee who sent it for record to both Rahul Gandhi and Director General of DD News, SM Khan. Officials said besides CTO, Kashmere Gate received 226 telegrams, Janakpuri 118 and Delhi Cantonment 12. "From Delhi 2,547 telegrams originated but there is no end to telegrams from outstation. The machine has not stopped in the last three days and is still receiving messages," CTO Sub-Divisional Engineer Kiran Pal said. With the withdrawal of infrastructure by BSNL and limited available resources, the staff at the telegraph offices are facing the challenge of not only delivering the messages but also with the efficiency they have always known for. It is quite another matter that this time Khan received the 'Tar' on July 19, taking six days to travel a distance of less than 2 km. "It may take at least a month to deliver these telegrams as only four messengers are left with us. And they too commute on cycles. One can imagine how much time it takes to deliver a letter in Faridabad on a cycle," said Pal. The CTO, in its happy days, used to send more than 800 messages through its 100-plus messengers. While a majority of the telegrams have been addressed to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, party vice president Rahul Gandhi and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, some were also used as promotional messages. "Telegram ends today with no plans for future. Have you planned your future," said one telegram sent by an insurance company. "Telegram was 24x7 at your service, so are we," said another promotional message. On the other side, a significant number of telegrams addressed to Sibal requested him to retain the service. "You are requested to let the telegram continue to light people's life," said one message. The other messages included best wishes for the Gandhi family. Though the staff at the CTO office only wished that the century-old customer service survived. "They (government) said it was at a loss. BSNL is also incurring losses, so will they shut that as well. We are messengers of the public. We have earned so much money for the government," Pal said with a sigh. "It is only the telegram that can reach even the soldiers posted at borders where there ccare no means of mobile or the Internet," said Kumar. The staff said that the CTO received an official intimation of the closure of services about a month earlier, asking the employees as to where they would prefer to be transferred within BSNL. Most of the employees in the office are nearing retirement. "Most of us have two or six months left before retirement. Shifting to other department means learning new work all over again," Pal said.
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Police ordered to hand over plot for hospital
New Delhi, July 21 The Delhi Government was claiming the 1, 600 sq mt plot for construction of a hospital while the Delhi Police wanted it for a police post. Observing that no construction was carried out by the police on the land allotted to the force by the DDA, the Delhi Government asked the land agency for its allotment in order to set up a hospital. However, the police refused to vacate possession. In a directive issued on July 12, Jung, while accepting the Delhi Government's contention, asked the force to vacate the possession of the plot for setting up a 100-bedded hospital in the area and asked it to accept an adjacent plot measuring 1,000 sq mt for the police post, said Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police (P and I) A. K. Singh. Welcoming Jung's directive to the police, Mukesh Sharma, Parliamentary Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, said the Lt Governor's decision would pave the way for construction of the hospital. He said, "I welcome the decision. The Lt Governor understood people's feelings and asked the police to hand over the plot for the hospital," he said. The Chief Minister had announced last month that her government would set up a hospital in the area, Sharma added. |
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Goel ‘padyatra’ to woo Dalit voters
New Delhi, July 21 Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel said that during his padyatra, he visited a number of colonies where he was received with open arms. Goel was accompanied by a large number of local community leaders and many party leaders. After the padyatra, Goel decided to spend the night with a Dalit family at Pandav Nagar. Addressing the community members as well as the BJP cadres who accompanied him, the Delhi BJP president said, "The Dalits, Balmikis and Scheduled Castes have been left in the lurch as the policies of the Congress government have benefited only the vested interests who have pocketed the money meant for the welfare of Dalits." Goel said, "A sum of Rs 744 crore was diverted from the Special Component Plan (SCP), meant for the welfare of Dalits, to the projects directly or indirectly linked to the Commonwealth Games by the Delhi Government." The neglect of Dalits and backwards during the last 15 years of Congress rule is evident from the fact that in Delhi, the literacy rate of SC and Dalit population is at least 10-15 per cent below other communities. Among the SC and Dalit literates, only 5.2 per cent are graduates and above. The SC and ST Department of the Delhi Government has utilised only Rs 130 crore out of Rs 325 crore in the 2012-13 financial year, Goel said. Elaborating on the BJP's vision for the Dalits, Balmikis and other backward communities, Goel said, "After coming into power, the BJP will run special timebound programmes to encourage higher education and employment-oriented training for the youth of these communities."
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Upgrading work of Bawana, Narela to be over soon
New Delhi, July 21 The work was assigned on a PPP mode in 2011. Minister for Industry Haroon Yusuf, who recently visited both the industrial areas to inspect the development work, described the quality of work here as of world-class. Spokesperson for the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) said that the work at Bawana costs Rs 57 crore while at Narela Rs 130 crore. The work included roads, parking space, drains, sewage, water lines and electrical work. Horticulture work has also been undertaken in both the industrial estates. The concessionaire responsible for redevelopment shall maintain the services of these areas for another 13 years after construction. The Bawana and Narela industrial areas are spread over 1,922 acre and 612 acre, respectively. The Bawana area has 16,312 units and about 3,000 industries are available in Narela. These units mainly deal in plastic goods, food items, medicines, steel, cardboard, electrical and electronic goods and office furniture. The DSIIDC has also started upgrading the infrastructure at Patparganj and Okhla Phase III industrial areas. This work will get over in six months. Further, works of road and drain in Naraina Industrial Area Phase II and Rajasthan Udyog Nagar are expected to start in the first week of August.
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Pickpocket held for killing Kargil hero
New Delhi, July 21 "Gulyani was travelling in a bus in 2005. He was surrounded by a gang of pickpockets. When the accused tried to pick his pocket, he raised the alarm. One of the pickpockets stabbed Gulyani and threw him out of the moving bus," said a police official. "During investigation, the police came to know that one of the accused, Raju, belonged to Firozabad, UP. He was the key member of the gang that used to operate from different parts of the west Delhi area of Janakpuri, Uttam Nagar, Vikaspuri and Delhi Cant bus stops. After boarding the bus, Raju used to choose the target and waited for the opportunity to strike," the official added. |
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DU holds IInd counselling for management studies (H) today
New Delhi, July 21 Seats are available in all the six colleges, including Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya. "As per the reported admission process, those who have already been admitted to a college can be considered for upgradation to other colleges based on the number of seats available and the merit ranking. This option of upgradation of the eligible and interested students will be considered in the beginning before the second counselling for the waitlisted students starts. Therefore, those who wish to be considered for upgradation to other colleges must present themselves before the counselling committee in the beginning," said Prof J.M. Khurana, Dean of Students' Welfare.
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Four messengers on cycles and thousands of telegrams to be delivered in the far-flung corners of the city! It is quite an uphill task for the staff at telegraph offices even as the era's mode of communication came to an end on July 14.
