New Delhi, February 28
Two brothers were gunned down by a group of men over right of way in outer Delhi's Sultanpur Dabas area this morning.

The victims have been identified by the police as Sahab Singh (40) and Captaan Singh (35). Their attackers are yet to be arrested.

The police said that the incident took place at about 10.30 am, when the deceased were reversing their three-wheeler vehicle out of a parking area. During this process, they blocked the way of a speeding car, which had to apply brakes immediately.

The occupants of the car directed the victims to give them way. The victims instead told them to wait while they reversed their vehicle. This caused an argument. The car occupants led by one, Rahul, alias Kala, said to be a 'bad character' got out and started beating the two victims, who also fought back. The car occupants then reportedly brandished a countrymade gun and fired at the victims.

The accused reportedly fired 10 rounds at the victims, leaving them fatally injured. After hearing the gunshots, the locals rushed to the site of the incident. They saw the two brothers lying in a pool of blood. They informed the police and the victims were then taken to the Maharishi Valmiki Hospital, where the doctors declared them dead.

The locals protested against the double murder and blocked the roads leading to Pooth Khurd and the Valmiki Hospital. A few DTC buses were also damaged by the protesters.

The police rushed to the site of the incident, where they were heckled by the protesters.

The agitators dispersed after the police assured them of action in the case. Investigators said that the registration number of the car used by the assailants has been sent to all the local police officers.

"It appeared to be a case of road rage and we have launched a search to nab the assailants," said a police officer, privy to the investigations.

New Delhi, February 28
Rain lashed the national Capital today pushing the mercury down with maximum temperature settling four degrees below normal.

According to a Met official, 9.7 mm of rainfall was recorded between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, while rainfall recorded from yesterday till 8.30 am was 9.4 mm.

The day temperature was registered at 21.3° C which was four notches below normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 12° C.

Humidity was registered between 66 to 100 per cent.

The weatherman has predicted partly cloudy sky tomorrow with one or two spells of very light rain/thundershowers occurring in some areas. — PTI

New Delhi, February 28
The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has plunged into an acute shortage of drivers and conductors with a number of staff members retiring every month.

The DTC officials said if the new staff are not hired immediately, bus services across the national Capital would get affected in the coming days.

To deal with the staff crunch, the DTC has decided to ask youths to join the corporation in large numbers. With this aim, the DTC is advertising on FM for the first time.

Officials said that around 130 drivers and conductors are retiring every month, which has troubled the DTC.

At present, there are nearly 5,300 buses plying in Delhi. Around 13,136 drivers, including 9,003 permanent and 4,103 contractual drivers, are working with the corporation. Besides, there are 6,668 permanent conductors while 7,749 conductors are on contractual basis.

"The DTC needs huge staff as around 130 drivers and conductors are retiring every month which may affect bus services in the coming days. If this situation continues, the DTC will be running out of drivers and conductors by 2017," said a senior DTC official, who pleaded anonymity.

The DTC recruits drivers and conductors through DSSB (Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board), but with acute staff crisis, it has invited an open-recruitment to hire drivers and conductors on contractual basis.

"The recruitment through DSSB takes more time to hire drivers and conductors. If new staff are not hired immediately, service of DTC buses across the national Capital would be affected. So, we have invited an open recruitment for hiring on contractual basis," the official said.

New Delhi, February 28
Artisan families from Kathputli Colony began shifting today to the transit camps as Delhi Development Authority (DDA) assuring the community that the rehabilitation project there was "in their interest only".

"The families have started shifting today to the transit camp at Anand Parbat. And, in two years time, they will have their flats ready to be occupied at the colony," a senior DDA official said.

Named after the colourful community of puppeteers and artists, Kathputli Colony, is a slum cluster in West Delhi's Shadipur area housing about 3,000 families who earn their livelihood by practising their arts.

Under the proposed plan, a public-private-partnershi project between DDA and Raheja Developers, the families will be provided flats.

There have been reports of dissent among a few families who said "some wanted to stay in the colony only", which they said "was conducive to the kind of work they do".

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said "most of the families want to shift and is it only a handful who have some vested interest who are opposing it. I believe some slumlords are there who are using threat tactics to stop families from shifting," the official said.

"We are offering them clean accommodation compared to the unhygienic one-room shanties they live in. And we are offering them a house larger than an average EWS scheme one. And, even at the transit camps, they will get all the facilities including electricity and anganwadis," the official added. — PTI

New Delhi, February 28
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has decided to bring about changes in the billing process which includes reducing the current billing cycle of 90 days to 60 days from April 1.

A senior DJB official said the move would provide convenience to the consumers and also eliminate chances of anomalies in the bills by better monitoring.

Handheld devices will be used to generate on-the-spot bill from April. The DJB has also proposed to extend the collection of payment through cheque to the meter reader after bill is generated.

"The customer will also be provided with the payment receipt, after the payment is made," the official added.

At present, 12 zones are covered and from April 1 this facility will be extended to the entire Delhi. The new process is expected to make the billing and payment process more efficient for the residents of Delhi.

"The DJB has extended many of its services online for the convenience and benefit of the consumers. Online facilities are available for viewing and payment of bills, application for new water connection, disconnection and mutation can now be made online," the officials said, adding that the consumers will also be able to lodge their grievances and track the status online.

The DJB had launched the Late Payment Surcharge Waiver Scheme and the Arrear Rebate Scheme. About 2,98,596 consumers have benefitted from this scheme waiver and about 4,39,695 consumers have availed the benefit under the Arrear Rebate Scheme.

"The schemes shall come to an end on March 31. Therefore, the consumer is encouraged to make use of this scheme at the earliest," he said.

New Delhi, February 28
Traffic on the Jahangirpuri-HUDA City Centre route of the Delhi Metro was today disrupted after a train developed a snag in its automatic train protection (ATP) system during the morning rush hour.

"A train at the New Delhi Metro station developed a problem in its ATP system around 9 am and had to be removed from the tracks," a DMRC official said.

The train was removed from the track 15-20 minutes after the problem was detected, but this led to bunching up of trains on the route of the yellow line. Commuters were stranded during the rush hour as train services were disrupted.

It also resulted in overcrowding at the Rajiv Chowk Metro station, causing inconvenience to commuters.

"In order to cater to the peak hour rush, the DMRC inducted two additional trains for interchange stations of Rajiv Chowk and Central Secretariat and announcements were also made advising the commuters about the movement of trains," the official said.