New Delhi, July 4
The inauguration of Central Secretariat-Mandi House section has come as a big relief to the Metro commuters with the footfall of the newly constructed station reaching one lakh in just one week.

The inauguration of this section has decongested the Rajiv Chawk and Central Secretariat Metro stations by one lakh and 40,000 passengers, respectively, in the past seven days.

Before the extension of Badarpur line till Mandi House, the average footfall of the Rajiv Chawk and Central Secretariat Metro stations was approximately five and two lakhs, respectively, said a senior Metro official.

The Mandi House and Janpath Metro stations were inaugurated by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on June 26.

The Mandi House station is the first interchange station of Delhi Metro Phase III. The present Mandi House station of Phase II has also been expanded to cater to additional passengers. The ridership of the Mandi House Metro station has also increased to 12,500 from 10,000.

The Janpath Metro station has also become an instant hit among passengers as its footfall has reached 10,000 and ridership 5,000 within one week of inauguration.

"Since the new stations have been inaugurated the rush at the Rajiv Chawk and Central Secretariat Metro stations has reduced to four and 1.60 lakhs, respectively, which means both the stations are decongested by one lakh and 40,000 passengers, respectively," said the official.

The opening of this section was the DMRC part of attempt to decongest the busy Rajiv Chawk Metro station. The commuters of the Badarpur-Central Secretariat Line bound for NOIDA, Vaishali as well as Dwarka are now able to change trains at the Mandi House station without changing trains twice at Central Secretariat and Rajiv Chowk.

The frequency of the trains at these two newly opened stations has been kept at 3.25 minutes.

The section is a part of Central Secretariat-Kashmere Gate line of Phase III.

New Delhi, July 4
The cut-off percentages for admission to popular courses in Delhi University did not drop remarkably in its second list even as some colleges closed admission for most courses.

While Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) closed its admissions for BA Economics (honours), the drop in cut-offs for Commerce (honours) course was by a mere 0.25 per cent.

In Hindu College, admissions for History, Political Science, Hindi, Sanskrit, Maths and Statistics honours courses have been closed.

The drop in cut-offs for Commerce, English and Economics honours courses was marginal.

Most of the courses were closed for admission at Kirori Mal and Gargi colleges, while popular girls college Lady Shri Ram College has declared admissions closed for four courses - BA Pass, Hindi, Philos ophy and Psychology.

While eleven colleges closed admissions for English honours course, 16 were closed for Political Science honours course.

Out of the three colleges that declared a cut-off at 100 per cent for Computer Science (honours) course, only Shyama Prasad Mukherjee College reduced its cut-off by a significant margin of 5.5 per cent for Arts students.

The other two colleges - ARSD and Acharya Narendra Dev - reduced the maximum percentage only one and two per cent, respectively.

Much to the delight of students keen to get admission in Journalism honours, the course continued to remain open except in Kamala Nehru College. Students can take admission into colleges based on second cut-off list from tomorrow till July 7.

New Delhi, July 4
In order to promote the use of treated effluent to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of potable water in the city, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has installed filling points for treated effluent at major waste water treatment plants at Kondli, Rithala, Coronation, Keshopur, Mehrauli and Okhla.

The DJB has also has written to the government agencies such as Public Works Department, New Delhi Municipal Council, East Delhi Municipal Corporation, NTPC and others, encouraging them to use treated effluent.

"The DJB is the only public utility in India that recycles and uses 40 per cent of its treated effluent. This is more than the benchmark of 20 per cent as stated by the Urban Development Norm regarding the extent of recycling treated effluent, said DJB spokesperson.

By December 2012, the DJB recycled about 142.4 million gallon per day (MGD) of treated effluent and efforts are being made to promote more usage of the treated effluent for non-potable purposes.

"In the current scenario 330 MGD of treated water can be used for non-potable purposes. The present demand for the use of treated effluent is around 142 MGD by various organizations. A 10 MLD tertiary treatment plant at Okhla is under construction for supply of treated effluent to Delhi Transport Corporation for bus cleaning and use by industries in the Okhla Industrial area. This plant is likely to be commissioned by December 2014," said the official.

The board is in the process of setting-up the 40 MGD waste water treatment plants at coronation pillar which will be used as a source of raw water for treatment at Wazirabad, after its further purification.

This treated effluent of almost drinking water quality will be added into the Yamuna at Palla to help generate more flow in the Yamuna.

New Delhi, July 4
Founder president of the AAP and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today demanded that culprits of alleged abduction and rape of four women at Bhagana village should be arrested.

He demanded a CBI inquiry into the case and said that the families of rape victims and others who have been boycotted in the village should be rehabilitated in Hissar city.

In a letter Kejriwal seeks attention of AICC chairperson Sonia Gandhi towards the plight of Dalit rape victims of Bhagana village in Hissar. Cases of torture against Dalit and other backward classes have been on rise in Haryana for the past one decade.

According to the record of the government, crime against women cases has become double in the past seven years. Every month a serious case of crime against Dalit women is reported in Haryana, the letter said.

He said that the Congress claimed to be a guardian of Dalits and always played vote politics. But in Haryana where the Congress is in power the rape cases of Dalit women are being reported from various districts.

The crime against women in Mirchpur is one of the examples.

Reminding the plight of Dalits at Bhagana village, Kejriwal said that due to torture from caste in the village the Dalits were forced to live under open sky near Hissar Mini Secretariat.

Four girls were abducted from Bhagana village on March 23, 2014. Later the victims were left at railway station at Bhatinda, letter said.

The victims have given memorandum to the Chief Minister and Governor of Haryana demanding action against the culprits.

To pressurize the authorities to take action against the culprits, a large number Dalits from Bhagana village marched from Hissar to Delhi. But instead of taking action against the culprits, cases have been registered against those who participated the protest.

In the letter Kejriwal also reminded Sonia Gnadhi about the rape victims who met her demanding for justice but still they have not been given justice.

These victims have been sitting on dharna along with their families at Jantar Mantar since April 16.

New Delhi, July 4
The Lt. Governor of Delhi, Najeeb Jung, has constituted the Delhi Khadi and Village Industries Board (DKVIB) for the development of khadi and village industries programmes in Delhi.

The DKVIB will advise the Delhi government in the sanction and disbursement of financial assistance to the applicants in accordance with the financial assistance patterns approved by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission.

The board will also receive funds from theCommission or any other source for the implementation of khadi and village industries programme and implement block loan scheme for the industrial units under household sector and receive funds from the Delhi government.

The board would have seven members with managing director of board as its member secretary.

The decision was taken by the LG in exercise of powers conferred by Sections 3 and 4 of the Himachal Pradesh Khadi and Village Industries Board Act, 1966, as extended to Delhi.

In addition to the function prescribed in Section 14 of the said Act, the DKVIB will plan, organize and implement the programmes for the development of Khadi and Village Industries coming under purview of Khadi and Village Industries Commission, established under an Act of Parliament.

New Delhi, July 4
Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today lifted the restrictions imposed on supply of power in malls, offices and on high mast halogen lights during nights.

With the national Capital witnessing long outages following the damage caused to towers and lines due to devastating storm which struck the city on May 30, Jung had issued directives to control the current power problem which included snapping power supply to malls after 10 pm.

The city was also reeling under the blistering heat with the mercury crossing the 45° C mark.

Jung had also directed switching off high mast halogen lights in the streets during the night hours and government establishments.

Jung had also urged citizens to come forward and help conserve energy by running their air-conditioners at 25° c or above and take all measures at home and offices to save electricity. — PTI

New Delhi, July 4
An 18-year-old girl is battling for her life after she was allegedly stabbed seven times in Vasant Vihar locality, south Delhi, by a man whom she has accused of stalking her earlier this year.

The accused, Pradeep Singh, has surrendered to the police after the attack. The victim, Priyanka, is on ventilator at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, according to her uncle, Ajay.

Priyanka, who stays with her family at Munirka in south Delhi, was attacked allegedly by the accused when she was returning to her house after attending her typing classes around 4 pm on Wednesday.

"She sustained four stab wounds on her chest, two on her thighs and one on her neck," Ajay said. Although the incident took place about 400 m away from her house, nobody from her family was informed. The locals made a call to the police and she was admitted to the AIIMS?Trauma Centre.

About 7 pm on Wednesday, a police constable went to Priyanka's house and told her parents that she had met with a road accident. Her parents realised the seriousness of the attack only when they reached the hospital. "She has undergone two surgeries and remains in a life-threatening condition," Ajay added.

Priyanka, who completed her schooling in this April, had scored 57 per cent marks and was hoping for admission at Delhi University.

Ajay has alleged that a 22-year-old youth named Pradeep Singh, a resident of Mohammadpur, south Delhi, used to allegedly stalk her.

Pradeep had also verbally abused Priyanka when she resisted his advances. Priyanka had approached the Vasant Vihar police station six months ago. Her statement led to the registration of a case of molestation against Pradeep. He was arrested, but was later released on bail. The case is pending in Patiala House court.

"Priyanka had attended a hearing of the case on Wednesday. She had seen Pradeep in the court, but we never thought that she will be attacked," Ajay said.

New Delhi, July 4
A 20-year-old MBA student was beaten to death with sticks and his body was found in a car parked in south Delhi yesterday. Two of the three accused have been arrested, the police said today.

Daksh, a resident of Sarita Vihar, south east Delhi, was found dead in a car near the Sultanpur Metro station.

The accused are identified as Satish, alias Sunny, a resident of Khanpur, and Virender, a resident of Ghitorni. The police are searching for the third accused, Amit.

The police were informed about the body by a security guard.

Daksh's body was found in the rear seat of the car. "He had sustained a blunt injury on his head and was declared dead on the spot," said the officer.

Initial probe revealed that the car belonged to Daksh's friend Mukesh. "Mukesh's questioning revealed that they had a personal enmity with Satish," the officer added. Satish has criminal history.

Mukesh said he was in a relationship with a woman. Satish objected to the relationship. According to the police, Satish was also allegedly in love with the woman and had threatened Mukesh with dire consequences, if he continued to be in contact with her.

Daksh supported Mukesh which had also led to heated arguments between Daksh and Satish. On Thursday, Daksh and Satish had gone to a club in Gurgaon. "The accused followed Daksh and Mukesh after they left the club," the officer said.

On the way, Mukesh went to a house in Sikandarpur, while Daksh took the car. Near Sultanpur Metro station, the three men allegedly beat up Daksh with sticks.