New Delhi, July 6
In line with its project to earn the tag of "solar city" for the New Delhi area of the national Capital, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has now drawn up a detailed plan for rooftop solar energy generation.

The NDMC has identified 40 buildings in the area under its jurisdiction for installation of rooftop solar panels, its chairperson Jalaj Shrivastava has said. The buildings belong to the civic agency and range from NDMC schools, sub-stations, inquiry offices, hospitals, etc.

"We selected our own buildings for the pilot project as we did not require a no-objection certificate for that from any agency. We will implement it in other government and private buildings based on the response," said an NDMC official.

According to a proposal, the NDMC will appoint an operator to identify, design, erect, install, test, and commission rooftop solar units as defined by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

The NDMC has already invited tenders for the same. The civic agency area was in February selected as one of the first townships nominated to be a "solar city" after the New and Renewable Energy Ministry gave its in-principle approval for the same.

After the installation of the solar rooftops, New Delhi would become the second solar city in the country after Chandigarh.

According to an MoU signed between the NDMC and the Solar Energy Corporation of India, the civic body should meet at least five per cent of its total energy consumption needs through solar energy.

The plan says that the NDMC will procure all the solar power generated by the operator and inject into the NDMC grid on the basis of rates determined by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC).

The NDMC expects to generate almost 8MW rooftop solar energy within a year, Shrivastava said. With the residents of the national Capital grappling with an acute power crisis, NDMC officials believe the plan will go some way towards solving the energy crisis in the city.

On an average, the NDMC area consumes 350 mva electricity daily during summer and 150 mva during winter.

In an effort to ease the power situation, the civic body is also contributing 16MW of electricity to 8,000 households in the city by generating power using solid waste as fuel at a "waste to energy" plant on the NDMC land in Okhla.

New Delhi, July 6
Unidentified car-borne persons today fired outside a house in Vasant Vihar area where several Israelis, some of them working with Israel Embassy, have been living.

No Israeli national or any other person was injured in the firing which took place at around 1.45 am outside the house near DPS School in Vasant Vihar area of the South Delhi, a senior police officer.

"A private security guard, who was on duty outside the school, saw a car from which an unidentified person opened fire and immediately fled the spot," the officer said.

Police have recovered a plastic bullet from the spot, the officer said.

After the incident, some officials of the Israel Embassy visited the spot this afternoon and demanded sufficient security for their nationals.

A case under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at Vasant Vihar police station, the officer said, adding that further investigation is on.— PTI

New Delhi, July 6
The body of a 12-year-old boy, who had gone missing on Friday, was today found murdered in a salon close to his house in Jamia Nagar.

Arham Hussain, a Class 8 student, who had gone to a salon for getting his hair cut on Friday, did not return home. His parents, who deal in construction material, then informed the police.

During investigation, police suspected the saloon as it was shut today despite being Sunday when many customers visit the saloon, a senior police officer said.

The gate of the salon was broken open, and the inside scanned. Arham's body was found in a steel box in a decomposed state, the officer said.

As per initial investigation, it seemed that Arham was strangled to death. However, police are awaiting the post mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of death, he said. The officer also said that Arham's parents had received a ransom call yesterday, demanding Rs 10 lakh for his safe release.

The parents had also pasted posters and hoardings at several places seeking information about their son.

Police have registered a case under appropriate section of the IPC and further investigation is on.—PTI

New Delhi, July 6
At a discussion organised today by the Lok Raj Sangathan, participants unanimously demanded early elections in Delhi as four and a half months have passed after the resignation of Aam Adami Party ( AAP) government.

No party is coming forward to form the government now.

The participants said that it is unacceptable to follow the Lieutenant Governor who in turn acts on behalf of a party that is in power at centre.

The party in power cannot decide the election. It is the Election Commission that should decide the issue.

There was a rumour on the horse-trading of MLAs just to prevent another election, the participants said.

The Lok Raj Sangathan appealed to the local residents and NGOs to organise meetings in their localities for demanding the election.

The participants also appealed to the people to select their candidates who serve.

Candidates who propose to contest must give an undertaking that they will render a monthly account of their work in front of local NGOs.

They must agree to being recalled if their work is found unsatisfactory.

The candidates must also give an undertaking that they will pressurise the assembly for legislation to ensure better conditions in unauthorised colonies, nationalisation of discoms and adequate supply of drinking water. 

New Delhi, July 6
The North Delhi Police has arrested a 77-year-old businessman for his alleged involvement in the rape of a maid in the Sabzi Mandi area, the police said.

Mehendra Sehgal, who deals in transport, was arrested last night for allegedly raping the girl, a native of West Bengal, for the past 10-12 days, said a police officer.

When asked how the maid got job in businessman's house, Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma said, "The case is sensitive. It is a sexual abuse case. I cannot give all the details. The accused has been arrested. The matter is under investigation."

Sources in the police department said that the matter of rape came to light on Saturday afternoon when Sehgal, who was alone at home as his wife had gone to a relative's house, attempted to rape the girl. She came out of his house and told a neighbour who then informed the police.

The sources said that the police arrested the accused on the basis of the girl's statement. The accused was arrested from his house last night and a case registered under appropriate sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Sabzi Mandi police station.

The sources said that the victim's aunt had brought her from West Bengal a few days ago. The aunt was on leave and had asked the victim to stay and work at Sehgal's house.

New Delhi, July 6
The government of Delhi will launch a campaign to popularize the Public Grievance Monitoring System (PGMS) in order to make people aware of its benefits.

As per direction of the Lt. Governor, Najeeb Jung, the PGMS portal is already working at the Delhi Secretariat for redressal of people's grievances in a timebound manner.

"By launching the campaign, people will be aware of the steps taken by the government in this direction," said a senior Delhi government official.

People will be informed through the campaign that the PGMS has been established for redressal of their grievances vis-a-vis Delhi Police, Delhi Jal Board, MCDs, power discoms, food and supply as well as other departments working under the Delhi government

They will also be informed that a facility has been provided to register their grievances online. People will be provided with a grievance ID through an SMS to their mobile numbers, the official said.

A complainant can also check the 'status of their grievance' online by providing their grievance ID and mobile number on PGMS portal.

"The government through this campaign will inform people that they may also come in person for redressal of their grievance at the Help Desk at Delhi Secretariat," the official added.

New Delhi, July 6
Light rains brought some respite from sultry weather conditions in the national Capital even as humidity level touched a high of 75 per cent.

According to the MeT Department, the maximum temperature was recorded at 37°C, one notches above normal, while the minimum temperature was recorded at 28.6°C, also one notches above normal.

The city also received 0.9 mm rainfall in the past nine hours, ending at 5.30 PM.

Humidity level in the city oscillated between 47 per cent and 75 per cent.

The MeT department has predicted that there will be partly cloudy sky tomorrow with possibility of very light rain and thundershowers in some areas. The maximum and minimum temperature would be around 38° and 29°C respectively. — PTI

New Delhi, July 6
The Public Works Department (PWD) has initiated the allotment of the Delhi Government Pool Residential Accommodation through an Automated System of Allotment (ASA) based on choices for specific houses by the applicants.

PWD Principal Secretary Arun Baroka said that with a view to providing transparency, speedy allotment, higher occupancy of houses and enabling the applicants to get houses of their choice, the PWD decided to introduce the ASA in respect of all types of government houses of the Delhi government.

"In order to enable more applicants to get their login ID and password activated to access the new on-line system of bidding for houses, a two-day training session has been organized at Delhi Secretariat to familiarize them with the online system of bidding for houses and any other query related to the same," he said.

Baroka also informed that the online system of allotment has become functional, hence, both the new as well as old applicants are required to get their login ID and password activated at the earliest.

"He said that the bidding for houses (type-IV) would be open from July 14 to 28. The ASA would being initially for type-IV and thereafter ASA (online bidding) will be followed in other categories in the subsequent months (August 2014 onwards)," he said.

A power point presentation on the bidding system has been provided on the official website of the PWD with a link on the home page of website of the Delhi government.

New Delhi, July 6
An old, ornate gate standing on the periphery of Doordarshan's building at the Mandi House circle here is perhaps the only reminder of a royal house that once stood here, lending the area its name.

'Mandi House', now synonymous with the country's public service broadcaster, was originally a palatial house with a beautiful garden, owned by the Raja of Mandi. Mandi is a place which now falls in Himachal Pradesh.

The untold story of this legendary house, which today survives as merely the name of a popular city landmark, has now been presented before the public as part of a permanent exhibition that has come up inside the premises of the new, eponymous station.

The exhibition has been organised jointly by the city-based Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) inside Mandi House station, which recently opened to the public as part of an extension of the 'Violet Line'.

The exhibition encompasses two backlit panels of dimensions of about 37ft by 6ft covered with a protective sheet.

The panels depict monuments and historical and cultural buildings around the Mandi House station.

ICHR, under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, provided two artworks for Mandi House station with the vision to make history "more popular and accessible" rather than keeping it confined to books and libraries.

"People hardly pause and look back on a city which has been transformed in every aspect, physically, topographically.

"We thought that since metro stations are points of intersection of various regions and cultures, we can offer people a visual hook for appreciating the history of the city," said Gopinath Ravindran, Member-Secretary, ICHR —PTI.