One Issue, One Match: Dwarka Expressway residents take field to be heard

The RWAs of societies located along the Dwarka Expressway in Gurgaon have come up with a novel idea to highlight civic issues and drawing attention of the authorities – a cricket tournament scheduled to happen in April.

The various resident associations have decided to organise the first inter-society cricket tournament for the newly developing societies next month. They hope that the initiation of sporting activities within the new societies shall allow them to come together as a unanimous voice for the development of the new sectors.

Three matches will be played between April 14 and 29 on Saturdays and Sundays.

The plan is to have a unique theme of “One Issue, One Match” to highlight the concerns of the residents of the new sectors.

The first match scheduled on April 14 will focus on removal of the Kherki Daula toll plaza. The second match, on April 15, will be played for the completion of Dwarka Expressway. The third match played on April 21 will be played to highlight the demand for construction of internal roads.

The other issues residents wanted to bring to light through the tournament are electricity, water pipelines, sewerage line connection, street lights, smart water connection, park, school, hospital, police station and post office.

 “We have protested several times, but the authorities have paid no heed to our demands. This time, we thought of a different tactic of presenting our demands, which might be able to get their attention. As cricket is everybody’s favourite game, hopefully it will help convey our demands faster,” said Yashesh Yadav, president of the Dwarka Expressway Welfare Association.

The last date for submitting forms, player list and fees is March 31. “All players taking part must be registered with the Dwarka Expressway Welfare Association or should get themselves registered before the match,” said Pradeep Rahi, general secretary of the association.

Each society is allowed a maximum of two teams. “In case there is more than one team from the same society of the same sector, then the total number of participating teams cannot exceed two from the same complex. They will have to play between themselves first to qualify for the match,” said Yadav.

Antriksh Golf View II residents on a war path against the builder

Illegal construction... lack of basic facilities... unfair deductions from pre-paid meters... no garbage-disposal mechanism in place    

The list of worries is endless for these hapless homeowners of Antriksh Golf View II in Sector 78, Noida. And so they took out a protest today, as they had done earlier to bring the builder to dock. 

A resident lamented, "The garbage has not been cleared in the last four days... how is it possible to live in such conditions? The common areas are particularly affected. Things have gone out of hand."   

Shweta Bharti, another resident, said the builder is making illegal flats on the ground floor without the approval of Noida Authority. Nothing was mentioned about this construction in the builder-buyer agreement too. “We want the Authority to take proper action against the builder and stop illegal construction work,” she added.

Also, owing to lack of completion certificates, flats are yet to be registered, and that's another big worry for the residents. They are also facing considerable difficulties because of construction activities on the premises.

Manoj Tyagi, a resident, lashed out, “We complained about the problems to the staff working on behalf of the builder, but no action was taken to redeem the situation.”

He added, “Before Holi, the builder deducted water and maintenance charges to the tune of Rs 1,000 from our prepaid electricity meters without informing us. After several protests, he returned the amount, but has now found new ways to torture us.”

Residents are also planning to approach the local MLA Pankaj Singh.

City Spidey tried to contact the maintenance department of the society, but no one received the calls.

Hindon elevated road finally thrown open to public

Residents of Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad can finally experience a smooth ride to and from Delhi, with the Hindon elevated road finally being thrown open. It was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today.

This six-lane road, which provides seamless connectivity between Delhi and Ghaziabad, has reduced travel time from nearly an hour to just a few minutes. City Spidey took a round trip on the road today, and clocked it at just 19 minutes.

The elevated road, which is 10.3 km long and built on 228 pillars, connects UP Gate to Rajnagar Extension and cost about Rs 1,146.60 crore. Apart from making travel between Delhi and Ghaziabad easier, it will also help commuters reach the Trans Hindon area and NH58 from NH24. About 4,000 vehicles are estimated to be using the elevated road every hour. However, as of now, only light motor vehicles will be allowed on the road.

Raj Nagar Extension residents are visibly excited about the road. “I travel to Pacific Business Park in Kaushambi every day. I normally face traffic snarls at Karhera bridge, Mohan Nagar and Hindon Barrage. But thanks to the elevated road, I will not have to face these snarls any more,” said Praveen Pradhan, an IT professional and resident of KW Srishti society.

However, Pradhan added that there was a possibility of a bottleneck near Karhera bridge, where the elevated road begins in Raj Nagar Extension. “Vehicles moving at high speed from Delhi will pile up at this point, as the road gets narrow here,” he said.

The construction of this road began in November 2014 during the tenure of the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh. SP leaders have always laid claim to the elevated road as their brainchild, and of course did not hold back from claiming their share of glory at the inauguration. Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader and previous UP chief minister, took a dig at the Yogi-led BJP governbment and tweeted in Hindi "Ram naam japna paraya maal apna", which roughly translates to "Chanting Ram’s name and taking credit for others' work". Yadav also pinned an earlier tweet that said, “To help ease traffic in Ghaziabad, we commissioned this elevated road which is over 9kms long and completing fast [sic].”

The elevated road was in the news earlier this month too, when it was forcibly thrown open by SP workers from Ghaziabad. Party workers, including member of legislative council Rakesh Yadav, cut a red ribbon, calling the project a brainchild of the erstwhile SP-led state government. An FIR was lodged against the involved SP workers by the Ghaziabad Development Authority, following which four party workers were arrested.

Ghaziabad parents miffed with UP CM Yogi Adityanath: Here's why

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s public address following the inauguration of the Hindon elevated road on Friday has left many parents of Ghaziabad school students furious. 

Parents told City Spidey that in his half an hour long address the chief minister failed to mention issues such as fee-hike in private schools, the pending school fee regulatory bill and the problems faced by parents of private school students.

A significant portion of CM Yogi’s speech was about efforts of the district administration in improving the condition of government schools. He also discussed an initiative undertaken by the state government which would transform 350 primary and junior schools in to model institutions. These schools would constitute of strong infrastructure, mid-day meal and other amenities. 

Yogi had faced protests from parents of private school students in his previous visit to Ghaziabad around 8 months back on August 2017. The CM was in Ghaziabad to lay foundation stones for the Kailash Mansarovar Bhavan. He was about to deliver a speech at Kavi Nagar Ramlila Ground in Ghaziabad when a group of parents had emerged and held posters to display the arbitrariness of private schools in charging fees to draw his attention. The CM had taken cognizance of the parents’ issues and assured them of a solution.

Members of multiple parents’ groups had reached the Ramlila ground during Yogi’s speech. However, they were confronted by the police as soon as they reached the venue and were shown the way out. 

“Eight months ago the CM promised us a solution but this time he forgot to even mention it. Every parent of children studying in private schools of UP are suffering due to the unchecked hike in fees. The local authorities have failed to enforce laws and now the CM himself has decided to remain mum over the issue. He could have assured us of passing the UP fee regulatory bill at least,” said Seema Tyagi, President of Ghaziabad Parents Association.

Seema maintained that she along with others were removed from the venue by the police. “I was there to see if the CM has anything to say about the fee issue but they removed me. I was asked to leave, we were not allowed to use our phones as well. Wonder why they feel so threatened by harmless parents?” Tyagi asked.

Similar views were shared by Shivani Jain, President of All School Parents Association who was also present at the venue of the CM’s public address. “I went there to submit a letter. I have not been involved in any protest. I had also informed the police and the local intelligence unit (LIU) about our association’s plan. But once I reached there, I along with others were pushed out of the venue. I was also told that I had fake passes. We later submitted our letter to an official of the district administration,” Jain said.

Police officials said that around 30 passes were recovered from a member of the parents association who was already inside the program venue. “The passes are not fake but are unauthorized. It means that the passes were not procured in a valid way. A single person carrying so many passes is suspicious. The passes were seized and we are investigating how they were procured,” said a senior official of Ghaziabad police.

A ride like no other: Watch Team City Spidey drive on Hindon elevated road

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Hindon elevated road on Friday. The road comes as a blessing for residents of Raj Nagar Extension who can now experience a smooth ride to and from Delhi. They can now easily cover an hour-long journey in barely 18 minutes. 

City Spidey’s team took a round trip on the road on Friday, clocking it at just 19 minutes.  

The road is the longest flyway in India to be built on 228 single-pier pillars. Further, it has been built at a cost of Rs. 1,147 crores. Drivers will have to however maintain an average speed of 80 kms per hour on it. Moreover, first aid paramedics and crane services will always be present on the road for 24 hours.

Gzb homebuyers find no mention in CM's public address!

On his visit to Ghaziabad only a day before March 31, the slated deadline for delivery of 23,842 flats in the city, the UP CM failed to even mention the Ghaziabad homebuyers. UP urban development minister Suresh Khanna had assured the delivery of these flats in a meeting in Ghaziabad in December last year.

The CM was in Ghaziabad on Friday to inaugurate the Hindon Elevated Road. In his 30 minute long public address CM Yogi mentioned that the BJP led Uttar Pradesh government was facilitating the delivery of 50,000 flats together in Noida, Greater Noida and Yeida. 

Vineet Upadhyay, a homebuyer at JNC Greenwoods, Vasundhara Sector 3, said, “It is unfortunate that the CM failed to mention Ghaziabad homebuyers while addressing people in the city. We had approached the three member ministerial committee with our issue and our problems were heard. However, our flats are far from being delivered. Nothing concrete has happened so far”.

Similar views were shared by Bipin Singh, a homebuyer at Raksha Vigyan Sahkari Awas Samiti, a residential project on NH24 in Ghaziabad. “Our society has around 1,504 flats, none of which are complete. We were assured delivery by the end of March 2018 but we don’t trust the builder any more. It seems that he owes money to the GDA. Only the towers have been erected so far. At the current pace of work it might take another 3 years before the society is complete,” Singh said.

However, buyers of some of the housing projects are expecting better results. “Our builder has almost delivered two towers of the society and is delivering the third tower now. From what we have learnt, delivery of the fourth and the last tower might be completed by April. But it is unfortunate that Ghaziabad homebuyers did not find a mention in the CM’s speech,” said Vikram Baranwal, a homebuyer at Gulmohar Residency in Indirapuram. This society too was supposed to be completed by March 31.

Recently, the Ghaziabad Development Authority had pulled up nine builders for delay in delivery of flats. Raksha Vigyan Sahkari Awas Samiti and Gulmohar Residency too were included in the list. GDA officials said that severe action would be initiated against those builders who failed to deliver flats on time. The GDA can even file FIRs against erring builders.

A shroud of darkness looms over Dwarka parks

Despite several meetings, letters from police to civic bodies, RWAs’ correspondence and numerous requests, hundreds of Dwarka’s parks under DDA and MCD continue to remain shrouded in darkness. This is in spite of several proposals to properly light the parks having been passed in the meetings of higher authorities of Delhi. In 2013, the then LG had asked the civic bodies to ensure proper lighting in parks. Since then the issue has been raised several times in various meetings, but neither the MCD nor the DDA has done anything to have the parks properly lit in the area.

In Dwarka, parks more than 2 acres are under DDA and the rest are under South Delhi Municipal Corporation. According to officials, there are more than 500 parks in the area. Most of these parks either have bulbs missing or their electrical wires are damaged. “Perpetrators have taken advantage of the darkness in the parks and many incidents of theft and snatching have happened in the past. RWAs complained many times to the police and the civic bodies like DDA and MCD, but nothing effective has happened. “Many of these parks are around residential pockets and are used by the people living there. In the dark, anyone can attempt to breach the security of the societies around them,” said Joint Secretary of Harsukh Apartments, Sector 7, Ravi Jaitely.

Several of these parks which see substantial footfall during early mornings and evenings have been poorly lit for years. President of Vivekanand Apartments, Sector 4, Anwar Alam said, “The park near our society used to be properly lit until three or four years ago, but now there is no lighting at all. All the electrical infrastructure has been stolen. Bad elements take shelter in that park and pose a security threat. We have illuminated the back lane with our own lighting. However, Municipal Corporation and other civic agencies should do something effective to change the situation soon.”

Residents said that both the DDA and the MCD are responsible for the sad state that the parks are in. In the past, across Delhi, many incidents have happened due to poor lighting in parks. The attack on a journalist at a park in Ashok Vihar last year had raised several questions in front of the civic agencies and the police. Dwarka, which has hundreds of parks under DDA and MCD, seems even more vulnerable for the lack of proper lighting.

On the subject, DDA and MCD officials said that proper monitoring and maintenance of the lighting is done in the parks. They also added that the parks which have no lights will be getting proper lighting in coming months. “Another financial year has come to an end but none of the promises made by the public representatives before elections have been kept. On the other hand, DDA is passing the buck from one department to the other. I cannot understand why this is not being taken seriously,” said Smita Sharma, a resident of Sector 3.

Genpact Chowk underpass opened again, this time without glitches

Seventeen days Genpact Chowk underpass shut down owing to traffic congestion, it opened again yesterday morning for a trial after several engineering changes.  

Residents commuting on the stretch said the underpass was significantly less congested even during peak morning and evening hours — and that movement was swift.

Two turns were closed — one opposite the entrance of the DLF Golf Club and one ahead of the sector 53-54 Metro Station — and a turn on the surface above the underpass leading commuters from DLF Phase I towards One Horizon Center was opened to streamline traffic movement on Golf Course Road.

Another turn on the surface above the underpass, opposite IBIS hotel — allowing commuters to head towards Palm Springs and Park Place — is also in the pipeline. However, officials have not given a timeline for its completion.

The 700-m underpass will allow commuters coming from DLF Phase I and AIT Chowk to avoid congestion at Genpact Chowk, where traffic from St Thomas Marg, Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, AIT Chowk and Sikanderpur converges to create a major bottleneck. It will also let commuters avoid congestion at the Sector 53-54 metro station.

The underpass was opened on a trial basis on March 10. But instead of decongesting the junction, it severely affected traffic movement on both sides of Golf Course Road and its extension.

Three U-turns, one located opposite Magnolias, another ahead of the sector 53-54 metro station and one opposite Parsvnath Exotica, had been closed by the authorities by placing jersey barriers around the same time when the underpass had been opened.

The commuters, therefore, had to travel for more than 5 km to the AIT junction to take a U-turn, which could not handle such a large volume of vehicles.

Soon after, the underpass was closed temporarily on March 13.

“Traffic movement on the stretch is being closely monitored, and if needed, further engineering changes will be initiated,” ACP (traffic) Sandeep Mallik said.

Primal fear: Can the authorities please respond to the residents of GreNo!

The menace of stray dogs and monkeys is on the rise in colonies and societies of Greater Noida. Three people including a woman were bitten by monkeys in Sector Beta 1 in the last two days. Over four dozen people were bitten in the last three months in the same sector. Children, women and senior citizens are now afraid to step out of their homes alone.

Residents of Greater Noida and the colonies are troubled by the terror of monkeys. Ruhi, a resident of Sector Beta 1, was bitten by a monkey yesterday. Harendra Bhati, member of the Active Citizen team, said despite several complaints to the GreNo Authority, no action has been taken so far. He demanded that the authority should run a full-fledged campaign against the menace of stray animals.

Due to the monkey menace, residents of high-rise societies have started installing nets on their balconies. Residents of AVJ Society have started covering their balconies to stop the entry of monkeys.

Similar complaints have surfaced from several sectors and societies including Sector Beta 2, Gamma, Swarn Nagri, P-3, Sectors 36 and 37 among others.

Swarn Nagri RWA president Rajesh Bhati said that daughter of Bhanu Sharma, a resident of the colony, was bitten by monkeys. Bhati, too, maintained that no action was taken by the authority despite several complaints.

Sure the Delhi govt lowered power tariffs, but are you really paying less?

The revised electricity tariffs declared recently by Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) have been faced with opposition from many residents of the city. They question whether the revised rates actually benefit the consumer or the electricity board, and by extension the government. 

Suman Malik, a resident of Youngsters Apartments in Sector 6, Dwarka, said, “The bill of several consumers will increase, especially for those who use up to 2 KiloWatt (KW) of power. The Delhi government may have marginally decreased the power tariffs, but has increased the fixed charges, which will lead to these people ultimately paying more than they used to. So earlier, for up to 2 KW, fixed charges have increased from Rs 25 to Rs 125! So now anyone even going on vacation and leaving their homes locked behind will end up paying more, despite no sosumption of electricity at all.”

Apex RWAs bodies such as URJA (United RWAs Joint Action) have shifted the discussion to various forums. CEO of URJA, Ashutish Dixit, said, “Power is an essential public utility. Every tariff order, whether rates go up or down, should be accounted for. Public utilities are by default monopolistic, and hence should be subjected to a CAG audit on performance and accounting.”

Experts are of the opinion that the tariffs must be revised such that it benefits residents more. 

City Spidey spoke to Atul Goel, president of URJA. “The order announced by DERC has two major components. The first is an increase in fixed charges. RWAs have been demanding the abolition of fixed charges altogether, but instead of doing away wiht it, DERC increased it it manifold."

“By lowering the tariffs, the discoms have proved that they are making gains beyond the 16 per cent assured profits, so our case for a CAG audit just got stronger," Goel continued. "Currently a PIL on the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. Offering subsidies on power such that only a few categories benefit from it is nothing more than vote bank politics. Each voter is a taxpayer in some capacity. Now all this money is collected by the government as tax and returned to just a few categories of voters only by way of subsidy. What is this if not bribing?”

Most residents agree that there are many hidden layers to the traiff change and that policymakers should analyse the rates again.

Residents claim Dwarka parks are unsafe, seek presence of guards

Dwarka, one of the well planned projects of Delhi Development Authority, has hundreds of parks either under the authority or the municipal corporation. However, most are considered unsafe after dark by residents.

RWAs in the sub-city have demanded presence of security guards, especially for the bigger parks which witness a large number of visitors.

Residents have alleged that incidents of chain snatching, gambling and other anti-social activities have become commonplace in the parks. They have also approached police and other civic bodies to enhance security in the parks.

Joint Secretary of Association of Neighbourhood Ladies Get-together (ANHLGT) and a resident of Navratan Apartments Sector 23, Neeru Gupta said, “Parks in Dwarka are unsafe. No matter how posh the area is, security arrangements need to be strengthened. DDA should take residents’ concern into account and deploy guards in the parks.”

Sources claim that Dwarka is filled with more than 500 parks and residents of the nearby societies love to spend their free time there. However, most of the neighbourhood parks are considered unsafe after dark and people don’t like to venture there alone.

Joint Secretary of Harsukh Apartments, Sector 7, Ravi Jaitely said, “We use the neighbourhood park in Sector 7. I can say that security arrangements should be improved in parks used by senior citizens and women. Parks in Dwarka are either under the DDA or MCD and both should undertake responsibility.”

Residents said that DDA had appointed watchmen for some of the parks. However, those watchmen couldn’t be witnessed the whole day and it seemed they came only for attendance.

Anurag Bahal a resident of Shruti Apartments, Sector 7 said, “I have seen watchmen at DDA parks of Sector 11 and Sector 7. However, they don’t stay there the whole day. Further, some security guards should be present in those parks which are used mostly after dark.”

In August 2016 a DDA press release mentioned, “Chief Engineers of Zones can engage nearly fifty security guards for a period of one year to ensure security in DDA parks. Due to lack of security guards, problems like thefts, presence of anti-social elements who harass general public and damage fittings, steel grills of boundary walls, etc take place.  A proposal for engagement of more than fifty security guards was placed before the Authority and Engineer Member, DDA’’.

When City Spidey raised the issue before SN Singh, Chief Engineer Dwarka, he replied that the horticulture department was not under him. He further clarified that he had no information regarding any such proposal. City Spidey also tried to contact DDA Director (Horticulture), but he wasn’t available.

Lost and found: Good samaritan gives Delhi man the surprise of his life!

The fear of losing your wallet, mobile and several valuables is enough to give you nightmares. Imagine, how tough would be the plight of a person who has lost his wallet.

Gurpreet Singh, a resident of New Delhi went through a harrowing experience as he lost his wallet in metro on March 15. Singh had exited the metro on Lajpat Nagar station that day. 

However, he had a pleasant surprise when another man, Sidharth Mehta, traveling in the same metro found his lost wallet and returned it on the address mentioned on Singh’s Aadhaar card through courier service.

Sidharth Mehta is a resident of Ajnara Grand Heritage, a residential society in Sector-74, Noida. Mehta said that he was returning from Indira Gandhi International Airport and had parked his car at Nehru Place metro station.

Mehta found Rs 516, documents like Aadhaar C1ard, driving license, two debit cards, one Metro card, a Pan card, some pictures and sim cards in Singh’s wallet.

"I thought to submit his wallet to the metro customer care office at Nehru Place station. However, the office was closed and thus I kept his wallet with myself. Upon reaching home me and my wife started searching for a mobile number or address on the documents in the purse. However, I saw that different addresses were mentioned on the Aadhaar card and driving license. Further, only the person’s name was mentioned on his Pan card,” he added.

He further said that he tried to visit Gurpreet’s house through the address mentioned on the Aadhaar card, but was unsuccessful. However, he parceled Singh’s wallet, money and documents through India Post to the address mentioned on his Aadhaar card along with a letter. “In the letter, I also mentioned my mobile number for confirmation. I am confident that after receiving the wallet and letter Singh will call me and that will be enough to prove that the wallet has reached the right person,” Mehta added. "We will meet soon. Right now I am out of town, so I will possibly meet him by next week,” he further said.

Gurpreet Singh told City Spidey that he was thankful to Sidharth Mehta and the incident had strengthened his belief in humanity. “I also posted his letter and photo of my purse on my Facebook wall to inform people that I have come in contact with such an honest guy like Sidharth,” Singh said. The letter posted on Gurpreet’s Facebook wall read, “Dear Gurpreet, I found your purse in the Delhi Metro and I’m sending you the same. Please call me upon receiving it. Hope you receive it with full/complete documents.”

Has Anna Hazare ditched homebuyers! Ends fast, heads back to Ralegan Siddhi

Social activist Anna Hazare, who has been holding an indefinite strike in Ramlila Ground in Delhi for nearly a week demanding setting up of a Lokpal at the Centre, broke his fast on Thursday after a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Ironically this action of Anna shattered homebuyers of Delhi-NCR region who were expecting him to come to their aid.

Thousands of homebuyers from Gautam Budh Nagar and other parts of NCR had reached Ramlila Ground to support Anna’s fight against corruption. Anna has been demanding setting up of an independent body such as Lokpal that would probe corruption at high places. The home buyers, who have been at the receiving end as they have not been getting flats even after making substantial payments  are accusing politician-builder-bureaucrat nexus of corruption.

Homebuyers, however, suffered a setback since Anna withdrew his strike unexpectedly leaving them in the lurch. They had hoped that Anna would take up their cause. Sunil Singh a homebuyer complained that “we staged numerous indefinite protests before the offices of the real estate developers and politicians, but failed to achieve our objective. With the arrival of Anna we were hopeful but since he has withdrawn his fast, we are back to square one.” 

Pramod Kumar, who had booked a flat with JP group, too traveled to Delhi from Greater Noida to join the protest. He told City Spidey that he doesn’t know why Anna broke his fast after meeting Maharashtra CM. 

“The homebuyers had made a beeline to Anna’s protest thinking that the builders who probably felt protected by the politician-bureaucrat nexus would get scared. Our flats were delayed due to this unchecked corruption,” Kumar added.

The homebuyers are however determined to continue their fight against the builders and government authorities. “This fight will end only with the possession of flats. Supreme Court is helping the home buyers and the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) appointed by the apex court is also helping us. The SC has emerged as the only ray of hope for flat buyers,” he added.

Kumar, who has been leading the agitating home buyers said he would meet Anna soon and ask him the reasons for ending his fast.

Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao: But my daughter committed suicide - Will PM intervene

Ekisha Shah’s parents and family members have sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their daughter's suicide case. The girl’s parents have written a letter to PM Modi alleging that their daughter underwent numerous atrocities and was forced to end her life.

They have claimed that two teachers of Ahlcon Public school Rajesh Sehgal and Neeraj Anand used to physically and mentally torture their daughter. The victim’s parents have alleged that Rajesh Sehgal used to harass their daughter and when she tried to raise voice against the harassment, Sehgal and Anand deliberately failed her in the exams. 

While mentioning the central government’s scheme, “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”, Ekisha’s family said that neither their daughter could study nor did she survive. They have further alleged that the UP administration and school administration are doing their best to save the teachers.

The whole Shah family is the disciple of Kathak King Pandit Birju Maharaj. Maharaj had said that the girl was not only his student but also one of the rising stars of the country.

Ekisha's family have demanded security for themselves, CBI investigation of Ekisha’s suicide and cancellation of the school’s accreditation to C.B.S.E. They have also expressed a desire to meet the PM and explain more details of the case to him. 

Last Wednesday, Ekisha Shah of Ahlcon Public School had committed suicide and was found hanging at her Noida Sector 52 residence. Family members had even blocked the Noida-Delhi link road from both sides for about five hours while demanding justice for their daughter. Noida Police has filed an FIR against two teachers and the principal under IPC sections 306 (abetment to suicide), 354 (sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and the POCSO Act.

MCG engineers will not be spared the rod, now!

In a move to introduce transparency and improve accountability, MCG has decided to make and share the schedule of all engineers — also called the beat system — with RWAs and ward councillors of the areas concerned.

MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav announced the same during a meeting held yesterday with the officials of the engineering wing. He said, “A beat system for the engineering wing will be made and its details will be shared with the concerned RWAs and ward councillors. Even the public can view the list after it is uploaded on the MCG website.”

He added, “This will increase the accountability of staffers and citizens will also know which person to contact for addressing a certain type of complaint. If the concerned staffer does not complete the task, then action can be initiated against him.”

Councillors have been long alleging that officials of the engineering department always avoid work, making progress of civic projects an extremely difficult task. Thus, councillors and RWAs have been demanding that the MCG make a schedule for officials and share it with all.

They also felt in the absence of any checks, these engineers often tended to disregard complaints lodged with the engineering department.

Lauding the MCG move, Mayor Madhu Azad said, “I am grateful that the MCG commissioner has acted upon our demands and made the working of the engineering department more transparent. This will not only benefit the functioning of the MCG but also help improve the city’s civic amenities.”

If you are crossing the Kherki Daula toll, prepare to pay Rs 5 more

Residents of societies along the Dwarka Expressway, who have been demanding that the Kherki Daula toll be removed altogether, were in for a shock recently. Instead of abolishing and removing the toll, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on March 26 approved a proposal to increase the rates by Rs 5 in every category.  

So cars now have to pay Rs 65 instead of Rs 60; light commercial vehicles Rs 95 instead of Rs 90; and heavy vehicles Rs 190 instead of Rs 185. Similarly, the monthly pass for personal car holders has been increased from Rs 685 to Rs 710, the commercial car fee has been hiked from Rs 900 to Rs 935, the light commercial vehicle fee raised from Rs 1,330 to Rs 1,375, and the heavy vehicle fee increased from Rs 2,705 to Rs 2,800.

The Millennium City Expressway Private Limited (MCEPL), the concessionaire operating the toll, will make the increased tariff operational from April 1.

Understandably, residents are livid. 

Apart from them demanding the removal of the toll, the Haryana and central governments are also working towards shifting the toll to Sehrawan, about 11 km from Kherki Daula. The toll hike is badly timed, to say the least. Dwarka News

A large number of Dwarka Expressway residents use the Kherki Daula toll to reach sectors 81-99 and pay Rs 60 for a one-way trip. Homebuyers usually cross the toll at least twice a day, and after the toll is hiked from April 1, they will have to pay Rs 130 every day.

“We have been fighting with the government for the removal of the toll but this move by the MCEPL shows that the government is completely in the toll authorities' pockets; they are not worried about the public at all. We will take this forward in the April 8 protest planned by DXP Welfare Association,” said Pradip Rahi, a resident of Vatika Gurgaon 21, Sector 83.

MCEPL senior manager, T Raju, said, “The maintenance cost of the expressway and the toll have increased in the past year, which is why the toll tariff has been increased too.”

When asked, S Raguraman, CEO of the MCEPL, had another justification: “It is the policy of the company to increase the toll fee every year on April 1."

But residents don't plan to take this decision lying down.

“From the very first day of the announcement of this expansion project, the government has been giving us assurances that the Kherki Daula toll plaza will be removed. But nothing has materialised yet — even construction of new lanes for toll collection are in progress. And now this decision to hike tariffs. It is unfair to us residents,” said Praveen Malik, a resident of Sector 92.

No work, no job: MCG terminates the service of a junior engineer

Gone are the days of complacency at the MCG — at least the actions of MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav seems to point in that direction. After looking into several complaints of negligence and inefficiency against an outsourced junior engineer (JE) attached with the enforcement team, he sent a termination letter to the engineer’s agency yesterday.

In the complaints received, the engineer was accused of inaction despite being apprised about unauthorised construction.

It must be noted that the MCG is yet to honour its agreement made with councillors on terminating the contract of 14 consultants who were being paid hefty amounts, but were hindering developmental work. Gurgaon News

Of the 14 consultants, four are deputed with the engineering branch, three each in sanitation and revenue branches, two in IT branch, and one each in legal and taxation branches.

The MCG has 635 sanctioned posts — 183 of which are filled by MCG staff members and the remaining are either outsourced or occupied by employees on deputation from the urban local bodies and other state departments.

The MCG spent Rs 215.46 crore between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2017, on staff salaries.

MV I Ext: Can two govt bodies ever work in tandem? Let DJB and PWD demonstrate

Too many cooks spoil the broth, we know that. But when it comes to Delhi's infrastructural issues, only two are enough. Take the road in front of East End Apartments in Mayur Vihar Phase I Extension, for example. 

It's been more than one and a half months that two civic bodies, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Public Works Department (PWD) have locked horns over the repair of a portion of the road. 

It was DJB that initially dug up a portion of the road connecting New Ashok Nagar to Noida to lay down sewer lines. Now, after the work was completed, it was PWD's job to repair the road. However, it first needed DJB to pay restoration charges for it. But of course DJB has not done any such thing, which is why the road still lies dug up and unrepaired.

City Spidey had brought attention to this matter on February 14, when Bhure Lal, the DJB official-in-charge of the Mayur Vihar area, had said, “The damaged road will be repaired by PWD. We will complete the work by next week and then approach PWD.”

Naresh Meena, an engineer with PWD in charge of Mayur Vihar and New Ashok Nagar, said, “As per official procedures, DJB has to finance the repair work of the portions it dug up. We are waiting for DJB to pay us the charges first.”

City Spidey found out that PWD had fixed a March 26 deadline for floating the tender for repair of the road. However, when we spoke to Naresh Meena to know whether a tender had been floated, he said, “No, but we will get the entire stretch from New Ashok Metro station to Noida repaired soon.” 

On being asked if DJB had paid the restoration charges, Meena replied, “It will take it least 15 more days for that to happen.”

Well, that's one and a half months and counting...

Water bills of Rs 70 lakh! What are these Noida residents to do?

In yet another unfair practice by builders, residents find themselves penalised without cause. A few builders in Noida have consistently failed to pay water charges to Noida Authority, notching up the bill to several lakhs. And Noida Authority, silent for all these days about the unpaid water bills, have suddenly woken up and slapped the AOAs with huge sums, along with a notice that if pending bills were not cleared by April 1, their water connections would be snipped. 

Now residents are at their wits' end, as this is the first they have heard about of the issue. They say they have diligently been paying the builders their water charges every year, but had no clue that they were not being deposited to Noida Authority. To top it all, Noida Authority has also silently been charging interest on the unpaid amounts. 

Anurag Dhanda, a resident of JM Orchid in Sector 76, told City Spidey that residents were living in the society for the past four years and now all of a sudden Noida Authority has slapped them with a bill of Rs 70 lakh, including interest. “The AOA was first formed in 2016, and now in February 2018, we get this notice from Noida Authority about disconnection of the water line!” Dhanda added.

Alok Shroff, a resident of Sunshine Helios in Sector 78, said they had received a bill of Rs 21 lakh from Noida Authority. "We even met officials of Noida Authority's water department, telling them we should not be penalised for something that is not our fault. If the Authority has to take action, it should be against the builder and not us,” Shroff added.

Col P Chandra, a resident of Aditya Urban Casa in Sector 78, said that their pending amount was Rs 59 lakh, including an interest of Rs 13 lakh. “This will put thousands of families in jeopardy," he said. "How can one live without a water connection? And why should families suffer for no fault of theirs?"

He also questioned why Noida Authority did nothing to exact the bills over the past years, just charging interest over interest on the arrears. How were the flat owners to know what was going on between Noida Authority and the builders?

SC Arora, a senior project engineer with Noida Authority, told City Spidey that when an AOA was formed, it should demand a no-dues certificate from the builder. If the builder didn't give them that, it was not the Authority's fault. 

"The water charges will have to be borne by whoever's name the water connection is registered in," he added. "If the AOA has transferred the water connection in its name from the builder, then there's no way out but for it to pay the pending bills." 

Ekisha Shah's parents organise candle march, demand justice for their daughter

Ekisha Shah’s family members organised a candle march in Noida on Wednesday demanding justice for their daughter and a CBI investigation regarding her death. The march continued from APJ School, Sector 16-A till DLF Mall, Sector-18 and witnessed huge participation from local residents.

Raghav Shah, father of the victim told City Spidey that he lost the ''apple of his eyes'' and did not want the same to happen to other parents in future. “I am missing my Ekisha, who was not only my daughter but also my friend and student,” he added.

The Noida police said that they have got a go ahead from the CBSE for revaluation of Ekisha's answer-sheet. However, a committee has still not been formed to check the sheet.

 16-year-old Ekisha was a student of Ahlcon Public School, Mayur Vihar Phase-1 and had committed suicide last week at her residence in Sector-52, Noida owing to alleged sexual harassment and criticism.

Her parents alleged that school teachers had sexually harassed her and deliberately failed her in her annual exams. Further, they had also blocked the Noida-Delhi link road from both sides for about five hours in order to demand justice for their daughter. The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea filled by Ekisha’s parents seeking a CBI investigation regarding her suicide.

Naxalism and Gautam Budh Nagar: Police tries to devise ways to tackle problem

The Gautam Budh Nagar police is on high alert since the arrest of an alleged Naxal commander who was a B.Tech dropout from Divya Jyoti College of Modinagar, Ghaziabad.

The police is now prepared to investigate Naxalite connections in colleges and localities and the intelligence wing has decided to conduct verifications of outstation students and tenants staying in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.

Students, working professionals and tenants from Naxalism-hit states and North-Eastern students from states affected from terrorism will be on police’s radar.

Police will prepare a database of students through cooperation of colleges and investigate the presence or absence of anti-social elements in colleges. Apart from that, the police is also set to keep a vigil and prepare database of working professionals’ staying as tenants in various housing societies in GB Nagar.

Greater Noida’s SP (Rural Area) Suniti said that the alleged Naxalite Sudhir Bhagat caught from Sector-5, Noida’s Harola village had a bounty of Rs. fifty thousand on his head. Sudhir (25) is originally a native of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district which falls under Devariya police station, Mohabbatpur village. He is the son of Ramdev  Bhagat. He had been staying in Harola village under the fake name of Aditya Kumar. The fake ID received from him displays his father’s name as Sadhusharan Bhagat. Further, his original residence in the ID is mentioned as Muzaffarpur, Bihar which falls under Jafarpur police station.

Sudhir Bhagat has accepted that he finished his B.Tech from a Modinagar based institute. After studying for three years, he went to his house in Muzaffarpur, Bihar and conducted various criminal activities there. Later on, he returned to Noida again.

The above-mentioned steps set to be undertaken by GB Nagar police to achieve verification of outsiders can bear fruit only if they get proper cooperation from police and intelligence wings of other states.

Once, they collect information of outstation residents, the database would have to be sent to the citizens’ home states for proper verification. The local police in those regions will then have to gather adequate information and forward it to GB Nagar police.

However, inter-state cooperation among police and security agencies has historically been poor and such steps have proved to be futile in the past. Further, India has one of the lowest police-population ratios in the world. As per reports, there is only one police officer for approximately 720 people in India. On the other hand, in the US, there is an officer for 436 people, in Spain one for 198 and in South Africa one for 347 people. Thus, it remains to be seen whether or not the Gautam Budh Nagar police’s recent actions yield successful results.

Singham brutally assaulted, Ghaziabad residents angry

Sanjeev Trehan (better known as Singham uncle), the self-styled traffic volunteer from Shipra Sun City was attacked by an unruly driver while on duty near the Shipra underpass in Indirapuram on Wednesday evening.

The incident left Trehan with a cut on the back of his head and hearing loss in the left ear.

According to Trehan, he was attacked by an unruly driver who was speeding, trying to overtake other vehicles and cut into the vehicle queue ahead of his turn. 

Trehan has been actively serving as traffic guard at this underpass since 2006. He generally stands there from 9 to 11 in the morning and from 7 to 9 in the evening, the peak traffic hours of a day.

Trehan was at the Noida side of the underpass at the time of the incident as that area sees heavy traffic in the evening from the commercial areas of Noida Sector 62.

“It was around 7.30 pm and I was manning the traffic as usual. A white Maruti Alto suddenly sped in and tried to overtake other vehicles and cut into the queue. I tried to stop the vehicle there but instead of stopping, the driver intimidated me as if he wanted to run me over. The man was in his mid-twenties and was with his wife. He used foul language first and after sometime came out and started hitting me. He picked up a brick from nearby and hit me on the head,” Trehan said.

Trehan was rescued by passers-by and locals who also nabbed the assailant and handed him over to the police. He was taken to the Noida District Hospital in Sector 30, Noida by the police.

Trehan is also an active member of the Citizen Volunteer Force (CVF), a residents unit initiated by the Ghaziabad police.

The incident has left fellow members and residents worried. “Trehan has been a very active member of CVF and his role in voluntary service is ideal. It is unfortunate that such an incident has taken place with him,” Alok Kumar, president of FedAoA, Ghaziabad and CVF volunteer.

As the news spread, demands poured in for the assailant to be taken to task. “I see him at the very location most of the time while going to and returning from office. Can’t imagine this happened. The culprit must be punished,” said Smith Sharma, an Indirapuram resident.

However, given his nature, Trehan has decided to forgive his assailant and provide him a second chance.

A complaint in this regard has also been lodged at the Sector 58 police station in Noida.

“We have received a complaint in this regard. From what we have learned so far, the assailant attacked Trehan in an act of rage. Trehan told us that he has chosen to forgive the attacker provided he pays for all the expenses for his treatment,” said Anil Pratap Singh, SO of Sector 58 police station.

“The person has asked for forgiveness and I have decided to forgive him but he has to pay the expenses for my treatment,” Trehan told City Spidey.

Power bills for Delhi consumers to witness a major dip

Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) yesterday reduced electricity tariff by 32 per cent for all categories of power consumers in the city. However, fixed charges on new power connections witnessed a manifold increase.

The decision was taken during a review meeting on new tariff charges applicable for 2018-19.

As per the new tariff charges issued by DERC, power tariff up to 200 units has been slashed by Rs 1 against last year. In 2017-18, tariff charge for consumption up to 200 units per month was Rs 4. Similarly, power consumers using power between 200 to 400 units will now pay Rs 4.50 per month against Rs 5.95 compared to last year. For using power between 401 to 800 units, consumers have to pay Rs 6.70 per unit per month, against Rs 7.70 last year. Likewise, between 800 to 1,200 units, power tariff has been fixed Rs 7.10 against Rs 8.10 last year.

After the new power tariff charges were issued, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “It was our commitment to not increase electricity bill, and we kept our word. In the last four years, electricity bill witnessed reduction. Around 80 domestic users are getting power at minimum charges in the city.”

He added, “It could be done due to audit of power companies operating in Delhi.”

However, fixed charges for fresh connections has been increased. For up to 2 KW, fixed charge has increased up to Rs 125 against Rs 25 last year. Similarly, for between 2KW to 5 KW, fixed charge has hiked up to Rs 140 against Rs 35 last year. For 5KW to 10 KW, one has to pay Rs 175, while earlier it was Rs 45.

For this hike in fixed charges, Delhi government blamed the BJP-led Central government. Sateynder Jain, Delhi power minister said, “There are two components of power purchasing — fixed charge and variable charge. For instance Delhi has an agreement for power purchasing from 7,000 MW to 8,000 MW. If Delhi government use only 3000 MW, the government has to pay fixed charges for the entire purchase. Variable charges, however, apply on power consumed.”

Jain further added that, “Fixed charges have increased because the Central government has increased by the rate all thermal power companies by 50 paisa per unit. This 50 paisa has made a huge difference, and therefore, the hike.”

Could Ghaziabad residents hope for a facelift for the city?

Ghaziabad residents might soon find city streets rid of encroachments like street vendors, kiosks and other makeshift structures. Dedicated vending zones for various pockets of the city were decided in a joint meeting yesterday between the district administration, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation and Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).

Areas earmarked by the GDA include five vending zones.

“The zones in Indirapuram include an open plot near Shanti Gopal Hospital in Ahinsa Khand I; a plot near Indirapuram sewage treatment plant and another in Shakti Khand IV. There are two other zones which include areas near the Big Bazaar in Kaushambi and Sector 4 in Vaishali,” said Hira Lal Singh, executive engineer of GDA.

Singh maintained that another zone, which was earlier proposed in the green belt near Shipra Rivera society in Indirapuram, has been cancelled.

Areas earmarked by the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation include Priyadarshani Park in Mohan Nagar, Dundaheda in Vijaynagar, near NH 24 in Vijay Nagar, and Raj Nagar Extension.

“All the zones will be supervised by the municipal corporation, and will be operated on the public-private-partnership (PPP) model. Tenders for operating these zones will be floated soon. The areas will be under the administration of the town-vending committee and slots will be allotted by the committee,” said CP Singh municipal commissioner of Ghaziabad.

Officials maintained that these zones will cater to both regular vendors and the vendors who set up shop during weekly markets.

Residents have most certainly welcomed the decision.  

Speaking to City Spidey, Alok Kumar president of Federation of Apartment Owners Association, and a resident of Indirapuram, said, “If the measure is successfully implemented, it will change the face of the city. We have been waiting for such an initiative for a long time. It will remove encroachment and traffic problems; make it easier to identify and organise street vendors and also give them a fixed place to carry on business.”

Will NHAI join HUDA's fight in the MG Road petrol pump re-allotment?

In a recent development in the legal tangle HUDA is caught in over the removal and re-allotment of a petrol pump on MG Road, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been asked to join them in their fight. According to HUDA, the removal of the pump is necessary to make way for an underpass at Iffco Chowk.

HUDA had allotted an alternative site for the petrol pump in Sector 42 on Golf Course Road, which is close to a mall. But the management of the mall has moved local court against the allotment. The issue has been pending in court for the past two months now.

Chander Shekhar Khare, HUDA, Gurgaon administrator, said, “We had a discussion about this with NHAI officials three days ago. It is our outmost priority to shift the petrol pump and hand over the land to NHAI for the construction of the underpass. The next hearing at the local court is on April 4." 

"If needed, NHAI will join the legal battle, but a solution needs to be found at the earliest,” said a senior NHAI official on condition of anonymity.

The development comes just days before Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is to visit Gurgaon on March 31, when he is expected to discuss the MG Road petrol pump issue, among other things. Khattar has reviewed the shifting of the petrol pump thrice in the past nine months with the local administration. 

On January 22, while inaugurating two underpasses at Signature Tower and Rajiv Chowk, Khattar had directed HUDA to remove the petrol pump in seven days.

NHAI is constructing an L-shaped underpass at Iffco Chowk to allow commuters from the Metro station to head towards Delhi via Sikanderpur without merging with the local traffic. This is expected to reduce the jams at the junction, which has emerged as one of city’s biggest bottlenecks in the past five years.

Here's a first in India: GMDA babus to travel in electric cars

Here’s a first in India — Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) officials will soon be travelling in electric cars during work hours.  It is in the process of hiring 15 electric cars on lease by next week.

The cars will be hired from Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), which is a joint venture of four national public sector enterprises — NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation Limited, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited.

The GMDA office presently has 15 vehicles on rent.

CEO GMDA V Umashankar said, “We are hiring 15 electric cars on lease. The fleet of e-cars will be part of the GMDA office in Sector 32. The electric cars can run on diesel and petrol in emergency. Charging stations are being built at four different locations in the city.”

The charging stations will be located at Tau Devi Lal Stadium, office of Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), rest houses of HUDA in Sector 15, and Sector 29.

The GMDA officials, including the CEO, additional CEOs and others, will use electric vehicles for local travelling.

To reduce the negative impact of petrol and diesel on environment, NITI Aayog  — set up in 2015 — had kick-started a pilot project next year in support of the electrification of India’s automobile industry by setting up 135 electric vehicle charging stations in Delhi and NCR.

NITI Aayog stands for National Institution for Transforming India and is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Haryana PWD minister may witness a protest in front of his house on April 8

Members of the Dwarka Expressway Welfare Association (Dxp Association) are planning a peaceful protest outside the residence of state Public Works Department (PWD) minister Rao Narbir Singh in Civil Lines on April 8. The protest will be held to demand the development of basic civic infrastrure in residential sectors along the expressway, also called the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR), mainly the laying of sewage pipes, water supply pipelines and roads. 

The association has sent messages to all its members and associated homebuyers to reach Civil Lines around 9 am.

Many of the association's members are residents of more than 50 societies along the expressway that have no sewer or water connections.

Yashesh Yadav, president of the Dxp Association, said, “I live in Sector 110 A in a private society that gets water from the Basai treatment plant daily through private tankers. But there is no water line laid by HUDA. There isn't even provision for sewage disposal.”

“We will hold the protest so the Haryana government gives us basic civic infrastructure in sectors 81-115, along the Dwarka Expressway,” said Pradip Rahi, general secretary of the association.

“It has been almost a decade since HUDA planned the NPR, but why has the infrastructure never been taken care of? There are nearly two lakh people living in private societies along the Dwarka Expressway who are deprived of basic infrastructural necessities,” Yadav added.

Delhi shops down shutters to protest against MCG sealing drive

Major markets in the city were closed today, as traders downed shutters to voice their protest against the sealing drive by municipal bodies. A large number of traders, their family members and employees gathered at the Ramleela ground near Civic Centre, which serves as the head office of two municipal bodies — North Delhi Municipal Corporation and South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

“Thousands of traders are participating in the strike and shops are closed in all the markets in the city,” said Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).

The busy markets of Sadar Bazar, Lajpat Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Karol Bag, Chawri Bazar and many more wore a deserted look in the morning. However, two major markets in East Delhi — Laxmi Nagar and Nirman Vihar — were partially closed.

In the last two-and-a-half months this is the third strike called by Delhi traders unions under the banner of CAIT. Traders alleged that sealing drive has affected the lives of nearly 40 lakh people!

According to official sources, around 4,000 commercial establishments have been sealed off by three municipal corporations in their respective areas in last two-and-a-half months. This drive was initiated on Supreme Court directive.

The apex court-mandated monitoring committee has earlier submitted its report saying that traders in the city had violated the Master Plan of Delhi. The committee also recommended a sealing drive to overcome the problem of illegal encroachment and illegal construction in all major markets of the city.

Another burning issue was illegal extension of shops without paying the mandatory conversion charges. This charge is levied on properties where commercial activity is not allowed and one has to pay this charge to convert the land use for the same.  

MCDs thus issued notices to identified shop owners and started a sealing drive. In fact, a lot of shop owners received notices even today, and they were seen making long queues outside municipal officers to pay their dues.