SK Malik: Shall the govt bring down Rashtrapati Bhawan too for redevelopment!

Trees have great environmental value, and they shouldn’t be cut down. Housing and Urban Development Ministry is redeveloping Sarojni Nagar government residential colony, spread over 240 acres of land, as per Delhi Master Plan 2021 (MPD 2021).

Sarojni Nagar was developed in 1950 and is only 68-years-old. To carry out this redevelopment, the ministry gave out the contract to NBCC — it is to demolish existing flats and cut 11,000 full-grown trees from the current number of 13,128.

The NBCC is to reconstruct 10, 655 residential flats and commercial towers on 42 acres of land at the cost of Rs 11, 660 crores. The cost of construction will be recovered by selling commercial property in residential area.

My question to the government: “Rashtrapati Bhawan, too, is a 106-years-old building, spread over 320 acres of land. Will it be redeveloped as well as per 2021 Master Plan -- will they break down this building too? The whole thing is a joke!”

The government accords zero environmental value to the 13, 128 full-grown trees in the area, hence it doesn't mind cutting them down for this wishful project. They must reconsider the environmental costs and redesign the project to save the trees.

Residents and traffic inspector visit closed cut near Sector 2, Dwarka

Locals and the traffic officials today inspected a closed cut on master plan road number 201 in Dwarka near Celestial Heights Apartments in Sector 2 and Youngsters Apartments in Sector 6. The cut was recently closed down to avoid accidents and traffic chaos.

Today, members of the managing committee of various societies from nearby area discussed the matter with traffic inspector Rajendra Singh and the general secretary of Federation of Cooperative Group Housing Societies (FCGHS), Sudha Sinha, at the spot.

Dwarka News

They also discussed a host of other issues such as requirement of signals, management of traffic load, closing down of dangerous cuts.

President of Celestial Heights, Gopal Sethi, said, “We spoke about the difficulties at the signals of Sectors 1, 2, 6, 7 and at the signals near the Bus Depot. He understood the gravity of the situation and agreed to some of our suggestions — one of them is opening of a U-turn for 15-20 seconds at the crossing of sectors 1, 2, 6, 7 on an experimental basis. He also agreed to do better time management at the signal of DTC Depot Chowk.”

The cut was initially closed down temporarily and a traffic official was placed there to observe the situation for a week, and then, the measure was made permanent.

FCGHS general secretary Sinha conceded that closing of the cut was effective in curbing accidents in the area. “It’s a initiative we support — they just need to manage other traffic issues to reduce road chaos in the area.”

Agreeing SK Malik, a resident of Youngsters Apartments, said, “I live at this crossing, and have seen two fatal accidents — plus, there would be a fracas between commuters at the cut every day. Now, the cut is closed and I’ll have to travel a kilometre more to reach my house, but I am still happy.”

Burari deaths: Ailing dog recuperates at animal shelter in Noida

The pet dog, which was found chained in a house where bodies of 11 members of a family were found hanging in North Delhi’s Burari area, is recuperating in a animal shelter in Noida. The doctor who has been giving medical aid said health condition of dog has been recovered up to 70 per cent and it will fully recover in two-three days.

The dog, name Tommy, an Indian pitbull mix breed of black colour, was found chained with a iron grill on third floor of the building (the grill on which 9 out of 11 bodies were found hanging on second floor of building).

Sanjay Mahapatra, a Noida based animal activist who rescued Tommy and is providing it medical treatment in his own animal shelter in Sector-55 in Noida told City Spidey that Tommy had high fever when he was rescued.

“Temperature of a healthy dog’s body usually ranges between 101 to 102 degrees but Tommy’s body temperature was above 108 degrees. When we reached for rescue, it was barking furiously. It was completely shocked and behaved in a way that it would attack on us. Somehow, we managed to make it calm down and finally rescued,” Sanjay said.

Replying on how the dog reached to the shelter in Noida, Sanjay said that he came to know about the mysterious death of 11 persons of a family through news on Sunday morning.

“I saw the dog on a news channel. It was hardly 2-3 seconds’ clip and immediately I thought of rescuing it. I contacted one of the investigative officers at Burari police station and requested him to handover the dog to me for treatment. After one and half hours, police officials called me back and allowed me to take it away with me on certain conditions,” Sanjay added.

When City Spidey visited animal shelter, the dog looked calm and cool and was having meal. A doctor who was treating the dog said, a lot of changes have come on his behavior and he is still scared.

“We are trying our best to make him feel better, giving him love therapy along with medicines. We also take him out for a walk in morning and evening so that he can become familiar with the area. For a dog whether it is pet or stray, the life they live is very important.”

The doctor also told that the physical condition of the dog was an indication that he was not properly taken care off. Apart from high fever, the dog had infection on his skin and was not as healthy as he used to be at this age. According to him, the dog is 6 to 7 year old.

“We gave him an icepack to normalise the fever and then provided medicines and food,” Sanjay said.

City Spidey also spoke to the police official, who was one of the investigators in the mass-suicide or mass suicide-murder case, to know on what condition the dog was handed over to the animal activist?

The official who requested not to be named said, “We have allowed the custody of the dog for treatment with some conditions. Once the dog is recuperated, it would be sent to Sanjay Gandhi Animal Hospital.”

Greater Noida: Woman suffers fractures after lift falls in Gaur Saundaryam

Using a lift in Westeria tower of Gaur Saundaryam Society near Gaur City in Greater Noida turned out a nightmare for two women on Tuesday.

One of the two women got injured with multiple fractures after the lift suddenly fell from 14th floor to 7th floor.

noida news

As per the information, the incident happened at around 21:30 pm on Tuesday. The woman, who was injured, lived in the same tower on 9th floor and was going down for some work. Another woman who boarded the lift from the same floor had a narrow escape.

“After hearing big sound of lift fall, we rushed to the seventh floor of the building where the lift was stuck. We tried to open the lift’s gate but could not succeed. Then, we informed the maintenance department of the society. Finally, the lift got open and we saw women lying on the floor of the lift,” said a resident after requesting not to be named.

Another resident informed that the injured woman was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was treated for injuries on her legs. It was informed that she had received three fractures in her legs.

The incident triggered fear among the residents of the society and they blamed the builder for negligent approach.

“We are paying a hefty amount as maintenance charges but getting no facility. Instead, we are continuously harassed by the builder. The security inside the society is also a reason to worry for us,” said another resident of the society.

City Spidey tried to contact the woman who received injuries from the incident but she did not respond. However, a resident said, “The issue has been sorted out amicably and we do not want to speak more on it.”

NGT asks EDMC not to allow public functions at a park in Mayur Vihar

The National Green Tribunal on Tuesday asked East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) not to allow public functions at a park with the name Mahavir Vatika in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar area.

The tribunal stated that if the park is allotted for the purposes like marriage and religious functions, there is ample chance of the flora getting destroyed.

Delhi news

“Considering that the size of the park is not very big, there is a likelihood of the flora getting destroyed. Therefore, we restrain the EDMC from allowing public functions in the park,” the tribunal said.

The decision has come on a plea filed by Shalini Tyagi, a resident of Mayur Vihar Phase-2, seeking directions to restrain the forest department and others from chopping trees in Mahavir Vatika in Mayur Vihar Phase-2 to protect the environment and ecology of the area.

In her plea, Shalini has alleged that a total of 25 full-grown trees have been axed and the EDMC was planning to chop more trees. The petitioner further alleged that the EDMC frequently allows the park for functions after taking required fees in spite of the fact that there was a community hall in the area.

“The greenery of the park has vanished and the environment has degraded due to illegal cutting of trees and frequent use of the park for public functions,” the plea said.

Delhi: Health dept to designate nodal officers to monitor vector-borne diseases

With the advent of monsoon in the city, the health department of the Delhi government has geared up to fight against the vector-borne diseases. As per the information, the health department has decided to designate a nodal officer at all the offices and institutes in the national capital to review the measures taken for preventing the outbreak of dengue and other vector-borne diseases.

“All offices would designate a nodal officer responsible to carry out vector-borne control related activities. The contact number of the designated nodal officer would be put up at prominent spots in the offices and the persons with any concerns on cleanliness in the buildings/offices would be able to communicate with the officer,” said an official in the health department in Delhi government.

The decision in this regard was taken in a review meeting chaired by Delhi Lieutenant Governor at his office last week. Delhi News

The monsoon season is yet to arrive fully in the city but more than a half dozen of fresh cases of malaria have been reported in the last couple of weeks in Delhi. The total number of persons affected by the vector-borne disease is 46 this session.

As per the reports collected from municipal authorities, of 25 malaria cases were reported in the month of June while it was17 in May. The number of malaria cases reported between February to March was in single digit.

Reports suggested that as many as 30 dengue cases were reported this session in the city and three of them were reported in June. Apart from these, two fresh cases of Chikungunya have also been reported in the last week of June taking the total to 16.

“Both dengue and malaria have different carriers and therefore it is not unusual for malaria cases to be reported in larger number as compared to dengue,” said a doctor in LNJP hospital.

The doctor further said, “People must take all precautions like wearing full-sleeve clothes and not allowing breeding of mosquitoes inside their homes. Water coolers should be dried up when it is not in use because dengue mosquitoes breed there.”

Three municipal authorities (North MCD, EDMC and SDMC) have claimed to have found breeding of mosquitoes in 42,547 households in the city till June 30. The municipal bodies also claimed that more than 48,000 legal notices have been issued to households, government offices and marketplaces etc.

As per a report, 10 people had died due to dengue in Delhi last year. Five victims were from out of Delhi but admitted in government-run hospitals in the national capital. Based on the reports released by government-run hospitals, the vector-borne disease has affected nearly 10,000 people in the city last year.

GB Nagar: MP, MLA inaugurate service roads in Khanjarpur

Union Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma and local MP Pankaj Singh on Tuesday inaugurated service roads on both the sides of Hindon Bridge at Khanjarpur in Gautam Budh Nagar. The services roads will make traffic smooth from Ghaziabad and Greater Noida to Noida.

The service roads have been handed over to the people. The cost of making the service roads was Rs 25.40 crore. noida news

Dr Mahesh Sharma and Pankaj Singh thanked all the people from the area who participated in the inauguration of the roads.

They further laid the foundation stone of 60 meters wide CC road from Yusufpur Chak Saberi to Chipiyana Khurd with a cost of Rs 65.25 lakh.

Both of them also addressed a gathering at Yusufpur Chak Saberi.

Singh said, “The earlier government had only carried out loot in the state. Now, we are starting the projects which were pending during the earlier governments.”

Sharma said, “Our 1-year-old government has started the development works which were pending during the previous government.”

He also informed people about the schemes of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Further, both of them inaugurated 45-meter wide road connecting Chipiyana Khurd. The cost of the road was around Rs 35.19 lakh. This road was in a bad state for a long time. People thanked both the leaders for carrying out repair works.

NGT strikes down permission to fell trees in South Delhi

A day after National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) got green signal from the ministry of environment to fell nearly 17,000 trees for redevelopment of seven colonies in South Delhi, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) today struck down the permission, and said no trees would be cut till July 19. Delhi news

“Keeping the High Court’s order in mind, maintain status quo on the felling of trees,” NGT said. The same order is to be followed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), which is redeveloping four out of the seven colonies.

The green tribunal also issued notices to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Central Pollution Control Board, CPWD, North Delhi Municipal Corporation and others, asking them to file their response before the next hearing on July 19.

The green panel has also asked the concerned authourties to provide the exact number of trees that are to be felled for the redevelopment project.

NGT’s directive came after hearing a plea by NGO, Chetna, seeking a stay on the proposed felling of trees. The petitioner claimed that environment clearance was granted for seven general residential colonies without taking into account adverse impact on the ecology.

It further claimed that planting of saplings at another location as compensatory afforestation is a fallacious idea and would not have any positive impact.

Delhi: 11 members of family found dead at home in mysterious circumstances

In a shocking incident, 11 members of a family were found dead at their home in Burari area of New Delhi on Sunday morning. Out of the eleven members, seven were women and four were men. They all were found dead in mysterious circumstances. Delhi crime news

According to the police, 10 of them were found hanging from an iron grill ceiling whereas body of an elderly woman was found on the floor of one of the rooms. Police said that they were all were found blindfolded and with their hands tied behind their backs. Two of the deceased are minor, police said.

The police said that they were informed about this incident by a neighbour. When police reached the spot, over hundreds of people were gathered. “Police was informed that six to seven people of a family have committed suicide. When police reached the spot, there were total 11 bodies,” said police official at Burari police station.

As per the information, the family was into plywood business and they were staying in the locality for last 25 years. The police said that they were probing the case from all angles and have not ruled out the possibility of foul play in the incident.

This incident has shocked not only the neighbours but everyone. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who visited the spot reacted, “It is a tragic incident. I have spoken to the police. Let’s wait for the investigation.”

Prima facie, it appears as a suicide case but no suicide letter was found from there. “We are investigating from all possible angles and we are not ruling out anything. The bodies have been sent for the postmortem,” a senior police official told the press.

Dwarka: Rains expose monsoon preparedness of civic bodies

The rains on Sunday exposed the preparations of the civic bodies ahead of monsoon in Dwarka. Water logging at roadsides and in the potholes of damaged roads have made the life tough for commuters.

On the road number 201, the condition was pathetic as there was a lot of water logging on the road from Rajapuri Market till Madhu Vihar due to chocked drains. People said that the particular stretch always witnesses water logging in rainy seasons.

dwarka news

MK Singh, a resident of Sector-3, said, “There was more than one feet of water on the road after the rain of about half an hour. Now, you can imagine what would happen in season ahead. The situation remains same every year because of callous approach of the civic bodies.”

The stretch on road number 201 is not the only place where water is logged but the places like Ashirvad Chowk area, Ramphal Chowk area, service lanes of Sector-14 in front of Om Apartments and the internal roads in Sector-12 are the other areas where water is logged during rain.

President of Rihayashi Apartments in Sector-12, Ved Prakash said, “Such problems are seen every year during rainy seasons. I couldn’t understand what preparation they do.”

The condition was so pathetic after rain that water was logged even on the Palam Flyover making situation worse for traffic.

Sristi Kaul, a resident of Sector-7, said, “Recently, a boy died due to electric shock and the cause was water logging near the electric pole. The civic bodies are insensitive as every year such things create fatal conditions for innocent people on the road. DDA, MCD and PWD are a complete failure on subject.”

RESIDENT SPEAK: Around 100 tree saplings planted at True Friends Apartments

A tree plantation programme was organised at True Friends Apartments in Sector-6 on Sunday. The event was organised by the residents in collaboration with Rotary Club of Delhi Divine.

Around 100 tree saplings were planted and 25 of it were procured from DDA Horticulture Department. The rest were provided by Rotary Club Delhi Divine and True Friends Society Management. Some members of the society also provided saplings.

People from all age groups in the society planted the saplings with the members of Rotary Club present on the occasion.

dwarka news

Children of the society participated with great enthusiasm in the event. They planted and adopted the trees to look after. They had also written slogans to save trees and gave message of greenery to all. This event was dedicated towards showing the effort to save environment and save trees in Delhi.

Abha Gupta and Piyush Gupta represented Rotary Club Divine on the occasion.

Delhi: Environment ministry gives green signal for cutting of 11k trees

Amid the ongoing controversy over felling of nearly 17,000 trees for redevelopment in seven colonies by National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC), the Ministry of Environment on Sunday gave its green signal to the project.

As per sources, NBCC has received the environment clearance for redeveloping the Sarojini Nagar Colony in South Delhi. As per the proposal, as many as 18,000 flats would be built at an estimated cost of Rs 11,660 crore by NBCC in Sarojini Nagar. Delhi news

The company has informed the Centre that there are about 13,128 trees at the site. “Of these, 11,000 trees would be cut and 2,128 trees would be retained,” NBCC said in its proposal submitted to the Centre.

The company, however, said the loss of trees would be compensated by a large number of plantations.

Sources told that while giving environment clearance, the ministry had asked NBCC to plant minimum one tree of native species in every 80 sqm of land. It has also been asked to plant 10 trees for one felled tree. NBCC has also been asked to obtain all necessary clearances for relevant agencies.

Over last two weeks, residents of Delhi have been protesting against the decision to cut trees for redevelopment of seven colonies.

Burari deaths: Mystery deepens as police recover spiritual notes from home

A day after bodies of 11 members of a family were found hanging from an iron grill and lying on the floor of the building, autopsy report on Monday suggested six of them died because of hanging.

The mysterious deaths of all the 11 members of the family including three generations (grandmother to grandsons/granddaughters) have left people shocked in the area. delhi crime news

“The post-mortem of 6 bodies has been completed so far. The autopsy report mentions 'ligature hanging' as the reason behind deaths. No signs of struggle were found,” said the police.

Anyone watching the video which went viral on social media showing nine bodies hanging together could not believe that it was a suicide. Whoever watched the video reacted with questions like - How can 11 members of a family commit suicide at one time and at one place?

Police are yet to establish the sequence of the death whether it was a mass suicide or a murder. During the search, police have found a register (notebook) from a room of the same house which indicates a possible spiritual connection in the incident.

As per the police, someone in the family was writing notes of spiritual messages in Hindi language. The police, however, was yet to ascertain that who was writing these spiritual messages. While the notes mentioned in the register suggested that someone was doing it from November 2017.

Two pages of the register gave a lead to the police for investigation which mentioned the process of spirituality followed before committing suicide.

Here are the sequence wise notes which were written in the register:

1. All members would cover their eyes with a cotton cloth. The cloth should be tied in a way that nothing would be visible.

2. After seven days, worship has to be performed and if an outsider enters during it then the worship will be conducted next day with all spiritual processes.

3. Choose either Sunday or Thursday for the Puja.

4. “Bebe” (the old lady who was found lying on the floor) could not stand hence she can lie in another room.

5. Thinking of all family members should be one and after that next process would be done in a right manner.

6. Light should be dim in the room.

7. If clothes remain extra after tying hands then remaining clothes can be used for covering eyes.

8. Close mouths with clothes.

9. The more rules would be followed strictly, the more Nirvana you will get.

10. Everything has to be done between 12 pm to 1 am and before that “hawan” has to be done.

What surprises more that the bodies were found exactly in a way that was mentioned in the register. 10 of them were found hanging with an iron grill, hands tied in backside and clothes tucked in their mouths.

The oldest member of the family (a 75-year-old woman) was found lying on the floor in another room.

The deceased were identified as Narayan Devi (75), her daughter Pratibha (57) and two sons Bhavesh (50) and Lalit (45). Bhavesh’s wife Savita (48), and their three children - Meenu (23), Neetu (25) and Dhruv (15) were also among deceased.

Lalit’s wife Tina (42) along with their 15-year-old son Shivam was other victims. Others were identified as Priyanka (Pratibha’s daughter) who was engaged last month and was to be married later.