Environmentalists worry over dumping of plastic waste at Basai wetland

The birders, environmentalists and residents are worried as dumping of plastic waste has resumed at the ecologically sensitive Basai wetland. The dumping has again started despite the massive dumping was cleared from the area just about a month ago.

There was an uproar among the people over the dumping of plastic waste after a black-necked stork was spotted with plastic ring in its beak. After a great effort from the rescue team, the stork was saved. gurgaon news

The officials from Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) had carried out investigations in the June on the complaint sent by the subdivisional magistrate (SDM) on behalf of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB).

They had ordered to shut down the operations of a plastic recycling plant and also made arrangements to clear the dump.

Local residents have informed that the dumping has again started and the unit has started its operations two days back.

“Permission needs to be taken from the HSPCB for manufacturing or recycling units, but this unit was compressing bottles and sending them to other states. We will visit the site and notify the MCG,” said Jai Bhagwan, regional officer, HSPCB.

“There are numerous such units across Gurugram, with three-four of them in Basai itself. When this is happening everywhere, why am I being targeted? We are not doing anything illegal,” said Arvind Dalal who is the owner of the unit.

The plastic waste management rules, 2016, states that units with compression machines can only be set up in industrial areas.

Haryana CM backs plans for Mangar Bani, Gurgaon's only green escape

While Gurgaon signifies plush high-rises, opulent office buildings and swanky malls, Mangar Bani — in the Aravalli forest area of Faridabad district — represents the last green mile between a smoke-filled Delhi and a city that has had too much construction.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and some senior top officials of Faridabad paid a visit to this green haven yesterday and assured the locals of protecting the area by declaring it a notified forest land.

Gurgaon News

Speaking on the meeting, environmentalist Chetan Agarwal said, “We appreciate Khattar’s interest in protecting Mangar Bani and its buffer zone. The time has come to notify Mangar Bani as a sanctuary or national park. He agreed with our views that this forest is a rare zone and needs government attention.”

Mangar Bani is the last and the only remaining virgin forest area of Delhi-NCR, spread over 1,300 acres spanning three villages of Kot, Bandwari and Mangar. It is the preserve of the local Gujjar community and home to a variety of birds, both indigenous and migratory.

In a statement released by the state government, the CM assured: “With a view to keep the environmental and ecological balance in the national capital region, the Haryana government would make policies for the protection of Mangar Bani located in the Aravalli forest area of the district Faridabad.”

It further read: “In deference to the demand of people of this area to convert the uncultivable wasteland of Mangar Bani into a significant forest area, a meeting would be held soon for formulating policies and taking decisions.”

Mangar Bani was declared a no-construction zone by the Haryana government in June 2016.  The measure would keep out encroachment from 677.12 acres of Mangar Bani and its buffer area of 1,266.91 acres.

Noida: Parents association protests against Apeejay School’s fee hike

All Noida School Parents Association (ANSPA), along with parents of Apeejay School in Sector 16A, conducted a protest in front of the school gate against the recent fee hike. They also spoke out against the non-implementation Fee Regulatory Adhiniyam 2018-19.

The parents wanted to meet the school principal, but she denied a meeting.

In April this year, the Yogi government approved an ordinance to regulate school fees charged by private schools (Fee Regulatory Adhiniyam), including minority institutions, affiliated to CBSE, ICSE and the UP Board of Secondary Education noida news

But, the new session has started, and Apeejay School and several other schools have still not implemented the regulations, raising the hackles of the parents.

K Arunachalam, General Secretary of ANSPA, told City Spidey, “We also had talks with Sanjay Aggarwal, Additional Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, on the matter. In effect, he wrote a letter to the education department of the UP to speed up implementation.”

The letter read: "The school management will have to upload the details of the fee structure on their website. So the parents of the students are able to get information about the school fee structure online from home. These details are to be uploaded on the website by all schools by July 15.”

"We demand time for the meeting with the school principal to discuss the increase in bus fee, tuition fee, development fee, electricity charge and other some issues on fee hike,” K Arunachalam said.

When City Spidey tried to contact the school management of Apeejay School, no response could be elicited.

Ghaziabad: COG discusses many issues related to societies in meeting

The Consortium of Societies in Ghaziabad conducted a meeting on Saturday to discuss many issues. The issues included problems of groundwater, vending zones, work on the national highway, fire safety of high rise buildings and hydraulic lifts.

They informed that the COG has also scrapped the process of depositing Rs 10,000 for getting NOC for swimming pools in societies.

ghaziabad news

The COG has also worked in the direction of bringing parity among UP Apartment Act and Bye Laws. Due to the differences, the societies struggle a lot with many problems. The COG had also helped in taking one of the problems to the High Court and solved the problem.

As per the Bye Laws, SPS Residency had elected a new director, Sudha Srivastva, in June 2017. But, few members of the board conspired against her and removed her from the post. The Bye Laws mention that an office bearer can only be removed after a public meeting which was breached in the meeting.

With the help of COG, Srivastva took this matter to Deputy Registrar in Meerut. But, she did not get justice even then. The DR considered removal of Srivastva right.

Then, the COG took the matter to the High Court in Allahabad and won the case in May 2018. The High Court’s historic decision had ended the confusion.

Now, after the decision of High Court, removal of office bearers will only be done according to the provisions in the Bye Laws.

The COG said in a press release that it will continue to work for the RWAs.

Noida: 25-year-old girl commits suicide by jumping from GIP Mall

A 25-year-old girl on Saturday committed suicide by jumping from the top floor of GIP Mall in Sector-38A of Noida. The girl was identified as Shivani who was a resident of Barola Village. She lived there with her family. noida news

According to some shop owners, the girl’s body was lying in the pool of blood inside the mall. She was wearing a pink T-shirt and black trouser. A shop owner in the mall said that he heard a loud thud.

“When we came out, we saw the girl lying in a pool of blood. She had died immediately after falling on the floor. We then called the police who arrived immediately,” the owner said.

According to the police, they found a suicide note. “Police sent the body for the post-mortem and the investigation is going on,” police said.

Dwarka leapfrogs in Swachhta Rankings, but the reality stinks!

Recently in a press release, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) claimed that the rank of the area under its jurisdiction moved up from 204 to 32 in Swachhta Rankings in 2018. But one look at the ground reality in Dwarka, and you know what a sham the rankings are!

Overflowing dustbins in the markets, mismanaged dhalaos, poorly implemented waste-management practices are the norms in the sub-city.   Dwarka News

Attesting to the same, president of Ganpati Apartments, KS Bhati, said, “The meaning of sanitation implies proper management of garbage, which I can quite confidently claim doesn’t happen in Dwarka .The dustbins provided by the corporation are not cleaned regularly and they have become a nuisance in public places.”

In big markets like the ones in Sector 12, Sector 4, Sector 5, Sector 10, Sector 6 and in Sector 7 around Ramphal  Chowk such dustbins are a common sight. The situation is the same in smaller markets at Sector 2, 3,6,10,7,12. Now, things are the same at metro stations, with overflowing dustbins at the entrance.

At dhalaos, the segregated waste is to be dumped in two different rooms — the blue and green, as prescribed by the corporation. But far from it, the segregated waste brought to the dhalao is often dumped together.    

Residents claim it’s a shame!

RWA president of Vinayak Apartments, Sector 10, Rakesh Kumar said, “The SDMC lacks efficient resources that understand the basic principles of waste management.” 

To this, president of Akash Ganga Apartments in Sector 6, JC Vashisth, added, “The societies segregate the waste painstakingly only to be mixed in corporation garbage trucks that carry it all to the dhalaos.”

Noida: Shop owners close Sector-18 market against parking charge hike

To protest against high parking charges in the area, the shop owners will keep the Noida’s Sector-18 market closed for three days starting Saturday.

noida news

The Sector-18 market is the biggest market in Noida where more than thousand shops including restaurants, bars and commercial buildings are present. There is an average footfall of more than 50,000 per day and the number increase during the weekends and festivals.

SK Jain, the president of the Sector-18 market association told City Spidey that the shops in the area will remain closed on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. They demanded lesser parking rates and free parking facility for the workers and shop owners.

“The Noida Authority should have asked the shop owners and market association before increasing the charges. But, they did nothing and increased the rates by 15 per cent,” Jain said.

Earlier, the parking rate was Rs 20 for four-wheelers and Rs 10 for two-wheelers for the whole day. But the authority hiked the rates of parking of four-wheelers to Rs 20 for the first two hours and Rs 10 for every additional hour whereas for two-wheeler Rs 10 for first two hours and Rs 5 for every hour.

Prakash Jagiasi, the secretary of the market association, said that these rates are very high and the workers here get only Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 as a salary. These rates are very high for them. Even, our business is also affected and there are some shop owners who shifted their shops from Sector-18 to other locations.

“The Noida Authority charges Rs 1,000 as penalty whereas the tow charge is not more than Rs 300. So, this also affects the business,” Prakash said.

“We demanded the rates of parking as Rs 20 for first six hours and Rs 40 for the whole day for four-wheelers and Rs 10 for first six hour and Rs 20 for a full day,” Jagiasi added.

The members of the association also alleged, “The DLF group is maintaining the multi-level parking. So, the Noida Authority is giving an advantage to them. People use the multi-level parking and it helps DLF business.

In multi-level parking, the rates of parking are Rs 30 for the first two hours and Rs 10 for every additional hour for four-wheelers. It is Rs 20 for the first two hours and Rs 5 for the additional hour for the two-wheelers.

On the other hand, people were unhappy and affected due to the shutdown of the market.

“I deposited my necklace to PC Jewellers for polishing and came today to take it back. But, I found the market closed. I have to attend a marriage anniversary of a close friend in Delhi today. Now, I am confused what to do,” said Sonam Singh, a resident of Noida.

RK Mishra, the additional chief executive officer of Noida Authority told City Spidey, “I was not aware that the market of Sector-18 is going to shut down for three days. But, there is no solution and they have to follow the fixed rates by the authority.”

“The association members of the market met the chief executive officer, Alok Tandon on the issue but there was no solution,” Mishra said.

Rape at The Belaire in DLF 5: Can we ever feel safe about our daughters!

While our prime minister tiptoed around his garden posting yoga videos, our country slid further down on the key parameters of women's safety. So, no surprises when media went rife with reports of how India fared worse than war-torn Afghanistan and Syria on women's issues in a Thomson Reuters Foundation survey.

Were we expecting any different!

Just today, I woke up to the news of an 18-year-old being raped by her friend's sloshed father during a sleepover. And this happened not in some village in violent UP. This happened at The Belaire in DLF 5.       

Here’s what the story said:

A 45-year-old businessman, living in a rented apartment at The Belaire, had his daughter visiting from abroad. She called her friend over on Thursday for a sleepover. The father took the girls out for drinks and dinner at Cyber Hub. They came back, with the father completely inebriated. The victim went to her friend’s room to sleep. Gurgaon News

The wife was out of town.

Between 4 and 5 am on Friday, the father walked into his daughter’s bedroom and called the victim out to talk. He then pulled her to his room, locked the room from inside and raped her. He also threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone.  

The friend and the victim left the house around 10 am and went to the victim’s house. The victim informed her mother, after which they went to the police station.

A case was registered under IPC Sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) at the women’s police station in Sector 51.

The accused was arrested on Friday, within three hours of receiving the complaint.   

The report also said the victim and the daughter were friends since childhood and she had been visiting their house since school days!

As a mother of a ten-year-old I am appalled. My daughter too has sleepovers — sometimes, she goes over; sometimes her friends come down. Am I wrong in letting my daughter live freely? Am I wrong in not striking fear in her heart about the intentions of men? Will I feel alright about sending her over now? Perhaps not.

But I want my daughter have her place under the sun — I don’t want her to look back in dread every time she walks down a lane on her own.

Is that too much to ask? 

RESIDENT SPEAK: We plan to take Chipko global

Green Circle is organising a symbolic Chipko and public awareness programme on Sunday in support of the ongoing protests in South Delhi against the felling of 16,500 trees. World-famous environmentalist and architect of the Chipko movement Padma Bhushan Chandi Prasad Bhatt will grace the occasion.

Delhi News

Our organisation has filed a petition against felling of trees with the National Green Tribunal. The court has stayed the felling up to July 19, and advised the construction company, NBCC, and 10 other respondents to file their replies. 

We have decided to continue the protest against felling... the task is formidable, given the volume of construction proposed and agencies involved. The volunteers of the movement have been carrying out various forms of protests all over Delhi.

Green Circle has decided to take “Chipko” global, and has thus created a Google album titled Chipko Global Selfie, where anyone from any part of the world can post the symbolic Chipko carried out at their place in support of the South Delhi Campaign.

It has also developed a mobile app to track the trees marked for cutting by using GPS. The tracked data of the trees such as species name, location, status and photo will be automatically updated in the Google spreadsheet and tracked by us in order to check any violation of court orders.

The Sunday event will also include a variety of cultural programmes by children, highlighting the importance of trees. Twelve NGOs from in and around Delhi will take part in the event.

We are confident that our programme will mount pressure on the government, and the construction agencies will have to drop the decision to cut trees.

Yogi govt bans the use of plastic bags and cutlery from July 15

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued an order today to all local authorities to ban the use of plastic — plastic cups, glass and polythene bags — in the state. The order comes into effect from July 15.

According to an official of Noida Authority, the Authority regularly conducts drive against the use of plastic in markets. “So many vendors have been fined due to use of plastic bags, but people of Noida should step up and refuse to use plastic on their own,” he added.

An official of Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board claims that in Gautam Budh Nagar, the manufacture of plastic material has been drastically brought down and people are also slowly getting used to using paper or jute bags. noida news

This is, however, not the first time that UP government has decided to ban plastic use in the state. Before the BJP rule, Akhilesh-led government, too, had announced a ban on distribution, production and use of plastic bags in 2015 in the state following an Allahabad High Court order.

However, Noida authority and GB Nagar district administration have failed to enforce the ban and have not penalised offenders — something that residents agree upon.

“During bhandaras [religious gatherings where communal food is serve], people are offered food and prasad in plastic cups and plates. That plastic is then quite callously discarded on the roads — how come the authorities have still not checked this practice,” complained a resident, Sunita Sharma.

Plans afoot to plant 2,00,000 saplings this monsoon in Dwarka

With the onset of monsoon this year, plantation drives in Dwarka have also started full steam. Community people, along with DDA and corporation officials, are seen planting saplings across the sub-city.  

Today, such a drive was carried out in Sector 12 and 18 by the DDA. Residents of Crescent Apartments in Sector 12, volunteers from Parmarthi, an NGO, and officials of DDA’s Horticulture Department participated in the event. They planted shrubs on the roadside and the central verge of road number 205. Dwarka News

Deputy Director of Horticulture DDA, Jamil Ahmad, said, “This year, plans are afoot to plant 2,00,000 trees in Dwarka. We are going to have a burst of colours now, and also trees with more ecological value. Species like Amaltas, Gulmohar, Jakranda, Peepal, Neem and Amla will find get preponderance.”

Residents, too, were excited, as this was their opportunity to make their green mark.

Madhu Dagar, a resident of Crescent Apartments, shared, “This is my fifth participation in DDA’s programme. I thoroughly enjoy doing it, and will continue doing so.”

Founder of Parmarthi, Ravi Tandon, added, “Though as an NGO we are more focused on cleaning up areas, we are now supporting plantation drives as well. We clean the patches, and others plant the saplings there. This is really a great collective effort to make Dwarka cleaner and greener.”

People from local NGO, Green Circle, were also present.

V Selvarajan of Green Circle confirmed that they were organising an awareness programme this Sunday near MTNL Chowk in support of the Chipko-like campaign in South Delhi.

A twist in the tale: The man who led the rituals liked watching ghost shows

In another twist to the tale of mass suicide in Burari, Delhi Crime Branch discovered that Lalit Bhatia, the 45-year-old businessman who ritualised that death of his 11 family members (including himself), used to watch ghost shows on YouTube.  

The police found that Lalit would often research on death and mysteries of the soul. The police found that he often viewed paranormal and ghost shows on YouTube and other sites on his phone.

“The investigation is now focused on the role of Lalit and his wife, Tina. The couple seemed to be involved in suspicious activities. After examining the CCTV footage, it was found that the family used to send one of their servants to purchase household goods,” deputy commissioner of police, Joy N Tirki, told the press today.

delhi news

According to the police, Lalit was last seen entering the house on the night of the incident (June 30). He could be seen walking on the street with the family pet dog, now being treated in Noida.

“Like his late father Gopaldas, who was in the Indian Army, Lalit gave all family members training in discipline and the code of conduct. He carried out rehearsals of the dos and don’ts during the ritual practices. He also instructed family members often to stand in position, like soldiers, after morning prayers to increase mental strength,” he said, adding, “Lalit used to recall the previous day’s chores and listed activities in his registers and made lists of things on which he instructed other members to follow,”

Prima facie it appears to be a case of “shared psychotic disorder”, according to the police. Help will be taken from psychologists and paranormal experts to further understand the bizarre crime that left the nation in a tizzy.

Delhi crime branch says no outsider involved in mysterious deaths at Burari

The crime branch of Delhi police on Thursday said that there was no outsider involved in the mysterious death of 11 members of Bhatia family in Burari area of the national capital. According to the police, the family was preparing for a religious act which led to the deaths at least 10 days before the incident occurred.

During the relentless investigation by several teams of Delhi police’s crime branch, they examined over 10 CCTV footages installed at different locations outside the house, road, nearby market, restaurants, grocery shops etc.

The CCTV footages revealed that the members of the family on Saturday were busy in gathering wires and other things including meal etc.

“Family did not think that they would die. Instead, they had strong belief that they would emerge stronger after ritualistic hanging,” investigators (police) were of the view after scrutinising several CCTV footages.

The CCTV footages showed that Savita (wife of Bhuvesh) and her daughter Neetu brought as many as five plastic stools which were later used for mass hanging.

At 10.15 pm on Saturday night, the youngest members of the family – Dhurv and Shivam were captured on CCTV cameras carrying electrical wires from the plywood shop. 10 out of 11 family members were found hanging by electrical wires.

The CCTV footages showed that the family members voluntarily followed the instructions mentioned in the registers which were regularly maintained by Lalit, the younger son of Narayni Devi.

According to the police, another person who assisted Lalit on writing notes on registers was 30-year-old Priyanka (Bhuvesh’s daughter) who got engaged on June 17.

The last diary entry was done on June 30 evening (Saturday). The instructions mentioned - “Bhagwan Ka Rasta”, whereas, the last sentence in the diary, written on the day of suicides, read, “Keep water in a cup. When it changes colour, I will appear and save you.”

Step by Step on Saturday (June 30)

At 10 pm, two members of the family - Savita and her daughter Neetu captured carrying stools.

At 10:15 pm Dhurv and Shivam captured with electrical wires.

At 10:40 pm 20 chapatis ordered by the family delivered.

At 10:57 pm Bhuvesh took the dog for a walk

At 11:04 pm Bhuvesh was back in the home with the dog

On Sunday morning (July 1)

At 5:56 am A truck left behind milk cartons but one from the family came out to receive it.

At 7:15 am, a neighbour entered and found the bodies