Fresh water pockets identified in Dwarka; 3 other projects announced

Here is a news that will provide huge relief to the people living in the area – fresh water pockets have been identified in Dwarka which could further be considered as resources for the augmentation of water supply. This was announced by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a meeting on Wednesday. Other ministers and officials were present during the occasion.

WAPCOS, a consultant of the Delhi Jal Board, has identified these pockets in the sub-city as these are expected to create an additional 22.5 MLD (Million Liters Daily) of water.

Four projects were announced during the meet, including Dwarka for the augmentation of water supply. Other projects involve work related to extracting water from six locations between Wazirabad and Okhla identified by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), restarting all the closed Ranney wells and borewells and drilling of additional bores in the areas across Delhi having high water table, to make them self-sufficient and create additional water.

Directing all the officials concerned to develop fresh sources fast, the CM stated that all four projects should be completed by the end of March this year to provide better water supply to the residents during summers.

Besides asking the officials to identify areas for installing additional bores in north and east Delhi, Kejriwal said the extraction work should be done on priority basis and to the full potential of 85 MGDs (Million Gallons Daily). He also added that once the non-functional Ranney wells and borewells are made functional, an additional 63 MLD of water would be available for Delhiites.

Also, the chief minister last week gave approval to the pilot technique for treating water with high ammonia content during his visit to the treatment plant in East Delhi’s Shakarpur area.

Dwarka had faced severe water crisis in the past and is currently dependent on Haryana’s Munak Canal.

Noida SSP tells local cops to work on their image

The New Year’s resolution for Noida’s district police this time seems to be shedding its bad image usually associated with rude behavior and use of rough language.

SSP Dr Ajaypal Sharma has given special instructions to the policemen deployed in the district to make all the efforts to improve the image of the police. “Instructions have been given to use a friendly approach when dealing with locals,” said an officer.

So next time, when a policeman addresses you with “hello bhaisahab,” “yes brother and “yes sir”. Don’t be surprised. As they have been told to stay away from their frequently used words like oye, tum and teri.

“In fact, the instructions were given even before the start of 2019 asking policemen to behave as friends of people using humble language. The move aims to start a friendly relationship between the locals and district police, which can later help in controlling crime rate,” added the officer.

Parking charges hiked four-fold in East Delhi to combat high pollution levels

From now on, every time you take out your car or two-wheeler in East Delhi, be ready to shell out more for parking space.

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has increased the parking charges four times in its area applicable from January 1. The charges have been increased on a temporary basis till the high levels of air pollution subside in the city.

As per the revised rate, parking for cars at all slots run by EDMC will now cost Rs 80 per hour against the earlier rate of Rs 20. Similarly, parking charges for two-wheelers now stand at Rs 40 per hour against Rs 10 earlier.

The decision is taken as a control measure to check the high levels of pollution in the city and deter people from taking out their vehicles on the road. According to the officials, the decision was taken following the directive from the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA).

Talking to City Spidey, a senior official said. “The charges have been increased only temporarily. We want people to avoid using personal vehicle and stick to public transport to help bring down the high pollution levels. The hike in charges will be rolled back once the pollution levels come down,” said an EDMC official.

The EDMC had issued directions to parking operators to implement the new charges in the last week of December. The measure, which is also known as differential parking rates, has been mandated under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

EDMC official said that they will soon start conducting surprise inspection. “Contractors have been directed to follow the directive strictly. They have been asked to keep a separate register to record the collection during this period and share the report with our officials during the inspections,” official added.

Meanwhile, the East Delhi residents welfare association (RWA), said that increasing the parking charges is not a long-term solution to check pollution levels. “Stringent measures are required to control the high pollution levels in Delhi. Increasing the parking charges alone won’t have the desired impact as there are many who can bear the cost easily.”

Top stories of 2018 on City Spidey

Dwarka: Four arrested for abusing girls at shelter home after DCW’s inspection

The Dwarka police on Saturday arrested four women for abusing girls at a shelter home located in Sector 23. A lady welfare officer, two house mothers and one woman home in-charge were arrested for abusing four girls in the name of discipline.

All the four women were produced in Dwarka court as well. A case has been registered under 75 JJ Act and 6 POCSO act in Sector 23 police station.

The matter came to light on December 27 when a team of Delhi Commission for Women visited the shelter home and got to know about the suffering of four girls. They registered a case at Sector 23 Police Station.

It was learnt that on the advice of the Delhi Government to Delhi Commission for Women, a committee was formed to check the private and government shelter homes whether there is any problem.

It was said that the committee would visit the shelter homes and suggest how to improve the conditions further. In that regard, on 27th December, a team of that committee visited the shelter home at Sector 23 and interacted with the girls of age group 6-9, 10-13 and 13 to 15 years.

They shared their suffering and said that in the name of cleaning and discipline they have been tortured several times. They said that chilli powder was put in their private part as punishment and they were compelled to eat chilli powder too many times. Police has the statements of the girls and they presented it to the court.

Moreover, the girls were also forced to take bath with cold water on the winter morning when they used to wet the beds in night.

Meanwhile, the DCW chief Swati Maliwal tweeted, “Have been informed that 4 shelter home staff have been arrested by Delhi Police. I request CWC to ensure new management of the home and protection for the girls. They need to be rehabilitated properly. Also request Centre to ensure inspection of all shelter homes across the country by sensitive officers at war footing. When abuse can be prevalent in shelter home in Delhi, one can imagine what must be going on in the entire country.”

Dwarka: SDMC emphasises on engaging RWAs, DDA in sanitation works

The officials of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Saturday emphasised on the participation of Residents Welfare Association (RWA) and the land owning agency Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to make an effective model on waste management and sanitation in Dwarka.

Higher officials from SDMC like Deputy Commissioner Vishwendra Singh and Leader of the House Kamaljeet Sehrawat focused on such model in a meeting organised at SDMC Community Centre in Sector 23.

More than hundred people from various RWAs, social organisations and managements of the societies discussed the issue with the officials of SDMC including the staffs of sanitation department in Dwarka.

During the meeting, the RWAs shared their feedback on the present system of waste management. They asked the SDMC people about the ways to improve the system as sectors 22 and 23 have been taken as model sector for proper waste management and composting from societies to dhalao and composting pits.

Leader of the House, Kamaljeet Sehrawat said that the DDA would be involved in the system. She said, “Roadsides, footpaths, vacant lands etc are under DDA and it would be very effective if they come for the cause of sanitation with us. We are going to write them for the model. If SDMC, DDA and RWA would work together then the result would be more fruitful.”

Sehrawat informed that the model would be formed in January. She also said that a review meeting would be organised in last week of January 2019.

Sehrawat said that 30 compressor machines were going to be installed at 30 locations to manage waste. She also said that a large garbage professor unit would be installed at Sector 24 and for that the work had already been started.

On the other hand in the meeting a resident forum for each sector was discussed to be formed. According to the DC, in each forum the RWA representatives and the Assistant Sanitary Inspector of the area would be there to monitor the sanitation work. A periodic review would be done. The forum would be active from next year.

On the occasion, along with President Sushil Kumar and general secretary AS Chatwal, the newly elected team of Dwarka Forum was also present. They gave a memorandum to the SDMC with the bullet points to work upon the sanitation and solid waste management.

President of Dwarka Forum said, “We raised concern on pollution and overall sanitation including the solid waste management, garbage collection and segregation, sweeping of roads, de-silting of sewer drains, poor condition of dustbins installed and dhalao, public toilets etc. DC assured us to sort out most of the issues within a stipulated time frame.”

The solid waste management pilot project is progressing well and soon it will be implemented all across Dwarka. Some residents of Sector 23 objected that in the process of composting in the neighborhood parks, emission of gas may increase pollution. DC assured that it will be assessed by expert team of DPCC and residents would not suffer.

Some residents raised the issue of mismanagement at SDMC's cremation ground of Sector 2. DC assured to streamline the system and offered to take the responsibility by any NGO, RWAs or any association.

Noida: Cases of debit, credit card data theft rise by 50% in 2018

As per the data of cybercrime cell, the frauds related to theft of debit and credit card data have risen by almost 50 per cent in 2018 as compared to 2017.

In 2018, 722 cases have been reported to Centre for Cyber Crime Investigation (CCCI), Noida. The number of reported cases was 463 in 2017. Noida News

“Fraudsters have found several ways to steal credit and debit card data. Cloning of cards, replacing cards at ATMs by mischief, cloning SIM cards to get OTPs are become a common practices these days,” Ashok Kumar, SP Crime said.

Many victims have complained that they received message regarding transaction from their accounts without their permission. It is suspected that the fraudsters accessed data by installing devices in the ATM machines.

Many people complained that these kinds of things are only possible at the unmanned ATMs where CCTV cameras have not been installed. "The ready availability of skimming contraptions (one method of online fraud) is a key cause behind the growing instances of debit cards frauds," an officer in CCCI said.

The places where chances of stealing card information are higher include malls and restaurants. There are also high chances of waiter running the card through a skimmer while people wait for them to transact the amount.

In these circumstances, it is advisable to have proper vigil of the cards while transacting.

Noida: Aqua Line to have food hub and banquet hall facilities

Taking a step away from routine metro operations, the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC) now plans to provide facilities like food hub and banquet hall at some of its metro stations on the Aqua Line.

The corporation has already identified major stations to have these facilities. “There is a plan to provide these facilities at nearly half a dozen stations like Sectors 51, 137, 101 and many more,” said NMRC executive director PD Upadhyay.

As most of the stations have large parking space, the facilities will have an advantage that the visitors will not have to face any traffic hassles, said an official in NMRC. “People attending parties at these banquet halls will not get stuck in traffic.”

Along with food hubs, the corporation also plans to start small kiosks at metro stations. Already, a few such kiosks are located at some of the Blue Line stations in Delhi.

 According to an NMRC official, tender will be released for all these things within one month of the commencement of the metro service. “The company getting the contract will operate these things on a lease basis here,” official said.

Party-ready Noida all set to welcome 2019

Noida is all set to usher in 2019. Several hotels and pubs have special packages on offer for December 31 and January 1.

According to officials in the administration, seven big hotels have sought permission to host New Year party.

According to the bar manager of a pub in Sector 18, packages in the range of Rs 6,000-Rs 10,000 are in the offing. He added, “Single package comes for Rs 6,000, and couple package is for Rs 8,000. Two DJs have been called in from Delhi-NCR.”

Another pub in the Sector 38A is calling DJ Web Hub to pump up the party scene; they are also getting a band from Delhi.

Ramesh Singh, manager of a disco bar located in Sector 18, said, “We have good bookings this year and young people are willing to spend more to have a good time.”

Peeyush Aggarwal, a resident of Antriksh Forest, a high-rise in Sector 77, said, “The temperature is plummeting and it could be  2 degree Celsius, but that’s not going to stop us from partying. My friends and I are going to Hauz Khas for celebrations.”

Sumit Dubey, a resident of Sector 77, said, “This New Year is special to me — my son’s first birthday will be celebrated this 31st. I have booked a lounge for the party!”

Police will be deployed at important junctions with the breathe metre and strict penalty will be imposed from drunk driving. Police also alerted the hospitals for any emergency.

Delhi Metro opens Pink Line’s Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 to Lajpat Nagar route

The newly-constructed route from Mayur Vihar Pocket-1 to Lajpat Nagar has been opened for commuters. Now, Hazrat Nizamuddin station will become second busiest transportation hub after the Anand Vihar station.

Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri flagged off the train on Monday. The route is 9.7 km long and it has five stations. The commuters from East Delhi will now be able to go directly to the South Delhi.

Noida: Engineer talking on phone falls to death from fifth-floor flat

In a tragic incident, a 28-year-old engineer died on Tuesday allegedly after he fell from the balcony of his fifth-floor flat at Amrapali Zodiac Society in Noida’s Sector 120 while he was talking on the phone.

Vivek Parimal, a native of Himachal Pradesh, was wishing his friend a ‘Happy New Year’ at the time of incident. “While Vivek was speaking on the phone in the balcony, his other seven friends were partying and having drinks inside the flat," police said. Noida News

According to Akhilesh Tripathi, SHO of Phase 3 police station, the engineer was apparently drunk, and his phone was recovered from the edge of the balcony. “There was loud music playing inside the flat at the time of the incident. Because of this, his friends say, they couldn’t hear him fall. However, when he did not return for more than 10 minutes, they checked on him,” he said.

The police is questioning the seven friends who were present inside the flat at the time of the incident.

Meanwhile, a security guard of the society said that the incident occurred between 12.30 pm to 1 am. We immediately informed the management of the society and other residents and called the police. “We took the body to the nearest private hospital but Vivek was declared dead,” said the guard.

Noida Authority starts mechanical sweeping of roads

On Tuesday, Noida Authority’s CEO Alok Tandon inaugurated the facility for mechanical sweeping of roads for a stretch of 93.89 kilometres. 

The inauguration ceremony was held at Noida’s Sector 33. The scheme will cover all roads wider than 45 metres. Noida News

According to an official of Noida Authority, the roads selected for mechanical sweeping include Master Plan (MP) I, MP II, MP III, the FNG road, service lanes along the Noida Expressway, the roads connecting village Gijod to Sector 68 T-point, Khoda to village Hoshiarpur, Nithari to DSC via Shashi chowk and Hosiery Complex to Sectors 83, 84, 87 and roads around Sectors 77, 78, 115 and more.

“Currently, manual sweeping is done for 67.8 km of the roads in the city. But in the coming days, more and more cleaning work would be done mechanically. The residents have been demanding this for a long time and we are making all the efforts to resolve civic problems of the city,” said Tandon.

I'puram: Security up at Amrapali Village; 145 HD cameras, 24 guards deployed

Putting an emphasis on the overall security of the society, the Residents Welfare Association (RWA) of Amrapali Village, Indirapuram has covered its perimeter with 145 high-tech cameras. Besides, 24 security guards have been specially added to keep surveillance over the coverage area through high definition (HD) cameras. Indirapuram News

Alok Kumar, president of Federation of Apartments Owners Association, Ghaziabad (FedAOA) inaugurated the operations of these cameras on the occasion of New Year.

While talking to City Spidey about the arrangements, Maheshwaran Nair, secretary of RWA of the society said, “These wireless cameras have been installed from the society campus till Kaala Patthar road. It costs us 20 lakh rupees.”

“The cameras will save the number plates of all the vehicles entering in the society, Nair told. Also, an alarm will set off if the vehicle of a resident leaves the campus under his or her absence from the society,” Nair added when asked about its features and facilities.

The move has come days after an incident of theft was reported in which 12 lakhs of cash and gold jewellery were burgled from a resident of the society.