Dwarka: Residents’ bodies embark on voter awareness campaigns

As the elections draw closer, many residents’ bodies like – Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs), Cooperative Group Housing Societies (CGHS), Dwarka Forum, Association of Neighbourhood Ladies Get-together (ANHLGT), Sukh Dukh Ke Sathi (SDKS) – have started putting efforts towards encouraging people to vote in the Dwarka area.

The voting will be conducted on May 12 during Phase 6 of the 17th Lok Sabha elections. Different bodies are sensitising people on the importance of voting in their own ways.

They are committed towards increasing voter percentage during the upcoming elections. These bodies are conducting meetings, issuing circulars, using social media platforms and direct mails for making people aware about the importance of voting.

President of ANHLGT and a resident of Sheetal Vihar Apartments, Cicily Kodiyan said, “We are going to start activities in societies across Dwarka from tomorrow focussing community women. We will be at Airlines Apartments in Sector 23 tomorrow.”

SDKS, a resident body of senior citizens, has already started the campaign. They have planned to discuss the importance of the voting in their meetings and gatherings.

President of SDKS and a resident of Dream Apartments, Shashi Kapoor said, “We regularly meet in the park to discuss different subjects. Voting is a major subject these days. We have already started the campaign by spreading the messages through WhatsApp groups.”

Dwarka Forum, a resident body of Dwarka has also been carrying out such campaigns in the sub city. Ahead of the election, they are making the community aware about the voting rights and encouraging people to go for voting.

President of Dwarka Forum and a resident of Netaji Subhash Apartments, Sushil Kumar said, “We always make the community aware about the voting rights. We have started sending mails. More initiatives are in the pipeline and it will be implemented from next week. We are encouraging people through WhatsApp messages and soft cards. We hope that voting percentage reaches 100 percent at this year’s elections at the sub city.”

As per the available data and social observers, the voter turnout has been low from the societies during earlier elections conducted in the city. This time the RWAs and managing committees are serious about increasing voting percentage.

Treasurer of Lovely Home Apartments, Vishal Gupta said, “We have more than 300 votes and this time we want 100 per cent voter turnout. For that, we have already started talking with the people. This subject will also be discussed in the meeting and a circular will be sent mentioning voting rights.”

There are also active citizens who are making all kinds of efforts to make community aware about the voting rights. A social activist and resident of Crescent Apartments, Madhu Dagar is one such individual making the locality aware about importance of voting.

She said, “I always talk about the voting rights in the meetings and during morning or evening walk at the park. This is our democratic right and we must use it. I appeal to the people of Dwarka that if each individual would appeal to at least one person to vote then there will be higher percentage of polling from Dwarka.”

Fire incident at Saya Zenith: Residents blame poor maintenance; demand probe

The residents of Saya Zenith, a high-rise apartment in Indirapuram, had a tough time following a massive fire which broke out in a flat on the 18th floor of Block-A on Wednesday.

An elderly couple named Shiv Kumar Kanodia (61) and Usha Devi (58) were present during the incident.

Puja Goyal, daughter of the victim who lives in the opposite flat, narrated the ordeal to City Spidey, “Dad was leaving for office when he came rushing to my flat saying there is a fire in his flat. Without any delay, I called maintenance through intercom but they took time to reach as they were ill-equipped. However, housekeeping team, led by their team lead Sonu did a courageous job, risking their lives and doused the flames with whatever was available – water, fire hydrants and extinguishers - at that moment.


Though the officials from the fire department claimed they doused the fire within 15 minutes by 1 pm after they received the information at 12:30, the residents, however, refuted it saying the fire was contained and doused before they reached.

“Moreover, the fire tender did not have the facility to reach the 18th floor,” they added.

The residents blamed the poor upkeep of the fire safety equipment which prolonged the operation.

“Fire alarm didn't work when the fire broke out. Also, the sprinkler initially. When we started yelling and questioning the maintenance department, it was turned on! It would have been disastrous had we not contained and doused it on time,” Goyal said.

Talking to City Spidey about the incident, Nitin Agarwal, secretary (AOA) said, "Since last four months, we have been sending letters to the Ghaziabad Development Authority, requesting them to review the fire fighting system through the third party. They are yet to respond."

When City Spidey queried with the facility management regarding these allegations, the management acknowledged it and cited maintenance work behind the failure of alarm.

"We are in the process of cleaning the nozzles of all smoke detectors. This is why it didn't set off," said Pradeep, estate manager of the society.

Pradeep claimed the work of the maintenance of the smoke detectors started a week back. However, he did not specify when it will be completed.

Besides, he refuted the allegation about the delay in the functioning of the water sprinkler.

“The fire was caused due to a short circuit in a running air conditioner installed in one of the rooms of the flat. A few residents have verbally complained to us about flaws in fire safety at the spot. We will investigate,” said SN Singh, fire officer.

Meanwhile, City Spidey tried to contact the builder via calls and emails in this regard but no response has been received yet.

After frightening ordeal, boy gets phobia of elevators at Ajnara Homes

There is no denying that elevators should be maintained properly at the high rises as people are heavily dependent on it to reach at their flats. But, despite this, many incidents of its malfunction have been reported from various high rises causing a sense of dissatisfaction among residents.

In one such incident, a 10-year-old boy, Ayush Tiwari got stuck in an elevator for fifteen minutes at Ajnara Homes in Greater Noida West. Panicked by the ordeal, the boy is now having phobia of elevators.

The boy took the elevator after coming back from sports session. He intended to reach at his flat on 21st floor but the elevator fell and reached basement area. It got stuck there for fifteen minutes.

As there was nobody else in the elevator, the boy got frightened. There was nobody who could have pacified the boy. The boy had no idea what to do to escape from the situation. However, hearing the scream from the boy, a resident informed the management about the situation. Soon, the rescue work started.

When the door opened, he immediately pushed off from the elevator. The boy was shivering with fear and started crying. The boy broke down again when he met his father. “Now, the boy is hesitating to take elevators and always seek company while going into the elevator,” said father.

The residents living in the society have become circumspect after the incident. A resident living in the society cross checked the elevator after the incident. He found that lift was not stopping at the level of the floor.

Residents complained that there have been problems with the lifts for last one year. Despite complaints with the management, situation has not improved.

“There have been frequent mishaps in the elevators. Auto Rescue Device (ARD) is not working properly. With the onset of summer, power load has increased. It can also create problems in the future,” said Dinkar Pandey, a resident of the society.

IMD warns of thunderstorm, lightning at Delhi-NCR tomorrow

The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday warned the residents of Delhi-NCR that there is a very high probability of thunderstorm and lightning on Thursday.

The cause of the change in weather is western disturbances.

“There are chances that wind speed might reach 50-60 kmph gusting at 70 kmph,” said Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency.

Dry conditions are expected to return after Thursday. High temperatures will again return in the national capital region.

Thunderstorms are expected to return after a week. Delhi-NCR had received thundershowers a week ago. Residents living in high rises complained about strong winds that time.

But, weather came back to normal with temperatures soaring in the week afterwards. With the thundershower, the weather is expected to get pleasant as it happened last week.

Stagnant sewage water troubles residents of GreNo West; authorities callous

Sewer water, lying stagnant in the green belt area, has been annoying residents of La Residentia and other nearby societies for quite some time now. The matter of concern is the fact the area falls in between two schools, located 200-300 meters away in Techzone 4 of Greater Noida West, making it a mosquito breeding site, inviting vector-borne diseases.

Following the complaints made by the residents, City Spidey inspected the mentioned spot. During the inspection, we were informed it is an abandoned place. There is a drain which runs parallel to it. As the concrete fence of the drain is broken, the sewer water overflows and gets collected, making it still.

Though it was repaired, it proved to be a temporary arrangement after some time. Residents stated that despite making several attempts, the issue still remains unresolved.

Ashish Dubey, resident of a high-rise in Greater Noida West said, “We had made several requests and complaints to the district magistrate (DM) of GB Nagar, pollution boards UPPCB and CPCB via letters, emails, and Twitter in this regard but nothing has happened yet. We demand the authorities concerned do the needful,” said Ashish Dubey, resident of a high-rise in Greater Noida West.

“We have been complaining for almost one year to the Greater Noida Authority but to no avail. It is a matter that should be resolved as soon as possible,” Manish Kumar, another resident, concluded.

Bike-borne assailants open fire at resident of SG Grand in Raj Nagar Extn

A 40-year-old resident of SG Grand, a high-rise in Raj Nagar Extension, sustained bullet injuries after two unidentified bike-borne assailants opened fire at him just 500 metres away from his society on Tuesday late night, the police said.

According to the police, the incident happened at around 10:30 pm when the victim, Vivek Karan, was returning home in his car. Two armed assailants on bike overtook his car and stopped him at Morti T-point, said the police.

“The motorcycle-borne assailants first overtook the car and then broke its window. They fired two bullets at the victim and fled from the scene,” said Sanjay Pandey, SHO Sihani Gate Police Station.

The firing happened at one of the busiest intersections of Raj Nagar Extension. The incident sparked panic among the drivers in the area. Fearing they might get caught, the assailants escaped the scene, said the police.

The wounded victim somehow managed to drive to his society, which is about half-a-kilometre away from the spot, said shopkeepers and locals who witnessed the incident. One of the passerby informed the police.

The police said that the victim was admitted to Max Hospital in Vaishali. “He is out of critical condition now,” said SHO Pandey.

Shlok Kumar, SP City, said that the police is procuring footage from CCTV cameras installed near the spot. “CCTV cameras are being searched around the spot to identify the accused. Soon we will arrest them," Kumar said.

The police have ruled out the possibility of theft or robbery. "Prima facie, it appears to be a case of personal animosity,” said Kumar.

However, the police is yet to record victim’s complete statement. “He is not in a condition to speak much. Also, we feel that he is hiding something. We are waiting for him to be discharged from the hospital," Kumar added.

Meanwhile, an FIR has been registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC (Indian Penal Code) against two unidentified men.

Dwarka: Ladies group members initiate voting campaign via awareness programmes

As Delhi is slated to go to polls in a single phase on May 12, the members of ANHLGT (Association of Neighbourhood Ladies Get-Together), Dwarka have started to organise various programmes and events to make people across the area aware of voting.

In this regard, an awareness programme was organised at Airlines Apartments on Wednesday, in which women associated with the group exchanged their views about voting rights in order to choose the member of parliament (MP) for South West Delhi.

“Such awareness programmes are the need of the hour as it will encourage maximum people to go to polling booths and cast vote for the candidate of their choice,” said Malasree Malik, member of the ANHLGT and resident of Airlines Apartments.

Similarly, Sashi Julka resident of the same apartment said that women could play a significant role in boosting the voting percentage by inspiring their spouse and children to cast their votes.

Cicily Kodiyan, president of ANHLGT and a resident of Sheetal Vihar Apartments (Sector 23) said, “We will continue organising such programmes and events in each sector of the sub-city till May 12. Our objective is to have a cent percent voting from the societies across the area.”

A similar programme has been scheduled at Harmony Apartments for Thursday. On Friday, a programme will be held at IFCI Apartments (Sector 23).

“We will be organising such awareness campaigns every day to reach out to maximum societies till the polling date,” Cicily concluded.

Saya Zenith fire: Meet the bravehearts who displayed immense courage

At 12.30 pm, on Wednesday afternoon, when 37-year-old Pawandeep Kaur took the lift in her society – Saya Zenith in Indirapuram – to reach to her flat on the 17th floor, she was joined by a panicky guard. He informed her that a fire had broken out in a flat (1801) above her floor in the same tower and the situation seemed alarming.

Her first thought was to ensure that her two sons – aged 12 and two and a half years – and her cousin who were at home at that time were safe. “When I reached home, I saw that flames were coming out of the main door and bedroom of flat no. 1801. It looked like their air conditioner had caught fire,” said Kaur.

“My house is not directly below this flat but I could see that the flames had already started spreading to the air conditioners installed in the lower flats. Had that happened, it would have been disastrous. I immediately took out the pipe from my washing machine and attached it to a tap, and started spraying water to douse the flames. It wasn’t a lot but it was still something. I kept on doing this for 15 minutes,” Kaur added.

Following her, the residents of flats on the lower floors also started throwing water on the flames, Kaur said. Her sheer presence of mind contributed a lot to the fact that the fire didn’t spread to the flats below.

“I also asked my elder son to knock the door of my next-door neighbour and alert them about the fire. They also started spraying water but since the flames were directly reaching till their house, they left the house and went downstairs,” added Kaur.

Though the fire was doused after a while, like most other residents, Kaur was angered by the poor maintenance of her society. “As most of the smoke detectors weren’t working, the alarm wasn't heard by anyone. People came to realize about the fire only after two guards informed them that a fire had broken out in flat no. 1801. Why does the administration work so casually in such crucial issues?” she lamented.

Another Unsung Hero

Every time a resident approached Sonu, who works as housekeeping lead in the society, for any work he replied “ho jayega, chinta na karo (It would be done, don’t worry!),” with a wide smile on his face.

The moment news of the fire spread within the society, he was among the few persons to reach the spot. In fact, the residents say he and his team, did a courageous job, risking their lives and doused the flames with whatever was available – water, fire hydrants, and extinguishers - at that moment.

“We took the stairs and immediately reached the 18th floor. Everyone was thinking about how the fire can be doused. But since the housekeeping staff takes care of cleaning the floors, we are well aware of sources from where we can get water. I was just doing my job,” said Sonu.

Though he doesn’t have formal training in handling a fire incident, his quick thinking and courage certainly helped avert a bigger tragedy.

Thankfully, when everything else seemed to be not working, one thing that didn’t let down the residents of the condominium is the courage of such bravehearts!

Jaypee buyers bullish to get flats after submission of NBCC’s revised bid

Following the submission of revised bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech by state-owned NBCC Ltd, the home buyers are bullish anticipating clearance of decks for their delayed apartments which they bought 4-5 years back.

As appointed Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain has fixed meeting of Committee of Creditors (CoC) on April 26, the creditors which includes nearly 27,000 flat buyers will review the bids submitted to acquire projects and likely to take final call.

As City Spidey was informed by several home buyers, so far, NBCC and Suraksha Group are having high chances to acquire the Jaypee Infratech as they have already submitted their revised bids.

Among others, Adani Group and Jaypee Group have expressed desire to bid for the Jaypee Infratech. However, as per experts, there are less chances of them getting opportunity to acquire the debt-ridden company.

Meanwhile, Jaypee Group has also written to home buyers seeking their support for its debt resolution plan to be submitted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. They also promised to complete over 20,000 flats in four years of time.

On the other hand, the home buyers were found having lack of trust on the Jaypee Group. When asked why union of home buyers giving more preference to NBCC to take over the projects, they said that they want their flats as soon as possible and NBCC would be more credible for that.

Dhirendra Yadav, a home buyer talking to City Spidey said, “In last meeting, Jaypee group tried to convince flat buyers that it would complete their dream home and for that banks would provide revenue. The outstanding debt of Jaypee Infratech is nearly Rs 9,800 crore. Jaypee Group has been changing stances regularly and we have lost trust on it.”

Flat buyers also were of the view that NBCC is a government associated construction company and hence if anything goes wrong in future they can approach the government directly.

Pramod Kumar, another flat buyer said, “Lack of transparency is another issue with Jaypee Group. Most of the flat buyers have paid up to 90 per cent of dues of their flats. Where their money siphoned off?”

“Don’t burn dry leaves; they can be turned into natural manure”

We often come across sights of burning of dry leaves in open areas, especially in public parks, which adds to air pollution. Both residents as well as civic authorities’ staff take part in this extremely unhealthy practice because they think that this is the easiest way to handle this type of solid waste.

What they don’t know is that this huge collection of fallen dry leaves in parks can easily be converted into organic manure that can be fed to the plants and trees in those parks themselves.

Fallen leaves that collect under the trees during this weather are not garbage but the nature’s own way to protect trees and organisms around them. These fallen leaves provide protection to the surrounding surface from heat.

In March and April, the humidity levels are minimum with high sunshine hours. The soil during this time needs an umbrella, which is provided by these dry leaves. As average monthly temperature rises sharply from March (maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at 30 and 16 degrees Celsius, respectively) to April (maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at 37 and 22 degrees Celsius, respectively) while average relative humidity levels come down from 36% in March to 27% in April, the trees develop a natural tendency to  protect the soil underneath from heat.

With the start of April begins the process of shedding of dry leaves as moisture decreases from the air. These scattered leaves cover the soil around the trees like an umbrella so as to protect soil moisture and worms/insects underneath.

By May these fallen leaves start decomposing and turn into manure which provides nutrients and food to trees. With the start of rainy season in June, things start changing again.

Ideally, we should not disturb this natural cycle by sweeping, collecting and disposing fallen leaves. I feel that this natural cycle should be allowed to progress in its own way at least in the parks and green areas. On roads too, some arrangement should be made so that this beautiful natural process isn’t disturbed at all.

Excess fee issue: Pvt schools across Noida asked to submit affidavit by April 29

Following the District Fee Regulatory Committee's (DFRC) order to withdraw excess fee charged by Apeejay and Cambridge from the parents, the fee committee, formed by the district administration of Gautam Buddh Nagar, on Wednesday called the principals of all the private schools across Noida and directed them to follow the fee act strictly.

Besides, the panel has asked the principals to submit an affidavit by April 29 in this regard. The affidavit should carry the details of the fee currently applicable in all the schools. In addition to this, they have been asked to show the records pertaining to excess fee announced and informed to the parents three months back.

Noida News

Schools violating this order will be fined Rs 1 lakh according to the fee act.

It is important to note here that Cambridge school has not decided to rollback the excess fee. Meanwhile, the management authority of Apeejay school has asked the parents to email their account numbers and other details to refund the excess fee charged.

Talking to City Spidey on this issue, Manoj Kataria, secretary of All Noida School Parents Association said, “Parents of GB Nagar district have high hopes from the DFRC and we are taking every single complaint seriously. In the meeting, schools have been asked to follow the guidelines, as directed earlier.”

Crossings Republik: Resident of Gaur Global Village dies while trekking in Kullu

In an unfortunate incident, a 29-year-old resident of Gaur Global Village, a high-rise residential apartment in Crossings Republik, reportedly fell to his death while trekking on Khir Ganga route in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.

According to police, the incident happened Sunday evening when the deceased, identified as Pawan Ramnani along with his wife Priyanka, was returning from the trekking slipped and fell into a deep gorge. They reached Kullu on Saturday and started 13-kilometer long trek from Barshaini to Kheerganga Sunday morning.

"Since it was dark, the lady couldn't locate him and informed us at Barshaini. We recovered the body of the deceased with the help of a local rescue team on Monday. There were multiple fractures. The body was later sent for the postmortem," ASI Nand Lal, investigating officer of the case, said.

Lal also pointed out the spot where Pawan fell is known as IC point and quite dangerous to travel in the dark.

"Just 15 days back, a girl from Chandigarh slipped and fell off the same point. Fortunately, she was saved but received grave injuries. Currently, she is receiving treatment in PGI Chandigarh," Lal further added.

Prima facie, the police is treating it as a case of an accident.

"In our primary investigation based on the statement of deceased's wife, we found that Pawan had slipped and fallen into the gorge. Till now, no 'foul play' against the deceased could be established," Shalini Agnihotri, SP (Kullu) said.

However, Agnihotri added the family members of Pawan are on the way and after recording their statements and examining awaited postmortem report, the picture would become more clear.

While sharing the details of the couple, Sanjay Jha, secretary of the apartment owners' association (AOA) said, "They have been living in rented accommodation for over three years in Gaur Global Village."

As per tenant verification records, Priyanka hails from Hisar (Haryana) while Pawan, the deceased, hailed from Lucknow (UP). Both husband and wife worked in Noida-based IT firms. The couple had a love marriage in 2016. They completed their graduation in engineering from the same college.

West Delhi gears up for triangular contest in Lok Sabha elections

The candidates from Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have filed their nominations for the West Delhi seat in Lok Sabha elections 2019.

Pravesh Verma from BJP, Mahabal Mishra from Congress and Balbir Singh Jakhar from AAP will feature in the triangular contest at the West Delhi seat during Phase 6 of election on May 12.

Pravesh Verma is the sitting Member of Parliament (MP). He is son of veteran BJP leader and Ex-CM of Delhi Late Saheb Singh Verma. He is one of the youngest politicians who is contesting the elections. 

Mahabal Mishra is the face of Poorvanchal who is likely to get votes of the people hailing from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He was MP for the 16th Lok Sabha from West Delhi seat. He is a veteran in West Delhi’s political circles.

AAP has shown confidence in Balbir Singh Jakhar who has already filed his nomination. He is a new face projected by AAP in the upcoming elections.

He is a lawyer by profession and was holding the post of president for Dwarka Bar Association.