'Delhi could have been model for solid waste management'

Police in Delhi have discovered a spiritual university in the north-west of the city where inspectors say up to 200 women and girls are being held behind a series of locked doors. Conditions inside the building were shocking said Swati Maliwal the Delhi commissioner for women who took part in a raid on the four-storey facility this week. It was like a fortress Maliwal said. Once we managed to enter we could only walk four steps to another metallic gate and then five steps later another huge locked gate. It was full of hidden cells. The entire structure was built in a maze-like fashion she said. Women at the compound appeared dazed and drugged and some remonstrated with police Maliwal added. Huge quantities of syringes and drugs were strewn about the facility which has been operating for about 25 years. Maliwal said she tried one of the liquids being administered to the women and for two hours I was dizzy . The Delhi high court ordered the raid on Tuesday in response to a petition by an NGO claiming girls and women were being kept in animal-like conditions . The NGO helped one girl give evidence before the court claiming she had been raped at the facility before escaping. Maliwal said she found stacks of sexually explicit letters written by women at the ashram to its leader a self-styled guru named Virender Dev Dixit. Dixit has been summoned to appear before the high court. Ram Rahim Singh: fatal clashes follow Indian guru s rape conviction Read more The court compared the case to that of Ram Rahim Singh a flamboyant godman who was convicted of raping two of his followers in August. His conviction sparked riots and arson attacks by some of the thousands of followers who lived with Rahim on a sprawling campus in Haryana state. Maliwal said she feared similar facilities were being run by the same group across India as sites for sexual exploitation. Many women at the facility were refusing to leave but efforts were being made to remove girls who appeared to be minors Maliwal added. A staff member at the facility has denied any wrongdoing telling the Indian Express: We have written documents from the women which had also been sent to the local police stations in their villages. They want to stay here on their own will and are being fed well and taught yoga and Atharva gyan Vedic wisdom . NEW DELHI: Air quality in the capital dipped on Thursday into the severe zone levels last seen in November when Delhiites choked on a killer smog for a week as the city was wrapped in an early morning fog and later a grey haze that cleared only by late afternoon. The overall air quality index which stood at 359 (very poor) on Wednesday jumped to 469 on Thursday which is well into the severe category of Central Pollution Control Board s index. Air quality had dipped to severe levels on Wednesday evening itself and this reflected in Thursday s 24-hour AQI reading. The sudden spike in pollution levels was attributed to a drop in wind speed coupled with an increase in relative humidity - thus trapping pollutants and not allowing them to disperse. Met officials however forecast air quality to start improving from Friday onwards with wind speeds expected to increase once again. Wind getting faster haze may go today Delhi last saw severe air quality on November 13 the last day of the smog episode which saw AQI levels remain above 400 for seven straight days between November 7 and 13. According to the CPCB severe air quality levels can affect healthy people and seriously impacts those with existing diseases . Officials from the Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) said wind speeds had dropped below 5 km/hour on Wednesday night. However winds have started picking up again and Friday is likely to see the haze starting to clear out officials said. The sudden spike has been attributed to a rise in relative humidity and wind speeds dropping to a minimum. The trend however is changing and Friday will again see winds speeds between 10-15 km/hour in the afternoon and evening which will clear out pollutants. We are also seeing westerly winds blowing currently and the westerly component will be dominant over the next few days as well said Kuldeep Shrivastav scientist at RWFC adding that wind speeds and temperatures are once again expected to drop from Sunday onwards. Delhi s average PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels hit their peak at 2pm on Thursday according to CPCB s central control room with PM 2.5 levels also crossing the emergency mark under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP). The average PM 10 levels at 2pm were recorded at 497 micrograms per cubic metre while average PM 2.5 levels at that time were recorded at 320 micrograms per cubic metre - five times the safe standard. If both these pollutants remain above 500 and 300 micrograms respectively for a period of 48 hours emergency measures under GRAP kick in which include banning entry of trucks into Delhi stopping construction activities and implementing the odd-even scheme. Both the minimum and maximum temperatures were above normal on Thursday. The maximum was recorded at 25 degrees Celsius while the minimum was at 12 degrees - both four notches above normal. In NCR Ghaziabad and Noida were the most polluted locations touching an AQI of 500 which is the maximum limit on the index. Gurgaon and Faridabad meanwhile were in the very poor category with AQIs at 346 and 358 respectively. It s 5pm and right outside a mall in Saket a group of college girls gets down from an auto. As they seem to wait for other friends to join them two male bikers whizz past them passing comments. But before the girls can react another woman standing on the other side of the road dials a number and a PCR van parked a few metres away chases the bikers cops ask them to stop and insist that they apologise to the girls. The woman who dialled for the PCR van is a Delhi Police constable and a member of the team conducting Operation Shishtachar. These cops who are deployed in plainclothes in different market areas of south Delhi can be seen offering lessons on how to respect women to men who harass women in these crowded places. The mall area of Saket is also part of Delhi Police s Operation Shishtachar (BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam) Main kya aapko cheap aadmi dikhta hoon? With the Christmas and New Year shopping rush in full swing the Delhi Police has been making arrangements for additional security in public places. However cops are giving special attention to markets after observing an increase in the number of harassment complaints from women shoppers. To ensure their safety in crowded areas the police have revived Operation Shishtachar in many market areas. The cops who are deployed in plainclothes outside malls and markets tell us that they have to handle too much drama and many bizarre bahanas when men are caught harassing women. What s more they even refuse to confess and apologise for their behaviour. In fact the cops say that a number of them protest ignorance and give inane excuses like - I was not passing remarks I was just trying to recall something. A woman constable at Sarojini Nagar Market tells us Just a few days back when I asked a man who must have been in his 30s why he was waving at women shoppers and he said Ishara kiya? Kisne maine? Maine kabhi kisi ko bachpan se ishara nahi kiya ab kyun karunga? ! She adds Some ask questions in return Do I look like a sadak chhaap Majnu to you? Do I look cheap? And then there are men who just refuse to believe that the police is talking to them and they repeatedly ask Who me? Aap kya mujh se baat kar rahe ho? And they try to escape! If you accuse men of harassing women they ask for proof: Delhi Police Another policewoman posted outside a mall in Saket shares with us Most of them ask questions when caught like Don t I have anything better to do than stare at a woman I barely know? Or they say Par proof kya hai? CCTV dikhao . And I remember there was a guy who was quite well-dressed and asked me Madam how would you define galat nazar? Galat nazar se dekh raha tha ka matlab bataiye . A constable posted outside the parking area of Hauz Khas Village says In fact some of them blame the cops! They will say things like Look at my clothes and then judge me. Aise toh aap kisi ko bhi pakad loge aur bologe ghoor raha tha. Proof dikhao . Ask about the most common bahana and the cops say Almost 80% of those caught say that they were checking their phone and it might have looked like they were waving at women shoppers but the truth is that they were just clicking selfies! If they are shamed by cops in public places it will deter harassers: Women shoppers Meanwhile despite the bahanas women shoppers say they are at least happy that the issue of women being harassed in market areas has finally got some serious attention. Rishika Dubey a shopper outside Select CityWalk mall says Ask any girl who regularly shops in crowded markets and she ll tell you how scary it is. Sometimes we fight and sometimes we give a person the benefit of the doubt that shayad galti se haath lag gaya hoga. But this has to stop. If people are named and shamed in the market by the police it will at least instill fear in others. Another shopper Kasturi Mishra who was shopping at Ansal Plaza says Last weekend I went to another mall and I saw some cops questioning a guy who was passing lewd comments at some girls. Most of the time we don t want to complain because we are not sure if the police will take action. Now if police officials are present in plainclothes to keep such incidents in check it s a big relief for women. Cops point out that most men say that they were clicking selfies when asked why they were trying to take pictures of women (BCCL/ Ajay Kumar Gautam) NEW DELHI: Buying a used car? You won t have to face the hassle of making endless rounds of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) for transferring the registration certificate (RC) in your name. The Delhi government s transport department is making the process of transferring the ownership of a vehicle online to not only ensure a hassle-free experience for applicants but also bring transparency in the exercise. The streamlining of the services is being made online in phases and in the first phase RC transfer has been made online at four RTOs Vasant Vihar Janakpuri Indraprastha Depot and Mall Road. A transport department official said by January 15 the process would be made online at all RTOs and their respective zones in Delhi. Dept sends RCs to owners via Speed Post We are trying to make the process online for all RTOs in Delhi. There are some minor issues involved which are being sorted out the official said. At present applicants have to fill and submit forms at the RTO along with required documents. In the new system the forms can be filled and submitted online and supporting documents have to be scanned and uploaded online a transport department official said. The facility however is yet not accessible from smartphones as the mobile version of the department s site is as yet unable to process online applications the official said. This exercise will reduce the public interface of the transport department to a large extent and would also ensure transparency the official said. Apart from making the process of transferring RC online the transport department has also started sending registration certificates (RC) of vehicles to the house of the owner through Speed Post. The new process has been started for vehicles that have been registered post-October 1. The owners first receive an SMS on their phone following which the RC is delivered at their residence. This initiative is only part of the transport department s endeavour to go online in a major way. The department has made trade certificates given to vehicle dealers online too apart from renewal of licences and permits. This would also mean less pressure on the transport authority offices. Every day about 45 000 to 50 000 people visit the zonal transport authority offices for various purposes. The government plans to reduce the public interface with transport department so that getting certificates or renewing licences become a hassle-free process. NEW DELHI: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power has approached the Delhi High Court seeking early allocation of coal to its power plant in Maharashtra. The company has made the ministries of coal and power Central Electricity Authority and Coal India respondents to the case. The company did not respond to an email sent by ET. Reliance Power had in 2008 obtained a letter promising allocation of 1.23 million tonnes of coal for unit one of 300 MW of the Butibori power plant from Coal India. Unit two of the project has fuel supply agreement with Coal India. The plant has a long-term power purchase agreement with group firm Reliance Infrastructure that supplies power to Mumbai city. The letter of allocation (LoA) was awarded to unit one of Butibori plant through the erstwhile screening committee route a senior coal ministry official said. The plant was a captive power plant at that time and was supposed to meet certain milestones to get the coal supply started. Later on the company converted the plant to an independent power plant. The coal ministry is yet to take a view on whether such diversion of coal is possible. In those days the queue for coal supply for captive plants was shorter the official said. The next date of hearing is January 15. Reliance Power has also petitioned the court seeking interim supply of coal to the plant from Western Coalfields Ltd a Coal India subsidiary. The board of Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Wednesday cleared awarding coal contracts to 10 power plants that won the supply in auction held in September. The companies that will receive the coal supplies to power plants include Adani Power GMR Energy and KSK Energy that quoted the highest discount in electricity tariffs to receive coal supply. Auction of coal linkages to independent power producers having long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) have been concluded successfully by CIL whereby 27.18 million tonnes of annual coal linkages have been booked by 10 successful bidders an official statement said. The fuel supply agreements (FSAs) are expected to result in an annual generation of over 47 billion units per annum and an estimated savings in tariff of about 125 crore per annum for 25 years. The power plants won the coal supply contracts after committing to generate power at discounts ranging between 4 paise per unit and 1 paise per unit over their existing tariffs. Every year different groups organise plays and exhibitions on December 16 remembering Nirbhaya. However this year a day after December 16 the Delhi Police department organised a run in collaboration with an NGO to make the capital safer for women. Around 15 000 Delhiites participated in the run which started from the JLN stadium and ended at Jantar Mantar. The participants said that it has been five years since the horrific incident even now there s no place in the city where women feel safe. Get set go! (BCCL/ Samik Sen) Making the capital safer for women This year at several marathons uniformed men and Delhiites came together to support a cause. Last month it was the BSF Run for Martyrs then it was a joint collaboration between the BSF and Delhi Police a run for child rights and now the Delhi Police run for women safety. Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik emphasised that even as it s the police s job to work for women safety these marathons and events are organised to spread awareness about women safety and gender equality. Garima Bhatnagar Joint Commissioner (Traffic) and Romil Baaniya DCP South (BCCL/ Samik Sen) Talking about this run Vasu Gupta a 25-year old runner said The participation in a marathon is overwhelming. Earlier there used to be 5km and 10km marathons which has now completely changed from running for the sake of running to running for a cause and that s why the response is better. Delhi Police officials take an oath for women safety (BCCL/ Samik Sen) Distance hardly matters From five year-old kids to seniors citizens everyone participated in the run. The runners told us that if the run is for a cause then the distance doesn t matter presence does. Madhvi Arora a 35-year-old participant said I wanted to run for 5km but as the run started late I gave up after 2 km. When you run for a cause it hardly matters whether it is 2km run or 20km. What s important is that we have come together for this cause. Madhur Verma DCP PRO and Devendra Kumar (BCCL/ Samik Sen) Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Thawarchand Gehlot Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment (BCCL/ Samik Sen) Rajnath Singh Union Home Minister who flagged off the run told the cops Ye keval mahila ki suraksha ka sawal nahi hai. Ye manavta ki suraksha ka sawal hai. Jab betiyan surakshit hongi tabhi manavta surakshit hogi. NEW DELHI: A poor visibility was recorded in several parts of the city today as thick smog enveloped the national capital. According to the MeT department the minimum temperature was recorded at 11 degrees Celsius three notches above the season s average. An official of the department said that at 5.30 am the visibility recorded was 500 mts which slightly improved to 700 mts at 8.30 am at Safdarjung Observatory. Track the pollution level in your city However at the Palam station at 8.30 am visibility was recorded at 400 mts. Any reading that falls below the average figure of 1 000 mts in fog was considered poor the official said. Humidity level recorded at 8.30 am was 86 per cent. The skies will remain partly cloudy throughout the day and the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 24 degrees Celsius official also said. Yesterday the maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 25.2 and 12 degrees respectively. By: IANS | New Delhi | Updated: December 22 2017 10:34 am 15 trains cancelled due to low visibility/operational reasons (ANI Twitter) Related News DDA demolishes hostel for blind 20 students left in the cold open6 Celsius of separationWelcome home to a tent by the riverIt was a foggy morning here on Friday with the minimum temperature recorded at 11 degrees Celsius three notches above the season s average. At least 15 trains were cancelled 28 delayed and nine were rescheduled due to fog in several parts of northern India. There was moderate fog in the morning reducing the visibility to 500 metres. The sky will be partly cloudy during the day an India Meteorological Department official said. The maximum temperature was likely to hover around 24 degrees Celsius. Humidity at 8.30 am was 86 per cent. Thursday s minimum temperature was recorded at 12 degrees Celsius four notches above the season s average while the maximum temperature settled at 25.2 degrees Celsius four notches above the season s average. For all the latest Delhi News download Indian Express App More Related News A place to sleep a pill to swallow Hard Look: Shelter-Skelter Tags: Delhi winters No Comments.