The Hindu : New Delhi News : Briefly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 25, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Briefly

L-G takes a Metro ride

NEW DELHI JUNE 24. The new Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, B.L. Joshi, today made his first visit to the Delhi Metro after assuming office and called upon the staff to carry on with the same standards of efficiency that had earned the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation a great reputation.

During the visit, Mr. Joshi interacted with officials, travelled on a Metro train from Kashmere Gate to Rithala, and saw the functioning of the Operational Control Centre at Shastri Park.

Describing Delhi Metro as the pride of the city and a project that was being emulated by other cities, the Lieutenant Governor also interacted with the Metro officers and staff to gauge their response and feedback on the travelling public.

Mr Joshi, before whom the Managing Director of DMRC, E. Sreedharan, made a presentation on the Metro Project at Raj Nivas in the morning to narrate the history, background and technical features of the project, later reviewed the working of the Automatic Fare Collection System, Automatic Train Protection System and the security arrangements during his visit to the Metro stations.

He was also informed by the officials that Delhi Metro is the first Metro in the world to establish a fare collection system using contactless tokens for single journeys and that multiple journeys can also be performed by using smart cards.

Disaster management body formed

NEW DELHI JUNE 24. Keeping in mind Delhi's vulnerability to earthquakes, as it falls under the high-risk seismic zone IV, and also to nuclear disasters, the Delhi Government has constituted the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), said the Delhi Chief Secretary, Shailja Chandra, while inaugurating a four-day workshop-cum-training programme on "Capacity Building in Earthquake Engineering" in the Capital on Wednesday. The workshop aims at training engineers in seismic resistant constructions and retrofitting in the context of earthquake vulnerabilities of Delhi.

Ms. Chandra acknowledged the need for urgent attention in developmental programmes, especially in the context of Delhi. She stated that for a country like India, after basic issues like food, shelter, health and education, management of disasters was also a priority.

"The Delhi Government has undertaken a lot of initiatives including conducting mock drills at state and district levels, `microzonation' and GIS mapping," she said, and stressed the role of engineers and architects in the Disaster Risk Management Programme.

Drive against fire in trains

NEW DELHI JUNE 24. Northern Railway has launched an extensive drive to prevent fire in trains. Surprise checks to penalise those carrying inflammables and explosive materials, gas cylinders and crackers will be conducted in coordination with the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel to increase security levels.

Besides, parcel supervisors, ticket-checking staff and RPF personnel will be sensitised and instructed to carry random preventive checks in trains and railway premises to prevent carriage of inflammables, and to ensure the availability and serviceability of fire-fighting equipment in trains and on the platforms.

Pantry cars in trains will also be checked to see that LPG cylinders are stored properly to prevent leakages. During the drive defaulters will be punished under the Railway Act.

Sheila inspects flyovers

NEW DELHI JUNE 24. The Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, today inspected the under-construction flyovers at Dhaula Kuan, Panchsheel and AIIMS. She instructed the officers and engineers to adhere to the construction schedule and complete the flyovers within the scheduled time limit. She also issued instructions regarding landscaping projects at the construction sites.

MAIT alumni meet

NEW DELHI JUNE 24. The first general body meeting of Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology (MAIT) Alumni Association was held on June 23 to elect the executive council for running the day-to-day affairs of the Institute. The objective of the alumni association is to provide a platform to ex-students to keep in contact with the alma mater and also with one another and to utilise the resources available to them for the overall development of the Institute.

Run against drug abuse

NEW DELHI JUNE 24. The Delhi Government's Department of Social Welfare in collaboration with the Health Fitness Trust will organise a run at India Gate on June 26. The event is aimed at creating awareness about drug abuse. More than 2,500 runners have confirmed their participation. The run is also being supported by the UNODC, the UNAIDS and is co-sponsored by the BSNL and Indian Airlines.

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