South civic body prepares for rains, intensifies drive to desilt drains

avoid water-logging during monsoons, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has intensified its drive to desilt the drains.

Last week, SDMC commissioner Puneet Kumar Goel held a meeting with officials of the engineering wing and department of environment management services to discuss the progress on action plan. Goel asked the officials to streamline its men and machinery to immediately deal with the situation of water logging and desilting of the drains.

There are 268 major drains, with a combined length of 177km, and 18,226 small drains, with a combined length of 4,892 km, in localities under the jurisdiction of the SDMC. The department takes out more than 50,000 metric tonnes of silt from all the drains every year. “As per the plan, this year SDMC has removed nearly 39,000 metric tonnes of silt and completed 75% of its job. We have even hired machineries such as excavators to ensure maximum work is done on time. Earlier we used to start the work by March but this month we have started by January. The extracted silt is being transported to the SLF through trucks,” said Goel.

He claimed that the department has engaged enough movable excavators, loaders, suckercum-jetting machines and pumping stations to deal with monsoon-related issues. The SDMC has also started the process for identifying dangerous buildings to repair collapseprone buildings. It will be submitting a report from each of four zones in 15 days.

The petitioners have assailed the government move, complaining it flouted an earlier SC order that stopped the government from denying social welfare benefits for want of Aadhaar. The Centre has denied the claim with the explanation that PAN card or filing of IT return is a service and not benefit.

Rohatgi denied that collection of data such as eye scans and fingerprints amount to intrusion.

“How is iris scanning more intrusive than (a) photograph. So called privacy is what is being argued. We part with all kinds of data when you carry a mobile phone and use credit cards,” the AG said.

Aadhaar was being promoted to combat the triple menace of terror funding, black money and tax evasion. Nobody could challenge Parliament’s jurisdiction to frame a law and the power emanated from the Constitution, Rohatgi maintained.

“Today black money is used for laundering dirty money and for terror financing. All these things are going on in this country. Aadhaar has been introduced to bring in a more robust system by which ID cards cannot be forged. Iris and fingerprints are being collected in a digitized format,” he said.

The AG cited figures to buttress his claim. There were 29 crore PAN card holders out of which only 5 crore are assesses.

“This means 24 crore card holders are not even tax assesses,” he told the bench. After Aadhaar 10 lakh fake PAN cards have been weeded out during the last one year.He also handed over a sealed report giving details of how one individual had defrauded the exchequer to the tune of ₹5,000 crore.

Rohatgi told the court that India also cannot remain isolated from the international community as it has to address issues like double taxation and evasion.

The beheading is understood to have featured in his discussion with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. But there was no official word on it.

Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu called Pakistan a rogue state and said the government would take appropriate action against the nation for the brutal killings. Also, he blamed Pakistan for funding terrorism and fomenting trouble in Kashmir.

India had furnished proof of Pakistan sponsoring a secessionist movement in the Kashmir Valley, a region that has been recording street protests almost every day of late. The unrest forced the Election Commission to countermand the Anantnag Lok Sabha bypoll for the second time, saying the situation was “scary”.

According to Indian military intelligence, Monday’s attack was conducted by the neighbours’ Border Action Team (BAT), which is said to be a mix of army regulars and militant mercenaries who do the establishment’s bidding.

Members of the rogue squad sneaked more than 200 metres into the Indian side of the LoC and ambushed the patrol when Pakistani forces were engaging forward posts with artillery and heavy machine guns.

Kamal Nayan Choubey, the additional director general of the BSF’s western command, said the cross-border attack was wellplanned and carried out by the BAT.

“If there is a need to revisit the SOPs (standard operating procedure), the army will do it in tandem with the BSF,” he said, responding to reports that the patrol walked into a trap.

The army dismissed television news reports that India destroyed Pakistani bunkers and killed “several enemy” soldiers across the border in Jammu and Kashmir in a retaliatory attack.

A senior army officer said the reports were not true. “A lot of planning goes into any army action. We will respond but at apt time and place.”

The incident happened a day after Pakistani Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa visited areas along the LoC opposite the Krishna Ghati sector.

Pakistani DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza denied the killing and mutilation, and blamed India for what he called allegations that were made in “an attempt to divert the attention of the world from the situation” in Kashmir.

Pakistan’s denials had little impact at two villages in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh — that of fallen soldiers Singh and Sagar.

As bugles sounded the “Last Post” and Singh’s headless body was brought for cremation with full military honour, wife Paramjit Kaur said: “If the gov- ernment cannot teach Pakistan a lesson, they should allow me to take revenge for my husband’s killing.”

BSF trooper Sagar’s body was flown in a military helicopter to his village in UP’s Deoria, but the cremation was held back as his family demanded the presence of Prime Minister Modi and chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Sagar’s younger brother, who is also with the BSF, said the news of his death has shattered the family.

“We have gone to meet him several times. Arvind himself met him and spoke to him for three hours at his house. Still, he is not coming to attend the PAC (political affairs committee meetings), and is only talking to TV,” Sisodia said.

“Party workers know very well which party or which power is benefitting from his repeated statements on TV channels,” the deputy CM said, seen as a reference to the BJP.

He also rubbished Vishwas’ claims of being one of the founders of the AAP.

“He (Vishwas) is repeatedly saying this party was founded by three people – Arvind Kejriwal, me and Kumar Vishwas. This is totally wrong. This party was formed by the lakhs of party workers in India and abroad.”

Kejriwal had earlier defended Vishwas by terming him a “brother”. But political experts believe that Vishwas may have crossed the red line for the temperamental chief minister, who is often accused of building the party around himself.

“We sought five days police custody which was agreed by the court,” special commissioner of police MK Meena said.

Other than her refusal to go through a medical examination, which is within her rights, officers became suspicious when she wrote to police that she doesn’t want an FIR registered but her rape complaint should be taken as a matter of record.

Investigators were going slow on her complaint of rape, despite the government bringing in tough laws to deal with the crime, because the lawyer made a similar accusation against a Haryana MP last September and retracted her statement later.

“She couldn’t answer why she withdrew the previous rape case filed at Tilak Marg police station. We are checking her credentials. She must furnish details to prove she is a practicing lawyer,” a police officer said.

Patel had alleged that she was part of a racket that targeted politicians. A case of extortion was registered against her on the basis of the MP’s complaint.