Trucks with over 150 bags of cash seized in Mumbai

Mumbai: Four trucks carrying over 150 bags ofcash and other valuables have been seized by the investigating wing of Income Tax and National Investigation Agency from outside the suburban Mumbai Central Railway Station here. The amount of seizure is yet to be ascertained and NIA officials are probing the money trail.

The trucks seized last night, after a tip off received by NIA, were on their way to Gujarat, I-T officials said today. "Four trucks containing more than 150 bags have been seized and around 40 people have been detained," they said.

According to sources, each truck with 15 people on board, was carrying around 35 bags, allegedly stuffed with cash and valuables.

I-T officials said that so far, 50 bags containing cash have been scrutinised and they are looking into the contents of the remaining. Prima facie the cash appears to be part of hawala
transaction, to be carried to Gujarat from Mumbai, they said.

While I-T sleuths impounded the truck and bags, NIA picked up the occupants, who were supposed to board a train to Gujarat with the bags.  

AP Police gets breakthrough in Hyderabad blasts case

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Police on Tuesday claimed a 'breakthrough' in the February 21 Dilsukhnagar twin bomb blasts case here and said they were close to nabbing the accused with the help of NIA.

"We know the persons who had done that (blast)...we are on the job of apprehending them. The NIA knows it. We are keeping it as a closely guarded secret to give a surprise to the accused so that it facilitates us in apprehending them," state Director General of Police V Dinesh Reddy told reporters here. "...we made a breakthrough. But in the interest of the case, I will not reveal more details (at this moment)," Reddy said.

Seventeen people were killed and over 100 injured when two bomb explosions took place on February 21 at Dilsukhnagar, a crowded shopping area in the city, within 100 metres of each other.

After an initial probe by the Andhra Pradesh Police, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had taken over the case. 

Robotic alarm clock that runs off

A new robotic alarm clock has been developed that forces heavy sleepers to go after the clock to silent it, media reports revealed.

The robotic clock jumps off your bedside table and runs across the floor on two wheels, forcing its owner to shed the bed to make it stop emitting a high pitched alarm call.

When the alarm activates, the wheels propel the clock forwards and it survives drops from surfaces of up to 3ft tall.

Invented by a graduate student who struggled to get up in time for her lectures, “Clocky” the robot clock, will not stop moving across the room until it is caught and the alarm switched off. 

Rs 310 drop in Mumbai-Bangalore AC bus fare

MUMBAI: The fare of the Mumbai-Bangalore AC sleeper coach reduced have has dropped by Rs 310 per seat - a 14% reduction in price.

With the current season being lean, the MSRTC has lowered its fares from the existing Rs 2,180 per commuter to Rs 1,870 to beat the competition from private operators, who are also known to lower their fares at this time of year. When contacted, MSRTC managing director Deepak Kapoor said, confirmed the "sudden" reduction in fares.

"We had to do it, keeping in mind the interests of our passengers. During off-season, most private operators lower their fares. We therefore cannot keep our fares constant through the year. To make it more competitive, we have reduced the fares by more than Rs 300. The reduction in price is a is a huge saving, especially for those travelling with families or in groupsand large families and groups, for passengers, specially those who travel in a group or family." Kapoor added.

The state's first ever AC Sleeper bus has been a hit with commuters. "We have two buses commuting between Mumbai Central and Bangalore daily in both directions,'' he said. The buses are expected to fetch additional revenue to the tune of four crore rupees annually, sources said.

Tickets can be booked online for the seats/berths. The USP of the new buses were not just the sleeper berths, but the fact that the fares were kept fixed (Rs 2,180 per seat). In comparison, private bus operators keep increasing the fares for Bangalore, and it is close to Rs 4,000 per passenger during peak season and festival rush. But now, even the MSRTC buses will charge Rs 310 less.

The state bus undertaking is mainly targeting business commuters and software professionals as these buses will go via Pune and Kolhapur. There are 32 luxuriously furnished sleeper berths in the Volvos. The bus leaves Mumbai Central depot at 1 pm and reaches Bangalore next day at 7 am. The return service from Bangalore starts at 4.30 pm and reaches Mumbai the next day at 10.30 am. The total distance travelled between Mumbai and Bangalore is 1,016 kms.

The transport corporation also has plans to "We also plan are determined to introduce AC sleeper coaches on other prominent long-distance routes such as Mumbai-Ahmedabad very soon," Kapoor added.

Modern machines to help speed up civic body's tree plantation drive

AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is all set to purchase two modern machines to speed up the ongoing drive of planting 1.5 lakh saplings in the city. Vijay Patil, the AMC's garden superintendent, said on Monday the post hole digger machines would help the civic body plant more saplings in the season. "We have already placed the order for the machines, which will be in our possession in next two-three days," he said.

The civic body initiated the drive in the city from June 5 on the occasion of World Environmental Day and planted saplings in open spaces and road dividers.

Patil said the machines have a capacity to dig 400-500 holes every day for planting saplings. "It is a machine that can be mounted on tractors and operated by one person. Holes of various sizes can be dug up with ease, which will accelerate the process. At present, we are digging up holes manually that takes a lot of time. A single worker can dig only 15-20 holes in a day, which makes the target of planting 1.5 lakh saplings in the season quite impossible. With the help of these machines, we can now plant more than 1,000 saplings every day," he said.

"The AMC has planted around 17,000-18,000 saplings so far and we have nearly 120 days to achieve the set target," he said.

He said the civic body has planted 10,000 saplings on its own while various schools, colleges, NGOs and individuals helped in planting 7,000-8,000 saplings.

"The civic body would now tap the large area in Chikhalthana and plant about 25,000 saplings. We are also encouraging NGOs and entrepreneurs to participate in the drive," Patil said, adding, "Students of municipal schools are taking active part in the drive. Besides, we are also providing saplings to all the AMC-run hospitals, libraries and offices asking the concerned officers to plant saplings on their premises."

Manisha Choudhary, environmentalist and member of Deepshikha Foundation, said the AMC should not only focus on planting saplings but should also take efforts to make sure that they survive.

3 more districts enter National Capital Region fold

NEW DELHI: The National Capital Region has undergone another expansion with three more districts - Mahendragarh and Bhiwani (both in Haryana) and Bharatpur (Rajasthan) - added to it on Monday. This brings the number of districts in the NCR to 19, with the total area increasing by 34% to 45,887sq km.


And there are other districts waiting to join the elite club. Haryana wants Jind and Karnal in NCR, while UP is pushing for the inclusion of Mathura-Vrindavan.

Government sources said Monday's inclusion was dictated by contiguity with existing NCR boundaries and 'good' rail and road connectivity to the national capital and other major cities.

Move aims to ease Delhi's burden

The NCR Planning Board, which took the decision under the chairmanship of union urban development minister Kamal Nath, claimed the expansion would help in dispersal of economic activities and reduce pressure on Delhi's health, educational and economic infrastructure. However, except for Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon, the dispersal being talked about has remained in theory. It is no secret that the plan to shift central government offices to NCR cities has failed completely. It's not these offices but corporate organizations which have shifted base to Gurgaon and Noida.

Despite the cheap loans that come to a district with an NCR membership, the lack of infrastructure and planned growth in cities such as Meerut, Bulandshahr, Baghpat and Hapur remains glaring. Moreover, the abject failure to resolve transport as well as law and order issues between Delhi and its immediate neighbours points to lack of coordination between administrations wi8th often different political masters.

Sources said the biggest parameter of prosperity in most NCR districts were "real estate prices". The NCR tag could prove to be a goldmine for realtors and builders in the areas where infrastructure remains pathetic and the resolve to change things largely absent.

"The demand of constituent states in the NCR to include more areas will increase due to political reasons. The recent requests came from MLAs or parliamentary secretaries," said an official who did not wish to be named. TOI asked some of the political leaders and bureaucrats who attended the meeting on how the NCR tag would benefit the districts. Most did not give a satisfactory answer. An official said the biggest benefit was that districts would have access to funding from NCRPB at a cheap rates. "They can avail loans for infrastructure projects at 7-8% interest. Fund availability makes cities and government capable of taking up infrastructure augmentation projects," he added.

While most cities have failed in exploiting the opportunity to get low-interest loans, Haryana has taken almost 70% of the total loans that NCRPB has disbursed. The official claimed that once a district is a part of NCR, the board motivates the state government to plan infrastructure at par with Delhi. "There is also focus on having a proper plan conforming to the regional plan," he added.

NCR's expansion also does not seem to have helped in decongesting Delhi. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit had said people from neighbouring states come, work here and use the infrastructure. Her Haryana counterpart, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has claimed the opposite. He has said the Haryana sub-region has fulfilled NCR objectives by not only checking the flight to Delhi but causing reverse migration.

However, Kamal Nath seemed to agree with Dikshit that the other constituents of NCR need to create adequate social infrastructure to reduce the burden on Delhi.

Indian-owned football club qualifies for Danish Superliga

PTI

New Delhi: Denmark's Indian-owned football club,

F C Vestsjælland, has qualified for the Danish Superliga, the country's top-tier and one of Europe's well-known leagues.

It is the first time the club has made it to the Danish top division.

Anglian Holdings, an NRI-owned multi-national corporation with diverse global investments, had acquired a strategic stake in FC Vestsjælland, and had simultaneously invested in I-League club Shillong Lajong FC, with the intent of creating a pipeline for bi-directional exchange of talent, knowledge and expertise between the two clubs.

Post the promotion of FC Vestsjælland (also known as FC Vikings), the corporation aims to intensify its efforts towards bringing European footballing knowhow to Shillong Lajong FC and the rest of India.

It has already begun using the experience to help Indian clubs and players.

Anglian-supported player, Netan Sansara, is the first PIO to make it to the Danish Superliga.

F C Vestsjælland, a club based in Slagelse, Denmark, has capped off a remarkable season by qualifying for the Superliga.

F C Vestsjælland was established in 2008 as an offshoot of the Slagelse Football Club & Sports Association (SB&I) – and makes it to the premier football division in Denmark within 5 years of its formation.

Commenting on the promotion, Kurt Andersen, President, FC Vestsjælland, said, "We are thrilled to be a part of the Superliga next season and are extremely proud of what the team has been able to achieve. I think it is nothing short of amazing that within 5 years of being formed, we have climbed our way to the top-most football league of Denmark."

Dhruv Ratra, CEO – Sports & Marketing, Anglian Holdings, said, "We are delighted for FC Vestsjælland's players, staff and fans. It really is a remarkable achievement for the club to ascend so rapidly. We are also extremely happy that our player Netan Sansara has become the first PIO to reach the highest level of Danish football."