Delhi News

From the next weekend, commuters can hope to reach Gurgaon from the city’s shopping hub of Connaught Place in less than an hour as the Central Secretariat-Qutub Minar corridor is likely to be opened by that time.

The inauguration of the 12.53 km line will take place after the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety R K Kardam inspects the entire corridor on Monday and Tuesday and give his mandatory safety clearance.

“The inspection date has been fixed for August 30 and 31,” Kardam told PTI. Read the rest of this entry »

For Delhiites seeking a reasonably priced apartment of their own in the city, here’s some big news. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plans to launch a new housing scheme next month in which as many as 15,000 flats in various categories would be on offer through a lottery.

‘‘We are working on the final modalities of the housing scheme. The brochure for the new scheme should be available in September,’’ DDA vice president Ashok Kumar said on Thursday. The scheme returns after almost two years, and will feature flats being constructed in Vasant Kunj for the Commonwealth Games 2010.

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New Delhi: Delhi Metro’s journey into south Delhi officially began on Friday as trial runs started between Central Secretariat and Lajpat Nagar stations on the Badarpur line. By next month, the trials will be extended to Okhla and then Badarpur. The line, which connects important Commonwealth Games venues, including Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, is expected to open for public use by September — cutting down travel time from Central Secretariat to Badarpur to just 40 minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

Gurgaon: On the lines of top international cities of the world, the Millennium City is all set to get a landmark of its own — an iconic and ‘‘architecturally marvellous’’ structure. The ambitious project is part of a theme park which a private company will construct on lease basis for Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). A letter of award was recently given to the firm after it won the bid, defeating a number of competing players.

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With little over two months left for the Commonwealth Games 2010, efforts are afoot to ensure better co-ordination between the various agencies involved in the preparations to the mega sports event. As part of this, an inter-departmental meeting of all agencies was held at Raj Niwas on Saturday to coordinate projects and clear bottlenecks.
The marathon meeting was attended by the LG along with the Organising Committee chairperson, Suresh Kalmadi, Delhi chief secretary Rakesh Mehta, cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar, sports secretary Sindhushree Khullar, officials of various venue owners like Sports Authority of India, Delhi Development Authority and the Municipal Corporation of India as well as department heads. Read the rest of this entry »

If airports are an indication of a country’s economic progress, then India has certainly arrived on the world stage. While China may have been the first to draw world attention by building state-of-the-art transport systems, its Asian neighbour is now catching up, projecting the new, swanky Terminal 3 (T3) at IGI as an example of country’s growing prosperity and confidence.

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New Delhi: Get set to pay more for autos and taxis from Tuesday. That is the essence of the assurance the city government has reportedly given auto unions threatening agitation unless fares are hiked after the rise in CNG prices.

The assurance came during a meeting of auto union representatives with the transport minister and senior transport department officials on Friday. After the talks, the Auto Rickshaw Sangh, which had given the strike call for Monday, decided not to go ahead with the agitation.

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New Delhi: Liquor shops are all set to open sales in nine malls in the city. The Delhi government’s excise department has awarded licences to nine applicants and some of these are likely to begin operations from June 20.

The Delhi cabinet had approved the proposal allowing wine shops in malls with a specified set of norms. In continuance of that decision, the excise department had called for applications from interested parties. According to officials, 14 applications were received. Of these, so far nine have been given licenses as they conformed to all the conditions. The remaining applications are still under scrutiny.

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A year after the organizing committee (OC) decided to hire international-level caterers for the Commonwealth Games Village and venues, it says there isn’t enough money to pay the m and must look at ‘‘reworking the scope of work’’ to keep costs to a ‘‘minimum’’, according to OC spokesperson Lalit Bhanot.

Asked why the catering firms chosen to do the job are still to be hired, Bhanot said: ‘‘We hope to resolve the issue within a few days.’’ On further enquiry, Bhanot admitted that the OC was ‘‘reworking the
scope of work. It’s not a change in quality but rather — in some areas — of quantity.’’

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