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B S Vohra
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Delhi: you'll get water quality check only once in 27 yrs
After reading about the deaths reportedly linked to drinking of contaminated water at NCERT colony in south Delhi, if the quality of water you drink is worrying you, your anxiety is not unfounded.
Chances are your water supply would be quality checked only once in 27 years.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) lifts on an average 400 samples across the city per day. However, considering the number of buildings and public places, the number is extremely small. Census 2011 puts the number of houses at 40,00,000. Even if we consider this statistic, excluding public places, the chance of a particular house figuring again in random sampling comes after 10,000 days — about 27 years.
“There are 1,500 planned colonies. Then there are several unauthorised colonies, which also consume water. The small sample indicates that DJB is unable to reach colony levels,” said Dunu Roy of NGO Hazard Centre.
Debashree Mukherjee, DJB CEO, says, “This (400) is not a small size. This is over and above samples tested at water treatment plants. For other areas, our tests are ample.”
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK
Delhi: confusion over who maintains pipelines
A war of words erupts between the consumers and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) every time people start falling ill after consuming contaminated water.
While Delhiites blame the DJB and expect it to take care of leaking pipelines, the agency claims that contamination mostly happens at the consumers’ end and that it is their (consumer’s) responsibility to change the ferrule.
A ferrule is the point where consumers’ pipe connects with the main supply pipeline.
Sanjam Chima, DJB’s Consultant (PR), cites the provisions of the Delhi Jal Board Act, 1998, for it. As per a clause titled ‘Power to require water supply to be taken and to require maintenance of service pipes’, consumers are supposed to lay the delivery pipe for every sanctioned connection through a licensed plumber at their own cost from the main to their homes, including the ferrule.
Also, the Act say that it is the duty of the consumer to maintain, repair and replace, whenever required, such delivery pipes at his own cost. Customers are to get these pipes inspected at their cost once in 15 years.
“If found rusted or leaking, the work for repair or replacement shall be done by the consumer through a licenced plumber,” said Chima.
Ankush Wohra, president of New Delhi South Extension I (NDSE I) RWA, however, finds this logic weird. “If the DJB changes or repairs it, that will ensure uniformity.
Otherwise someone can put a bigger ferrule for more water. If the DJB Act actually doesn’t permit it, the relevant provisions should be changed.”
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK
Power regulator to announce revised tariff for 2013 by July
The new power tariffs for this year will be in place by July, said Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on Wednesday.
The announcement by the power regulator came after the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity asked the DERC to ensure that the tariff order is in place by April every year.
Taking note of the delay in announcing a tariff order in April by DERC, the tribunal has asked the city power regulator to enforce it on time in the future. “The new tariff order for this year will be in place by July. We have not been in touch with the government regarding subsidy on power tariff,” PD Sudhakar, DERC chairman.
“There are seven utilities who had to submit their petitions and we kept receiving the petitions spread over December to February. We also had to change the consultant who was engaged with the process of tariff determination as there was some conflict of interest. One discom also decided to amend its petition and hence all this led to delays,” said Sudhakar.
“We will try our best to enforce this by April itself in the future,” he added.
The tribunal also said in its order that the exercise of providing relief to the consumers by way of subsidy should be undertaken only after the tariff order has been announced and there should be no delay due to this.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Delhi: SC grants doctor relief in power theft case
If a power theft case is pending, a consumer’s electricity supply cannot be disconnected, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday.
A vacation bench headed by Justice AK Patnaik ordered BSES to restore power supply within 48 hours at premises in Vasant Kunj occupied by a lady doctor.
On a petition by Meena Chaudhary, the court held it was the duty of the power company to supply electricity to all owners in all premises.
Chaudhary is facing a power theft case since 2010. Electricity supply to the premises where she lives was disconnected a few days ago. Despite her request, the power company did not grant a meter connection in her name as she wasn’t the owner of the premises.
At this, the bench clarified that even if the original consumer did not want the connection, it would be restored in Chaudhary’s name subject to formalities and told the lady doctor to pay the electricity charges.
“If a landlord does not pay up, the tenant has to be given the power connection. We don’t want any dispute to come in the way of supply of electricity,” the court observed orally, adding Section 43 of the Electricity Act obliges a power company to supply electricity to a owner or an occupier on request.
Chaudhary had approached the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking restoration of power supply to her residential premises. She claimed the power company had removed the electricity meter in 2007, while she was away in Patna for official work.
According to her, power supply continued at her place and she kept paying the provisional bill raised by BSES. Meanwhile, she even gave five representations to the company for installing a meter. However, in 2010 BSES registered a theft case against her and disconnected the supply few days ago.
with thanks : Hindustan Times : LINK
Monday, June 24, 2013
Power outages in parts of east, south Delhi
NEW DELHI: Along with soaring temperature, power cuts have added to woes of residents in different parts of the city. Several parts of east Delhi and some parts of south Delhi faced intermittent power outages on Saturday night and Sunday. These outages were between 15 to 30 minutes long and happened multiple times. According to officials at Delhi Transco, there was a snag in the transformer due to heat. The snag is being fixed and power supply is expected to normalize soon.
At Mayur Vihar Phase II, there was no power supply between 10.30pm and 3am. "The power came back briefly for an hour or so in between. But we couldn't sleep all night," said a resident.
Residents at Krishna Nagar said power supply has been irregular for the past two days. "There were power outages of about 15 to 30 minutes every couple of hours, even at night," said B S Vohra, an RWA member.
M P Gogia, member of Rajouri Garden RWA added that there were seven to eight power outages on Saturday night.
Residents of IP Extension also had similar complaints. "There were two power cuts for half hour each on Sunday in most pockets of Patparganj," said Vivian Fernandes, a resident of Patparganj.
BSES officials confirmed that there were some constraints with transmission. "There was nothing amiss from the BSES side. We understand that there were some minor issues with transmission," they said.
Some parts of south Delhi like Vasant Vihar also had complaints of brief power outages. "Power supply has been very erratic for the last few days. There are more than five outages on some days. Though they are not long, residents suffer because of the heat," added Samir Bhagat, a member of Vasant Vihar RWA.
with thanks : Times of India : LINK
Delhiites help flood victims get back on their feet
NEW DELHI: Tragedies often bring out the best in people even if the victims are miles away. Delhiites in several parts of the city are collecting funds, packed food, medicine, shoes and clothing for the Uttarakhand flood victims who are still waiting to be rescued.
In Ashok Vihar, NGO Prerna, along with residents, collected relief. Three trucks loaded with the material will start for the flood-hit areas of Uttarakhand to reach it to them.
"Thousands of people are in need of things like shoes, medicines, blankets and packed food. We have asked residents to donate what they can—be it money or material. We have tied up with the RSS camp in Dehradun and they will reach the relief to the victims by helicopter," Mahender Nagpal of Prerna said.
People in Vasant Vihar have, meanwhile, started collecting funds. "We have sent a mail to everyone in the area and people can contribute through cash or cheque. Once the money is collected, it will be sent to the PM's relief fund by next week," Sameer Bhagat, joint secretary of Vasant Vihar Resident Welfare Association, said.
In Rajouri Garden, special pujas and havan were held for the safety of the stranded. "Special pujas are being held in temples everyday and yajnas were arranged for the victims," Neelam Gulati of Rajouri Garden RWA said. A funds collection drive is on at the temple for the flood victims.
The residents of Krishna Nagar in east Delhi are collecting warm clothes. "Warm clothes and blankets are being collected along with money for the victims. Candlelight vigils and prayers are also being held," BS Vohra, member of an East Delhi RWAs Front, said.
Even the municipal corporations have decided to contribute money for the flash flood victims. "A sum of Rs 10 crore will be contributed. We will be buying packed food and other things that the victims need with the money and send these across since rescue operations will take time owing to the rains," Subhash Arya, leader of the House, South Corporation, said. All councillors will donate Rs 2,100, which is their monthly allowance, for the Uttarakhand flood victims.
with thanks : Times of India : LINK
Sunday, June 23, 2013
After deluge, vector-borne diseases, warn experts
B.S. Vohra, representative of the Mega Delhi Residents Welfare Association, said the process of fumigation started a little late. "The process of fumigation is being done by the corporations but unfortunately it started only after a few cases of dengue were reported," he said. http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Dengue-malaria-threat-in-Delhi-say-experts/2013/06/22/article1647705.ece
B.S Vohra who represents the Mega Delhi Residents Welfare Association, told IANS: "DJB charges sewage tax from citizens and is, therefore, responsible for cleaning the drains in the capital." http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/de-silting-of-drains-incomplete-delhi-roads-flooded-113061800850_1.html
B.S. Vohra, another representative of a residents' welfare organisation, said: "The corporations alone cannot do much. Other government agencies like Delhi Jal Board are also responsible for the cleaning of drains and clearing of sewage." "The DJB charges 60 percent from the bill paid by the citizens as sewage tax, so they ought to clear the sewage," Vohra said. http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/monsoon-catches-delhi-unawares-this-year-too-113061900871_1.html
B.S. Vohra, representative of the Mega Delhi Residents Welfare Association, said the process of fumigation started a little late. "The process of fumigation is being done by the corporations but unfortunately it started only after a few cases of dengue were reported," he said. http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=177638
Representative of the Mega Delhi Residents Welfare Association representative B.S. Vohra said the process of fumigation started a little late. "The process of fumigation is being done by the corporations but unfortunately it started only after a few cases of dengue were reported," he said. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130623/delhi.htm#1
Friday, June 21, 2013
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