TIMES CITY

THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2015

Bijnor to Delhi for singharas

Growing Water Chestnuts At A Floating Farm On The River Has
Been Lucrative For These Men Who Come Twice A Year To City

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Photos: Anindya Chattopadhyay

Anindya Chattopadhyay@timesgroup.com

ts not often that you will meet someone these days who will sing praises
of the Yamuna. But Mohammed Riazuddin, 55, surveys his crew bobbing
up and down on perilous contraptions
fabricated out of rubber tubes on the water,
pulling at a oating mess of leaves. His dark,
pitted face breaks into a bright smile as he
says, Log Yamuna ko ganda bolte hain par
hum to isi ke pas baithe hamare pariwar
ka pet chalate hain (People decry the Yamuna for its polluted water, but to me it is
the provider of food for my family). As he
speaks, one of his workers pulls in a net full
of burgundy-green fruit. Every kilo of the
singhara (water caltrop or water chestnut)
harvest will fetch Riazuddin Rs 40 at the
wholesale market.
For two decades now, Riazuddin has
farmed water chestnut in a private wetland fed by the Yamuna. Having come to the
capital to try his luck from Bijnor in Uttar
Pradesh, he promptly saw an opportunity in
replicating the traditional business of most
families back home. Today he is the proud
owner of the 40-bigha holding at Rainy Well
Thoka Number 13 in east Delhi, where with
little competition and a good demand for the
starchy edible seed, he has been able to experience the benevolence of a famed river.
Anyone who sees the men expertly manoeuvring their rubber oats in the sea of
stalks and leaves will realise that harvesting
water chestnut is an art in itself. Such expertise is hard to nd in the capital, and Riazuddin brings in his workforce of around 10
men from Bijnor. Back home, every household is into the singhara business. My father
and grandfather did the same thing, says

LIVING
OFF A

NOT A BITTER HARVEST: The singhara farmers say its their

traditional occupation and they are not about to give up
on the Yamuna, whatever others might say about its
polluted water. The business, of course, is not always good

Pappu as he gathers the

long stalks of the caltrop plant and plucks
the nuts. He comes
twice a year with Satpal Singh, Jaipal Singh,
Zaheer Hussain, Sher
Singh and some others to work at the oating farm near Kishankunj once at sowing

DEAD

RIVER

time at the outset of the monsoons and then

again between September and November at
harvest time.
On good days, the men collect up to 800
kg of singhara, which are carted off by vendors and wholesalers from Ghazipur mandi.
Each man earns Rs 250 for a days work. It
is quite a windfall for them, because, as
Pappu say, The rest of the year we work as

Thaw in LG-CM
ties after VAT
chiefs posting

labourers. However, the

money is hard-earned.
For one, they work half
submerged in polluted water
and there is no way of knowing
what hazards lie beneath the muddy, leaf-strewn surface. There have been cases of snake bites, and in Bijnor, even deaths.
The Yamunas alarming deterioration is
obviously taking a toll on the business and
making the job of these men a health risk.
At the time of sowing, Riazuddin uses a
special compound, a white powder that coagulates the pollutants, which sink to the
bottom, leaving fairly clear water on the top.
The water chestnuts are then sown.
This year, says Riazuddin, his income
will be hurt by a lower than usual yield.
Pesticide-laced water from neighbouring

On good days, the men collect up to

800kg of singhara, which is carted
off by vendors and wholesalers from
Ghazipur mandi. Each man earns
250 for a days work, a windfall
elds owed into his farm during the monsoons and contaminated his crop. Yet, unlike
many others who live off the dying river, the
greying Riazuddin refuses to think of the
Yamunas demise. Our survival is dependent on it. Its a source of life for all of us
from Bijnor, he says, as his eyes stray to the
sacks of strangely-shaped fruit waiting to be
hauled away.

New Delhi: With the appointment of the new VAT

commissioner, a temporary
thaw was seen in the strained
relationship
of
chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant governor
Najeeb Jung.
After the initial skirmishes over the transfer of the
former VAT chief and rejection of another candidate,
the AAP government has given in to the LGs assertion
for an officer who was senior
enough for the post.
Just four days ago, the
Delhi cabinet had passed a
resolution challenging the
authority of the LG alleging
that he had unilaterally
transferred VAT commissioner Vijay Kumar as he was
fighting against corruption.
The government then
sent the name of IAS officer
Ankur Garg for the post, but
the LG rejected it saying he
was too junior for the post.
The state then sent the name
of Delhi Jal Board CEO Sajjan Singh Yadav and his appointment was approved by
the LG on Tuesday.
The name of Yadav, a
1995-batch IAS officer, was
proposed by Kejriwal as he is
one of the governments
most trusted officers. IAS officer Keshav Chandra will
replace Yadav as the new
DJB CEO. The LG has approved the CMs proposal of
appointment of SS Yadav as
the new VAT commissioner
and Keshav Chandra as DJB
CEO since both the officers
fulfil the required criteria of
seniority, said an official.
Chandra will also be holding
additional charge of secretary (tourism).
The state was locked in a
bitter battle with the Centre
after Jung issued a relieving
order to Vijay Kumar and asked him to join his new assignment in Lakshadweep.
The Centre did not consult Delhi government before transferring Kumar who
had cracked the whip on big
tax evaders. A lobby of such

people may have pressured

for his transfer, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia
had said earlier, while asking how an elected government could not even choose
its VAT commissioner. Later, a proposal of appointing
2002 batch IAS officer Ankur
Garg was sent, but Jung turned it down saying that he
was junior to hold the key
post. Sisodia had then written to the LG accusing him of
unlawfully shooting down
the governments proposal.
On October 23, the Delhi
cabinet had asked Jung to
explain what compelled him
to transfer Vijay Kumar and

Four days ago, the

Delhi cabinet had
passed a resolution
challenging the LGs
authority alleging that
he had unilaterally
transferred VAT
commissioner Vijay
Kumar as he was
fighting against graft
whether it was linked to the
raids carried out against 200
fraudulent companies as
well as on an international
food chain.
The cabinet posed four
questions to the LG, which
included whether he had
summoned Kumar after passing his relieving order and
threatened him to leave
Delhi immediately and
if he had received written or
oral instructions from PMO
or MHA for the officers
transfer.
The lieutenant governors office issued a statement stating that Kumars
transfer was done as per
MHAs orders issued on October 9. It is clarified there
has never been any recommendation from the LGs secretariat to the ministry of
home affairs requesting for
transfer of any of these officers, either now or before, a
press statement reads.

South Delhi braves power Africa summit: Brace for chaos today
TRAFFIC ALERT
cuts and voltage swings
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Geetas day out: Meets CM, goes for Metro ride

Photos: Kamaljeet Singh & Anindya Chattopadhyay

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi Metro had a

special visitor on Tuesday. Geeta, the Indian girl who had
strayed into Pakistan, took a
ride on a Delhi Metro
train a day after her return
from Pakistan.
Accompanied by members
of the Edhi Foundation, who
had taken care of the deaf and
mute girl during her time in
the neighbouring country, 23year-old Geeta wore a constant smile and waved at the
commuters who greeted her.
She spent about an hour on
the Delhi Metro network.
Geeta travelled from Civil
Lines to Patel Chowk station
where she visited the Metro
Museum that houses several
exhibits related to the construction and operations of the
citys Metro network.
She was briefed about the
Metro Museum with the help
of an interpreter, a Delhi
Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson said.
Geeta, who also met President Pranab Mukherjee, was
accompanied by officials of

Areas to be avoided

Oct 28
5.30pm to 10pm

Delhi
Gate

Oct 29
8.30am to 10.30am
4pm to 8pm
Roads closed
8.30am to 10.30am
4pm to 8pm

Vikas Marg
D

EXPLORING DELHI: Geeta travelled from Civil Lines to Patel Chowk where she visited the Metro Museum

India
Gate
Zoo
Dhaula
Kuan

ad

Lodhi Ro

Ashram
Chowk
Partially
closed for
Oct 28 to 29

Ring Road
N

AIIMS

Roads to be closed on Oct 28 (5.30pm to 10pm) | Sardar Patel Marg,

Teen Murti Marg, Akbar Road, Tees January Marg, Rajesh Pilot
Marg, Subramaniam Bharti Marg, Mathura Road and Bhairon Marg
Roads to be closed on Oct 29 (8.30am to 10.30am and 4pm to 8pm)
| Sardar Patel Marg, Teen Murti Marg, Akbar Road, Tees January
Marg, Rajesh Pilot Marg, Subramaniam Bharti Marg, Mathura Road,
Bhairon Marg, Ring Road (between Sarai Kale Khan and Rajghat),
Power House Road leading to Indira Gandhi stadium

IIT not specific

about nature of
work experience
he opinion at the senate
meeting is understood
to have been divided
but ultimately by a majority
decided not to revise the cancellation of Aleeshas admission. Calling the reference an
outright interference by the
HRD ministry, many in the senate said the decision to cancel the admission was taken
after due process.
Some others felt that since
IIT had not been specific about the nature of work experience, she should be given a
chance. But the majority opinion was that work experience cannot be concurrent with
a full-time academic degree as
seemed to be case with regard
to the applicant.
On scrutiny of Aleeshas
documents it was found that
she had submitted her work
experience certificate dated
December 2, 2014, mentioning

Nearly 15 years after accidentally crossing into the neighbouring country, Geeta returned to India on Monday to
an emotional welcome. She
was received by senior officials of the external affairs ministry and Pakistan High
Commission here on her arrival from Karachi. She also
met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and foreign minister
Sushma Swaraj after landing
in Delhi.

Bhairon
Marg

Continued from P1

Delhi government among

others during her ride.
Prior to this, she met chief
minister Arvind Kejriwal in
the morning. In her 15-minute
meeting with the CM, she spoke about her experience in India so far.
They exchanged pleasantries and the CM asked her
how she had been doing in India. Geeta responded using
sign language. It was only a courtesy call, said sources.

Rajghat

Rajiv
Chowk

Road

night, there have been several

instances of unscheduled power cuts and frequent breakdowns. DERC has clearly
mandated that any shutdown
in power supply has to be done
with advance planning, but
discoms are not paying any
heed. Our electrical appliances have been affected with
voltage fluctuations.
In adjoining GK-I, resident

Crescent for east-west movement across the city. During

the time Sardar Patel Marg
will be cordoned off, traffic
will be diverted to Ridge Road. Shanti Path will remain
open for traffic from Moti
Bagh while people coming
from Ring Road can use Africa Avenue.
Officers said Tilak Marg,
Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, IP
Marg and Vikas Marg will be
open for vehicles going towards India Gate.
No traffic will be allowed
on Amrita Shergil Marg, Max
Muller Marg, Maharishi Raman Marg and Arch Bishop
Makrious Marg on both days
of the summit. Commuters
have been advised to use CHexagan-Akbar Road-Maulana Azad Road to reach
North or South Block from
India Gate or C-Hexagon-Ashoka Road-KG Marg to reach
Gole Dakkhana and Connaught Place.
Around 1,500 additional
personnel, apart from the existing staff of 3,000, will be
deployed at diversions to guide vehicles and clear jams.

Ring

New Delhi: For the last fortnight, residents of several

prominent colonies in south
Delhi have been plagued with
unscheduled power cuts and
voltage fluctuations. The residents welfare associations
(RWA) of Greater Kailash-I
and II, Safdarjung Enclave,
among others, have written to
Delhi Electricity Regulatory
Commission (DERC) complaining of frequent breakdown
in supply as it has been adversely affecting their electrical
appliances.
Slamming the power distribution companies for failing to address the situation,
the RWAs said that even their
complaints have gone unheeded.
Chairman of Federation
of GK-II RWAs, Chetan Sharma said, We have written to
DERC asking them to conduct
a hearing with our power
supplier. For the last fort-

Rajiv Kakria said, The power

situation has not been much
in the news of late, but there
have been frequent outages
for the past two weeks during
the festival season. We also face problems of extremely low
or high frequency at 10-second
intervals that put our equipment at risk.
Meanwhile, discom BSES
Rajdhani denied there were
any issues in power supply
and said they had not received
any complaints. The charges
of large-scale outages are factually incorrect as we make
special arrangements during
the festival season, said a
spokesperson.
Delhi government had recently said that discoms would be liable to pay compensation to consumers for unscheduled power cuts. The provision for penalising discoms
was outlined by DERC in the
revised performance standard regulations, but the order is yet to be finalised.

New Delhi: Start your day at

least an hour in advance for
the next two days as traffic
police has planned major diversions to allow VIP
movement during the IndiaAfrica Summit.
Entry to Lutyens Zone
and areas around Rajghat
and Pragati Maidan will be
restricted during peak hours. Police said they might also close Lajpat Rai Marg and
Aurobindo Margtwo major
entry points from south Delhiif needed.
According to the traffic
polices plan, India Gate Chexagon will made out of bounds for at least two hours
while dignitaries head to
Rajghat and the trade fair at
Pragati Maidan.
Other roads being used by
the delegates will be closed
for around 40 minutes, traffic
officials said. Sardar Patel
Marg, Teen Murti Marg, Akbar Road, Tees January
Marg, Rajesh Pilot Marg,
Subrahmaniam
Bharti
Marg, Mathura Road and

Bhairon Marg will remain

closed between 5.30pm and
10.00pm on Wednesday.
Special
commissioner
(traffic) Muktesh Chander
said if needed, Aurobindo
Marg from AIIMS crossing to
Prithviraj Road and Lala Lajpat Rai Marg from Moolchand flyover to Lodhi Road
flyover will be closed to allow
south-north movement.
Ashoka Road, Akbar Road, Teen Murti Marg and Sardar Patel Marg will be closed
on both days.
Police said the Ring RoadAshram-Sarai Kale Khan-IP
Estate route will be cordoned
off between 8am and 10am
and between 4pm and 8pm on
Thursday.
We will divert vehicles
going from south to north
Delhi to the Nizamuddin
bridge-Pushta Road-Geeta
Colony flyover route, said
Sandeep Goel, joint commissioner, traffic.
Traffic officials have advised commuters to use Barapullah Road, Lodhi Road, Safdarjung Road, Kamal Ataturk Marg, Mother Teresa

that she had been working

with one M/S Masstek Consultants Pvt. Ltd as HRD consultant since September 2009.
But records showed that
she was a full-time student of
Jesus & Mary College pursuing BA in sociology from 2009
to 2012. She joined JNU from
2012 to 2014. IIT said, There
appears an apparent contradiction in particular when the
experience certificate does
not mention her employment
status as full-time or part-time
amounts to concealment of
facts; since fulfillment of admission requirement is full-time working experience.
When Aleesha was issued
a show-cause notice she replied that she worked in her fathers company after college
hours. In fact, her father also
pointed this out in his petition
to the PMO. In his petition, the
father had also alleged that
Aleesha was being harassed
by her supervisor.