220 fire-related incidents in Delhi on Diwali
New Delhi:Fire fighters in the national capital had a hectic time on Diwali as they received 220 calls related to minor fire incidents. “220 fire-related incidents were reported on Diwali. However, all incidents were minor. We had made elaborate arrangements to tackle such situations,” an official of the fire department said today. “No big casualty was reported. Our men were working all night,” the official added. He said they were now compiling the data to find out how many fire tenders were used yesterday. According to Delhi Fire Services department, the span between 6 PM and 8 PM is said to be the peak hour for people bursting crackers and this is when 20-25 calls were received. Last year, fire brigade officials had responded to 75 calls in the duration. In 2012, they had received 50-55 calls during this span, while in 2010 they had got a whopping 210 calls. The Delhi Fire Services had deployed fire tenders at 20 vulnerable locations in the city including congested areas and key market places in addition to its 56 fire stations. Around 1,800 personnel of the Delhi Fire Services out of its total strength of 3,000 were on duty while 175 to 180 fire fighting vehicles along with 25 to 30 vehicles to provide logistics were also operational. (PTI)
Bomb threat to AI flight sparks security alert
Kochi:A threat of a bomb explosion or a possible suicide attack on an Air India flight from Mumbai sparked an alert here with authorities beefing up security at the international airport. Airport Director A K C Nair told PTI that they received information from Kolkata that there is a threat to the AI flight on the Mumbai-Kochi sector on October 25 and Ahmedabad-Mumbai sector tonight. “There was a threat of bomb attack or bomb suicide attack,” he said. A high-level meeting was convened this morning by CISF DIG Anand Mohan, who arrived here from Chennai, to review the security at the airport. The Director of Airports Authority of India, Kolkata, had received an anonymous call last night stating that AI flights on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kochi sector will be ‘sabotaged’, airport sources said. The information had been handed over to police and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and as per their directions security has been tightened at the airport, the sources said. A Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad, Quick Response team, CISF and police are keeping a constant vigil at the airport. Security at the Airport perimeter entrance has also been further tightened. (PTI)
Haryana paanwala gets Rs.132 crore power bill
Chandigarh: A paan or betel-leaf seller in Haryana has got a shocker of an electricity bill this Diwali. His bill is a whopping over Rs.132 crore. Rajesh, who runs a shop in Gohana town in Sonipat district, has got the electricity bill of Rs 132.29 crore for the month of October. “I was shocked to read the amount. It is not that the amount was printed wrongly only in numerals. The full amount was written in words too,” Rajesh said. “I am a simple man with a small shop on rent. I use only a light bulb and a fan. My electricity bill is generally less than Rs.1,000. This bill is an absolute shocker,” he said. He said he will be visiting the electricity department office Friday to get the bill rectified. The bill was issued by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN). In the past also, the power department in Haryana has done such goof-ups. A consumer in Haryana’s Narnaul town got another shocker of an electricity bill in April 2007. Murari Lal was slapped with a bill of Rs.234 crore for the electricity used in his two-bedroom house. (IANS)