Abhinav Rajput

Flyovers in south Delhi wastes vital public space

Underbelly Large spaces under flyovers in the Capital have either been encroached upon or turned into dumping sites. HT takes a look at 11 such flyovers in south Delhi

On road to break the record for longest journey

Thereafter, riding his Bajaj Pulsar 200, Kona started his journey of 50,338km from CR Park in New Delhi. He halted at Chandigarh, his first stop, in August, 2015, and completed it last month. He covered a total of 25 states while travelling through places as diverse as Ladakh in the north, Kanyakumari in the south, the Rann of Kutch in the West, Cherrapunji in the northeast, Mountain Man Dashrath Manjhi’s village in Gehlaur hills, Bihar, and other places in between.

Plastic pollution is killing wildlife in South Delhi

Despite a long barricade built to avoid people’s contact with the animals at Deer Park in Hauz Khas, people can be seen throwing food items in plastic wrappings to the deer. In a recent incident, officials snatched the camera of an environmentalist when he photographed cheetals or spotted deer eating polythene thrown in the enclosure along with food.

South Delhi-Noida direct Metro connectivity by August

People living in areas like Nehru Place, Kailash Colony, Moolchand along the Violet line are expected to reach Noida in around half an hour by changing the train at the new Kalkaji interchange station. At present, they have to change the train at Mandi House to go towards Noida which takes almost an hour.

Butchering of trees has South Delhi residents fuming

Environmentalists say that replacing fully grown trees with tiny saplings with only a handful of leaves is not a logical solution. Every year thousands of trees which support biodiversity and keep temperature in control are felled to facilitate the construction of the Delhi Metro corridors, elevated roads and other infrastructure projects. Plantation shortfall worsens the impact of the existing air pollution besided leading to reduction in ground water recharge. A recent World Health Organisation report said that Delhiities are breathing the most toxic air in the world.

Why Delhi children’s dream of playing outdoors is going to dust

Shrinking spaces in the city threaten sporting talents

Their village Maidan Garhi in south Delhi had no playgrounds when they were growing up. “The parks in the village are not maintained properly. Children are forced to practise the game at the nearby Vasant Kunj Sports Complex…Children like me picked up the game due to the nearby Thyagraj Stadium. But not everybody could afford this,” said Indian rugby team captain Gautam Dagar. The DDA developed a playground in the village sometime back. Bereft of maintenance, it is covered with dust and pebbles.

Leisure spots turning into crime PLAYGROUNDS dens

The Lala Lajpat Rai Park stands as a symbol of wasted community resource. With broken swings and a dirty ground, the DDA park is a fouracre mass of negligence. Once planned as a ‘fun zone’ with a yoga centre, a cricket pitch and a food plaza, the area is now frequented by drunkards.

A music lover’s 950-page tribute to melodies of 80s

His search for old records lead him to Harminder Singh Hamraj from Kanpur who had a compendium of Bollywood songs from 1960 to 1980. However, there was no compendium for the period after 1980 and Singh decided to take up the task. After six years of research, which involved travelling to different locations, watching movies on YouTube and surfing the Web, this RK Puram resident was able to produce a book titled Musical Date with a Decade (1981 to 1990).

Delhi: DDA to create bio-diversity park at Tughlakabad

In 2015, Delhi High Court had pulled up DDA for failing to clean up Tughlakabd lake and suggested that since DDA had done good job in maintaining the wetlands in Yamuna Biodiversity Park, the same could be replicated here. In January 2016, the court had directed DDA to provide an expert body’s recommendations to convert the forested district park and the lake near Tughlakabad Fort into a biodiversity park so that an action plan can be formulated.

Track a toilet through this app, keep city roads clean

Being the son of former DDA vice-chairman helped Ishan get an access to the toilets’ locations from municipal corporations and DDA. Initially, he used to visit the sites and see the condition of the toilets. Later, when it became difficult to cope up with the work pressure as well as visiting the sites, he hired a person to do the site visits, take pictures and give feedback.

First in 20 yrs: Sambar deer seen at Delhi’s Central Ridge

Experts say lack of food or destruction of natural habitat may have been the reasons behind the animal straying in the forest area

What’s in a name? Ask porters, now sahayak

Coolie or Sahayak, not much in name: Porters demand railway jobs

Most of the railway porters are not bothered about their new name. What they want instead is recognition as D-category railway employees, medical insurance, a quarter and free railway passes round the year.

‘Bajrangi’ Salman fuels Bollywood dreams of Asola’s mud wrestlers

There is a striking feature about Asola — a Gujjar-dominated village on the southern outskirts of Delhi. Here starry-eyed youngsters are brimming with aspirations to make a mark in Bollywood like many of their brethrens who have taught stars like Salman Khan a trick or two about mud wrestling.

Delhi: Qutab Golf Course to get a Rs 55-crore facelift

Qutab Golf Course is set to get a major facelift and the new structure will add value to the overall playing experience.

Climate change forces birds to rethink migration patterns

Delhi witnessed its warmest winter in 2015 in several years and the impact of global warming could also be seen on the biodiversity in south Delhi. The influence of the seasonal shift is such that the birds whose breeding calls were earlier heard in the month of March were heard in January end this year. Also, migratory birds that earlier came to Delhi in summer have already arrived in winter. For example, Indian courser can already be seen in Sultanpur.

New Metro route to connect Dwarka to outer Delhi in Phase-IV

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has added a new line to connect areas in outer Delhi in its plans for the phase-IV expansion of the mass transit system.

Selfies debut on R-Day as mobile phones allowed for first time

The selfie phenomenon has become increasingly popular with the global proliferation of smartphones that have built-in digital cameras, and the ability to share photos instantly on social media to engage one’s network in real time events.

Rugby puts Maidan Garhi on world map

It won’t be too much to call Maidan Garhi the new rugby capital of India as it is home to several national level rugby players including the captain of current Indian rugby team, Gautam Dagar, and Deepak Dagar.

Jugaad: Delhi has a quick fix even for the odds of vehicle rationing

Fake plates, peel-off stickers, embossed numbers are available in various garages and motor-markets across Delhi to beat AAP government’s odd-even vehicle rationing experiment.

Delhi Metro to run at peak frequency during odd-even vehicle rule

Delhi home minister Satyender Jain on Saturday said that Metro trains would run at the highest possible frequency during the odd-even vehicle restriction period from January 1 to 15.

Delhi Metro workers ensure safety with homespun slogans

For Metro construction workers like Sunil Kumar, the safety slogans at the site near Nehru Place T-junction are a constant reminder of the risks associated with their workplace.

Things are not alright in the Mountain Man’s part of Bihar

In 2005, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar offered his chair to Dasrath Manjhi, who had earned the Mountain Man moniker for cutting a road through a hill that reduced the distance from his village Gehlaur in Gaya district to nearest town Wazirganj by 32 km.

Will bring electricity to Bihar villages if we win: Radha Mohan Singh

Radha Mohan Singh is a busy man these days. He holds several rallies for BJP candidates in different parts of Bihar ahead of the assembly polls. In his rally speeches, he reminds people of the ‘jungle raj’ during Lalu Prasad’s days and calls Nitish Kumar an opportunist. He stresses on boosting the agrarian economy of the region, as a majority of the people are dependent on it. He also talks of bringing industry if the BJP comes to power in the state. Hindustan Times spoke to him about the recent political developments in Bihar. Excerpts from the interview

Lalu village: Helipad is playground, railway junction an animal shelter!

The only human presence is a man sleeping on the dusty ground, his snores tearing through the silence at this railway terminal in former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad’s ancestralvillage, Phulwaria.

Study in contrast: CM Nitish’s adopted and ancestral villages

One is Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s ancestral home. The other is his adopted village that he pledged to turn into a model village after the death of 23 children

Bihar polls: ‘Download’ shops selling politicos’ videos, cartoons

With Bihar headed to polls next month, mobile shops in rural areas are turning into “download destination” for youth without internet access to transfer videos and cartoons of politicians onto their mobile phones.

Bihar polls: 'Download' shops selling politicos' videos, cartoons

With Bihar headed to polls next month, mobile shops in rural areas are turning into “download destination” for youth without internet access to transfer videos and cartoons of politicians onto their mobile phones.

Sing along, Sonu: Why singer has a right to defend Radhe Maa

Nigam did not say Radhe Maa was a saint. He never questioned the allegations of financial misconduct against her or charges of her involvement in a dowry harassment case, writes Abhinav Rajput