City Briefs

Driver,helper killed as truck turns over
A driver and his helper were killed and two passersby injured when a truck loaded with iron rods toppled near the Dhaula Kuan flyover on Tuesday morning. The incident resulted in a huge traffic jam in the area which lasted many hours. The truck driver has been identified as Ranjit Singh of Raipur in Chhattisgarh,while the helper has not yet been identified. “The truck driver seems to have suddenly applied the brakes while taking a turn,causing the truck to topple. The driver and his helper were caught under the truck,” said a police officer,adding that the two passersby injured in the accident have been hospitalised.

Swine flu claims three more lives,toll 38
Three more patients succumbed to the H1N1 virus in the Capital,taking the death toll in the city to 38. With another 36 patients testing positive,the count of laboratory confirmed swine flu cases in the city has risen to 1,201 so far this year. “Three patients who had tested positive for swine flu succumbed to the virus today. Two were residents of Delhi,” said Debashish Bhattacharya,Delhi government’s nodal officer for H1N1 cases. “With this,the toll in the city alone is 24 as of now,” he said,adding that 14 outstation flu patients also died in city hospitals.

Auto strike fails to make impact in city
The daylong strike called by auto-rickshaw unions was ineffective with most autos continuing to ply on the roads. The strike called by the Federation of All Delhi Auto Taxi Transporters Congress and Rashtriya Rajdhani Shetra Teen-Pahiya Chalak Union fell through due to lack of support from other unions. The unions had called the strike to protest against the government directive for re-allotment of drivers’ badges to them and demand the institution of a welfare board. Federation of All Delhi Auto Taxi Transporters Congress president Kishan Verma claimed the strike was successful at railway stations and ISBTs.