PWD asks officials to carry out inspections after complaints about non-functional street lights
New Delhi, Oct 13: Concerned with the rise in complaints about non-functional street lights, the Public Works Department of the Delhi government directed officials to visit roads between 9 and 10 pm for spot inspections.
The directions were issued at a recently-held meeting chaired by PWD Engineer-in-Chief Umesh Chandra Mishra.
According to the minutes of the meeting, field units were directed to prepare a check list indicating that all street lights were properly functioning at night on the PWD's roads.
"It was informed by Director (E&W) that a number of complaints regarding non-functioning of street lights are being received.
"The E-in-C directed that the maintenance vans attached with various field units should inspect the roads at night between 9 to 10 pm for on-the-spot-inspection," stated minutes of meeting.
The PWD owns around 1,260-km roads in the national capital. Local bodies also own their roads in the city.
It said all the chief engineers of maintenance zones were asked to ensure that necessary directions are passed to field units in the matter.
Apart from this, the PWD also directed for appointment of a link officer in every Assembly constituency in the city to interact with respective MLAs on various issues pertaining to the agency.
The move has come after several legislators demanded appointment of a link officer for works pertaining to the PWD in their respective constituencies.
Also, according to minutes of the meeting, the PWD asked its officials to repair potholes on its roads immediately.
"The E-in-C stressed on taking a serious view of the matter pertaining to repair of potholes and ensure timely action by all field units as the liability in the matter wrests with road owning agencies," it stated.
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Pakistan-allied hackers launched 15 lakh cyber attacks on Indian websites; only 150 successful
Mumbai, May 13 (PTI): Maharashtra Cyber has identified seven Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups responsible for launching over 15 lakh cyber attacks targeting critical infrastructure websites across India following the Pahalgam terror strike.
Of these, only 150 attacks were successful, officials said on Monday.
Even after India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop military hostilities, Indian government websites are facing a barrage of cyber attacks from the neighbouring country as well as from Bangladesh and the Middle Eastern region, they said.
Addressing reporters, a senior official of Maharashtra Cyber debunked claims of hackers stealing data from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, hacking aviation and municipal systems, and targeting the Election Commission website.
"The probe discovered that cyber attacks on (government websites in) India decreased after India-Pakistan ceased hostilities, but not fully stopped. These attacks continue from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Morocco, and Middle Eastern countries," he said.
In a report titled "Road of Sindoor", prepared under the military operation launched by the Indian armed forces under the same name against terrorists, the state’s nodal cyber agency has detailed the cyber warfare launched by Pakistan-allied hacking groups.
The report has been submitted to all key law enforcement agencies, including the Director General of Police and the State Intelligence Department.
According to the report, these cyber attacks originated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Middle East, and an Indonesian group, said Yashasvi Yadav, Additional Director General of Police, Maharashtra Cyber.
The methods used included malware campaigns, Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, and GPS spoofing. The defacement of Indian websites was also reported.
He said many such attacks were thwarted, and critical infrastructure of India was saved.
"Road of Sindoor" is a follow-up to Maharashtra Cyber's earlier report, "Echoes of Pahalgam", which documented cyber attacks following the Pahalgam terror incident.
The seven hacking groups identified in the report are APT 36 (Pakistan-based), Pakistan Cyber Force, Team Insane PK, Mysterious Bangladesh, Indo Hacks Sec, Cyber Group HOAX 1337, and National Cyber Crew (Pakistan-allied).
These groups collectively launched approximately 1.5 million targeted cyber attacks on Indian infrastructure, Yadav said.
Among the 150 successful attacks, the Kulgaon Badlapur Municipal Council website was defaced.
The attackers also claimed to have stolen data from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), as well as from telecom companies, with some of the data allegedly appearing on the darknet.
Additionally, the website of the Defence Nursing College in Jalandhar was defaced.
The report also highlights a hybrid warfare strategy by Pakistan-allied groups that includes widespread misinformation campaigns. These groups falsely claimed to have hacked India's banking system and caused power outages.
Maharashtra Cyber identified and removed over 5,000 instances of misinformation and fake news related to India-Pakistan military conflicts that were circulating on social media.
Of 80 specific misinformation cases flagged for take-down, 35 have been removed, with the remaining 45 pending action.
These false narratives included claims of cyber attacks on India’s power grid, statewide blackouts, satellite jamming, disruption of the Northern Command, and an alleged attack on a BrahMos missile storage facility, Yadav said.
He said Maharashtra Cyber has urged citizens not to believe in or spread misinformation and to verify news through trusted and official sources.
