No ‘good’ air day in Delhi so far this year
Delhi has not seen a single ‘good’ air day in eight months of this year, going by the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Air Quality Index (AQI) bulletins.
According to the National Air Quality Index, AQI in the range of 0 to 50 is considered ‘good,’ 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory,’ 101 to 200 is ‘moderate,’ 201 to 300 is ‘poor,’ 301 to 400 is ‘very poor,’ and 401 to 500 is ‘severe.’ While ‘good’ AQI has minimal health impacts, AQI falling in the ‘satisfactory’ range can lead to minor breathing discomfort among people sensitive to these changes, ‘moderate’ AQI can lead to breathing discomfort among people with existing heart or lung diseases, and AQI in the ‘poor’ range can lead to breathing discomfort to most people on ‘prolonged exposure,’ as per the CPCB.
Residents welcome SC order, 9-year legal battle against construction ends
Residents and RWA members of Supertech Emerald Court welcomed the Supreme Court order to demolish the twin towers in the same complex.
The top court upheld a 2014 Allahabad High Court judgment on the demolition of the two towers of Emerald Court, located in Noida Sector 93A, and said the demolition must be completed within three months. Supertech Limited, the developer, has also been asked to refund all existing flat purchasers the amount they invested along with an interest of 12% per annum in two months.
For the twentieth time since the onset of the second coronavirus wave in Delhi, the national capital recorded zero deaths on Wednesday. It reported 36 new Covid-19 cases.
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar Wednesday said "During the past few days, there was a needless controversy… without going into the academic merits of the course. The objective of the course, ‘Counter Terrorism, Asymmetric Conflicts and Strategies for Cooperation among Major Powers’, is mainly to have an in-depth understanding on the challenges emanating from terrorism to India’s national security and how India can get equipped with adequate responses in case of any eventuality."
“The curriculum is holistic and also contains sections on the role of intelligence information and counter-terrorism cooperation among major powers. There is a section on best practices of counter-terrorism and the major global and regional efforts in counter-terrorism. Science and Technology to counter terrorism will also be taught to students. This course will give a broad-based knowledge to engineering students,” he said. Read more.
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The AIIMS Nurses Union, Karmachari Union, Officers Association of AIIMS, in a notice on Wednesday, jointly announced a strike from October 25 over their long-pending demands.
Delhi University (DU) has received a total of 2.87 lakh applications for admissions to its undergraduate (UG) courses, down from 3.53 lakh applications last year. Tuesday was the last day of registrations.
Following the trends of the previous years, nearly 80% applicants are from the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education), and around 40% of them are from Delhi.
Reversing the trend of last year, more girls have applied than boys. This year, 1.50 lakh girls have applied across all categories, whereas the number of boys who have applied is 1.37 lakh. There are only four applications from the transgender category – three from the unreserved category and one from the OBC category. Read more.
Arguing for framing of charges against JNU student Sharjeel Imam, who is accused in a UAPA case in connection with the Northeast Delhi riots, the prosecution told a court Wednesday that Imam tried to create anarchy with his speeches which were addressed to a particular community.
Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad was making his arguments before Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat. The prosecutor had also told the court that since Imam began one of his speeches with the traditional Muslim greeting, ‘Assalamu-alaikum’, it showed that his address was meant for a particular community.
Reading out Imam’s speech given at Jamia Millia Islamia, Prasad said “his speech was definitely divisive." Read more.
Following heavy rainfall in Delhi, several parts of the national capital witnessed traffic snarls and waterlogging.
More photos.
Farmers on Wednesday protested against Noida authorities, demanding an increase in land compensation, among other benefits. Ranvijay Singh, Additional DCP told ANI that the protesting farmers were detained on their way to Noida Authority in Sector 5. "Section 144 was imposed here. We've detained them and action will be taken against them," he said.
North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Tuesday rejected the proposal to transfer its hospital to the Centre in its standing committee meet.
Last week, the Delhi High Court had warned the MCD that any default in timely payment of salaries and pensions to its employees will lead to attachment and sale of its properties.
During the next two hours, light intensity rain/drizzle would occur over Delhi and adjoining areas of Haryana (Loharu, Sohana, Rewari, Palwal, Bawal, Nuh, Aurangabad, Hodal), Uttar Pradesh (Nazibabad, Muzaffarnagar, Khatauli, Sakoti Tanda, Chandpur, Modinagar, Pilakhua, Bulandshahar, Jahangirabad, Anupshahar, Khurja, Pahasu, Debai, Gabhana, Sahaswan, Atrauli) and Rajasthan (Pilani, Bhiwari, Tizara, Khairthal).
Due to a fallen tree and waterlogging, the railway underpass at Yashwant Palace was shut for traffic after the showers in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Delhi Transport Minister and AAP leader Kailash Gehlot had filed a criminal defamation complaint against BJP MLA Vijender Gupta for allegedly defaming him in relation to procurement of 1,000 low floor buses by the Delhi Transport Corporation. He alleged that Gupta posted 'reckless, unfounded, malicious, scandalous, malafide, mischievous, libellous, spiteful and defamatory' statements and other materials against Gehlot on Twitter, Facebook and other social media accounts.
A Delhi court on Wednesday took cognisance of the complaint and fixed the matter for September 18, PTI reported.
Traffic snarls after the AIIMS flyover underpass was waterlogged during the showers in New Delhi.
Delhi University Vice Chancellor on Wednesday stated that they are keen to reopen soon but don't want to make a hasty decision, which might adversely affect the students.
PC Joshi added that a high level meeting will be held today to decide on the matter. "I think we'll first allow 3rd year students and further extend it, if it works out well," the vice chancellor was quoted as saying by ANI. "Delhi University has students not only from Delhi but across the country and even from outside. We'll have to contemplate that how will they be included," he said, adding that he welcomed the DDMA advisory.
The Delhi High Court Wednesday expressed concern over a large gathering of Afghan nationals protesting outside UNHCR office and seeking refugee status, saying it could act as a super spreader of coronavirus as there is lack of adherence to Covid-19 appropriate norms. The high court said the situation cannot be permitted to continue as the protestors could be seen sitting and standing next to each other without even wearing masks and asked the authorities to act on it.
The high court issued notices to the ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs, Delhi government, Delhi Police, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi Jal Board. (PTI)
The Centre on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court “intermeddlers” cannot be allowed to challenge the appointment of IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the Delhi Police Commissioner.
The bench led by Chief Justice DN Patel was hearing a PIL by one Sadre Alam against the appointment of Asthana along with an intervention application by an NGO which has challenged the appointment before the Supreme Court. “Both have no business challenging the appointment… Any intermeddlers can’t come to court,” the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was quoted as saying by PTI.
"This is not Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Maidan," the Solicitor General submitted.
IMD Senior Scientist RK Jenamani on Wednesday told ANI that Delhi was witnessing the highest rainfall in September in 19 years. “We’ve issued an orange alert for today,” he added, stating that this is the fifth-highest rainfall in 24 hours in Delhi. The city has received about 19-20 cm of rain in the last 27 hours, he said.
The Delhi Traffic Police Wednesday said in a tweet that traffic movement on Minto Bridge (both carriageway) has been closed due to waterlogging. "Traffic diverted from cannaught place towards Barakhamba and traffic coming from Kamla Market side diverted towards Deen Dayal Uppadhay Road," it said.
Traffic snarls were reported at various places in the city after heavy rain on Wednesday. Below are some visuals of the traffic in Delhi today:
Schools in the national capital reopened on Wednesday. Attendence, however, remained low on the first day due to rain at several places in the city. Below are some visuals from today:
The Urban Development Department of the Delhi government has written to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to introduce a mandate in the bylaws for large private establishments to enable electric vehicle chargers in their parking lots, according to Jasmine Shah, Vice Chairperson, Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi.
This would target large commercial businesses that have parking lots with a capacity of more than 100 vehicles, like hotels, hospitals and malls, he said, while addressing a webinar organised by the Centre for Science and Environment on opportunities and challenges with regard to zero-emission vehicles.
A Delhi court has begun hearing arguments on charge against JNU student Sharjeel Imam, who is accused in a northeast Delhi riots UAPA case.
The NCR planning board has proposed that the Delhi Land Reforms Act, 1954 be repealed and villages in the city falling in Lal Dora land be brought under the ambit of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). Lal Dora land refers to the residential zone of villages, which were surrounded by farmlands at one point. The municipal rules are not applicable in such areas, despite the fact farmlands in Delhi have gradually disappeared over the decades.
The Delhi Land Reforms Act mandates that private agricultural land can be used only for agricultural or related purposes. However, over the years as the city expanded, unauthorised construction mushroomed in such areas.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation has challaned 150 vehicles for entering Delhi without radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.
Implemented at the toll plazas, the RFID technology allows for automatic toll deduction.
The action was taken after the corporation has from August 31, made it mandatory for all commercial vehicles to enter Delhi on payment of the toll tax/environment compensation charge (ECC) through RFID system only.
Several parts of the city received heavy rain on Wednesday resulting in waterlogging and traffic jams. Below are some visuals from from Connaught Place in Delhi.
The Delhi High Court sought the Centre and Rakesh Asthana's stand on a PIL challenging his appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner, PTI reported.
SG Tushar Mehta sought a probe against petitioner Sadre Alam, who is accused of copying the contents of his petition from the plea filed by Centre for the PIL in Supreme Court. It's in national interest that he be stopped, Mehta submitted before court.
The matter is listed for hearing on September 8.
At least 97 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital this year, according to a civic report released on Monday, PTI reported.
The number of dengue cases for the January 1-August 28 period is also the highest this year since 2018 when the count had stood at 107 in the same duration.
Forty-five cases were reported in the month of August, according to the report, which is about 46 per cent of the total reported cases.
Dengue mosquito larvae breed in clear, standing water, while those of malaria thrive even in dirty water.
Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch till mid-December.
A fresh spell of heavy rain pounded the capital on Wednesday morning, submerging low-lying areas in knee-deep water and affecting traffic movement in parts of the city.
Officials at the India Meteorological Department (IMD said the Safdarjung Observatory, considered the official marker for the city, gauged 112.1 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Wednesday, the highest in at least 12 years.
In 2010, the capital had recorded 110 mm rainfall on September 20.
The weather stations at Lodhi Road, Ridge, Palam and Ayanagar recorded 120.2 mm, 81.6 mm, 71.1 mm and 68.2 mm rainfall, respectively, in the 24 hours ending 8:30 am. (PTI)
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided that sanitation workers of the civic body will get Rs 5 lakh on the day of retirement as part of terminal benefits, according to an official order issued on Tuesday.
The NDMC in its order said that the corporation is reeling under a severe financial crunch due to which terminal benefits demands are pending since October 2018, including dues of sanitation workers.
The sanitation staff are the backbone of the corporation who keep the city clean and save people from health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the order reads. (PTI)
At least 97 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital this year, according to a civic report released on Monday.
The number of dengue cases for the January 1-August 28 period is also the highest this year since 2018 when the count had stood at 107 in the same duration.
Forty-five cases were reported in the month of August, according to the report, which is about 46 per cent of the total reported cases.
Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch till mid-December.
According to the civic report issued by the municipal corporations, 97 cases of dengue have been recorded till August 28 this year. (PTI)
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met his party's Delhi unit leaders on Tuesday and discussed organisational issues and preparations for municipal polls slated for early next year.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Delhi Shaktisinh Gohil said the meeting lasted nearly two hours and Gandhi listened to the opinions of leaders and guided them on preparations for the coming municipal corporation elections and what needs to be done to strengthen the organisation in the national capital.
"It was a very good and fruitful interaction. The Delhi Congress leaders were advised to work as a team to strengthen the party in Delhi and face the MCD (municipal corporations of Delhi) polls," said Gohil who attended the meeting.
The AICC has appointed its observers in 14 district units of the party in Delhi who are having meetings and discussions on the ways to boost party organisation and preparations for the polls, Gohil said. (PTI)
A Congress delegation met Delhi State Election Commissioner S K Srivastava on Tuesday and demanded early announcement of the municipal corporation wards that will be reserved for women and SC candidates in the coming polls under a rotation policy.
The Congress demanded that the list should be announced at least six months before the polls, slated for early next year, so that parties can quickly decide on their candidates.
According to a party statement, the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) delegation included former Delhi minister Narendra Nath and party leaders Anil Bhardwaj, Hari Shankar Gupta and Kunwar Karan Singh. (PTI)
Delhi recorded just 10 rainy days in August, the lowest in seven years, and a cumulative rainfall of 214.5 mm, lower than the average of 247 mm, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Nearly two-thirds of the total rainfall (138.8mm) was recorded in a single day, August 21. It was also the highest downpour in a day in August in 14 years.
Experts have attributed the uneven distribution of rainfall to climate change.
The national capital had recorded 237 mm rainfall and 18 rainy days in August 2019. There were 16 such rainy days in the corresponding period in 2018 and 19 in 2017.
The fewer number of rainy days also had an impact on the air pollution levels in the city.
Delhi recorded "moderate" air quality on 20 days this month, the highest in four years. There were just 11 days of "satisfactory" air quality this time as compared to 27 in August last year, according to Central Pollution Control Board data. The capital did not record a single "good" air day this month, while there were four and two such days in 2020 and 2019, respectively. (PTI)
Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor Arvind Kumar who has designed a course on counter-terrorism, which has come under criticism from a section of teachers and students, said it does not target any community and is a purely academic exercise.
A section of JNU teachers and students has objected to the introduction of the course, alleging it states that ''jihadi terrorism'' is the only form of ''fundamentalist-religious terrorism''.
The course, titled ''Counter Terrorism, Asymmetric Conflicts and Strategies for Cooperation among Major Powers'', also asserts that Communist regimes in the Soviet Union and China were the state-sponsors of terrorism that influenced radical Islamic states, according to them.
The course, an optional one, is for the students pursuing Master of Science dual-degree who choose to study international relations at the School of Engineering. The course was approved in the Academic Council meeting on August 17 and will come up for approval in the Executive Council meeting on September 2. (PTI)
The Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU) has partnered with a non-profit organisation to offer Advanced Diploma in Software Programming to 100 women and trans women from underprivileged communities.
DSEU has partnered with Navgurukul Foundation for Social Welfare to run “residential courses for students from low-income and marginalised communities in Software Engineering, to offer a 20-month-long Advanced Diploma in Software Programming”. Read more
A Delhi court has directed police to file an action taken report in an application seeking registration of an FIR against Dasna Devi temple priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati and Karni Sena chief Suraj Pal Amu over their alleged “communally provocative and divisive remarks”.
Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal, in his order dated August 11, directed police to submit the action taken report on September 27.
The court, in its order, asked the SHO to specify “whether any investigation or inquiry has been conducted in this regard and if yes, then what is the status of the investigation/inquiry”, and also “if any cognizable offence is made out, whether any FIR has been registered or not”. Read more
Upholding a 2014 Allahabad High Court judgment on the demolition of the two towers of a housing project called Emerald Court, located in Noida Sector 93A, the Supreme Court Tuesday said the demolition has to be completed within three months and ordered Supertech Limited, the developer, to refund all the existing flat purchasers the amount invested along with an interest of 12% per annum within a period of two months.
Read the explainer by Sofi Ahsan on why the two towers were ordered to be demolished.
A 23-year-old man has been arrested from Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow for allegedly approaching minor girls on Instagram posing as a girl and blackmailing them after making them send their obscene pictures and videos to him.
DCP (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said the accused has been identified as Abdul Samad, an AC mechanic, and he was arrested from his house in Lucknow. Read more
Hindu Raksha Dal chief Pinki Chaudhary surrendered before Delhi Police Tuesday after evading arrest for several days. The police arrested him in connection with the inflammatory and anti-Muslim slogans raised at Jantar Mantar earlier this month.
Hundreds of Chaudhary’s supporters accompanied him to the Mandir Marg police station Tuesday. DCP (New Delhi district) Deepak Yadav confirmed Chaudhry’s arrest. Read more
Two FIRs have been filed by Ghaziabad Police against Yati Narsinghanand after a purported video went viral in which he seen making objectionable comments against women and female politicians. The FIRs were filed after a complaint lodged by NCW head Rekha Sharma. The FIRs have been lodged under sections 505 (1) (c) (intent to incite offence), 509 (insulting the modesty of a woman), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (intimidation), and Section 67 of the IT Act.
Delhi recorded 28 fresh Covid-19 cases and one more death on Tuesday. The positivity rate is now at 0.05 per cent.
A total of 235 Covid patients are undergoing treatment in hospitals now. Over 11,000 Covid beds in hospitals are vacant at present.
There are 349 active Covid cases in Delhi now.
Hindu Raksha Dal chief Pinki Chaudhary has surrendered before the Delhi Police.Last week, a Delhi court had said that “we are not in a Taliban state”, while dismissing the anticipatory bail application of Chaudhary, who is under investigation for his alleged role in the Jantar Mantar anti-Muslim sloganeering.
Scenes from around Delhi as streets are left waterlogged after heavy rains
Rains lashed many parts of the national capital on Tuesday morning, leading to waterlogging and traffic snarls in several areas of the city.
According to Traffic Police and Public Works Department (PWD) officials, waterlogging was reported underneath AIIMS flyover, at Ring Road near Hyatt Hotel, both sides of Savitri flyover, Maharani Bagh, Dhaula Kuan to 11 Murti carriageway, Shahjahan Road, W-Point ITO, Lala Lajpat Rai Marg and Moolchand underpass, among others.
Due to waterlogging, the traffic movement at a few stretches was restricted and people were advised to avoid these routes.
"Carriageway of IOCL Dwarka to NSG Dwarka is closed due to waterlogging, Please avoid using this route. Traffic is heavy on Narayana road as the stretch from Narayana to Dhaula Kuan has been damaged," the Traffic Police said in a series of tweets.
The PWD officials said 15-20 waterlogging complaints have been received so far. "We are keeping an eye on the situation and ensuring that people do not face much inconvenience due to waterlogging. We are dealing with waterlogging complaints on priority basis," a senior PWD official said. (PTI)
Services were affected for nearly 90 minutes on a section of the Red Line of the Delhi Metro due to some technical issues on Tuesday, officials said.
The Red Line connects Rithala in Delhi and Shahid Sthal (Bus Stand) in Ghaziabad.
"Services were affected for about an hour and a half on a section of the corridor due to some technical issues with the OHE (overhead equipment) line at Rithala," a senior official said.
The Delhi Metro had also tweeted around 8.30 am to inform commuters about the delay in services.
"Red Line Update Delay in service between Pitampura and Rithala. Normal services on all other lines," the DMRC tweeted. (PTI)
Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam has written to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan against the new course on counter-terrorism to be taught to engineering students at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), alleging it was “communalise and politicise geopolitical issues”. He said the course must not be allowed to be taught. Read more
The completion of the underpass in Mathura Road along Ashram Chowk has missed the August 31 deadline. The earlier deadline of June 2021 was extended due to labour shortage resulting from Covid-19 lockdowns.
Officials said that most projects will be delayed by 2-2.5 months as it would take time to mobilise labour and start work. In addition to this, an official said that a DTL cable still exists in the area hence work on a few hundred metres is still left. Read more
The completion of the underpass in Mathura Road along Ashram Chowk has missed the August 31 deadline. The earlier deadline of June 2021 was extended due to labour shortage resulting from Covid-19 lockdowns.
Officials said that most projects will be delayed by 2-2.5 months as it would take time to mobilise labour and start work. In addition to this, an official said that a DTL cable still exists in the area hence work on a few hundred metres is still left. Read more
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that it will hear on Wednesday the public interest litigation challenging the appointment of IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi’s Commissioner of Police. The Supreme Court last week requested the high court to decide the case within two weeks.
The division bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said that the intervention application filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) in the case will also be heard Wednesday. Read more
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld an order passed by the Allahabad High Court directing the demolition of twin 40-storey towers in the Emerald Court project in Noida for violation of building norms.
A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud directed that the entire amount of home buyers be refunded with 12 per cent interest from the time of the booking and the Residents Welfare Association be paid Rs 2 crore for the harassment caused due to the construction of the twin towers. Read more
A 10.50 a.m. update from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said that moderate to heavy intensity rainfall would occur over parts of Delhi-NCR in the next two hours, and could lead to waterlogging and traffic disruption.
Rainfall in the range of 15.6 mm to 64.4 mm is categorised as ‘moderate.’ The Delhi radar image suggests moderate to heavy spell of rainfall is likely to continue for another 2 hours, IMD said.
Four persons, including three mobile tower installers, have been arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly stealing electronic equipment from Jio mobile towers. There are around 77 cases of theft of electronic components/equipment that are learnt to be reported from Delhi NCR Region from the Jio mobile towers, the police said.
DCP (crime branch) Monika Bhardwaj said the arrested installers have been identified as Punit Singh (31), Ravi Aggarwal (32), Sonu Khan (24) and Mumtiyaj Khan (29), who is a scrap dealer. Read more
Former Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay on Tuesday took charge as the vice-chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). MP from the New Delhi constituency Meenakshi Lekhi administered the oath at the NDMC convention centre. Read more
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted moderate rainfall and cloudy skies for Delhi-NCR on Tuesday. Rainfall in the range of 15.6 mm to 64.4 mm is categorised as ‘moderate.’
An 8.30 am update from the IMD said that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rainfall is likely over parts of east, southeast, northeast and north Delhi over the next two hours.
The maximum temperature is likely to be 33 degree Celsius, with the minimum at 25 degree Celsius. Relative humidity at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday was 84%. The temperature at the same time was 28 degree Celsius. Read more