Delhi-NCR Rains, Weather Highlights: IMD forecasts rain spell with thunderstorm, strong winds in Capital today

A special two-day session of Delhi Assembly is likely to be held around mid-May to discuss various public issues and to pass a Bill to regulate the fees charged by private schools in the capital, the ruling BJP said on Sunday.

A BJP legislative party meeting was held at the Secretariat to discuss the preparations for the upcoming Assembly session, which was attended by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Cabinet ministers and BJP MLAs, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood told reporters.

"The likely dates for the Assembly session are May 13-14, although the Cabinet is yet to take a final call on it," a BJP MLA said after the meeting.

The Delhi Cabinet on April 29 approved a draft Bill to regulate fees at all private schools in the capital, with Chief Minister Gupta saying that a special session of the Assembly will be convened to pass the Delhi School Education Transparency in Fixation and Regulation of Fees Bill, 2025.

The Bill recommends steep penalties as well as cancellation of registration of schools found involved in unauthorised fee hikes or harassment of students on that pretext. (PTI)

An e-rickshaw driver allegedly attacked a man with a blade following an argument over a collision between their vehicles in Delhi's Dabri area, police said on Sunday.

The incident happened Wednesday night when the Gagandeep Singh (33), a Gurugram-based taxi driver, was travelling with his mother to his in-laws place in Vikaspuri. The e-rickshaw driver, Rajendra, was arrested later, they said.

"Singh stopped at a red light on Dabri-Dwarka Road when an e-rickshaw hit the rear of his car. An argument broke out after Singh stepped out to confront the e-rickshaw driver. During the scuffle, the e-rickshaw driver allegedly took out a blade concealed under his tongue and slashed Singh's neck," a senior police officer said.

Despite the injury, Singh managed to call the police and passers-by caught the attacker and handed him over to police.

Rajendra, a resident of Rajapuri in Matiala, was arrested and a case was registered against him, police said. (PTI)

A businessman returning home from work was injured after being shot at by unidentified assailants on a motorcycle in central Delhi's Tilak Marg, a police official said on Sunday.

According to police sources, Rajendra, a Noida resident who owns a perfume shop in Chandni Chowk, was returning home when he was attacked near Bhairon temple at around 10.15 pm on Friday.

"The attackers, who had allegedly been trailing Rajendra, opened fire near the temple. Despite sustaining injuries, he managed to alert his business associate who took him to a hospital," police said. The man is currently undergoing treatment.

The hospital authorities informed police, who have registered an attempt to murder case.

According to police, preliminary probe suggests that the attack could have been carried out in a robbery bid, though nothing was stolen.

CCTV footage from the area is being examined to identify the suspects and trace their route, police said. (PTI)

The Delhi High Court recently told the Delhi government to take “expeditious steps, as may be deemed expedient” for enacting the Advocates Protection Bill.

Justice Sachin Datta gave these directions on April 21 while hearing a petition being filed by advocates Deepa Joseph and Alpha Phiris Dayal seeking direction for the Centre and the Delhi government to consider enacting the Advocates Protection Bill in Delhi.

According to a status report filed by the Delhi government on September 9, 2024, the final draft of the Advocates Protection Bill, 2024. has been prepared by the Law Department, and this draft is required to be considered by the Council of Ministers.

Read the full story here.

-A healthy peepal tree fell close to the President’s Estate.
-On Akbar Road, a tamarind tree with a hollow trunk collapsed.
-At the Army Depot, a giant neem tree fell and blocked the main entrance.
-Outside the AIIMS Trauma Centre, another large tree came down.
-In Sheikh Sarai, a tree fell on a car while its roots left another car suspended in the air.
-In Vasant Kunj fallen trees crushed parked cars. South Delhi’s Aurobindo Marg and Defence Colony were also not spared.

These trees were among 200 that came toppling down when an intense thunderstorm — strong winds reaching up to dangerous speeds of 80 kmph accompanied by 77 mm of rain — hit Delhi on Friday.

Why does this happen?

Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, during a high-level meeting with all engineers and officials on Saturday, announced a 21-day special cleanliness drive of drains and roads in the Capital.

All preventive measures would be completed by May 30 ahead of the onset of the monsoon, he assured the residents.

According to officials, the city recorded over 200 complaints related to waterlogging and more than 250 complaints regarding uprooted trees and fallen branches.

Delhi's air quality slipped into the ‘poor’ category, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 212 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, PTI noted.

The minimum temperature will settle at 21 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature is likely to be 35 degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Sunday predicted fresh rain spell accompanied with thunderstorm, lightning and strong surface winds across Delhi-NCR.

On Friday, Delhi recorded its second-highest single-day rainfall in May since 1901, leading to widespread waterlogging and traffic jams.

Delhi and adjoining states are likely to experience cloudy skies and light rains till Tuesday (May 6).

Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday announced a 21-day special campaign for cleaning civic infrastructure, including roads, drains and flyovers, and removing the beggars staying underneath the flyovers from there.

Following a visit to the New Delhi area, Verma held a meeting with officials and discussed the flood-prevention strategy, stressing that every department -- from the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Public Works Department (PWD) -- is aligned in ensuring smooth execution.

"In the next 21 days, all of Delhi must be clean. Roadside debris, open drains, waterlogged areas -- everything must be cleared. No dirty spots should remain. We will not let public money go waste," Verma said. (PTI)

The National Investigation Agency on Saturday collected the voice and handwriting samples of Tahawwur Rana, the alleged mastermind behind the Mumbai terror attack, before a Delhi court.

Rana was brought under tight security before Judicial Magistrate First Class Vaibhav Kumar, before whom the NIA recorded his handwriting specimens in an in-chamber proceeding.

Rana wrote various alphabets and numerical characters, the source said.

Legal aid counsel Piyush Sachdev, who represented Rana, said that he "fully complied with a recent court order directing him to submit samples of his voice and handwriting".

The court recently allowed the NIA to collect the voice and handwriting samples of Rana. (PTI)

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday accused the BJP government of repackaging the Atishi-led dispensation's electric 'Mohalla Buses' project, inaugurated last October, as Delhi Electric Vehicle Initiative (DEVI) to take "undue credit".

A day after Chief Minister Rekha Gupta inaugurated 400 new electric buses under the DEVI project to provide connectivity to areas inaccessible by standard 12-metre buses, AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj termed it a "blatant attempt to mislead the public".

"The BJP is re-inaugurating the same Mohalla buses that were flagged off by the AAP government last year. This is a blatant attempt to mislead the public and take credit for a scheme that was already operational," he claimed.

He said the electric 'Mohalla Buses' project was launched in October 2024 with a contract awarded to the Central government entity CESL to maintain transparency and prevent any corruption allegations.

"If the buses were non-compliant in October, how did they suddenly become compliant in April 2025? Or did the BJP government simply ignore the tender rules and put the buses on the roads for the sake of optics?" he asked.

Bharadwaj demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter, calling it a potential scam involving thousands of crores. (PTI)

The Delhi government has invited applications from eligible students for SHRESHTA, which aims to provide quality education to meritorious SC students in the city's top private residential schools.

The students will be selected through the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA (NETS), scheduled for June 1, the Directorate of Education (DoE) said in a circular. The applications can be submitted on the National Testing Agency (NTA) website till May 5.

Launched by the Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry in the 2022-23 academic year, the Scheme for Residential Education for Students in High Schools in Targeted Areas (SHRESHTA) aims to support Scheduled Caste (SC) students by facilitating their admission in Class 9 and Class 11 in select private residential schools.

Students chosen under the scheme continue their education in the schools selected till Class 12.

The DoE directed the heads of schools to "disseminate the information to all concerned students and motivate them to participate in the National Entrance Test for SHRESHTA". (PTI)

The Delhi High Court has sought the CBI's response to a plea seeking an investigation into allegations of corruption and financial misconduct in the operations of a shopping mall project in the national capital.

Justice Girish Kathpalia issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the petition which also sought registration of an FIR under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the criminal penal law.

The court, in its April 30 order, listed the matter for further hearing on May 27.

The plea alleged that several government officials, real estate developers, corporate tenants, and sub-registrars were also involved in the multi-crore "land scam".

It alleged that corporate entities, their directors, government officials and sub-lessees have conspired to defraud the public exchequer and unlawfully create third-party interests in the property despite the termination of its perpetual lease deed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The petition claimed there was a financial fraud of over Rs 100 crore, causing a loss to the public exchequer in unpaid dues including ground rent. (PTI)

Tahawwur Rana, the key conspirator of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, was brought to Patiala House Court to record his handwriting and collect samples.

A decomposed body of a 32-year-old man was found inside a locked house in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar area, police said on Saturday.

Police on Friday received a call from a woman who reported that her brother, Subhbrata Ghosh Chaudhry, had been missing for the past almost a week and his phone was unreachable.

A police team went to Chaudhry's house, where a cousin of his was already waiting.

"The house was locked from inside. When the team broke open the door, it found a decomposed body of Subhbrata lying inside," an officer said.

The body was in an advanced state of decomposition, the officer said, but there were no signs of foul play, prima facie.

The matter was booked under section 194 (dealing with unnatural, suspicious deaths) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the body was sent for post-mortem, he added. (PTI)

Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood, in an interaction with parents at the Secretariat said that the school-going children will now have access to smart classroom, artificial intelligence, and a new curriculum.

"The problem of fee hike has been because of a supply and demand issue..., he said, adding the previous government neglected the quality of government schools."

"In the coming years you will want to admit your children to CM Shri schools. Every class will have smart classrooms, AI, Science of Living, new curriculum."

Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, during an interaction with parents of school-going children, at the Secretariat on Saturday said: "The previous government is accountable for this issue...it allowed increase of fees every year and did not do anything about it... Today our government was steadfast in solving this crisis."

"This will definitely take time..There will be a backlog but there is no doubt that in the coming years Delhi government schools will be so good .. it is an assurance and a promise by this government that you will not have to constantly worry about your children's education. We will take immediate steps to enact this bill," she added.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta Saturday flagged off 70 vans for registration of people aged 70 years and more under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, news agency PTI reported.

She told the reporters, "Two computer operators sit in the van. 70 vans will move to 70 constituencies to make registration of people aged above 70 years for Vaya Vandana Card for 70 days. It has been launched on the occasion of 70 days of the Delhi government. Let them get the cards soon. It is to release the dream of PM Modi to extend the Ayushman Bharat Yojana to everyone. I want to extend my good wishes. Arvind Kejriwal is the culprit of the senior citizens for stopping the scheme for so long." (PTI)

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta Saturday addressed the Accounting Standard Day event, expressing her faith in the community of Chartered Accountants in fulfilling the Delhi government's budget of Rs 1 lakh crore, news agency PTI reported.

Addressing the attendees, she said, “I congratulate The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) on Accounting Standard Day… When I presented my first budget as Delhi CM then it was the first time that a budget of Rs 1 lakh crore was presented. People asked who this CM was who presented this big budget when the government treasury was nearly empty. I had faith in this community (Chartered Accountant) that they would fulfil the government’s target of one lakh crore. Your community is the one who makes people understand, how important it is to pay taxes.” (PTI)

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to moderate rainfall accompanied with light thunderstorm and lightning (30-40 Km/h gusty winds) is very likely to occur in Delhi areas, including Narela, Bawana, Alipur, Burari, Rohini, Badili, Model Town, Karawal Nagar, Azadpur, Pitampura, Delhi University, Punjabi Bagh, Vasant Vihar, R K Puram, Vasant Kunj, Hauzkhas, Mahrauli, Chhattarpur,Ayanagar, Kanjhawala, Nazafgarh, Dwarka, Palam, IGI Airport).

The weather will be similar in the National Capital Region (NCR) areas such as (Loni Dehat) Nuh, Hodal (Haryana) Jattari, Atrauli, Khair, Aligarh, Kasganj, Sikandra Rao, Ganjdundwara, Jalesar, Etah, Jajau (Uttar Pradesh).

The weather is likely to stay the same till 11:30 am, the IMD nowcast stated.

Besides Delhi airport, airlines too issued passenger advisories amid yellow alert in Delhi.

Indigo advised passengers to check flight status and allow extra travel time to the airport. “A thunderstorm is expected in #delhi, which may impact flight operations. We advise checking your flight status before heading to the airport,” Indigo’s post on X at 7.10 am said.

About 155 departing flights at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport were delayed with an average delay time of 31 minutes and six flights were cancelled, as of 9:45 am on Saturday, according to live flight tracking website Flightradar24. Seventy-seven arriving flights were also delayed with an average delay of five minutes.

Delhi airport issued a passenger advisory at 7.40 am, advising passengers to contact their respective airline concerned for latest flight information due to possible disruptions. “We would like to inform you that, according to the Indian Meteorological Department's forecast, adverse weather conditions are expected at Delhi airport from 7:00 am IST to 9:00 am IST, which may affect some flights,” the Delhi airport’s post on X said.

Travellers flying in and out of the Delhi airport on Saturday may face delays as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast fresh rain spell accompanied with thunderstorm and lightning across Delhi-NCR.

This comes a day after torrential rain and winds lashed several parts of the Capital.

Delhi and adjoining states are likely to experience cloudy skies and light rains till Tuesday (May 6). The minimum temperature settled at 22.2 degrees Celsius, 2.5 degrees below the season’s average.

In view of the road blockages around Delhi, an aftermath of the massive thunderstorm and rain that hit the national capital on Friday, the Delhi Airport issued an advisory.

Power outages were reported in around 22 locations across the city due to strong winds and thunderstorms. Earlier in the day, a massive storm broke out in Delhi, followed by heavy rain.

Fuelled by revenge, a man orchestrated an armed robbery at a former crime partner's sister's house in west Delhi's Anand Parbat area, making off with Rs 25 lakh, police said on Friday.

The robbery, police said, was organised by 32-year-old Manish, who had once gone to jail with Jitender, the brother of the victim, in an attempted murder case.

The incident took place on Wednesday, and police have since nabbed Manish, along with four of his associates – Ayush, 20, Rahul, 24, Jatin, 22, and Sachin, 23, from Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, an officer said.

Police have also recovered Rs 11.45 lakh in cash, a brand-new motorcycle and three mobile phones purchased from the looted amount, and a country-made pistol used in the crime. — PTI

A political slugfest erupted between the ruling BJP and the AAP on Friday after the season's first rainfall battered Delhi, leading to widespread waterlogging, traffic jams, flight delays, and a tragic house collapse that claimed four lives.

While the AAP slammed the BJP's "4-engine" for "unpreparedness", Chief Minister Rekha Gupta hit back, saying the previous Arvind Kejriwal-led party regime left behind a broken system. — PTI

Green activist Bhavreen Kandhari blamed years of negligence for the ecocide.

"One of the primary causes is the rampant concretisation around tree bases, which restricts vital feeder root growth and weakens anchorage. Construction-related soil compaction, repeated digging, and aging root systems worsen the problem," she said.

Kandhari also highlighted that a 2013 order by the National Green Tribunal had directed all authorities to remove concrete from one metre radius around trees — a directive that remains poorly enforced.

"Unless the government integrates tree health into its urban planning and enforces existing regulations, these incidents will only rise," she warned. PTI

Strong winds that accompanied the rain early Friday uprooted between 100 and 200 trees across the national capital, sparking a fresh concern among environmentalists over unchecked urban development.

As heavy rain lashed the city, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi received 53 complaints of fallen trees, the New Delhi Municipal Council 24 such incidents, while the Public Works Department reported getting at least 200 complaints of uprooting of trees/branches.

Reports continue to come in from different parts of the city.

Experts blame a rampant concretisation of the tree bases for the trees' fragility. — PTI

The storm brought a sharp drop in temperatures across the city.

An IMD scientist said temperatures fell by 7 to 10 degrees Celsius at most places after the storm.

"For instance, at Lodhi Road, the temperature dropped from 28.2 degrees Celsius at 5.15 am to 20.7 degrees Celsius at 5.30 am.

"Similarly, at Jaffarpur, it fell from 28.4 degrees Celsius to 19 degrees Celsius," said scientist R K Jenamani.