Medics attend to a patient at the Covid Care Centre of Shehnai Banquet Hall New Delhi, Wednesday.Delhi News: Delhi on Thursday reported 12,306 new Covid-19 cases — a decrease in the number of infections registered on Wednesday — and 43 deaths. With this, the city’s positivity rate stood at 21.48 per cent.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said that the peak of third Covid-19 wave seems to have gone past in the national capital after it registered a record single-day rise of 28,000 cases. However, he cautioned that the city is still not out of danger zone while stressing on the need to monitor the trend before easing of restrictions. “The numbers have come down to 22-24% from 30%; it has reduced but it is not so low that we can open up everything. Hopefully, the numbers will decline as fast as it went up. But, we have to wait and watch,” he said.
In other news, the air quality is likely to remain in the ‘very poor’ category with the Air Quality Index of the city currently at 336, according to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi. The minimum temperature on Wednesday morning was recorded at 10 degrees Celsius. The weather department has predicted light rainfall, starting Friday.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with Deputy CM Manish Sisodia. FIle
Delhi on Thursday reported 12,306 new Covid-19 cases — a decrease in the number of infections registered on Wednesday — and 43 deaths. With this, the city’s positivity rate stood at 21.48 per cent.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Thursday said that the peak of third Covid-19 wave seems to have gone past in the national capital after it registered a record single day rise of 28,000 cases. However, he cautioned that the city is still not out of danger zone while stressing on the need to monitor trend before easing of restrictions. “The numbers have come down to 22-24% from 30%; it has reduced but it is not so low that we can open up everything. Hopefully, the numbers will decline as fast as it went up. But, we have to wait and watch,” he said.
Indian Army contingent including infantry troops, tanks, missiles march on Rajpath as they rehearse for the Republic Day parade on January 26.
Two neat rows of fruit-laden bistendu trees lie behind Roshanara Begum’s tomb at Roshanara Bagh.
The short trees with gnarled trunks and thin branches have green cherry-sized, bitter fruits hanging from them. When ripe, the fruits of the bistendu turn yellow, as some have on the trees in the garden near the 17th-century tomb. They stand in a quiet part of the garden, a little distance away from a cricket game underway near the tomb. Dogs lie near the shade of the trees, on the grass scattered with dried, black fruits of the bistendu trees, and squirrels scamper up the short tree trunks. The branches of some of the trees spread wide, providing ample shade. The garden itself was laid on the orders of Roshanara, Shah Jahan’s daughter, and her tomb lies within a pavilion, open from all four sides, in the garden. It is a monument protected by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). Read more
A Delhi court while allowing a woman's plea for interim maintenance ruled that a wife is entitled to maintenance from her estranged husband even if she lives in the same household, observing that it was a common scenario in Indian households "where a victim of domestic violence is deprived of basic necessities".
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Monika Saroha also noted that there is usually a practice in many Indian households "an educated woman despite her qualification may not be allowed to join any regular employment to take care of her young children born in quick succession and to attend to the needs of her husband and family."
The woman had filed a complaint under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act), alleging torture by her husband. After the husband denied the allegations, the trial court had found no ground for granting interim maintenance, noting that the woman had master’s and bachelor’s degrees, and was "capable of maintaining herself". Read more
The Faridabad Police arrested two people and booked 200 people for allegedly pelting stones and assaulting police personnel while municipal corporation officials were carrying out a demolition drive to clear encroachments from forest land in Khori village Wednesday. Read more
After the Gurgaon administration’s announcement Tuesday that revised property circle rates have been implemented in the district, homebuyers will have to shell out more money to purchase property, particularly in some upscale areas.
Yash Garg, Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon, said the new circle rates, which came into force from January 1, were revised based on revenue data and efforts were made to ensure that affordable housing was not affected. “There has been a marginal increase in circle rates across the district as these have been rationalised,” he said. Read more
A day after the Delhi Police registered an FIR against people who allegedly made derogatory remarks against Muslim women during a session on Clubhouse app, Cyber Cell officials said they have narrowed down on four-five suspects and will bring them in for questioning.
On Tuesday, the Delhi Police took cognizance of a group on Clubhouse, an audio-only app, where dozens of users participated in a discussion during which derogatory and sexually loaded remarks were made about Muslim women. The discussion was recorded and shared online, prompting the Delhi Commission for Women to write to the police seeking action. Read more
After a PhD student alleged that a motorist tried to molest her inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus Monday night, the teachers association (JNUTA) has demanded the reinstation of the Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH).
The PhD student said that the incident had taken place when she was taking a stroll inside the campus around 11.45 pm. An FIR has been registered but no one has been arrested so far. Read more
Parts of Delhi recorded dense fog on Thursday morning with visibility around 50 metres at Palam.
Fog is considered ‘dense’ when visibility is between 50 and 200 metres, and ‘moderate’ fog is when the visibility is between 200 and 500 metres, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The Safdarjung weather observatory recorded ‘moderate’ fog on Thursday with visibility at around 400 metres.
The minimum temperature recorded over the past 24 hours was 9.8 degrees Celsius at the Safdarjung observatory. This is three degrees above the normal. The maximum temperature recorded was 18.1 degrees Celsius, two degrees below the normal. Read more
After the Covid-19 vaccination drive was opened for children between the age of 15 and 18, 6,84,941 children have got their first dose in Delhi as per data on the government’s CoWIN portal. This means almost two-thirds of the total 10,40,000 eligible children have been immunised partially.
Delhi on Wednesday administered 99,662 Covid-19 vaccine doses, of which 12,665 were precaution doses administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers, and those above the age of 65 years who have comorbidities. Read more
Travel is set to get easier for commuters going to and from Indira Gandhi International Airport, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi and Central Delhi as the construction work of the much delayed Benito Juarez Marg (BJ Marg) underpass and skywalk has picked up the pace and is expected to be completed by March.
The project was scheduled to be completed by January but got delayed due to the construction ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) citing pollution.
"The work is on schedule and the majority of the civil work is done. Only roofing, lighting, flooring work is left in the underpass. Pillars have been erected for the skywalk and readymade steel girders are being installed on them. This should be completed by March and will provide major relief to the commuters," said a PWD official. Read more
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) plans to refurbish two prime markets in South Delhi — Nehru Place, Bhikaji Cama Place.
The work at both markets is in progress and a provision of Rs 26.60 crore has been made for the same, said a senior DDA official.
The redevelopment plan of Nehru Place includes a skywalk, an amphitheatre, automated parking, exhibition halls, recreational areas, and dedicated vending zones, he said. Read more
Following a notice by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Delhi’s Directorate of Education has now responded to the apex child right’s body that it will be instituting additional safeguards to its ‘Desh ke Mentor’ programme, including police verification of mentors and prohibiting physical meetings between mentors and students. Read more
The Najafgarh jheel, a transboundary wetland lying in Delhi and Haryana, has recorded fewer species of water birds this year as compared to the last, the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) conducted at the jheel on Tuesday has found.
The AWC is an annual count of waterbirds that takes place in January, and is coordinated by the Wetlands International South Asia and the Bombay Natural History Society. It is conducted in seven wetlands across Delhi-NCR. Read more
Following the Centre’s instruction to states and union territories to increase Covid testing, all districts in Delhi have been given targets according to the active cases to increase the tests, officials said on Wednesday.
Delhi on Wednesday reported 13,785 new Covid-19 cases and 35 deaths, an increase of infections from Tuesday’s tally. With 16,580 people recovering from the virus, the active number of cases in the city stood at 75,282. The city’s positivity rate on Wednesday was 23.86 per cent.
About 13 trains running late for today, including Howrah-New Delhi Express, Puri-New Delhi Express, Gorakhpur-New Delhi Express, Mumbai-New Delhi Express, Kanpur -New Delhi Express: CPRO, Northern Railways
Medical staff attend to admitted Covid-19 patients at the Shenai Banquet Quarantine and care centre in New Delhi on Tuesday. On Tuesday, 16 out of 100 beds were occupied.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said the Covid-19 positivity rate in the city is not low enough to lift the restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the infection and that the government will monitor the situation for three to four days.
He also said the city is likely to see around 13,000 cases on Wednesday, with a positivity rate of around 24 per cent.
"The Covid positivity rate has come down from 30 per cent to 22.5 per cent in Delhi. But it is not that low that all the curbs can be lifted suddenly... The rate should be half of it. We will monitor the situation for three to four days," Jain said when asked about some traders' protest over DDMA's odd-even arrangement for the opening of shops. (PTI)
A mobile phone was swallowed by a jail inmate in Tihar jail to hide it from the authorities. The phone was later removed by surgery.
Mother along with her four children died after they allegedly inhaled toxic smoke from an angithi in their room in the Seemapuri area of Shahdara.
DCP (east) Priyanka Kashyap said that a PCR call was received at PS Kalyanpuri Police station at Metro flyover pillar No. 59 and the caller said that two bags had been kept at the spot. "Receiving the calls staff rushed to the spot and isolated the place. Two bags are there at the spot. BDS/BDT team reached the spot. Nothing suspicious was found in the bags."
There were documents in the bag of some Somesh Gupta, who has been called and further inquiry is on, Kashyap added.
Items found in the bag were a laptop, mobile, personal care items and some documents.
Two unidentified bags were found near the Trilokpuri Metro station. The city's fire department said it received a call at around 1.10 pm that two unattended bags were found near the Metro pillar no 59 in Trilokpuri. Delhi Fire Service then verified the presence of the bags and informed concerned agencies.
"We have just received the call. As soon as things are clear we will clear the message to media," said DCP (East) Priyanka Kashyap.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday said the government will monitor the COVID-19 situation for three to four days to confirm the trend of positivity rate before reviewing the curbs in the national capital. He said the city is likely to see around 13,000 cases on Wednesday with a positivity rate of around 24 per cent.
"The Covid positivity rate has come down from 30 per cent to 22.5 per cent in Delhi. The rate should be half of it. We will monitor the situation for three to four days," the minister said on reviewing the curbs in the city. Delhi had logged 11,684 Covid cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 22.47 per cent. It saw 12,527 cases and 24 deaths on Monday, and the positivity rate was 27.99 per cent.
Responding to a question about low rate of testing in Delhi, Jain said no one is being denied a Covid test and the authorities are following the guidelines issued by the Centre.
"They said high-risk contacts of Covid patients and those with symptoms should be tested. On Tuesday, they clarified that tests be conducted in some pockets in the community too, which we are doing," he said. Delhi had been conducting 50,000 to 60,000 coronavirus tests daily for the last six months, he added. ---PTI
The minimum temperature on Wednesday was recorded at 7.4 degrees Celsius in the city, according to the IMD.
According to the DFS, the incident took place around 3 am. The fire started from an electric board in the basement. Though the blaze was small, the smoke spread throughout the building and residents were unable to escape.
DFS Chief Atul Garg said, “We sent two fire tenders to the spot. The team found it was a seven-metre electric board that caught fire. The personnel rushed to all the apartments and rescued 22 people. The fire was doused in time”.
Delhi Police writes to the US-based Clubhouse app seeking details of the accounts that started a discussion group targeting Muslim women on the platform. An FIR under sections promoting enmity and sexual harassment has already been registered by the Cyber Cell.
The Delhi Development Authority Tuesday presented its sustainable development-oriented budget in which allocation of Rs 2,922 crore has been made for the year 2022-23 with a focus on the development of Narela, Dwarka and Rohini.
The land-owning agency said it has signed a memorandum with the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) for the construction of urban extension road –II (UER) as a national highway. This road will enhance the connectivity of the sub-cities of Dwarka, Rohini and Narela. Read more
District authorities have advised all traders, market associations, shopkeepers, hawkers, vendors and workers to mandatorily get vaccinated, saying those who are unvaccinated will not be allowed in markets.
The sub-district magistrates (SDM) of all 11 revenue districts have asked markets to submit a list of vaccinated staff, and those who are yet to receive the first dose will have to get immunised. After all traders, workers and shopkeepers are vaccinated, the district magistrate will give the market a certificate saying “all eligible staff of this market are vaccinated”, and a display board will also be installed at the entrance and exit saying “fully vaccinated market”. Read more
Covid positivity rate in Delhi dropped below the 25% mark for the first time since January 9, on Tuesday, indicating that the rate of the growth of Covid cases had slowed in the city.
Delhi reported 11,684 Covid cases on Tuesday and the positivity rate stood at 22.47 percent. The positivity rate on Monday was 27.99%. Around 52,000 people were tested in a day. However, deaths continued to remain high at 38. Read more
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s Standing Committee Chairman BK Oberoi on Tuesday said that it has not accepted the proposal to hike property tax.
While presenting the budget for the financial year 2022-2023, he said that the civic body instead will give a waiver of the property tax of previous years for the residents of the recently-regularised unauthorised colonies within its jurisdiction. Read more
Delhi on Tuesday recorded 11,684 new Covid-19 cases along with 38 deaths, the positivity rate of the national capital fell further to 22.47 per cent. Health minister Satyendar Jain said that number of cases is declining in the city but the government is monitoring the trend.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Tuesday held a meeting with different stakeholders, including domestic and foreign companies, on the proposed e-commerce policy, an official said.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Udaan, Flipkart, Amazon, Tata, Netmeds, Pepperfry, Snapdeal, Urban Ladder and Indiamart as well as domestic traders body CAIT (Confederation of All India Traders) and associations related to the MSME sector, the official added.
According to sources, various participants called for a clear and exclusive definition of the e-commerce marketplace and distinction from web stores that are just electronic versions of retail stores in order to avoid any conflict of interest leading to discriminatory and anti-competitive business practices. (PTI)
Parts of Delhi reeled under 'cold day' conditions for the sixth day on the trot on Tuesday, and similar conditions are predicted for two more days.
According to the IMD, a 'cold day' is when the minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum is at least 4.5 degrees Celsius below normal. A 'severe' cold day is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 notches below normal.
The weatherman has forecast shallow fog on Wednesday and the minimum and maximum temperatures are likely to hover around 11 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius respectively. The IMD said minimum temperatures are likely to rise by two to four degrees Celsius in Northwest India during the next five days, under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance. Widespread rainfall is likely over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, west Uttar Pradesh and north Rajasthan from January 21 to January 23 due to the WD.
The 24-hour air quality index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded in the 'very poor' category (352), data from the Central Pollution Control Board showed. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 satisfactory, 101 and 200 moderate, 201 and 300 poor, 301 and 400 very poor, and 401 and 500 severe. (PTI)
With eyes on the upcoming municipal polls later this year, the standing committee of the BJP-led SDMC, in its budget proposals on Tuesday, did not impose any new tax and also announced a waiver of the property tax of previous years for the residents of the recently-regularised unauthorised colonies within its jurisdiction, according to an official statement.
The Standing Committee Chairman of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) BK Oberoi also rejected a proposal in the civic body's budget for 2022-23 to increase taxes on residential and commercial properties, the statement said. (PTI)
Two people were briefly detained by the police in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh's Noida on Tuesday after undocumented cash worth Rs 99,30,500 was found in their SUV, officials said.
The money has been seized by Income Tax officials, who were informed by the local police about the incident in the morning, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Noida) Rajneesh Verma said.
"The two people who were in the SUV were detained for questioning. They could not produce any documents related to the cash. One of them was the driver while the other identified himself as a field manager of a Delhi-based private company," Verma told PTI. (PTI)
An eight-foot-long python was spotted in a power sub-station in Delhi's Okhla Industrial Estate and was safely extricated by a team of a wildlife conservation NGO.
Employees at the power station in Okhla Phase-2 spotted the python and called intimated Wildlife SOS.
A rapid response unit immediately rushed to the location and safely extricated the snake within 15 minutes, the NGO said in a statement.
Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said, "Our rescuers are very well trained for such kinds of operations and even in this case, they followed all the safety measures while extricating the python." Wasim Akram, Deputy Director – Special Projects, Wildlife SOS, said, "With more and more habitats being fragmented, snake sightings in urban areas have become very common." (PTI)
The Delhi High Court has held that permitting illegally intercepted messages or audio conversations as evidence would lead to manifest arbitrariness and promote scant regard to the fundamental rights of the citizens.
The high court said as per the provisions of the Telegraph Act, an order for interception can be issued on either the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court.
Justice Chandra Dhari Singh said after perusing the records, the court was satisfied that in peculiar facts of the instant case, the mandatory requirements laid down by law for placing reliance on such audio conversations, have not been fulfilled.
The court's observations came while setting aside a 10-year-old order of a trial court that had framed charges against one Jatinder Pal Singh under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC for the offence of criminal conspiracy. (PTI)
Security forces in the national capital is on alert ahead of the Republic Day celebrations. Earlier, Delhi and the National Capital Region was put under a 'very high-security' cover after police received inputs from Intelligence agencies about a possible terror attack, officials said on Tuesday.
Following which DCP North, Sagar Singh Kalsi, in a statement said, "This is a general preparedness drill ahead of January 26 to see how SOPs are being followed. We check the response time of all our agencies including SWAT, traffic team, and other stakeholders...We will do one more anti-terror mock drill." (ANI)
Delhi Police has lodged an FIR under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) and 354 A (sexual harassment).
Earlier, Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) issued a notice to Cyber Crime Cell of the Delhi Police seeking an FIR against people for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Muslim women during a session on the Clubhouse app, where people interact in groups via audio.
Delhi on Tuesday recorded 11,684 new Covid-19 cases along with 38 deaths, the positivity rate of the national capital fell further to 22.47 per cent.
Ahead of Republic Day, the Centre has highlighted "a perceptible lack of awareness" among government organisations, agencies and people about the laws, practices and conventions that apply to display of the national flag and asked states to ensure that the tricolour is not dishonoured.
In a communication to all states and union territories, the home ministry said that action must be taken to ensure that only paper flags are used by the public while attending cultural and sports events and such flags are disposed of in private, consistent with its dignity.
The ministry said the national flag represents hopes and aspirations of the people of the country and hence should occupy a position of honour and there is universal affection and respect for, and loyalty to, the flag. (PTI)
Responding to letters by Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal on their states’ tableaux not being selected for the Republic Day Parade, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Tuesday wrote to MK Stalin and Mamata Banerjee, saying the selection has been done according to prescribed norms.
In the letters, Singh explained the selection process of the tableaux for the Republic Day.
Banerjee had mentioned in her letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday that West Bengal’s tableau had featured Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose in the year of his 125th birth anniversary. Singh informed her through his letter in Hindi that Bose’s contribution during the freedom fight is “unforgettable” for every Indian, and keeping this sentiment in mind, the Modi government has announced Bose’s birthday on January 23 as Parakram Diwas. (Read more)
Ahead of Republic Day, the Delhi-National Capital Region has been put under a 'very high-security' cover after police received inputs from Intelligence agencies about a possible terror attack, officials said on Tuesday.
Operation of sub-conventional aerial platforms, including UAVs, paragliders and hot air balloons, over the national capital has been prohibited in the city from January 20 in view of Republic Day celebrations, according to a Delhi Police order issued on Tuesday.
The order shall come into force from January 20 and remain in effect till February 15.The order has been issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana in the wake of reports of the possibility of certain criminal or anti-social elements or terrorists posing a threat to the safety of the general public, dignitaries and vital installations, it said. (PTI)
The Delhi Nurses Federation (DNF) has said that they would go on strike over non-release of compensation to families of nurses who died while on Covid duty.
According to the DNF Secretary General Liladhar Ramchandani, eight nurses working in Delhi government hospitals died during the second wave of the pandemic and their families have not yet received the Rs 1 crore ex-gratia compensation that was promised by the government in May last year.
“It is very sad that even after a lapse of almost a year, the ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 crore has not yet been paid to the nursing officers. This has angered the entire nursing cadre. Our demand is that it should be paid within seven days or it will force us to go on an agitation/non-cooperation movement,” read a letter by the nurses’ body to the office of the Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal. (Read more)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would consider listing for hearing a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission to ensure that political parties publish details regarding criminal cases of candidates along with the reason for their selection on their websites.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli was urged by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who has filed the PIL in his personal capacity, that the plea be listed urgently keeping in mind the ongoing election process.
“Nomination for the first phase of election has started and the political parties and candidates are brazenly violating the two apex court judgements,” the lawyer said. (Read more)
Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that the UP policemen committed forgery by recording false information in the official records with regard to the arrests of two men from Delhi in September 2021.
Justice Mukta Gupta said that the two men were illegally taken from Delhi without informing the local police station and were kept in illegal custody for two days by the UP Police.
The arrest of two men by UP Police had taken place in connection with a case where a woman from UP had eloped with a man living in Delhi. The couple in a petition last year before Delhi HC said that father and brother of the man were taken away by UP Police from Delhi in September and that they have no information about their whereabouts.
However, UP Police had then claimed that the two men were arrested in a case registered under Section 366 IPC on September 06 on the complaint given by the UP woman’s mother. They were arrested from Kudhana Bus Stand, District Shamli, U.P on September 08, the UP Police had claimed. (ENS)
With over two lakh Covid cases being reported almost on a daily basis, the government has decided to “significantly” curtail the number of people who will physically attend the Republic Day celebrations this year.
Till last week the Defence Ministry had been preparing to accommodate around 24,000 people. But as the number of Covid cases is on the rise, and with the country in the middle of the third wave, the final number is likely to be between 5,000 to 8,000 guests this year, senior Defence Ministry officials said on Tuesday. Read more
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana on Tuesday issued an order prohibiting the flying of “sub-conventional aerial platforms” like paragliders, paramotors, UAVs, hot air balloons and para-jumping from aircraft in the city till next month.
The order will come into force on January 20 and will be in effect till February 15 for security reasons ahead of Republic Day. Offenders will be booked under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), the order added. Read more