Senior BJP leaders, MPs, and party workers led by state president Adesh Gupta staged a protest near the Delhi Vidhan Sabha against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statements on the film The Kashmir Files, even as the latter said the BJP was politicising the plight of Kashmiri Pandits. Former Union Health Minister and MP Harsh Vardhan said, “The development that took place in J&K in the past seven years has not happened in 60 years since Independence.”
Meanwhile, Delhi University’s Law Faculty cancelled a talk by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on ‘Challenges to The Indian Constitution’ 20 minutes prior to the event, citing “unmanageable behaviour” by students. Bhushan, however, alleged there was pressure to cancel the event given the topic, and his stand against the current dispensation.
After he was denied entry to speak inside the Law Faculty campus, Bhushan ended up delivering a short lecture outside on the road.
Alleging that AAP councillors were trying to shut down 'Jan Rasois' (community kitchens) and a library run by East Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir, local BJP leaders staged protests at several places in his parliamentary constituency, said a statement from his office on Monday.
BJP leaders in Shahdara, Mayur Vihar, Trilokpuri and other parts of East Delhi staged protests against the attempts of the AAP to close down the community kitchens, said the statement.
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"The AAP councillors in the East Delhi Municipal Corporation have been demanding that the community kitchens and library opened by the BJP MP at the corporation's dhalaos (garbage collection points) should be closed," said a close aide of Gambhir. (PTI)
Apex child rights body NCPCR on Monday sought an explantation from the Delhi government for not informing it about the issue of children running away from child care institutions in the national capital.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while addressing a press conference on Delhi budget on Saturday, said Rs 10 crore has been set aside for street children and a state-of-the-art school would be built for them in which they would get all facilities. Kejriwal also said that till now, children were "grabbed" and put in child care homes, where they were not taken care of properly, prompting them to run away.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said the body has conducted four monthly meetings with all states and union territories, but the Department of Women and Child Development of the Delhi government never brought up the issue of children running away from child care homes. (PTI)
From connecting with parents to getting their bus services ready, schools in Delhi are preparing to welcome back all their students and operate at full capacity later this week.
On April 1, city schools will begin the 2022-2023 academic session and move completely offline since the start of the pandemic. This means that students will no longer have the option of attending classes online.
Across government schools, efforts are underway for all School Management Committee (SMC) members and parent volunteers called school mitras — each of whom have been put in charge of staying in touch with parents of 50 students who reside in their locality or a neighbouring locality — to conduct physical meetings with the parents to whom they are linked. Among their tasks is to encourage sustained attendance, including over the summer months of May and June. Read More
Delhi recorded its hottest day of the season at 39.1 degrees Celsius, seven notches above the season's average, with the temperature expected to rise further in the next couple of days.
At many places in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), the maximum temperature was recorded at 40 degrees Celsius. Narela recorded the maximum temperature at 42 degrees Celsius, 10 notches above the normal.
The MeT Department has predicted severe heatwave conditions for the next two days at a few places in Delhi. The maximum temperature is likely to settle at 40 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature is likely to hover around 22 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. For the plains, a "heat wave" is declared when the maximum temperature is more than 40 degrees Celsius, and at least 4.5 notches above normal. A "severe" heat wave is declared if departure from normal temperature is more than 6.5 degrees Celsius, according to the IMD. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court has stressed on the need to preserve and protect the iconic Regal Building at Connaught Place after a survey by an IIT-Delhi team revealed that the top slab of the building is at high risk of further collapse and recommended immediate vacation of the top floor. The normal expected life of the building is already over as it is over 80 years old, IIT-Delhi has said in its report before court.
“Perusal of the report indicates that major structural additions, alterations, repair would be required to secure the structural integrity of the building. The building is a heritage building and, as such, the heritage structure of the building has to be protected and preserved,” said Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva in an order.
A team of IIT-Delhi had conducted an inspection of the property last month and recommended a detailed structural analysis of the building to identify potential weaknesses in the structure. The team also advised against any ad-hoc modification or repair. Read More
The Delhi High Court criticised Twitter on Monday for its reluctance to block the account of an atheist organisation accused of repeatedly posting “blasphemous” content about a Hindu goddess, and said the site would have been more sensitive had the content been related to any other religion.
While hearing a petition seeking removal of the content, the court directed the Centre to examine the tweets by the user @atheistrepublic, and see whether a blocking order was called for under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. It also ordered @atheistrepublic to disclose its location and other information about it. Twitter told the court a first information report had been registered by the police in Karnataka and six tweets removed.
Stating that the tweets were removed only after orders were passed, the court chastised the social media platform for allegedly not using its own judgement to block users posting offensive content. “We would like you to show us that only when there is a court order … which means that you will not use your own sense of judgement, your intellect, when you find something absolutely, brazenly blasphemous or brazenly offending the sentiments of the people,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla said. Read More
Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel rejected BJP MLA Vijender Gupta's plea to allow a condemnation motion to be passed in the Assembly over Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's remarks on the Kashmiri Pandits exodus.
Gupta had moved the condemnation motion and demanded an apology from Kejriwal, terming his remarks on the exodus "insensitive". ' In the motion, Gupta stated that Kejriwal's remarks on March 25 in which he called the movie ‘The Kashmir Files' a “lie” has hurt the sentiments of Kashmiri Hindus worldwide.
Opposition members staged a protest when the motion was rejected. Gupta was marshalled out while the rest of the opposition walked out in protest. (PTI)
A SpiceJet plane was damaged on Monday when its wing hit a lightning pole at the Delhi airport when the aircraft was being pushed back from the parking position to be ready for take-off to Jammu.
However, no passengers were injured in the incident that took place around 9.20 am. The staffers removed the passengers from the flight immediately and moved them to another plane. Read More
A fire broke out at the dumping yard of east Delhi's Ghazipur area on Monday, fire officials said.Six fire tenders have reached the spot to bring the blaze under control, they said. A call was received around 2.30 pm about a fire in Khaata at Ghazipur, they said.
A Delhi court extended the judicial custody of Chitra Ramkrishna, former managing director and chief executive of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), on Monday in the case of alleged stock market manipulation.
Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal extended Ramkrishna’s judicial custody till April 11. The court will then hear her bail application, to which the CBI has been asked to respond by April 8.
On March 24, the court refused bail to former NSE group operating officer Anand Subramanian. Read More
An Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi startup has developed an “affordable high-performance medical textile”, which claims to “destroy around 99.9% of the bacteria and viruses within 30 minutes”. The product, Fabium, has been developed by a start-up called Fabiosys Innovations. Read more
With the doorstep delivery of ration – a scheme that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi has not been able to implement following objections raised by the Centre – being announced by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that soon the whole country will ask for the scheme to be implemented. Read more
Services on a section of the Magenta Line of the Delhi Metro were delayed for nearly an hour on Monday due to some signalling issue, officials said.
'The delay is on account of some signalling issue,' a senior official said. DMRC tweeted at 11:50 AM, informing that normal services have resumed. (PTI)
Two boys sustained severe injuries after a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder caught fire and exploded inside their house in Central Delhi’s Ranjeet Nagar on Monday, said the police. The injured, identified as Ritesh (18) and Anshuman (16), sustained 30-45 per cent burn injuries in the explosion, which happened when they were alone in their house, said the police. Read more
The Delhi Assembly proceedings were adjourned for 15 minutes on Monday morning after AAP MLAs entered the well of the House shouting slogans over "derogatory" remarks made by Delhi BJP president Adesh Kumar Gupta against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
As soon as the House assembled in the morning, AAP MLA Mohinder Goel demanded an apology from Gupta and a censure motion against him.
“A censure motion needs to be brought in the House against Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta for his derogatory remark against CM Arvind Kejriwal. The Leader of Opposition should tender an apology,” he said. (PTI)
An unidentified person was booked for allegedly claiming to be gangster Neeraj Bawana and making an extortion call to a city-based businessman, threatening the victim with dire consequences if he did not pay Rs 50 lakh within two days, the police said. Read more
The pace of Covid-19 vaccination in Delhi has remained high and steady over the last one week, with 70,000-85,000 shots being administered each day, barring Sunday. Read more
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a rise in maximum temperatures by two to three degrees over most parts of northwest and central India during the next four days. Read more
Delhi Police has busted a fake international call centre in Jamia Nagar with the arrest of eight accused persons. From the investigation conducted so far, approximately transactions of 35 lakhs have been verified from computers seized from the accused persons, say police. (ANI)
Price of petrol and diesel in Delhi are at Rs 99.41 per litre and Rs 90.77 per litre respectively today (increased by 30 and 35 paise respectively). (ANI)
A municipal school in north Delhi has been "renamed" after prominent Kashmiri Pandit leader Tika Lal Taploo, who was gunned down in Srinagar 33 years ago, a senior civic official said on Sunday.
The move comes amid a raging debate on the Kashmiri Pandit's issues triggered by the controversial film 'The Kashmir Files'. A ceremony was hosted by the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Sunday to mark the rechristening of the school, with Union minister Jitendra Singh as the chief guest.
"The 'NDMC Primary School 7-B', located at Sector-7, Rohini has been renamed after 'Shaheed Teeka Lal Taploo'. He was an unsung hero and this is a tribute from us to the late leader," said Alok Sharma, chairman of NDMC education committee. (PTI)
The Delhi government is planning to implement a tax amnesty scheme in a bid to help traders from getting embroiled in unnecessary legal cases related to taxation and to recover pending demands which include outstanding tax, interest and penalty.
Officials said the exact details on concessions will be ironed one once the scheme is finalised.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia proposed the scheme on Saturday while presenting the ‘rozgaar’ budget. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our tax revenue was extremely low last year. However, tax revenue for the year 2021-22 showed a satisfactory increase as compared to the previous year. During the current financial year, up to February 2022, we have collected Rs 35,112 crore, an increase of 39% over the previous year (up to February 2021),” he said. Read more
Delhi recorded 71 fresh cases of Covid on Sunday, taking the cumulative total to 18,64,549. Meanwhile, another virus-related fatality was reported on the day, taking the total number of deaths to 26,151.
After 86 persons recovered from Covid during the day, the number of active cases dipped to 448 in Delhi. 84,132 persons received vaccines on Sunday, of which 51,580 were first doses, 27,640 second doses and the remaining 4,912 precautionary jabs.
The current positivity rate in Delhi is 0.31 per cent.
Two men were arrested for allegedly killing a woman in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area, police said on Sunday. Shokeen Khan (30) and Jeeshan (22), residents of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, were given Rs 1 lakh by Madhu for killing Fatima, they said.
Fatima was shot dead around 10 am on March 14 by them at Old Seelampur. She was shot three times, police said.
Madhu alias Aarti alias Punjaban, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, who is at large, suspected that Fatima was trying to capture her property, and she hired Khan and Jeeshan for the task, they said. While Khan was arrested early Sunday after an encounter, Jeeshan was nabbed on Saturday from Anand Vihar, police said. (PTI)
The administrative building of Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) at Duhai Depot is almost ready and it will house the main operational control centre, the NCRTC said on Sunday.
National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) is implementing India's first RRTS which is a rail-based, high-speed, high-frequency regional commuter transit system.
It has a design speed of 180 kmph and an average speed of 100 kmph. Powered by electric traction, RRTS will serve as a green mode of transport in NCR. (PTI)
Delhi on Sunday recorded a maximum temperature of 36.8 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The minimum temperature settled at 20.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average, it said. Humidity levels oscillated between 46 per cent to 21 per cent.
The national capital is expected to witness clear skies on Monday. The maximum and minimum temperatures will settle around 37 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius respectively, the weather department said. (PTI)
Two more accused have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 19-year-old man who died of a bullet injury following a scuffle in Dwarka, police said on Sunday.
The two accused have been identified as Ashish alias Ashu (24), a resident of Najafgarh, and Sumit alias Dilbagh (19), a resident of Dwarka's Sector 16-A, they said.
Khurshid, a resident of sector 16-A in Dwarka, succumbed to the gunshot injury after a scuffle had broken out between school students on Saturday. Later, outsiders too had jointed the fight, police said. Sahil (19), who lives in Nangli Dairy area, was arrested earlier for the alleged murder of Khurshid. (PTI)
In order to improve passenger service and quality, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) will conduct a survey from March 28 to May 1.
The ‘9th edition of the online customer satisfaction survey’ will be conducted by the Transport Strategy Centre (TSC), London, which manages the COMET benchmarking group.
Officials said the main objective of the survey is to know what commuters think about various aspects of Metro operations including feedback/suggestions on improving the quality of service. Read more
In a move to stimulate the night-time economy of the city, the Delhi government is moving towards liberal policy interventions to allow relaxed functioning of the food and the hospitality sectors, officials said.
On Saturday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced a raft of measures in the budget for the financial year 2022-23 like providing land for cloud kitchens, redeveloping major food hubs and bringing in a food truck policy in the national capital.
The city government also has plans to boost the hospitality sector, including allowing bars in hotels, clubs and restaurants to remain open till late in the night, under the new excise policy. (PTI)
Higher education opportunities for children leaving Delhi schools have increased in the last seven years with an increase in the capacity of universities, said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia while presenting the 2022-2023 budget on Saturday.
In his budget speech, Sisodia did not announce any new schemes or projects for higher education but emphasised that over the years, the government has worked to increase higher education opportunities for Delhi students by introducing new universities, campuses and increasing capacity. Read more
The long pending project of constructing 1,397 bus que shelters in the Capital will finally start in the upcoming financial year as the Delhi government has allocated Rs 75 crore towards it, which is 150 times higher than the previous year.
The construction of these shelters is one of long pending projects of the Delhi transport department awaiting since 2016-17. “The budget has increased and the transport department has got a good share this year. This will help expedite several transport infrastructure projects,” said a government official. Read more
In a suspected case of road rage in South Delhi’s Saket, a 33-year-old man was allegedly assaulted by three people on Saturday, the Delhi Police said, adding that his turban fell off during the scuffle. One person was later arrested.
The complainant, Narendra Singh, was travelling on his scooter near Saket metro station when the accused attacked him before fleeing the spot, officers said.
The arrested accused was the driver of the other vehicle whom the police identified as Shobhit Sejwal. Read more
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has planned to involve Group Housing Societies for community participation in the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
A senior EDMC official said the main objective is to make EDMC and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) of Group Housing Societies and others as partners with shared responsibility in ongoing planning, monitoring, analysis and assessment of all necessities.
Also, the material, skills, expertise, and experience of EDMC will be combined to make Group Housing Societies self-reliant in the prevention and control of mosquito breeding through active community participation. Read more
More than a month after two liquor businessmen were murdered in Pataudi, police Saturday said they have arrested the mastermind of the case.
Police said Ajay Jaildar, who has links with gangsters Kala Jathedi and Lawrence Bishnoi, had allegedly plotted the double murder to establish his supremacy in the liquor business.
Police said they were also investigating if the murders were the fallout of a gang rivalry. Read more
A 23-year-old woman died after allegedly jumping off Rajeev Chowk flyover in Gurgaon on Saturday afternoon. The reason for the alleged suicide is yet to be ascertained, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Sapna, a resident of Hans Enclave in Gurgaon, police said. She was pursuing a professional certification course in management accounting and had done her graduation from DU.
According to police, the incident took place around 2.30 pm. Read more
Three departments of the Delhi government will be working in close coordination to set up a boarding school for homeless children announced by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia during his budget speech.
The AAP-led government has allocated Rs 10 crore for setting up such a school. According to an official privy to the development, the modalities of the same will be worked out in a couple of weeks.
"The modalities of the school will be worked out in close coordination with the Department of Social Welfare, Department of Women and Child Development (WCD) and the Department of Education," he told PTI. Talking about how the idea of the school originated, the official said in the post-pandemic period, there was a surge in the number of homeless children. (PTI)
A multi-agency counter-terrorist mock drill was conducted by the CISF at Delhi Metro's Dilli Haat INA station on Sunday to check the preparedness and response of various agencies.
Under the mock drill which commenced around 12.30 am at the station on Delhi Metro's yellow line, a situation of IED (improvised explosive device) blast, indiscriminate firing on passengers, metro staff and CISF personnel as well as taking of hostage by terrorists was created, a Central Industrial Security Force spokesperson said.
As the situation "warranted" response from various agencies, the CISF alerted them as per the national disaster management protocol, he said. (PTI)
Traders at the Gandhi Nagar textile market here have welcomed the Delhi government's decision to develop it as a "grand garment hub", saying it has the potential to generate more revenue and thousands of jobs.
Presenting the budget in the Delhi Assembly for the financial year 2022-23 on Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced that the government has planned to develop the textile market in Gandhi Nagar as a "grand garment hub" and it will be re-branded and repositioned to also generate more jobs in the next five years.
K K Balli, president of the Association of Wholesale Readymade Garment Dealers (Gandhi Nagar), said retailers and shopkeepers have been demanding the restructuring of the market for quite a long time as several structural flaws have prevented the growth of their businesses. (PTI)
Artists perform as giant puppets during Bonjour India’s ‘A Twist of Fate’ street show at the Lodhi Garden, Sunday.
(PTI Photo)
A Delhi court has acquitted a man accused of being a member of alleged terror organisation Babbar Khalsa International in case related to 2005 Satyam Cinema and Liberty Cinema bomb blasts, saying police miserably failed to prove the case beyond the shadow of doubt.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender said that though the prosecution had ascribed meaning to general words like 'plot', 'khet', 'fasal', 'paani', etc, in his telephonic conversation, “the possibility of any enthusiastic police officer misinterpreting plain and simple words on account of suspicion and overzealous approach cannot be ruled out”.
“I am of the considered opinion that shadow of doubt appears upon the prosecution version and the evidence available on record is not of sterling quality to hold accused Trilochan Singh liable for the commission of offence punishable under section 18 (conspiracy for terrorist acts) and 20 (membership of terrorist organisation) of UAPA and under section of Arms Act,” the judge said. (PTI)
The long pending project of constructing 1,397 bus que shelters in the Capital will finally start in the upcoming financial year as the Delhi government has allocated Rs 75 crore towards it, which is 150 times higher than the previous year.
The construction of these shelters is one of long pending projects of the Delhi transport department awaiting since 2016-17. "The budget has increased and the transport department has got a good share this year. This will help expedite several transport infrastructure projects,” said a government official.
Earlier, the Delhi Transport Infrastructure and Development Corporation (DTIDC), which looks at the infrastructure of bus depots, terminals and shelters, was handling the bus que shelter project and invited bids at least three times but failed to attract bidders. "They bidders refused saying the government wants big in a small budget and this happened at least five times," said an official.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 20.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, two notches above the season''s average, the India Meteorological Department said.
The humidity was 46 per cent at 8.30 am. The city's air quality was recorded in the ''poor'' category in the morning with the AQI clocking 205 at 9 am, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed. (PTI)
A former caretaker of a night shelter run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) has alleged she was raped, molested and threatened at the facility, located in North Delhi. The woman, who is in her 20s, has further alleged that a ‘mentally challenged’ resident at the shelter was also raped by one of the accused.
In a police complaint, she has alleged she was removed from her job on March 4 after she approached the director, a woman, regarding the two alleged incidents. Read more
Acquitting a man accused of trying to revive militancy in Punjab, a Delhi court has found gaps in the prosecution’s case for trying to implicate him by attributing meaning to his telephonic conversations about crops, the weather, and watering of fields.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana acquitted Trilochan Singh, a driver, who was arrested in a Delhi Police Special Cell raid in 2007 as part of its investigation into the 2005 Satyam Cinema and Liberty Cinema bomb blasts. Read more
Around 171 MW of power was saved by Delhiites who joined the Earth Hour by switching off their non-essential lighting fixtures and other electrical appliances for an hour from 8.30 pm.
Several historic and iconic buildings in the national capital, including the Humayun's tomb and the Rashtrapati Bhawan, were dimly lit marking the Earth Hour. Discom officials said about 171 MW of power was saved during the Earth Hour from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm.
The power discom BSES, serving over 46 lakh consumers in Delhi, saved 135 MW of power. Tata Power-DDL, supplying power in the north and north-west Delhi, said its consumers managed to save 10 MW electricity during the Earth Hour. (PTI)
The outlay for water supply and sanitation in the 2022-23 budget has seen an increase as compared to the previous financial year. The proposed outlay for this year is Rs 7,610 crore, around 10% of the total budget estimate for the year. In comparison, the outlay for the 2021-22 financial year was Rs 3,274 crore, which was 5% of the total budget outlay for that year.
A total of Rs 6,710 crore has been proposed for water supply and sanitation projects, with the outlay for water supply schemes being higher than that for sanitation. Read more
The Delhi Police said action will be taken against the person who took to social media to allegedly threaten women from a minority community with rape and murder.
The police's comments came after taking cognizance of a woman's complaint through Twitter.
In her tweet posted on Friday, the woman claimed that a man named Vipul Singh was posting rape and murder threats to Muslim women on social media. She also claimed that the man was from the Najafgarh area. (PTI)
Three doctors have been shortlisted to take over from Dr Randeep Guleria as the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences. They include head of the AIIMS trauma centre and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Rajesh Malhotra, head of the department of endocrinology Dr Nikhil Tandon, and the executive director of (Translational Health Science and Technology Institute) and a professor of gastroenterology Dr Pramod Garg, according to officials in the know of the matter.
A four-member committee had received applications of 32 doctors, including 12 from within the institute for the position. Read more
Petrol price on Sunday was hiked by 50 paise a litre and diesel by 55 paise, taking its price in Delhi to Rs 99.11 per litre as against Rs 98.61 previously while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 89.87 per litre to Rs 90.42, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers. This takes the total increase in rates since resumption of daily price revision less than a week back to Rs 3.70-3.75 per litre.
Delhi University’s Law Faculty Saturday cancelled a talk by senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on ‘Challenges to The Indian Constitution’ 20 minutes prior to the event, citing “unmanageable behaviour” by students. Bhushan, however, alleged there was pressure to cancel the event given the topic, and his stand against the current dispensation.
After he was denied entry to speak inside the Law Faculty campus, Bhushan ended up delivering a short lecture outside on the road. Read more
Senior BJP leaders, MPs, and party workers led by state president Adesh Gupta staged a protest near the Delhi Vidhan Sabha against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s statements on the film The Kashmir Files, even as the latter said the BJP was politicising the plight of Kashmiri Pandits.
On Kejriwal’s statements on uploading The Kashmir Files on YouTube, MP Ramesh Bidhuri said, “Why has he not uploaded his advertisements and development works on YouTube?” Read more