More vehicles than shoppers, broken bollards, civic woes: Here’s what’s ailing Chandni Chowk’s pedestrianised stretch
Shoppers jostling for space with e-rickshaws, two-wheelers and even cars, garbage overflowing from dustbins, damaged street furniture: Just two years into its inauguration, the much-touted pedestrianised stretch at Chandni Chowk appears to be losing its sheen.
The issues plaguing the area further came into focus after a visit by L-G VK Saxena last week. In a post on X, accompanied by photos, he had said: “Decrepit basic civic services, lacking sanitation, deplorable upkeep due to neglect over years and absence of essential coordination between departments/agencies working in silos, has defeated the very purpose of pedestrianisation of the main thoroughfare.” The AAP-Delhi government blamed the Centre, saying ever since the GNCTD Act was passed, it has no power to act against any officer.
The Indian Express visited the 1.3-km-long stretch from Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid to check out the pain points.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Police to consider the feasibility of holding a meeting, ‘All India Muslim Mahapanchayat’, sought to be conducted by an organisation at Ramlila Maidan on December 18.
A single-judge bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad on November 25 was hearing a plea by Mission Save Constitution seeking permission to conduct a meeting at Ramlila Maidan on December 4. The petitioner claims to be aggrieved by the pendency of a decision by the DCP Central District on its request for a NOC to organise the mahapanchayat on the given date at the said venue.
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Due to bad weather in Delhi 09 flights diverted to Jaipur(06), Lucknow (02) and Ahemdabad (01) between 1800hrs-1900hrs
After the SC refused to tweak the Special Marriage Act (SMA) of 1954 to give legal recognition to same-sex marriages, the LGBTQ community took out a rally in the national capital vowing to continue their fight.
Stating that the Constitution does not confer any fundamental right to marry, the five-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said it cannot strike down the provisions of the SMA so as to recognise same-sex marriages as that would result in the loss of benefits of what is essentially progressive legislation.
A thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds ranging from 30 to 50 km/h is forecasted for specific areas in Delhi including Dwarka, Delhi Cantt, Palam, IGI Airport, and Vasant Vihar.
Additionally, light to moderate rain accompanied by gusty winds at the same speed is anticipated in other parts of Delhi, such as Bawana, Kanjhawala, Rohini, and Pashchim Vihar, as well as in NCR areas like Bahadurgarh, Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar, and Ballabhgarh during next 2 hours.
Amid complaints of contaminated water in Delhi’s New Friends Colony and BJP’s criticism, Water Minister Atishi Monday said she has directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) CEO to ensure the resolution of the problem within 48 hours. She has also asked the CEO to submit a compliance report.
According to the officials, Atishi expressed her “strong displeasure” in a communication to the DJB CEO and demanded immediate action.
Alleging that they have not been paid their dues for nine months, a few contractors working with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) have threatened to stop ongoing projects Monday onwards.
The Delhi Jal Board Contractors Welfare Association has written to the Additional Chief Engineer stating that the workers will stop all the ongoing work due to non-payment of dues.
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The Delhi High Court has allowed a plea of a deceased sanitation worker’s wife seeking enhancement of compensation from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in terms of the Supreme Court’s directions on compensation to the dependents of the victims who lose their lives while manual scavenging.
The petitioner had approached the High Court claiming that she was the widow of a sewer cleaner who was performing the work of manual scavenging. The petitioner relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Balram Singh v Union of India & Ors, wherein the apex court had passed directions to be implemented by the Centre and all State Governments.
Apart from the enhancement of compensation, the petitioner had also sought full rehabilitation including employment to her, education for her children, and skill training, in terms of the apex court’s decision.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the Principal Secretaries of the Environment Departments of 36 States and Union Territories, over reports on the sanctioned strength and vacancies in the State Pollution Control Boards (PCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the union territories.
The Tribunal had taken suo motu cognizance of a newspaper article which pointed to vacancies in State PCBs. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had filed a report in the matter before the NGT last week, which noted that out of a sanctioned strength of 11,969 positions in State PCBs and PCCs, 6,092 positions were vacant.
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A 21-year-old man has been arrested in Greater Noida for allegedly posting derogatory remarks against the Constitution on social media, police said on Monday.
The alleged remarks were posted by the accused on his Instagram account on Sunday, which was being celebrated as Constitution Day.
"A written complaint against the accused was received at the local Jarcha police station. On the basis of this, an FIR was lodged and the accused, identified as Bhanu alias Jyass, resident of Bisahada village, arrested on Sunday," a police spokesperson said.
The FIR has been lodged under IPC section 354 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, the official said.
Jarcha police station in-charge Sunil Kumar told PTI that the accused is unemployed. PTI
Light rain is likely in the city on Monday and could bring some respite from the high pollution levels.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 13.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season's average.
It was a windy morning with the weather office forecasting a generally cloudy sky with light rain later in the day.
The relative humidity at 8.30 am stood at 97 per cent.
Delhi's air quality inched closer to the severe category on Monday morning with calm winds and cloudy conditions trapping pollutants, according to monitoring agencies.
Vehicles, biomass burning even when farm fires are few, and secondary aerosols or particles that are formed in the atmosphere from gases released by fossil fuel combustion in power plants, industries, and vehicles, going by data from a real-time source apportionment study that is underway for the city.
Are the sources in November any different from what the city saw in September when the air quality was relatively better?
Vehicles and secondary aerosols remained the largest contributors all through September as well, data shows.
Over the next 4 days in NCR Delhi, the region will be influenced by an induced cyclonic circulation over central Pakistan and adjoining West Rajasthan, accompanied by an active Western Disturbance (WD) aloft at mid and upper tropospheric levels.
Strong interactions between these systems and a lower-level trough in easterlies are expected to persist for the next 36-48 hours.
Consequently, NCR Delhi will likely experience cloudy skies, easterly/southeasterly winds, higher moisture levels, and the possibility of very light rain or drizzle in parts of the region. Visibility conditions during the day are forecasted to range between 1000-1500m.
However, on the morning of November 28th, visibility may decrease to 500-600m due to shallow fog/mist, and then further to 400-600m on the morning of November 29th due to shallow to moderate fog.
A review conference aimed at promoting Delhi as a filming location was organised by the Aam Aadmi Party-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi, under the chairmanship of the Commissioner. According to AAP sources within the MCD, significant policy changes are currently under discussion to encourage filming in the nation’s capital following the meeting.
Film producers presented several recommendations during the conference, including reducing parking fees for vanity vans and staff cars, and dividing the current shooting rates into three shifts of eight hours each. They expressed concerns about the high costs of the current shooting rates. Additionally, they provided guidelines for maintaining below-average rates for shooting on private property. It was also suggested to offer different cost schedules for various types of productions, such as photoshoots, web series, documentaries, and film shoots.
Producers also raised concerns about the lengthy approval process of the Delhi Tourism Department. A suggestion was made to significantly shorten this timeframe, and the Corporation was requested to address this issue with the Tourism Department. Producers wanted relaxation of the rules in the authorisation letter to allow shooting to proceed immediately in the event of an increase in shooting time or a change in location. Read the complete story
The Delhi Directorate of Education (DoE) has released operational guidelines this week for admissions to classes 9 and 11 at the Dr BR Ambedkar Schools of Specialised Excellence (ASoSEs) and announced an aptitude test to be conducted for the same during January 16-31, 2024.
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President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday paid homage to the security personnel who died in 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and urged the people to renew their pledge to battle terrorism in all forms everywhere. On November 26, 2008, ten Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists from Pakistan arrived by sea route and in an indiscriminate fire killed 166 people, 18 of them security personnel, and injured several others during a 60-hour siege in Mumbai.
Delhi on Sunday recorded a minimum temperature of 10.4 degrees Celsius, one notch below the season's average. The India Meteorological Department has predicted a generally cloudy sky through the day and light rain or drizzle on Monday. According to the IMD, the relative humidity at 8.30 am was 93 per cent.
The department has predicted the rain may lead to foggy conditions from Tuesday onwards which may last till the first week of December. (PTI)
A 20-year-old man was allegedly shot at by another man in revenge in northeast Delhi's Shakti Vihar area, police said on Sunday. "On Saturday, police received a call at 8.30 pm regarding a man sustaining bullet injury in his back. Later, his relatives visited police station to report the matter," Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said. The victim was taken to GTB Hospital where his condition was stated to be out of danger. The victim said one Shoaib shot at him and fled, police said.
According to the victim, Shoaib was caught stealing some batteries from his uncle's scrap godown a few days ago and was thrashed by some locals. Shoaib in revenge shot at the victim on Saturday when he was returning home, said the officer. Shoaib has been absconding since. "Further investigation has been started and a case of attempt to murder and provisions of Arms Act has been registered," the DCP said. (PTI)
President Droupadi Murmu Sunday unveiled a statue of Dr B R Ambedkar on the Supreme Court premises on the occasion of Constitution Day. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal paid their tributes to the father of the Indian Constitution folding hands and offering flowers to the over 7-feet tall sculpture.
The unveiling was followed by the plantation of saplings by President Murmu and CJI Chandrachud. The event was attended by several judges of the top court.
Since 2015, November 26 has been observed as Constitution Day to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1949. Earlier, the day was observed as Law Day. (PTI)
At a meeting with the district administration, Union Minister and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh said a probe into the leachate problem at the Bandhwari landfill site should be conducted by autonomous institutions like IIT.
In the meeting, Singh mentioned that residents have been complaining continuously regarding the leachate issue and expressed his dissatisfaction with the negligence in waste management, and came down on the waste collection concessionaire in the city, Eco Green.
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A review conference aimed at promoting Delhi as a filming location was organised by the Aam Aadmi Party-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi, under the chairmanship of the Commissioner. According to AAP sources within the MCD, significant policy changes are currently under discussion to encourage filming in the nation’s capital following the meeting.
Film producers presented several recommendations during the conference, including reducing parking fees for vanity vans and staff cars, and dividing the current shooting rates into three shifts of eight hours each. They expressed concerns about the high costs of the current shooting rates. Additionally, they provided guidelines for maintaining below-average rates for shooting on private property. It was also suggested to offer different cost schedules for various types of productions, such as photoshoots, web series, documentaries, and film shoots.
Continue reading here.
Fifteen years after 25-year-old journalist Soumya Vishwanathan was murdered, a Delhi court Saturday sentenced four men guilty of murder and offences under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to life imprisonment. The fifth convict was sentenced to three years in jail. While rejecting the request for the death penalty, the court held the offence committed by the accused does not fall in the “rarest of rare” category.
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