Grocers to poultry: How colonial-era Gole Market was a one stop for essentials
A stone’s throw away from the high-end stores and restaurants of Connaught Place is what used to be one of the city’s oldest colonial marketplaces — Gole Market, built in the 1920s and designed by Edwin Lutyens.
Named so for its circular central plaza, it was a 12-sided market with six entrances and a central courtyard. It has several features characteristic of Edwardian architecture — the outer facade has colonnaded arches supported by columns while the interior has arched windows, balconies, spacious corridors and high ceilings.
In her book, Connaught Place and the Making of New Delhi, author Swapna Liddle notes: “The commercial spread reached beyond the main blocks of Connaught Place, into nearby areas too. Gole Market, constructed in the early 1920s by the government, was the first market to be built in New Delhi… On either hand, shops for produce such as poultry and fish, and a wide variety of grocers, were located in Gole Market rather than Connaught Place, presumably because it was not the sahibs and memsahibs themselves, but their domestic staff who shopped for these daily essentials. After all, one visitor remarked, Connaught Place was where elegant ladies shopped, wearing hats and gloves.”
Meet DU student Nitika, wrestler with Olympics dream
Five years ago, Nitika Sansanwal started training to become a wrestler without any idea of where she would go. Now, the second-year BA Political Science and Food Technology student from DU’s Bhagini Nivedita College, has won the bronze medal in the Under-23 category at the Asian Wrestling Championships in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Nitika is the oldest of two children in her family, which hails from Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri and moved to Delhi before she was born.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Nitika said, “I started practising five years ago. My father used to wake me up early in the morning and make me run. One day, he took me to the Najafgarh stadium, and I just started training even without knowing where this would lead to. My father was a wrestler too. It is in our family.”
Nitika’s father had also represented the country internationally but quit wrestling due to a neck injury a few years ago. He is now a CRPF personnel, posted in Chhattisgarh.
Parts of Delhi saw a fresh spell of rain on Tuesday with the Met office predicting cloudy weather and occasional showers over the next six to seven days.
More rainfall is expected in the city on Tuesday night, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
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The IMD has issued a yellow alert, warning moderate rain could flood low-lying areas and disrupt the flow of traffic on key roads on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the maximum temperature is likely to hover between 33 degrees Celsius and 37 degrees Celsius. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court has “rejected as not maintainable” a public interest litigation plea that sought expeditious finalisation of the Delhi School Education (Amendment) Bill 2015, which prescribes for the prohibition of screening procedure in nursery/pre-primary admissions in schools.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad in its July 3 order observed that it is not proper for the HC to issue “any kind of writ to the Governor and interfere in a legislative process whether to accept or reject a Bill within any timeframe”.
The court observed that it is not proper for it to direct the Governor –a constitutional authority – “to set a timeframe in matters which come purely” within his domain. (Read More)
The Pakistani woman who was found living with a Greater Noida resident – after allegedly entering India illegally – had sold her land for Rs 12 lakh and had searched YouTube for ways to enter the country, Gautam Buddha Nagar police said.
Seema Ghulam Haider, 27, originally a resident of Rind Hajana village in Pakistan’s Sindh province, was found to be living with her four children in Greater Noida’s Rabupura area. Two others were earlier arrested for providing her shelter.
Officials said the woman came in contact with Greater Noida resident Sachin Singh, 22, through the gaming platform PUBG. The two wanted to marry and approached a local lawyer for a court marriage, who in turn informed the police about them. (Read More)
Stepping up security measures for the upcoming Kanwar Yatra, the Delhi Police’s Northeast unit on Tuesday said it would deploy around 1,000 personnel and install over 300 CCTV cameras in temples and along the routes that would be taken by devotees on the holy month of Shravan.
DCP (Northeast) Joy Tirkey said police teams would work in three shifts where personnel have been directed to guard the route taken by the devotees and the CCTV cameras will be coordinated from the control room. (Read More)
Salaries of Municipal Corporation of Delhi's sanitation workers for the month of June were credited on July 1, Mayor Shelly Oberoi said on Tuesday and claimed this never happened during the BJP's 15-year rule in the agency.
Addressing a press conference at the Civic Centre, Oberoi said there are around 30,500 full-time sanitation workers in the MCD and about 16,000 daily wagers.
"Our dream is to make Delhi clean and beautiful. It is also the dream of the AAP and our Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Sanitation workers are the backbone of the MCD. We want to congratulate our sanitation workers as their salaries for the month of June were credited on the first day of July," the mayor said. (PTI)
(PTI Photos)
(Express Photos from near Signature Tower in Gurugram)
All government, and private educational institutions in UP's Muzaffarnagar are to remain closed from July 8 to 16 due to Kanwar Yatra. (PTI)
Four flights were diverted from the Delhi airport in the afternoon on Tuesday due to bad weather in the national capital, according to an official.
The official said three flights were diverted to Amritsar and one flight to Lucknow. All were domestic flights.
Light rainfall or thundershower has been predicted for Delhi on Tuesday. (PTI)
Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain and gusty winds with speed of 30-40 Km/h would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of Delhi, South Delhi, South-East Delhi, NCR ( Gurugram, Faridabad, Manesar, Ballabhgarh) Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Loharu, Mahendargarh, Sohana, Palwal, Bawal, Nuh, Aurangabad (Haryana) Shikohabad (U.P.) Bhiwari, Laxmangarh, Rajgarh (Rajasthan) .
Light intensity rain/drizzle would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of Delhi, New Delhi, South-West Delhi, East Delhi , NCR ( Loni Dehat, Hindon AF Station, Indirapuram) Bijnaur, Khatauli, Sakoti Tanda, Daurala, Jalesar, Etah, Tundla, Agra, Firozabad, Jajau (U.P.) Pilani, Nagar, Dholpur (Rajasthan) during next 2 hours.
Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's wife Seema Sisodia, who is suffering from an autoimmune disorder, was admitted to a hospital here on Tuesday, party sources said. She was hospitalised after her condition deteriorated, they said.
Manish Sisodia, who is currently in jail in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, had earlier sought bail from court citing his wife's ill health and his son being abroad.
After the AAP leader was arrested in February, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann had met Seema Sisodia and assured her of all support. (PTI)
A court here on Tuesday sought a response from the "victim" and complainant on a cancellation report filed by Delhi Police in a case against outgoing WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh for alleged sexual harassment of a minor wrestler, the lawyer for the prosecution said.
Additional Sessions Judge Chhavi Kapoor issued notice to the victim/complainant during in-chamber proceedings and directed them to file their response to the police report by August 1, when the court will further hear the matter.
Delhi police had on June 15 filed a report before the court seeking cancellation of the case. (PTI)
The 18-year-old labourer, who was electrocuted at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital, had allegedly complained to his bosses about loose wires around the basement area of the under-construction site where he worked but his bosses told him “to continue working”.
Sujeet Mahto, a resident of Bihar’s Samastipur, who had been working at the under-construction paediatric block for a long time, was found dead Sunday in the basement with exposed wires lying around him and water all around. Mahto and his cousin Prince, 19, were employed to “dewater” the area. (Read More)
Observing that Siri Fort Sports Complex (SFSC) lies in the heart of South Delhi and the “adjoining greenery needs to be protected” as the entire area is a “green lung for the city”, the Delhi High Court has directed that football and hockey fields that presently have natural grass should not be destroyed or altered to artificial turf.
A single-judge bench of Justice Najmi Waziri in its June 30 decision made the observation in a plea moved by a permanent member of SFSC and a resident of Asiad village, who had objected to the laying of an artificial turf as proposed by the Delhi Development Authority – the land-owning agency – by way of a tender, on the football and hockey ground. (Read More)
Two masked men allegedly broke into a businessman’s house in Model Town, held his family hostage for hours, and robbed cash and jewellery worth Rs 25 lakh, said the police.
On Saturday, the accused allegedly entered the family’s house through the window in the hall and threatened the family members.
The police said the incident took place around 1-2 am. The family later called the police and complained about the robbery. (Read More)
A Delhi court on Monday sentenced two AAP MLAs, Akhilesh Pati Tripathi and Sanjeev Jha, ’till rising of the court’ for being part of a mob that attacked policemen at Burari police station in North Delhi in 2015.
Model Town MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi and Burari MLA Sanjeev Jha were convicted under sections 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), and 149 (member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence) of IPC.
The two AAP leaders were imprisoned and charged a fine of Rs 10,000. (Read More)
Soft chatter spreads throughout the Whiz Cafe in Greater Kailash as one opens the door, interspersed with the sounds of dice rolls and celebratory high fives. Mismatched groups cluster around five tables, each with their heads hunched over, paying the utmost attention to what has been placed across. A closer look at a table reveals what has got them hooked – an almost two-hour-long round of Catan, a tabletop game where players have to establish settlements on a fictional land. We are at the Board Gamers Club.
Every Sunday from 3-10 pm, club members, from across Delhi-NCR, congregate at Whiz Cafe, with more than a thousand board games. (Read More)
Traffic to remain affected for nearly 15 days on Phirni Road, Najafgarh in the carriageway from Bahadurgarh towards Nangloi due to ongoing work being carried out by Public Works Department (PWD), police said on Tuesday.
Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police has shared an advisory regarding expected traffic congestion on the specific route and advised commuters to plan their journey accordingly.
In a bid to create more senior citizen-friendly facilities, the Delhi government has decided to increase the number of recreational centres across the city with facilities for yoga, meditation and indoor games.
Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand recently held a review meeting and directed the officials to explore the possibilities of increasing the recreational centres for the senior citizens in the city. In the meeting, Anand directed the officials to assess the existing recreational centres and explore opportunities to increase their number. Read more.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea moved by the Delhi government relating to the appointment of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairperson on July 11. In the meantime, the apex court orally said that the oath-taking of chairperson-designate Justice (Retd) Umesh Kumar is to be deferred.
The 18-year-old labourer, who was electrocuted at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital, had allegedly complained to his bosses about loose wires around the basement area of the under-construction site where he worked but his bosses told him “to continue working”.
Sujeet Mahto, a resident of Bihar’s Samastipur, who had been working at the under-construction paediatric block for a long time, was found dead Sunday in the basement with exposed wires lying around him and water all around. Mahto and his cousin Prince, 19, were employed to “dewater” the area.
The probe suggests Mahto suffered severe electric shock due to the loose wires and the waterlogged area, said the police. Read more.
The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea moved by the Delhi government relating to the appointment of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairperson. This comes a day after chairperson-designate Justice (Retd) Umesh Kumar’s swearing-in was postponed following an email from Power Minister Atishi informing him that she “suddenly took ill.”
Triggering a new tussle with the AAP Delhi government, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has directed to immediately terminate services of around 400 private persons appointed by the city government as advisors, consultants, fellows, advisors in different departments, autonomous bodies and PSUs.
According to a statement shared by the L-G House, Saxena’s directions came following a proposal made by the Services Department.
The L-G House alleged that these “private staff” were engaged by the AAP government by “flouting constitutional provisions of reservation by depriving people belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs from their constitutional rights; or through back door entry without meeting the qualification/experience”. (Read More)
The Delhi Traffic Police on Monday issued an advisory stating that elaborate arrangements have been made in view of upcoming Kanwar Yatra and cautioned that congestion is expected at several places due to the movement of Kanwarias.
The Kanwar Yatra will commence on Tuesday. It will culminate on August 15 as holy Ganga water will be offered to Lord Shiva. A large number of Kanwariyas reach Delhi every year and some of them go to Haryana and Rajasthan via Delhi borders. This year the number is expected to be around 15 to 20 lakh, the advisory stated.
The devotees carrying kanwars will pass through several routes, it said. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court Monday asked the Union Public Services Commission (UPSC) to file its “preliminary objections” in a plea against a June 12 press note which states that the answer key of the preliminary exam will be uploaded only after the “after the entire process of the Civil Services Examination 2023 is over”.
A single judge bench of Justice Chandra Dhari Singh, without issuing notice in the plea, asked the commission to file its preliminary objections and listed the matter for hearing on July 26. The court also noted the petitioner counsel’s submission that they were not pressing prayer a and b of the petition – to quash the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination, 2023, and re-conduct the preliminary test and general studies paper 1 and 2 – “at this stage”. (Read More)
Retail tomato prices have surged up to Rs 140 per kg in the Delhi-NCR region due to the supply disruption from the producing centres owing to rains.
Wholesale prices of tomato at Azadpur Mandi here, Asia’s largest wholesale fruits and vegetables market, were ruling in the range of Rs 60-120 per kg, depending on the quality on Monday.
Mother Dairy’s Safal was selling tomato at Rs 99 per kg on Sunday. Online retailer Otipy was quoting tomato hybrid at Rs 140 per kg and BigBasket Rs 105-110 per kg on Monday. (Read More)
ALSO READ: Tomato prices are on fire — and will not come down soon. Here is why
? The HUDA City Centre metro station in Gurgaon will now be known as the Millennium City Centre station, officials in the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation informed on Monday.
? Earlier in the day, DMRC had said the new name of the station would be Gurugram City Centre. It amended the announcement in the evening.
? The station falls on the Yellow Metro Line that connects Gurgaon with South, Central and North Delhi.
? Metro officials said that the process of changing the name in all official documents, signage, and announcements had been initiated and will be completed gradually.
? Sources said the change in name was proposed by the Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Limited.
? This is not the first time that DMRC has changed the names of stations, which is done to indicate either a change in the name of the area or to align the station name with popular landmarks. Station names are sometimes also changed to honour public personalities.
? In 2016, the name of the Race Course Road station was changed to Lok Kalyan Marg station after the road it opened on to was renamed. While in 2019, the name of the Pragati Maidan metro station, on the busy Blue Line, was changed to Supreme Court metro station after a request was received from the apex court.
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was arrested for his alleged role in the money laundering case relating to alleged irregularities in the city government’s excise policy.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma refused to grant relief to Sisodia, saying he is not entitled to bail at this stage.
Besides Sisodia, the high court also dismissed the bail pleas of businessmen Abhishek Boinpally, Benoy Babu and Vijay Nair, who are co-accused in the money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arising from the alleged scam. (Read More)
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi to apprise it of the money spent on advertisements in the last three financial years. A bench presided by Justice S K Kaul issued the direction as the Delhi government pleaded inability to contribute to the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project due to paucity of funds.
According to sources, the matter pertains to the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut segment of the RRTS. Of the total project cost of Rs 30,274 crore, the Delhi Government was supposed to give approximately Rs 1,180 crore. Of this, Rs 415 crore is yet to be released. (Read More)
The Delhi government has approved a proposal for the removal of 78 trees from the proposed site of a new Vande Bharat train shed at Shakur Basti.
The Railways had written to the Delhi Environment and Forest department seeking approval for the removal of eight trees and transplantation of 70 trees from the site. The trees that are to be transplanted will be moved to areas around the project site. The train shed is to be for the maintenance of Vande Bharat trains, going by a communication from the Chief Minister’s office. (Read More)
The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Arvind Kejriwal government to appraise the money it spent on advertisements in the last three financial years. A bench presided by Justice S K Kaul directed this as the Delhi government pleaded inability to contribute to the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project due to paucity of funds.
A 13 year old boy died after he was run-over by a truck in Outer Delhi's Nangloi while he was crossing the road after the school got over. The truck driver being identified, the police said.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed the bail plea of former Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the ED’s probe into the now-scrapped excise policy. A single-judge bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said that it does not find any infirmity or illegality in the order passed by the special judge which had rejected Sisodia’s bail plea. (Express News Service)
Hours before it was scheduled, the oath-taking ceremony of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairperson-designate Justice (Retd) Umesh Kumar was postponed following an email from Power Minister Atishi informing him that she “suddenly took ill.”
Atishi was scheduled to administer the oath of office and secrecy to Justice (Retd) Kumar at 6 pm on Monday with Delhi government sources stating that the minister had also communicated her go-ahead regarding this to “all concerned.” Read more
The Northern Railways on Sunday announced and sanctioned Rs 261.97 crore to redevelop the Faridabad railway station into a world-class station. According to the plans, the railway station is set to have the resemblance of airports, with separate segregations for arrivals and departures.
Two buildings will be constructed and connected through a wide concourse with a waiting area, a shopping plaza and a food court. Passengers will be able to avail of amenities such as help desks and ticket booking kiosks. Read more
As per DMRC, the name of the HUDA City Centre metro station is being changed to Gurugram City Centre. The station is on the Yello Line. Signage will also be changed soon, said DMRC.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought response of the Delhi Police on a plea of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan challenging a decision of the city police to declare him as a "bad character".
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Dutta issued notice on the plea of Khan in which he has challenged the order of the Delhi High Court dismissing his plea against the decision of the city police.
The counsel appearing for Khan termed it as an illegal action of history sheeting the petitioner and labelling him as a bad character. (PTI)
Several professors at Delhi University (DU) wrote to Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh Sunday regarding the salary crisis faced by permanent and ad-hoc teachers as well as other employees.
“Despite the onset of July, the salaries of teachers and employees for June are still awaited,” the letter stated, adding, “In some cases, the dues are more than a month. In many colleges, the payment of salaries with a week delay has become a new normal. This is creating huge hardships.” Read more
Public Works Development (PWD) Minister Atishi is likely to announce the monsoon preparedness plan for this year on Monday.
According to officials, this year’s plan is expected to include the robotic cleaning of drains, increased number of pumps, water suckers as well as the introduction of a WhatsApp number for filing complaints regarding water-logging. Read more
Gautam Buddha Nagar police Sunday arrested four persons for partying with fireworks and cutting cake on the elevated road in sector-24 police area.
The police took action after a video went viral on social media, where a group of people were seen celebrating a birthday by setting off fireworks and cutting cake on the bonnet of the car on an elevated road. The incident took place on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Read more
Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) Chairperson-designate Justice Umesh Kumar (Retd.) to take oath at 6:00 PM on Thursday.
Earlier, it was reported that Kumar will be taking the oath today. "The oath will now be administered at 6pm on Thursday instead of today as Power minister Atishi 'suddenly took ill'," Atishi’s OSD wrote to DERC Chairperson-designate.
The Delhi HC is scheduled to pronounce today orders on bail pleas filed by former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, businessmen Abhishek Boinpally, Benoy Babu and former AAP communication in-charge Vijay Nair in the ED’s probe into the now scrapped excise policy case.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma will be pronouncing orders at 2:30pm today.
The Delhi government had implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September last year amid allegations of corruption. Sisodia is currently in jail.
Muggy weather conditions prevailed in the national capital on Monday morning with the minimum temperature settling at 27.8 degrees Celsius, normal for this time of the year. The relative humidity at 8.30 am was recorded at 76 per cent.
The weather office has forecast a generally cloudy sky for the day with the possibility of light rain or drizzle. The maximum temperature is likely to settle around 37 degrees Celsius.
The air quality index (AQI) at 9.10 am stood at 101 in Delhi. The AQI of Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida was recorded at 72, 126, 87 and 122 respectively. (PTI)
"India’s stature at the global stage has reached new heights thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while conversing with students at the National Institute of Technology, Delhi.
"I’ve been part of diplomatic affairs for decades. I can tell you with surety that India’s stature at the global stage has reached new heights thanks to PM Modi. There can be no bigger example of this than his recent US tour; this achievement is a matter of pride for each and every Indian," he said.
The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea against RBI’s May 19 notification announcing the withdrawal of its highest value currency note, Rs 2,000, from circulation.
A division bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad had on May 30 reserved its verdict in the matter after hearing arguments from both sides.
The Delhi government is in the process of re-working its electronic city policy — among the big projects proposed in the Rozgar Budget last year — to explore the possibility of developing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Baprola Vihar.
The ‘Delhi Electronic System, Design and Manufacturing System’ (ESDMR) policy aims to boost the capital’s economy by creating more jobs for people as well as developing the city as a hub for high-end electronics and as a refurbished electronics market.
Said an official, “AI is being used in all platforms now, from education to maintaining roads. So, we are planning to set up an AI hub with agencies having patent AI technologies. The plan is in its initial stage but work is going on.” Read more
The Delhi High Court has recently held there is “absolutely nothing” in the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (SHWW) Act which limits its scope “only to cases where a woman employee is sexually harassed by another employee working in her own office, and excepts its application where the delinquent employee is employed elsewhere”.
Perusing through the objectives of the Act, the division bench of Justice C Hari Shankar and Justice Manoj Jain in its June 30 order held, “Each and every one of these objectives is conspicuously, ‘harasser-neutral’. In an era in which – one has to say it, as one sees it every day even in the Court – women are equalling, if not outnumbering, men in professional achievements, there can be no compromise on any of these objectives”. Read more
In a first, the Delhi Police have used the automatic number plate registration (ANPR) system to crack a kidnapping case and arrest the perpetrator.
There are over 530 ANPR cameras, which can read vehicle number plates, installed across Delhi. These are connected to the police control room where video footage can be analysed to detect number plates. These are then stored in the police database. Read more
Delhi Police has clarified that “no drone has been spotted” above Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence following reports that claimed a drone hovered over the PM’s residence, which is a no-fly zone.
The Special Protection Group (SPG) spotted the drone early in the morning and reached out to the Delhi Police. “We received information from SPG regarding spotting of a drone above PM’s residence. It’s a regular exercise and SPG often scans for such objects in the no fly zone. No drone spotted so far,” said Delhi Police.
Travelling from Central Delhi to Noida via Akshardham Flyover and the Noida-Link Road has been a nightmare for commuters, especially motorcyclists, for the past one year due to numerous potholes and uneven patches on the route. At some points, even the upper layer of the road surface has peeled off.
Apart from the section being one of the busiest in Delhi, the Akshardham Temple, one of the key places that G-20 Summit delegates will visit in September, is on the route.
It connects the Central part of the city — ITO, Mandi House etc — to North and Northeast Delhi areas such as Geeta Colony, Shastri Park. It also connects to key parts of East Delhi such as Mayur Vihar, Pandav Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi Meerut Expressway and Ghaziabad and Noida. Read more