People wait to register themselves to receive vaccine for Covid-19 during an inoculation drive in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. (AP)Delhi Live Updates: Delhi on Saturday recorded one death due to Covid-19 and 33 fresh cases with a positivity rate of 0.05 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department, PTI reported. Only five fatalities due to the coronavirus infection were reported last month, one each on September 7, September 16 and September 17, and two on September 28, according to official figures. This is the first fatality due to Covid-19 in October in Delhi. The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in the national capital now stands at 25,088.
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered that death certificates and surviving member certificates from those who lost family members to Covid will no longer be required to get compensation. The CM held a review meeting after a citizen reached out to him and said the process to get the ex-gratia amount of Rs 50,000 was full of hurdles and he was having to run around to get the documents in order.
In other news, Delhi University has released record high cutoffs for undergraduate courses as seven colleges asked for 100% marks to admit students to a total of 10 programmes. Further, a staggering 94 programmes across all colleges have their cutoff pegged at 99% or higher this year. This is three times higher than 2020, when a total of 30 programmes across all colleges had cutoffs in this range.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to the father of the nation today, by laying a wreath at Raj Ghat. (ANI)
A 17-year-old Class 12 student at a Delhi government school was stabbed to death, allegedly by a junior, in Delhi’s Southern range area. Initial investigation suggests the juvenile accused took exception to the victim allegedly abusing his mother and refusing to apologise.
The juvenile has been apprehended and sent to a correctional home. Read full report here
Taking a proactive approach for abating air pollution in the city, the Gurgaon district administration has issued directions listing out several key measures to be implemented from October 1. An order issued to 41 agencies, including police, municipal corporation, Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), department of town and country planning, and SDMs, states that nodal officers should be appointed for implementation of pollution action plan and all agencies should constitute teams for night patrolling.
With winter approaching, the air quality is set to deteriorate in NCR. Read the full report here
Delhi on Saturday recorded one death due to Covid-19 and 33 fresh cases with a positivity rate of 0.05 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department, PTI reported. Only five fatalities due to the coronavirus infection were reported last month, one each on September 7, September 16 and September 17, and two on September 28, according to official figures. This is the first fatality due to Covid-19 in October in Delhi. The death toll due to the coronavirus infection in the national capital now stands at 25,088.
Mahatma Gandhi might have often been surrounded by people, but he also had moments of solitude and, at times felt alone, says artist A Ramachandran. It is this aspect of his life that the Delhi-based artist has attempted to depict in an exhibition titled ‘Gandhi: Loneliness of the Great’ that opened at the capital’s Vadehra Art Gallery on October 1.
Featuring 20 pen, brush and ink drawings, the works celebrate not just Gandhi’s leadership qualities, but as art historian and critic Ella Datta notes in the accompanying catalogue, “his very human qualities — his loneliness, his humility, his infinite compassion, his grit and courage, his sorrowing sense of loss for what he encounters around him”. Read the full report here
On a day Delhi University saw sky-high cut-offs across courses and colleges, several principals said that while they have erred on the side of caution and kept the entry barrier high, there may not be a substantial drop in subsequent lists.
At both Hansraj College and Hindu College, which have set 100% and above 99% cut-offs in multiple programmes, administrators echoed this view.
“This is a precaution that all colleges are taking. The list is made checking past years’ admission data and patterns and board exam results. Every year, the applicants increase, the results get higher each year, and we have to do it so that we don’t over-admit students. There will be a drop in subsequent lists but I’m not sure that it will be by a lot in our college,” said Hansraj College principal Rama. Read the full report here
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to rival leaders to "not do politics" over Chhath Puja, even as he asserted that the restrictions imposed on its celebrations at riverbanks and other public places were for the safety of people amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The AAP supremo also urged that leaders of other parties should instead join the efforts of the government in raising awareness on the risks of the coronavirus infection spread involved, if large number of people enter into water bodies.
"We also want that life should be back on track, and Chhath Puja should be celebrated with much festivities. But, people offer 'arghyas' (to the Sun God) in the evening and the next morning, by entering into a waterbody. But, there is a large risk involved in it, as even if one person is infected with coronavirus, he or she can spread to everyone else around him through medium of water," he told reporters.
Delhi units of both the BJP and the Congress have demanded that Chhath Puja celebrations be allowed in the national capital. The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) in its order on Thursday prohibited Chhath Puja celebrations at public places, including riverbanks and temples, in view of Covid-19. Chhath Puja was prohibited at public places in Delhi last year as well in view of the pandemic. (PTI)
A video of a monkey in Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport surfaced on the internet on Friday. Airport sources confirmed that the video is from the IGI Airport. They added that the monkey was rescued and that nobody was harmed.
In the video, the monkey is seen drinking ‘Real’ fruit juice on a bar counter of the premium plaza lounge of the domestic airport as passengers stop to record videos. Those eating in the food court stopped to see what was happening while a few others appeared nonchalant.
While sources confirmed that the incident took place at the domestic airport, the date and timing of the incident are yet to be confirmed. Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has not yet released an official statement on the matter. Read the full report here.
A new SOP issued by the office of the Commissioner of Police says that a system of mandatory annual preventive health check-up of Delhi Police personnel over the age of 40 is set to be introduced.
Officers from the rank of MTS to DANIPS will be considered under the new system. The other objectives of the system are to monitor health conditions and improve efficiency of the police force.
The SOP reads, “Delhi Police personnel while performing their duties for long hours under tiring circumstances, suffer from various occupational health issues and lifestyle related diseases. Suboptimal health status has an adverse effect on their efficacy and efficiency apart from an adverse impact on policing. Keeping in view the prevailing health scenario, there is immense need for maintaining requisite fitness and alertness amongst police officials by implementing an Annual Health Check-Up Scheme for operational staff of Delhi above the age of 40 years.” Read the full report here.
The admission process to Classes IX and XI at Delhi government schools has been further extended to October 11.
“…in order to provide relief to the students who could not apply in the previous admission cycles and are still approaching the higher authorities for admissions, it has been decided to provide one more opportunity for admission through offline application / registration & allotment of schools to all such students along with those who have passed Class X Compartment Examination 2021,” the admission circular read.
The school allotment list will be put out on October 13. Read the full report here.
Light rainfall and cloudy skies are on the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast for the national capital on Saturday, while the week ahead is likely to remain dry.
Going by the IMD’s seven-day forecast, the upcoming week is likely to witness no rainfall. The IMD had predicted earlier this week that conditions would be favourable for the monsoon to begin withdrawing from parts of northwest India from Oct 6 onwards.
The maximum temperature on Saturday is likely to be 34 degree Celsius, with the minimum at 26 degree Celsius. Relative humidity at 8.30 a.m. was 83%. Maximum temperature over the next seven days is likely to range from 34 degree Celsius to 36 degree Celsius, with the minimum ranging from 25 degree Celsius to 27 degree Celsius. Maximum temperature recorded on Friday was 35 degree Celsius. Read the full report here.
The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to expedite the process of filling up vacancies in the Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and asked it to consider increasing its strength while observing the pending work before it.
“Considering the fact that benches of the Adjudicating Authority hold hearings, and the quantum of cases is considerable, it is not sufficient to merely fill up the vacancies as they exist today, but there is also a need to increase the manpower within the Adjudicating Authority, in order to enable the authority to function in an efficient manner,” Justice Prathiba M Singh said in an order, while seeking a status report within two months. Read the full report here.
The AAP on Friday alleged that more than half of the homeless pensions generated by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) are bogus and that the ruling BJP's councillors have generated fake pensions for their own people. Rejecting the charge, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has said that there is no discrepancy in the destitute pensions being distributed by the South Delhi civic body.
Addressing a press conference, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed a large-scale scam in the destitute pension has been revealed by officials of the civic body in its Standing Committee meeting. (PTI)
he AAP on Friday alleged that more than half of the homeless pensions generated by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) are bogus and that the ruling BJP's councillors have generated fake pensions for their own people.
Rejecting the charge, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has said that there is no discrepancy in the destitute pensions being distributed by the South Delhi civic body. Addressing a press conference, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed a large-scale scam in the destitute pension has been revealed by officials of the civic body in its Standing Committee meeting. (PTI)
Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College Friday released its cut-off with the highest for Computer Science, Economics and B Com (Hons) at 99%.
In science courses, 100% cut-off has been set for Computer Science at Hansraj College, Deen Dayal Upadhyay College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies. Ramjas has demanded 100% cut-off for Physics.
Hindu College and Ramjas College have set 100% cut-off for Political Science. Shri Ram College of Commerce demanded 100% cut-off for Economics and B Com (Hons), while SGTB Khalsa College set 100% cut-off for B Com.
Dyal Singh College (Evening) declared the highest cut-off for B Com (Hons) at 97.5%, followed by B Com at 96.5%. political science and English at 95% and 94% respectively.
Gargi College released its first list with the highest cut-off of 99.5% for BA (Hons) Applied Psychology. The cut-off for BA (Hons) Economics and B.Com (Honours) and for three combinations of BA Programme is 99%.
Kirori Mal College Friday released its first cut-off. Although there is no 100% cut-off, the cut-off marks for Political Science, B Com (H), B Com and Maths are 99.75%.
Last year's cut-offs for these courses were 99%, 98.75%, 98% and 97% respectively.
Acharya Narendra Dev College Friday released its first cut-off list with the highest cut-off at 97.6% for B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry.
Mata Sundri College in Delhi on Friday saw a rise in the cut-off marks for its courses with the highest at 98.5% for B Com, B Com (Hons) and Psychology. Last year, the cut-off for these courses was 95%, 96% and 97% respectively.
Aurobindo College Friday announced its cut-off marking huge jumps this year. The highest cut-off is for B Com (Hons) at 98%, up from 94% last year. B Com and Electronics are at 96% now. Last year, the cut-offs for these subjects were 93% and 91% respectively.
Ramanujan college Friday announced its cut-offs with the highest for Applied Psychology at 99%, followed by 98.5% for B Com (Hons). The cut-off mark for Economics, Computer Science, Maths and Statistics is 98%.
13 out of 20 undergraduate courses in Hansraj college have cut offs above 99 percent.
For all commerce students, the Jesus and Mary college has marked its English cut-off at 99 percent
Jesus and Mary College has released its first cut off list. For Psychology, the cut-off is 100% only if Psychology is not included in the best of four subjects, otherwise its less than 99 percent. Similarly, for Political Science the cut off is 99.75 percent if political science is not included in best of four and is otherwise 97.75 percent.
DU's College of Vocational Studies released its first cut off list today. The highest is of Economics and BCom (Hons) at 97 percent followed by English which stands at 96.5 percent.
Deshbandhu College marked its highest cut off in Physics at 98 percent.
Delhi University's Deshbandhu College released its first cut list and here are the courses that demand 97 percent score.
1. Economics
2. B Com (Hons)
3. BA Programme (Maths + Pol Science)
4. BA Programme (English + Eco)
5. BA Programme (Eco + History)
6. BA Programme (Eco + Maths)
7. B A Programme (Eco + Pol Science)
8. B A Programme (English + Pol Science)
9. B A Programme (History + Pol Science)
10. B A Programme (Philosophy + Pol Science)
Delhi University is set to announce its first cut-off list for undergraduate admission on Friday. Students can start the admission process for the colleges where they are eligible starting Monday, October 4. The last day for admission under the list is Wednesday, October 6. Read more
Students who are eligible for admission in the first list should secure admission by Wednesday, after which the second list will be declared. A student can withdraw admission from one college and take it in another college if she becomes eligible for it in the subsequent list.
Since their certificates were uploaded at the time of registration, colleges already have access to them. Candidates will have time till 5 pm on October 8 to pay fee.
While the cut-offs will be declared on Friday, the process for admission will begin only on Monday. The process is completely online and fee has to be paid at college admission portals starting 10 am on Monday, October 4
Aryabhatta College’s first cut-off for 13 UG courses has been released with the highest cut-off being set at 98.5 per cent BA (H) Psychology. The cut-off remains the same as last year’s for BA (H) Economics — 98 per cent. The cut-off for BA (H) English has increased by 1 per cent and is declared at 96 per cent. Read more
A Delhi court granted bail to Hindu Raksha Dal chief Bhupinder Tomar alias Pinky Chaudhary in connection with the inflammatory and anti-Muslim slogans raised during a protest at Jantar Mantar in August.
Metropolitan Magistrate Priyank Nayak granted bail to Chaudhary subject to him furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount.
The court relied on the recent order of the Delhi High Court wherein co-accused Preet Singh was granted bail. “Since the present accused/applicant Bhupinder Tomar @ Pinki Chaudhary is stated to have left the spot of meeting at 1.29 pm and is also not required for interrogation, the court is of the view that he deserves to be released on bail on account of parity with co-accused Preet Singh,” the court said. Read More
Power bills in Delhi are set to go up slightly starting Friday.
Under the new power tariff order for 2021-22 announced by the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) on Thursday, the pension trust surcharge, which is levied on every bill, has been increased from 5% to 7%. There are no changes in the fixed charges or energy charges.
“The tariff order remains largely the same as last year, with only a 2 percentage point increase in pension trust surcharge. The commission considered all relevant factors and came to the conclusion that there are no good reasons for any increase in the tariff, except in pension trust surcharge,” said a senior official of the commission. Read More
The Delhi High Court Thursday expressed unhappiness over the reply filed by the government in a case challenging the prohibition on use of herbal flavoured hookahs at public places in the capital, and granted the State a week’s time to inform it about the decision of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
The court had earlier asked the Delhi government to reconsider its decision of prohibiting the use of hookahs at public places, after taking into account the present Covid-19 situation in the capital. Justice Rekha Palli Thursday said the response filed does not answer whether the DDMA has reconsidered the decision which was taken in August 2020.
“This is not acceptable,” said the court, while hearing a bunch of petitions filed by a few restaurants and bars for a direction that the authorities, including police, do not to interfere with the sale of herbal flavoured hookahs or take any action against them. Read More
A Delhi court has granted bail to two men accused in the vandalism of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Member of Parliament from Hyderabad Asaduddin Owaisi’s residence in New Delhi’s high-security Ashoka Road area.
Metropolitan Magistrate Amardeep Kaur granted bail to the two accused, Vijay and Sachin Kumar. Their lawyer, Shahsi Ranjan, had argued that they were falsely implicated in the case by police. Read More
All schools in Delhi have been issued an advisory on practices to be followed to ensure that children maintain safe practices while playing online games.
The advisory for parents and teachers, designed by the central government’s Department of School Education and Literacy, has been issued by the Directorate of Education.
Explaining the need for the advisory, the circular states, “… the closure of schools due to the pandemic has increased use of mobile and internet by children. However, online gaming has many downsides. Playing online games leads to a serious gaming addiction which has been considered a gaming disorder. Read More
All schools in Delhi have been issued an advisory on practices to be followed to ensure that children maintain safe practices while playing online games.
The advisory for parents and teachers, designed by the central government’s Department of School Education and Literacy, has been issued by the Directorate of Education.
Explaining the need for the advisory, the circular states, “… the closure of schools due to the pandemic has increased use of mobile and internet by children. However, online gaming has many downsides. Playing online games leads to a serious gaming addiction which has been considered a gaming disorder. Read More
No Chhat celebrations will be allowed at public places and river banks in the national capital, and fairs and food stalls will not be permitted during festivals, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority announced on Thursday.
The authority in its fresh Covid-19 guidelines, however, said that restrictions on large gatherings and congregations have been relaxed only to the extent of celebration of festivals till November 15.
“Fairs, melas, food stalls, jhoolas, rallies and processions will not be permitted during festivals in Delhi. Chhat pooja celebration shall not be allowed in public places and people are advised to celebrate the same at their homes,” the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) said in an official order. Read More
Initiating a suo motu case on security of court complexes in Delhi in the wake of last week’s shootout at the Rohini district court, the Delhi High Court Thursday said there is a need for effective deployment of sufficient number of police personnel.
The division bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said the court may have to pass orders regarding the process of frisking. “Checking of the lawyers…there is already resistance because everybody is in a hurry; not that nobody wants checking. How to do that. Please give your suggestions,” it said, while seeking suggestions on the security of court complexes from the bar associations of different courts and the High Court.
Issuing notice to the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Ministry of Home Affairs and others, the court also said there is need for installation of more CCTV cameras at all strategic points. “They must work round-the-clock,” it added. Read More
Three unidentified men allegedly broke open the donation box of a temple in west Delhi's Punjabi Bagh area and looted cash on Thursday morning, police said.
The police found that three unidentified men, whose faces were covered, had entered the temple situated at Aggarwal Bhawan in east Punjabi Bagh. They broke open the 'daanpatra' (donation box) and looted unknown amount of cash between 1 am to 1.30 am on Thursday, a senior police officer said.
The guard of the temple, Santlal Tiwari (51), who was present inside the premises didn't notice anything unusual, the police said, adding that the incident was first noticed by the priest Jai Bhagwan Sharma around 5.30 am after opening the temple.
A case has been registered and investigation is underway, the police added. (PTI)
A fire broke out at a factory in Sector 3, IMT Manesar area in the early hours of Thursday. At least nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot, said officials, adding that no casualties were reported as the factory was unoccupied at the time. Short circuit is suspected to be the cause of the fire.
The blaze was brought under control after two hours, said fire department officials. Read More
The Delhi High Court has set aside the appointment of the current chairperson of the Centre for Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Latin American Studies (CSPILAS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), after a professor from the centre challenged it citing university statutes.
Professor Rajiv Saxena had filed a petition against Professor Mazhar Asif’s appointment as chairperson of CSPILAS on February 1, citing it was against the statutes as he was not a teacher at the centre. Asif teaches at the Centre for Persian and Central Asian Studies. Read more
The Aquila restaurant at Ansal Plaza, where a woman was allegedly denied entry as she was wearing saree, has been shut after being issued a closure notice by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation.
The notice makes no mention of the recent incident; rather the civic body has alleged the restaurant was operating without a health trade license, following which the owner was issued a notice and he shut operations. Read more
A 40-year-old security guard was arrested for allegedly stabbing his wife to death during a fight in South Delhi’s Mehrauli extension area late on Tuesday. The accused, identified as Arjun, was drunk and stabbed his wife with a kitchen knife after she tried to stop him from drinking alcohol, said the police. Read more
The Delhi education department has told all government school teachers to either get vaccinated by October 15 or lose out on working days.
In a letter to district education officials, director Udit Prakash Rai has stated that teachers and staff who have not got themselves vaccinated by October 15 should not be allowed to attend schools and that their absence will be treated as them being on leave. Read more
A 25-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was found murdered at village Ghata on Monday night. The police have arrested two persons, including a woman, believed to be his lover once, for allegedly conspiring to murder him for not agreeing to marry her.
The deceased has been identified as Asif, who hailed from the Budaun district in Uttar Pradesh. The police said Asif was found dead in an auto-rickshaw with several injuries on his face and body. A resident informed the police that some people were beating up the autorickshaw driver, but by the time they reached, the accused had escaped. Read more
The Delhi BJP has chosen 2,700 party cadres, aged between 18 and 35, as 'vistarak' to work for organisational expansion ahead of the corporation polls scheduled early next year.
On Thursday, the party gave training to these workers and told them to work on connecting people with NaMo application, creating whatsapp groups at booth level and strengthening panna pramukhs.
Speaking at the session, general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh said, “BJP is the only party where every office-bearer is a worker. You are going to give one important month of your lives for organisation expansion and I hope when you come back after a month, you will be full of self-confidence and stronger.” Read more
The butterflies know they have a home here, said 42-year-old Bahadur Rana, pointing to a set of plants he has been carefully tending to for nearly two years.
The plants are ‘hosts’ for butterflies and Rana is the caretaker of a home in Faridabad, the front yard of which has been turned into a ‘butterfly habitat’ as part of the Bombay Natural History Society’s (BNHS) project to create such habitats to develop a butterfly corridor in Delhi-NCR.
The home in Faridabad, a former waste dump in a housing society, and two dog shelters are among 67 such habitats that have been created since 2018. Read more
Following an audit of its security units which showed that as many as 535 of its personnel continued to be attached with former commissioners, retired officers and judges, as well as politicians, without a threat assessment, the Delhi Police has withdrawn or scaled down security of several and re-deployed them for law and order or policing duties.
These personnel continued to be diverted despite a shortage in the ranks of security units, including for the Prime Minister’s deployment. Read more
The SDMC has decided to roll back the hiked property tax rates for commercially rented establishments, educational institutions and banquet halls. A senior official said tax had been raised based on recommendations of the Municipal Valuation Committee-3.
Delhi Delhi on Wednesday recorded 41 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero deaths, the Delhi health department said. The positivity rate stood at 0.06 percent. Currently, there are 392 active cases in the city.