Page 162 - Delhi

Traders associations in Delhi ask shop owners to follow Covid norms

Many trader associations across Delhi have asked shop owners to wear masks, use sanitisers and follow social distancing norms amid concerns over the surge in Covid cases in some countries. Fearing that the possible surge here will impact their business yet again, some of these associations have also called meetings to discuss their future course of action. Amid a spike in cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US, the the Centre has urged all states and Union Territories to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of emerging variants. Officials had earlier said that the Delhi government is keeping a watch on the COVID-19 situation and the chief minister has directed the health department to ensure genome sequencing of samples and take other steps needed to meet any eventuality. Ashok Randhawa, president of the Mini Market Association at Sarojini Nagar, said shop owners have been asked to start taking precautions by wearing masks and regular

After 2 years of Covid lull, Delhi restaurants decked for X'mas, New Year

Business closures, slashed menus, empty seats, furloughed staff -- restaurant and cafe owners in Delhi wish to put these unpleasant memories behind them as they prepare to welcome guests for Christmas and New Year after a two-year lull due to coronavirus. The hospitality industry was one of the worst-hit sectors as multiple waves of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic in the last three years had broken its back, forcing many restaurants to shut down permanently or let go many of their staff. However, owners of several restaurants and cafes and their associations feel, the "worst is behind them", hoping that their businesses will once again thrive as "it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas again". Some owners said although there has been a bit of a scare after coronavirus cases were reported in some countries, as far as bookings for Christmas and New Year were concerned, they were back to pre-Covid numbers. The Centre has urged all states and Union Territories to gear up the whole ..

Delhi CM Kejriwal should stop BJY over Covid scare: Swami Chakrapani

Swami Chakrapani Maharaj, National President of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, has asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the wake of Covid scare

Aaftab Poonawala withdraws bail plea applied 'erroneously' at Delhi court

He had moved an application to the court seeking bail on December 16

Dense fog disrupts road, rail traffic in Delhi; visibility at 200 m

A layer of dense fog enveloped the Indo-Gangetic plains including Delhi Thursday morning, affecting road and rail traffic. A railway spokesperson said 20 trains were running late by 1:30 to 4:30 hours. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) 'very dense' fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 is 'dense', 201 and 500 'moderate', and 501 and 1,000 'shallow'. The Met office said the Palam and Safdarjung airport logged visibility levels of 200 metres at 5:30 am. On Tuesday, visibility levels had plunged to 50 metres at both these places. South westerly winds at the middle tropospheric level and a consequent increase in temperatures had led to some improvement on Wednesday. Amid low temperatures, high moisture and still winds, a layer of dense to very dense fog persisted over Punjab, Haryana, northwest Rajasthan, west and east Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. "Satellite imagery shows continuation of dense fog layer from Punjab and northwest Rajasthan to .

Delhi CM calls emergency meeting to review preparations agnst Covid spread

Reports have said Covid cases are rising in some countries, including China

Centre to provide Delhi Rs 700 cr for construction, beautification of roads

The Centre has decided to provide Delhi with Rs 700 cr out of a fund for construction, repair, maintenance and beautification of roads in the national capital, officials said on Wednesday. The decision was taken during a meeting between Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari and Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena, according to a statement issued by the Raj Niwas. It was decided that Delhi will be provided with Rs 700 cr out of the Central Road Fund (CRF) for construction, repair, maintenance and beautification of roads in the national capital, it said. "This windfall gain to road owning agencies in Delhi like the PWD and MCD, etc., will go a long way in makeover of road infrastructure in the capital. Apart form this, the Union minister also directed the NHAI to bear the cost of repair, refurbishing and beautification of all its roads in the city, as also bear the cost being incurred in the upgradation of the stretch of road between Mahipalpur (IGI Airport) and Dhaula

Delhi CM Kejriwal directs health dept to ramp up genome sequencing

Delhi government is keeping a watch on the COVID-19 situation and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed the health department to ensure genome sequencing of samples and take other steps needed to meet any eventuality, officials said on Wednesday. Amid a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US, the central government had on Tuesday urged all states and Union territories to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of emerging variants. In a letter to the states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had said such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking of requisite public health measures. "The Delhi government is keeping a watch on the Covid situation. CM Arvind Kejriwal himself is monitoring the preparedness," a senior Delhi government official said on Wednesday. "The CM has directed health department officials to .

Delhi, Jaipur recorded highest crypto adoption in 2022: CoinSwitch

CoinSwitch annual report: The highest holdings in the virtual currencies in India were in Bitcoin, and it was followed by Dogecoin and Ethereum

CM Kejriwal directs health dept to ramp up genome sequencing: Officials

The Delhi government is keeping a watch on the COVID-19 situation and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed the health department to ensure genome sequencing of samples and take other steps needed to meet any eventuality, officials said on Wednesday. Amid a sudden spurt in COVID-19 cases in Japan, South Korea, Brazil, China and the US, the central government had on Tuesday urged all states and Union territories to gear up the whole genome sequencing of positive samples to keep track of emerging variants. In a letter to states and UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan had said such an exercise will enable timely detection of newer variants, if any, circulating in the country and will facilitate undertaking of requisite public health measures. "The Delhi government is keeping a watch on the Covid situation. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself is monitoring the preparedness," a senior Delhi government official said on Wednesday. "The CM has directed health department ..

Kavitha hits out at BJP, Congress amid backlash in Delhi excise scam

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's daughter K Kavitha, who the ED mentioned in the Delhi Excise Policy charge sheet accusing her of holding 65 per cent stake in a liquor company, hit out at the BJP on Wednesday saying "truth with prevail".Kalvakuntla Kavitha tweeted, "Rajagopal Anna.. Don't rush!! Even if my name is mentioned 28 times or 28000 times a lie is not true. #TruthWillPrevail."https://twitter.com/RaoKavitha/status/1605430251789565952?s=20 & t=kr_y5xo5fmGhOTsvz5GdtgThis came after BJP leader Komatireddy Raj Gopal Reddy tweeted tagging a news article with the caption, "Liquor Queen's name was mentioned 28 times in chargesheet."In another, reacting to Congress' Manickam Tagore's tweet, she wrote, "The accusations against me are completely bogus and false. Only time will prove my sincerity. It's a political vendetta of BJP, as they fear BRS Party Chief CM KCR's exposing their anti-farmer and pro-capitalist policies."The ...

AIIMS-Delhi issues directions for sensitisation against drug abuse

To make the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Delhi campus free of drug abuse, the hospital administration on Tuesday issued directions for sensitisation of staff members and students about various punitive provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. In an office memorandum, AIIMS Director M Srinivas asked all heads of departments to bring to the attention of the staff and students working under them the various provisions including that of fine and imprisonment under the NDPS Act. He also instructed all security personnel not to allow patients, attendants, visitors and staff members to use drugs, in any form, in the hospital premises. If outside personnel or any drug peddler found selling above mentioned drugs, the security personnel to be instructed to take video/photograph of the culprit and he/she should be handed over to the police immediately and completely banned from entering the AIIMS premises in near future, according to the memorandum. Any ...

Excise scam: Prominent people from south gave Rs 100 cr to AAP, says ED

Several prominent people from south-India had given kickbacks of around Rs 100 Cr to AAP government here in exchange of favours and undue benefits to them in the liquor business, the ED has alleged in its charge sheet filed before a city court in Delhi excise scam. The ED alleged in its charge sheet filed against businessman Sameer Mahendru and AAP's communication in-charge Vijay Nair had hatched a conspiracy with K Kavitha, MLC of Telangana, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MSR), MP of Ongole (Andhra), his son Raghav Magunta, and Sarath Reddy, who are collectively called as South Group. Mahendru, in collusion with others, formed a cartel of retailer-wholesaler-manufacturer with Pernod Ricard, Benoy Babu, Vijay Nair, representative of AAP, Arun Pillai, K Kavitha, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (MSR), his son Raghav, Sarath Reddy, Abhishek Boinpally and Buchi Babu, it alleged, adding that the 'south group' was represented by Arun Pillai, Abhishek Boinpally and Buchi Babu. It added that Mahendru

Delhi LG asks chief secy to recover Rs 97 cr from AAP for advertisements

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has directed the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the AAP for political advertisements it published in the guise of government advertisements in 2016, official sources said on Tuesday. The development comes days after the AAP wrested power from the BJP in the MCD polls. The AAP alleged that the LG gave the order on the saffron party's directions and claimed that Saxena has no power to issue such a directive. The opposition BJP in Delhi welcomed the LG's directions and claimed that the amount to be recovered from the ruling party will rise to Rs 400 crore. At a press conference held here, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged an "advertisement scam" and demanded a CBI inquiry into it. The LG in his orders to the chief secretary also directed that all advertisements since September 2016 be referred to the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA), set up by the Ministry of Informatio

Delhi loses Rs 2,873 cr, accused gains Rs 295 cr due to Liquor policy: ED

ED in its charge sheet filed in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, claimed that due to it, the government suffered a loss of Rs 2,873 crore

Delhi govt to build 2 MGD water recycling plant in Bawana to meet demand

The Delhi government will build a water recycling plant of two million gallons per day (MGD) capacity in Bawana as part of its plan to provide round-the-clock water supply in the city, according to a statement on Tuesday. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia approved the Delhi Jal Board's project for the construction of the plant at the 20-MGD Bawana water treatment plant at a cost of Rs 10.3 crore. The water treatment plant lacks a recycling plant due to which a lot of water goes to waste. The Kejriwal government will construct a two-MGD recycling plant to curb the wastage, Sisodia said. He instructed the officials to complete the construction work within the stipulated timeline.

Delhi L-G cannot pass such orders, says AAP on direction to pay Rs 97 cr

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has no power to pass orders directing the chief secretary to recover Rs 97 crore from the party for "political advertisements". Addressing a press conference here, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj termed the LG's direction a "new love letter". "The BJP is flustered that we have become a national party and wrested power from it in the MCD. LG sahab is doing everything in accordance with the BJP's directions and that is troubling the people of Delhi. The more worried Delhi's people are, the happier the BJP gets," Bhardwaj claimed. He further said that the LG's directions would not stand in the eyes of law. "The Delhi LG has no such power. He cannot issue such directions. These won't stand in front of the law. Other state governments also issue advertisements. The BJP's various state governments issued advertisements that have been published here. We want to ask when will the Rs 22,000 crore spent on the .

Dense fog engulfs Delhi, road traffic, trains affected; flights unaffected

Dense to very dense fog engulfed the Indo-Gangetic plains, including Delhi, for the second morning on the trot on Tuesday, lowering visibility to 50 metres in the city and affecting road traffic and train movement. Flight operations, however, were unaffected, an airport official said. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), very dense fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 is dense, 201 and 500 moderate, and 501 and 1,000 shallow. The Met office had on Monday forecast that the Indo-Gangetic plains may see "dense to very dense" fog over the next five days, which may result in cancellation and diversion of trains and flights. On Tuesday, 11 trains were reported running late by one to five hours. Visibility dropped to 50 metres at the Palam and Safdarjung airports between 5:30 am and 7 am, an IMD official said. Satellite images showed a thick layer of fog over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, north Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. "Due to moisture and ligh

Bengaluru tops in APAC region in flexible office space stock; Delhi-NCR 5th

Bengaluru has the highest supply of premium flexible office space in Asia Pacific region at 10.6 million square feet, according to CBRE. In its latest report, real estate consultant CBRE said that Bengaluru topped the list of Asia-Pacific region (APAC) cities having the highest flexible stock ahead of 11 major cities. As of September 2022, Bengaluru recorded 10.6 million square feet (Grade-A assets) flexible stock, the highest among all major APAC cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore. Delhi-NCR ranked fifth in the list of 12 cities with 6.6 million square feet of flexible stock in Grade-A assets, while Hyderabad was at seventh position with a stock of 5.7 million square feet. Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa - CBRE, said, "India is leading the flexible A-grade office stock in the APAC region. Occupiers are largely re-engineering their portfolio and workplace strategies to accommodate hybrid working ...

BJP meeting likely next month in Delhi to endorse extension of Nadda's term

A key organisational meeting of the BJP is likely to be held in the national capital next month in which the extension of party president J P Nadda's tenure is expected to be endorsed. Party sources said the BJP national executive will also deliberate over the strategy for the upcoming state assembly polls and review the ongoing organisational exercise. However, a highlight of the meeting will be the postponement of the organisational polls in view of the state elections and the all important Lok Sabha polls in 2024. This will lead to an automatic extension in the tenure of Nadda whose three-year term will end next month, as internal elections in at least half of the state units of the party must be over before the process of electing the next national president begins. After the Lok Sabha polls are over in April-May 2024, the process of internal polls will begin. Nadda's predecessor and Home Minister Amit Shah had also got an extension to spearhead the party's preparation for the