Page 178 - Delhi

Delhi AAP minister resigns post controversy over religious conversion event

Delhi minister Rajendra Pal Gautam on Sunday resigned from his post, amid a controversy over his presence at a religious conversion event where Hindu deities were allegedly denounced. The BJP had attacked him and the Aam Aadmi Party after a video went viral showing him attending the event on October 5 where hundreds took a pledge to convert to Buddhism and not consider Hindu deities as gods. He had accused the BJP of spreading "rumours" against him and had apologised to "anyone who has been hurt due to such propaganda". In a letter shared on Twitter, he said that he has resigned. "I do not want my leader Shri Arvind Kejriwal or the party to be in any trouble because of me. I am a true solider of the party and I will follow the ideals shown by Baba Saheb Ambedkar and Gautam Buddh throughout my entire life," he said.

Girl killed, nine injured as roof of building collapses in Delhi

Five people were injured after the roof of a building collapsed here on Sunday evening, a Delhi Fire Service official said. Three to four more people are believed to be trapped under the debris, they said. Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service, said a call was received about a roof collapse in the Lahori Gate area around 7.30 pm. Five fire tenders have been rushed to the spot. So far, five people have been shifted to the hospital. Rescue operation is on to locate others, he said.

1,000 electric vehicle charging points set up across Delhi, says govt

The Delhi government has set up 1,000 charging points in less than a year for electric vehicles under the single window facility, said an official statement on Sunday. The government is planning to set up 18,000 such points in the next three years. In November 2021, it had set in place a single window facility for installation of EV chargers in private and semi-public spaces in Delhi, which includes residential spaces like apartments and group housing societies, institutional buildings like hospitals, and commercial spaces like kirana stores, shops and malls. Through the facility, any resident of Delhi can request installation of a charger from empanelled vendors in their premises, either through the online portal of DISCOM or by making a phone call. Delhi has three electricity providers namely BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL), BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL). The Delhi EV policy provides for a subsidy of Rs 6,000 per charging p

MCD elections: BJP focuses on changing demographics, organisational connect

After the alteration of the boundaries, the BJP assessed the wards afresh to see what changes in strategy were needed

Continuous light rain gives Delhi its second 'good' air day of year

A sustained spell of rain on Sunday brought a significant improvement in air quality in the capital, yielding the second "good" air day of the year, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data. The 24-hour average air quality index in the city was 48 at 4 pm. It was 56 on Saturday and 55 on Friday. The neighbouring cities of Ghaziabad (14), Gurugram (32) and Greater Noida (23) also recorded 'good' air quality. Noida recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 55 at 4pm, which falls in the "satisfactory" category. Before this, Delhi had recorded a 24-hour average AQI of 47 on September 16. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. The national capital has recorded 128 days of bad air quality (AQI is poor, very poor or severe) this year so far, the highest since 2017, when it saw 130 such days during the corresponding period. Delhi received 74 mm of .

No rain in Delhi, surrounding areas from tomorrow: IMD senior scientist

Senior Scientist at the IMD RK Jenamani said that there would be no rain in the national capital and its surrounding areas from tomorrow onwards

To boost night life, Delhi LG allows 300 firms to operate round-the-clock

In a move that will boost Delhi's night life, LG VK Saxena has approved more than 300 establishments, including online shopping and delivery shops, hotels, restaurants, and transport facilities, to operate round-the-clock, officials at LG office said on Sunday. The Lt Governor has approved a proposal to exempt 314 applications, some of them pending since 2016. He has directed that notification to this effect be issued within seven days, they said. Approving the proposal, Saxena took a "very serious view" of "inordinate delay, adhocism, randomness and unjustified discretion" on part of the labour department in disposing of applications made by the firms for these exemptions, officials said. The LG has ordered that such applications are disposed of within a strict timeline to foster an investor and business-friendly environment in Delhi. Starting next week, the 300-plus establishments will be able to operate on a 24X7 basis in the national capital, they added.

DMRC seeks Rs 3,500 cr from govt to comply with directions in DAMEPL case

The DMRC has sought a sum of Rs 3,500 crore from the Government of India in the form of grant/equity interest free subordinate debt to comply with High Court directions in the DAMEPL case

Second-highest rainfall since 2007 in Delhi drags temp margin to record low

The national capital received the second highest rainfall since 2007 in the last 24 hours till 8.30 am, according to the India Meteorological data

G-20 summit 2023: Delhi civic body begins beautification of over 370 places

Over 370 public places in Delhi have been identified for beautification in view of the G-20 summit next year, civic officials said on Saturday. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has earmarked 375 public places for planting exotic flowering species, including gazania and pansy, in all its 12 zones, it said in a statement. These places include 16 flyovers, 261 colony parks, 27 parks situated at markets, 62 parks situated on main roads and nine roundabouts. Main places where beautification will be carried out include Nehru Place flyover, Sarai Kale Khan flyover, Lajpat Nagar flyover, South Extension flyover, Kalkaji flyover, Seelampur flyover, Gokulpuri flyover, Rani Jhansi flyover, Shalimar Park, Priyadarshini Park, Teachers Park Nimdi colony, Vaishali Vatika, Piitampura, among other places, it said. "In pursuance to the directions of Delhi LG V K Saxena, the MCD has started work on optimal utilisation and beautification of urban green spaces by planting seasonal flowering plants to

Rain chokes roads in Delhi; people post waterlogging images on social media

A decent pour in the national capital on Saturday gave the public a first taste of the upcoming winter, but also led to waterlogging at several places in the city. Anand Vihar, Wazirabad, the road stretch between INA and AIIMS, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, Kirari, Rohtak Road, Vikas Marg, near Zakhira, Najafgarh, Mahipalpur, and Rangpuri, were among several places which witnessed waterlogging, civic and PWD authorities said. People conveyed their pain to authorities by posting pictures of the waterlogged spots on social media. Delhi gets flooded even with slightest of rain followed by long traffic snarls. The authorities should come up with a concrete plan to ensure there is no waterlogging in city areas, said Junaid Alam, a resident of Kirari in Outer Delhi. Prabhakar Kumar, an urban planning expert at Rudrabhishek Enterprises Ltd said that to enable free flow of rainwater, it is required to have integrated drainage system. Improper integration of the draina

AAP minister's presence at conversion event sparks row, BJP seeks removal

Aam Aadmi Party leader Rajendra Pal Gautam purportedly denouncing Hindu deities at a religious conversion programme held in the national capital recently has come under criticism by the BJP

Take cognizance of Sisodia's 'baseless' letter: Delhi L-G tells Kejriwal

Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena has asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to take cognizance of the "baseless" letter written by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia

ED seizes Rs 1 cr cash after raids in connection with Delhi Excise policy

The Enforcement Directorate has seized about Rs 1 crore in cash after raids conducted in connection with a money laundering investigation into the alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, official sources said Saturday. The searches were launched on Friday at about 35 locations in Delhi-NCR, Punjab and Telangana's capital Hyderabad. About a crore cash has been seized from a location during the raids conducted against liquor businessmen, distribution companies and linked entities, sources said. Some digital devices and documents were also seized, they said without disclosing the locations of all the recoveries. Premises linked to a director of a Delhi-based TV news organisation, who is also on the board of a Telugu daily, a city-based businessman whose company imports and distributes various alcoholic beverages and a former Punjab MLA were also searched by ED officials, they said. The federal agency has conducted more than 103 raids in this case till now and

Arvind Kejriwal running from constitutional duties, says Delhi LG

In a no holds barred letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, LG VK Saxena has accused him and his ministers of running away from their constitutional duties and responsibility of governance in Delhi. In the letter dated October 7, Saxena also hit out at Kejriwal government saying its rule, based on "speeches and advertisement", was alienated from works of basic public interest. Saxena's letter comes days after Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused him of interfering in AAP government's functioning and "unconstitutionally" setting up probes on its decisions and works. In a cheeky reply to Saxena, Kejriwal in a tweet on Saturday said: Another love letter has come. Kejriwal had earlier too taken a dig at the LG in a tweet saying he was scolded by Saxena more than he is scolded by his wife. The LG said that his letters and instructions were meant to caution the government against "errors and shortcomings" in its functioning yet he was personally attacked and became target of

ED conducts fresh raids at 35 locations in Delhi excise policy case

The ED on Friday launched fresh raids in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, official sources said. The searches are being carried out at about 35 locations in Delhi, Punjab and some places in Hyderabad, they said. Some liquor distributors, companies and linked entities are being searched, the sources said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted more than 103 raids in this case till now and had also arrested Sameer Mahandru, a liquor businessman and managing director of liquor manufacturing company Indospirit last month in the case. The money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR. The liquor scheme came under the scanner after the Delhi LG recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi's Excise Policy 2021-22. He had also suspended 11 excise officials in the matter.

Delhi reports 101 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death; positivity rate at 1.38%

Delhi on Friday reported 101 new Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1.38 per cent, while one more person succumbed to the viral disease, according to the data issued by the city health department here. With these fresh cases, Delhi's COVID-19 tally has climbed to 20,03,904 while the death toll rose to 26,504, the department said in its latest bulletin. The new cases were detected from 7,322 tests conducted the previous day, it said. Delhi on Thursday logged 57 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 2.19 per cent, and zero fatality. The city on Wednesday saw 96 cases with a positivity rate of 1.42 per cent. The capital logged 74 coronavirus cases with a positivity rate of 1.07 per cent on Tuesday. On Monday, it reported one Covid-related fatality and 39 new cases with a positivity rate of 1.56 per cent. The city on Sunday logged 76 cases with a positivity rate of 1.12 per cent. The number of active COVID-19 cases in Delhi stands at 366. A total of 239 patients are under home ..

Light rains, wind bring down maximum temperature by 7 degrees in Delhi

Light rain, winds and a cloudy sky brought the maximum temperature in the city down by a few notches on Friday and kept it within a comfortable range while also improving the air quality. The weather office predicted a further dip in the temperatures and improvement in the air quality due to moderate rains in the city over the weekend. As per Central Pollution Control Board data, the 24-hour average AQI in the city was recorded at 55, which falls in the 'satisfactory' category. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the maximum temperature on Friday settled at 27.1 degrees Celsius, seven notches below the season's average. The minimum temperature was recorded at 21.8, normal for this time of the season. Several areas of the city witnessed light rains and the day was cloudy. "There will be generally cloudy sky with moderate rain on Saturday and Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures on the weekend are likely to hover around 27 and 21 degrees Celsius ...

Gurugram-Jaipur stretch of Delhi-Mumbai expressway to be completed by Nov

After the completion of the project, the travel time from Gurugram to Jaipur will be reduced to two and a half hours

Smog tower in Anand Vihar brought pollution down by only 17%: Report

The 82-feet tall tower reduced PM2.5 pollutants by 13% in December 2021, 7% in March, and 17% in April