Page 3 - Delhi

6 dead after Delhi PG collapse; ABVP demands probe, MCD chief's resignation

The building, located near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed at around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair and renovation work was reportedly underway

Five-storey building collapses in Delhi's Satya Niketan; three killed

Nine rescued people were taken to AIIMS Trauma Centre in critical condition as NDRF, fire brigade and other emergency teams continued operations at the site

NDMC chairman floats plan for vehicle-free Inner Circle at Connaught Place

Connaught Place, the heart of the national capital, could get a vehicle-free Inner Circle for fixed hours, with NDMC Chairman Manoj Dwivedi seeking public views on turning the busy commercial hub into a pedestrian-friendly space. "Can we make Inner Circle of CP vehicle-free?" Dwivedi said in an X post on Thursday, asking people to weigh in on the idea of allowing visitors to "walk around freely" in the Inner Circle. He suggested two possible timings 6 pm to midnight in summer and 11 am to 4 pm in winter while asking whether the area should instead remain vehicle-free throughout the day. Dwivedi also sought suggestions on how the space could be used when vehicles are kept off the road. "What kind of activities would you prefer in Central Park and Inner Circle during no vehicle slots?" he said, asking for "positive suggestions". The area has experimented with pedestrian-only periods through "Raahgiri@CP", under which the Inner Circle is opened to people on select Sundays for ...

MPD-2047 promises accessible Delhi, but experts flag missing disability KPI

The new Master Plan for Delhi (MPD-2047), notified recently, speaks repeatedly of barrier-free streets, universal access and inclusive public spaces for persons with disabilities but experts have flagged that the plan is missing a disability Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in its framework. They have raised concerns about whether these scattered commitments can translate into a city that is genuinely navigable end-to-end for persons with disabilities (PwDs), given the absence of a dedicated accessibility indicator in the Plan's own monitoring framework. The master plan, prepared by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and unveiled by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal on August 20, states that all building structures, irrespective of land use, shall adhere to space standards for a barrier-free built environment. It calls for pedestrian infrastructure to be designed as inclusive civic spaces prioritising the elderly, children and persons with disabilities (PwD). I

Delhi SIR 2026 draft: 13 constituencies had over 40% electors not included

As many as 13 of Delhi's 70 Assembly constituencies saw more than 40% of electors not included in the SIR 2026 draft. Tughlakabad recorded the highest share at 47.8%, followed by Okhla at 45.2%

Delhi draft electoral roll excludes 4.77 mn names, claims open till Sep 30

Delhi's draft electoral roll was published Monday, with 47.7 lakh electors out of 1.45 crore of the city's voters excluded. Delhi chief electoral officer said those excluded can file their claims till September 30 through Form 6 and supporting documents. The final roll is due November 4. Claims and objections will be examined, and the notice and disposal process will be on till October 29, according to the revised Election Commission schedule. The draft roll contains around 97.5 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were received and digitised under the Special Intensive Revision through a house-to-house exercise, which began on June 30 and ended on August 17. Forms of around 67.18 per cent of Delhi's 1,45,10,299 electors were digitised during the process. The remaining 47.7 lakh electors were categorised as "uncollectable" under Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) and do not figure in the draft roll. The extent of digitisation varied considerably across the city'

84.7 acres acquired, Rs 12,000 crore GDV: Max Estates makes its Delhi debut

Max Estates Enters Delhi With 84.7 Acres, Eyes Rs 12,000 Crore Development Opportunity

Delhi luxury hotels sell out, room rates surge ahead of Brics summit

Delhi's luxury hotel market is witnessing a sharp squeeze in room availability and a steep surge in tariffs ahead of the BRICS Summit, with several marquee properties either showing no rooms for key dates or quoting rates running into six figures a night. A check of hotel booking platforms for September 11-13 showed no availability at Taj Mahal and Taj Palace in New Delhi, while The Oberoi, New Delhi, was sold out for portions of the period. The Leela Palace New Delhi was not accepting bookings for the specified dates. Rooms that were available at properties such as ITC Maurya, New Delhi and Shangri-La Eros New Delhi were commanding exceptionally high tariffs, underscoring the premium being placed on accommodation in the capital around the September 12-13 Summit. The two-day geopolitical event is effectively compressing demand across several days, as delegates and other visitors arrive ahead of the Summit and extend their stays, putting additional pressure on room inventory in centr

Sonia Gandhi electoral roll case: Delhi court defers plea order to Sept 21

A Delhi court on Saturday adjourned its order on a revision plea challenging a September 11, 2025 verdict of a magistrate, refusing to probe the allegation that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's name was included in the electoral roll three years before acquiring Indian citizenship in 1983. Special Judge Vishal Gogne adjourned the pronouncement to September 21. Earlier, Sonia Gandhi's counsel had submitted a reply, saying that the complaint was politically motivated and filed for an extraneous reason. The magisterial court's order had dismissed the complaint filed by advocate Vikas Tripathi, vice president of the Central Delhi Court Bar Association of the Rouse Avenue court.

Delhi govt amends fire rules, mandates new safety standards for buildings

The Delhi government has amended the Fire Service Rules, introducing a comprehensive set of minimum fire prevention and safety standards for buildings, including provisions for fire and smoke barriers, encroachment-free access, emergency power and dedicated fire control rooms. The Delhi Fire Service (Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified by the Home Department of the city government on August 28, provide that the minimum standards applicable to buildings will be linked to their height and class of occupancy and will be governed by the Building Bye-Laws. The amendment in the rules comes in the wake of fire tragedies in the city in the recent months, including Malviya Nagar hotel fire that claimed lives of 23 persons, mostly foreign nationals, in June. The amended rules lay down that buildings for which fire prevention and safety measures are not specified in the Building Bye-Laws, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) director may require owners or occupiers to adopt additional measures in ...

Raksha Bandhan rush chokes Delhi, commuters stuck in long traffic snarls

Delhi witnessed heavy traffic congestion at several key stretches on Friday as the city saw increased movement on Raksha Bandhan, with long queues of vehicles reported on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, MB Road, Kalindi Kunj, Pragati Maidan and Akshardham, while the metro also saw a heavy rush of passengers. The congestion on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which began before the festival weekend, continued for several hours, with vehicles moving slowly and traffic teams deployed to regulate movement. Heavy traffic was also reported on MB Road in the Chhatarpur area, with long queues stretching for considerable distances. The Lado Sarai Old MB Road traffic signal also witnessed regular congestion, with commuters raising concerns over buses allegedly jumping red lights and obstructing pedestrians at zebra crossings. Kalindi Kunj remained another major bottleneck, with commuters reporting traffic jams towards the Delhi side and describing congestion on the stretch as a daily ...

Kanda Express carrying 453 tonnes of onion reaches Delhi as prices surge

The first 'Kanda Express', a dedicated rail rake, carrying about 453.65 tonnes of onion from Nashik in Maharashtra arrived in Delhi on Friday, as part of the government's efforts to boost supplies in the national capital and nearby cities and rein in prices. "The first Kanda Express, carrying 453.65 tonnes of onion in 21 wagons, reached the national capital in the morning," Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare told PTI. The onion, stored at Nashik, will be sold at a subsidised rate of Rs 35 per kg in Delhi-NCR. Some of the stock will also be sent to nearby cities such as Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jammu, she said. The Centre currently holds about 1.21 lakh tonnes of onion as buffer stock under the Price Stabilisation Fund. Khare said a Kanda Express rake bound for Chennai would be loaded on Friday, followed by rakes for three other destinations -- Madurai, Ernakulam and Guwahati -- one after another. The impact of the buffer stock release is expected to bring down retail onion pri

Court refuses to stay eviction of Delhi Race Club, rejects interim plea

The Patiala House Court dismissed the club's plea for interim relief

NDMC apologises for waterlogging, plans measures to prevent recurrence

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Wednesday apologised to residents for rain-triggered waterlogging in several parts that come under it and said it will strengthen its systems to deal with such situations in the future. NDMC chairman Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said in a post on X that the civic body was able to clear waterlogging within 15-20 minutes under normal circumstances, but in at least three to four locations on Tuesday, the water took more than an hour to drain. The national capital received heavy rainfall on Tuesday, leading to waterlogging and disruption in several parts. More than 72 mm rainfall was recorded in less than two hours, which Dwivedi described as unexpected, but he said the intense spell could not be treated as an excuse for the disruption faced by residents. "I sincerely apologise to everyone in the NDMC area who faced difficulties due to waterlogging instances on August 25," he said. Dwivedi said the civic body would undertake a series of short- and ...

Delhi logs 2,308 H1N1 cases, CM Rekha Gupta calls emergency review meet

Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh on Tuesday said that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has called for an emergency review meeting amid a rise in influenza cases in the national capital. Asserting that the situation was under control with adequate doctors and medicines, Singh said Delhi has reported around 3,000 influenza cases this year, which included 2,308 H1N1 infections. Singh said this at a press conference that followed a review meeting with senior officials of the Health Department, MCD, NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board. "There is no problem of doctors, staff or medicines. The chief minister has called an emergency review meeting. I assure you there is no problem, everything is under control," Singh said. He said the meeting was held to review the arrangements and preparedness for H1N1, or seasonal influenza, as well as vector-borne diseases in Delhi. "There is no need for panic. Patients are coming, but they are getting treated and then going back. Isolation wards have be

From floral fountains to road repairs: NDMC readies Delhi for Brics summit

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has drawn up an extensive civic preparedness plan for the upcoming BRICS Summit, with round-the-clock sanitation, tighter monitoring, road repairs and extensive beautification planned across the NDMC area. Under the plan, 41 major roads have been divided into 14 circles, each headed by a nodal officer who will conduct daily inspections and ensure that civic issues are addressed promptly, NDMC Chairman Manoj Kumar Dwivedi said on Monday. The 18th BRICS Summit is an upcoming international summit of the BRICS nations comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and additional nations, scheduled to be hosted by India on 12-13 September 2026 as part of its BRICS chairmanship. The council has identified 15 locations for floral boards, nine for flower fountains and 17 roundabouts for special illumination and beautification. Several other prominent locations have also been earmarked for focused cleaning and upkeep, though their details have

Personality rights shouldn't be used to curb parody, caricature: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has cautioned against the invocation of personality rights to extinguish caricature, lampooning, or parody which may not be commercially exploitative. The court made the observation while granting protection to Physics Wallah founder Alakh Pandey against the use of his name, image, and other attributes from impersonation and monetisation by third parties. The educator alleged that several internet platforms and users were monetising his name, image, etc, through social media posts, sticker packs, videos, websites, and suchlike means. Some of this content was vulgar and sexually explicit, he contended. In the interim order passed on August 5, Justice Anup J Bhambhani opined that he would grant protection to Pandey for three sets of violations: content that is sexually vulgar, content that monetises his personality without any licence, and impersonation. "In the opinion of this court, the concept of personality rights as has been claimed in the present matter ma

Air India flight from Delhi suffers bird hit at Patna airport, all safe

An Air India flight from Delhi suffered a bird hit while landing at the Patna airport on Monday morning, prompting authorities to conduct a runway inspection, an official said. The Delhi-Patna flight, with 164 passengers on board, was about to land when the incident took place at 7:44 am, he said. "The pilot of Air India flight AI 1741 reported a suspected bird strike. After the plane landed, the authorities carried out a runway inspection," the airport official said. "There was no disruption of flight operations at the airport due to the incident. All passengers are safe," he said. The official said that bird strikes are not unusual, particularly during the rainy season when avian activity tends to increase. He also said that a committee conducts monthly inspection to monitor avian and animal activities around the airport. "Based on the inspection, we prepare reports highlighting the areas where cleaning is required," the official added.

H1N1 flu alert in Delhi: Should you wear masks? What the guidelines say

As H1N1 cases rise in Delhi, the health department has advised masks in crowded places, frequent handwashing and avoiding close contact with sick people

Around 300 gather in Delhi seeking reservation reforms; over 20 detained

Around 300 people gathered at Connaught Place's outer circle in Delhi on Sunday to protest against caste-based reservation and demand reforms in the quota system, with police detaining over 20 protesters from the site, officials said. The protesters, who raised slogans and carried placards, called for greater emphasis on economic criteria in deciding eligibility for reservation and government support, arguing that assistance should reach economically disadvantaged people irrespective of caste. Police said over 20 people gathered at Connaught Place were detained and removed from the site as no permission had been granted for the demonstration. Police maintained a presence at Connaught Place as the gathering was cleared from the protest site. A key demand raised during the demonstration was the introduction of a creamy-layer criterion and a review of the existing reservation framework. Protesters also sought changes in policies concerning Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other