Page 35 - Delhi

After a brief respite, Delhi's air quality turns 'poor' on New Year's Eve

Thanks to the rain spells over the weekend, Delhi's average AQI this December was 294, making it the cleanest December since AQI monitoring began in 2015

Amid dip in Delhi-NCR pollution levels, CAQM revokes Grap-3 restrictions

The Centre's panel on Delhi-NCR's air quality on Friday rolled back stage 3 curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) amid a dip in air pollution levels owing to continuous rains, according to an official order. Delhi's air pollution levels showed a declining trend and the 24-hour average air quality index (AQI) stood at 324 at 7 pm. ?According to forecasts from the India Meteorological Department and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the air quality situation is predicted to improve further owing to favourable meteorological conditions. The Commission for Air Quality Management, responsible for strategizing air pollution mitigation in Delhi-NCR, said curbs prescribed under stage 1 and 2 will remain in force in the region. GRAP Stage 3 entails a ban on non-essential construction work in the private sector. Classes up to grade 5 are required to shift to hybrid mode under Stage 3. Parents and students have the option to choose online education wherever ...

Delhi HC says endless incarceration without trial violates Article 21

Endless incarceration without trial in near future falls foul of Article 21 of the Constitution, the Delhi High Court said recently and granted bail to a man held in a cheating case in 2022. Justice Amit Mahajan said if an accused was suffering a prolonged incarceration without a timely trial in the case, courts would ordinarily be obligated to release them on bail. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution deals with the right of life and personal liberty. In the case at hand, the judge said charges were yet to be framed, the prosecution had sought repeated adjournments to file a supplementary chargesheet and it had been a year since the accused's last bail plea was dismissed. "The applicant has spent more than two years in custody. There is no likelihood of the trial being completed in near future. In such circumstances, incarceration of the applicant for an endless period on account of non-examination of witnesses falls foul of Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the court sai

Delhi CM Atishi inaugurates flyover between Anand Vihar and Apsara Border

The flyover is expected to significantly ease traffic congestion, benefiting lakhs of commuters daily

AIMIM may field 2020 riots accused Shahrukh Pathan in Delhi Assembly polls

However, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has not made any decision on Pathan's candidacy yet

Kejriwal, Atishi committing 'political fraud' with women, elderly: BJP

The BJP on Wednesday accused AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi of committing a "political fraud" with women and elderly in the city by promising them benefits of non-existing schemes ahead of Assembly polls. The party also challenged the ruling AAP and Atishi to show notifications of the schemes. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva in a press conference said that there is still time for Kejriwal to apologise to Delhi's public for "fake" 'Mahila Samman' and 'Sanjeevani' schemes. Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said that many persons who were registered for the scheme lost money because they shared their personal details like bank accounts. He asked all such persons to contact the BJP, assuring the party will help them recover their lost money. "Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi stand exposed. They are guilty of political fraud in the eyes of the public," Sachdeva said, referring to public notices issued by the Delhi government distancing .

Delhi Metro clocks in 22 years of passenger operations on Wednesday

Delhi Metro has completed 22 years of its passenger operations, according to a statement issued on Wednesday. It was on December 24, 2002 that the first Delhi Metro train, TS-01, was flagged off by the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, "introducing a new era of modern public transport" in Delhi NCR, the statement said. The TS-01 train, which started DMRC's journey, has carved a legacy of its own in bringing modern public transport to Delhi, it said. Commissioned in 2002, TS-01 began as a four-coach train but has been upgraded over the years to meet growing passenger demand, and expanded to six coaches in 2014 and further to eight coaches in 2023, it stated. Over its 22-year journey, TS-01 has been a symbol of reliability and efficiency, covering approximately 27 lakh kilometers, safely transporting over 5.4 crore passengers, and executing an impressive 23 lakh door operations, it said. Manufactured by the MRM Consortium in South Korea, the train was transported to Kolkata

Cold wave and fog disrupt life in North India, but winter tourism thrives

Despite train delays due to severe weather conditions, the snow-covered mountains have drawn large crowds of tourists eager to celebrate Christmas and New Year

Prevent enrolment of illegal Bangladeshi migrants: DoE to Delhi schools

The Directorate of Education on Monday asked schools in Delhi to prevent the enrolment of "illegal Bangladeshi migrants" by ensuring a strict document verification process during admission. "Schools must ensure strict admission procedures, verification of students' documentation to prevent illegal Bangladeshi migrants' enrolment... implementation of greater scrutiny to detect and prevent unauthorised admissions of illegal Bangladeshi migrants, in particular," according to the circular. It directed the heads of all government, government-aided and unaided recognised private schools to refer to the local police and the revenue authority any case where they have doubts. The Directorate of Education further instructed the school heads to ensure that a careful process is followed to verify and handle all necessary documentation when enrolling the children of migrants. The District Directorate of Education (districts/zones) were directed to submit weekly reports of all such cases to the

Kejriwal slams Centre after Delhi tableau excluded from Republic Day parade

Amid reports claiming that Delhi's tableau has missed the cut for next year's Republic Day parade, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the Centre of playing politics over the issue. Kejriwal also slammed the BJP, saying Delhi being the national capital, its tableau should be included in the Republic Day parade every year. "I want to ask them -- why is Delhi's tableau being excluded once again this year? Why are the people of Delhi being prevented from participating in the Republic Day celebrations," Kejriwal asked at a press conference. Claiming that Delhi's tableau has been missing the cut for several years now, Kejriwal said, "What kind of politics is this? Why is there so much hatred towards Delhi and its people? If these leaders hold such animosity, why should the people of Delhi vote for them?" Notably, Assembly elections in Delhi are due in February. Hitting back at the AAP chief, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva claimed Kejriwal shows his "true colo

Registration for women, elderly welfare schemes to start tomorrow: Kejriwal

Earlier, Kejriwal on Saturday announced the Dr Ambedkar Scholarship for the higher education of Dalit students. He stated that under this scholarship scheme

Kejriwal launches Dr Ambedkar scholarship amid row over Amit Shah's remarks

Amid controversy over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on Ambedkar, Kejriwal launches Dr Ambedkar Samman Scholarship, pledging support for Dalit students pursuing studies abroad

Delhi gasps for air: Toxic smog turns city into a hazard zone at 434 AQI

Delhi chokes under a blanket of toxic smog as the AQI soars to a hazardous 434, prompting health warnings for vulnerable groups and urging residents to remain indoors

MCD orders identification of illegal B'deshi migrant children in schools

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has issued an order to identify illegal Bangladeshi migrant children in schools and to ensure that no illegal Bangladeshi migrants are issued birth certificate.An order has also been issued for all zones to take appropriate action to remove encroachment made by illegal Bangladeshi migrants.A VC meeting was held under the chairmanship of Principle Secretary Home, GNCTD on December 12 wherein, Addl. Commissioner (HQ) and DC (HQ) represented the Commissioner, MCD.Accordingly, as discussed during the VC meeting, respective concerned Head of Departments and Zonal Authorities of MCD were requested to take certain preventive measures."Education Department to take appropriate preventive measures to identify illegal Bangladeshi Migrants while giving admission in Municipal Schools. It is also requested that proper identification & verification drive may also be undertaken to identify the illegal Bangladeshi migrant children in schools," B P ...

Delhi's air quality remains in 'severe' category, average AQI at 429

Delhiites continued to breathe toxic air as the air quality on Friday remained in the severe category, with the 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 429. The predominant pollutant was PM2.5, the fine particulate matter that poses serious health risks, as they can penetrate deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Of the 36 monitoring stations across the city, 14 reported air quality in the 'Severe Plus' category, with AQI readings above 450. The remaining stations recorded AQI levels in the 'Severe' range, between 401 and 450. These levels signify a significant deterioration in air quality, which is considered life-threatening for vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with respiratory or heart conditions. The maximum temperature on Friday was 23 degrees Celsius, slightly warmer than the usual for this time of year. The day started with a cool, misty morning and high humidity, which fluctuated between 95 per cent and 71 per cent throughout the

Nursery admissions in Delhi private schools end, first list on Jan 17

Nursery admissions for the 202526 academic session in around 1,741 private schools in Delhi concluded on Friday. The Delhi government's Directorate of Education (DoE), in a circular on November 12, announced that the last date to submit registration forms was December 20. The first general admission lists will be published on January 17, 2025. Pratika Gupta, principal of Sovereign School, Rohini, said, "This year, we received more than 2,000 registrations for nursery admissions, which is quite satisfactory and exceeds last year's numbers." Chairperson of Gitarattan Global School, R N Jindal, said the school received approximately 1,000 registrations for nursery admissions. The DoE has directed schools to upload details of all selected applicants by January 1, 2025. Manisha Sharma, principal of Venkateshwar School, Dwarka, said, "We have received around 3,600 nursery registrations this year, which is a significant increase compared to previous years." Private schools are required

Tata DDL partners with Baaz Bikes to set up EV battery swapping stations

Tata Power Delhi Distribution on Friday said it has joined hands with Baaz Bikes for augmenting and setting up of electric vehicle battery swapping stations across North and Northwest Delhi. Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (Tata Power-DDL) is a leading power distribution utility that supplies electricity to about 9 million population in North Delhi. According a statement, Tata Power DDL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Baaz Bikes (Electorq Technologies Pvt Ltd), a battery-swapping service provider, for augmenting and setting up of electric vehicle battery swapping stations across North and Northwest Delhi. As per the agreement, Tata Power-DDL will allocate dedicated space for setting up battery swapping stations. Baaz Bikes, a battery-swapping service provider, will be responsible for designing, procuring, installing, and maintaining these stations. The MoU was signed between Tata Power-DDL & Baaz Bikes in presence of senior officials from both the organisations,

Delhi's new signages to display info in Hindi, English, Punjabi, and Urdu

The directive applies to metro stations, hospitals, public parks, and government offices, including the nameplates outside bureaucrats' offices

Defamation case against Sanjay Singh aimed to disrupt Delhi campaign: AAP

Delhi elections: The AAP accuses Sulakshana Sawant of filing a defamation suit against Sanjay Singh to disrupt his role in the Delhi assembly elections campaign, set for early 2025

Chitvan Gill's Dreaming a Paradise captures lives of Delhi's migrants

Chitvan Gill explores existential questions that concern and confront each one of us through the stories of residents in an unauthorised colony in Delhi