Page 69 - Delhi

Five crops at MSP for five years: Centre's offer to protesting farmers

The fourth round of talks between farmers and Union ministers concluded late Sunday night

Protesting Noida farmers' again warn of Delhi march on Febeuary 23

The protesting farmers' groups in Noida and Greater Noida on Monday said they will march to Delhi on February 23 to press for resolution of their issues, including developed plots and increased compensation for their land acquired in the past. Thousands of these villagers, including women, had made an unsuccessful attempt to go to Delhi on February 8 amid stepped up security along Noida's borders with the national capital, choking traffic movement in the city. The protestors on that day called off the march and were pacified after police's assurance of a high-level meeting with representatives of local authorities and the Uttar Pradesh government. Scores of farmers on Monday gathered outside the office of the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) in protest where the Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP), a key local group here, gave the call for February 23 march to Delhi. "A meeting was held by government authorities on February 13 and it was decided there that a ...

Delhi CM clears signing of MoU on first 3 metro corridors under Phase-4

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Delhi government, the Centre and the DMRC on the first three corridors being built under Phase-IV of the metro, an official statement issued on Monday said. At present, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is carrying out construction work on a 65.2-km stretch of three priority corridors spanning 45 stations as part of this project. These three corridors are Janakpuri West-RK Ashram Marg (28.92 km), Majlis Park-Maujpur (12.55 km), both of which are extensions of the Delhi Metro's Magenta Line and Pink Line, and Aerocity-Tughlakabad (23.62 km) which is being built as Golden Line to connect the Violet Line and the Airport Line from their respective ends. With this, the work on these three corridors will "pick pace", the statement issued by the Delhi government said. "Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approved the signing of an MoU between the Delhi government, the Centre and the

Farmers' protest: 'Delhi Chalo' leaders to discuss govt offer, SKM rejects

Farmer leaders taking part in the 'Delhi Chalo' agitation on Monday said they will discuss the government proposal on buying pulses, maize and cotton at MSP but the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, which spearheaded the 2020-21 stir, rejected the offer. In the fourth round of talks with farmer leaders, a panel of three Union ministers on Sunday proposed buying of pulses, maize and cotton crops by government agencies at minimum support prices (MSP) for five years after entering into an agreement with farmers. Earlier on Monday, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said farmers will hold a discussion on the Centre's proposal but they will not budge from their demand for a law guaranteeing MSP. However, the SKM rejected the government proposal, saying it seeks to "divert and dilute" the farmers' demand for MSP and they will accept nothing less than the 'C-2 plus 50 per cent' formula for MSP as recommended in the Swaminathan Commission report. Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, farmers are also ...

Delhi's Unesco world heritage site Red Fort reopens for visitors

The historic Red Fort complex, which was closed for visitors about a week ago due to security reasons in view of a farmers' march, has been reopened, official sources said on Sunday. The iconic Mughal-era monument, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in old Delhi, was "suddenly sealed" late Monday night "due to security reasons". "It was reopened a couple of days ago," a source at the Archeological Survey of India told PTI. However, the Red Fort is regularly closed for visitors on Mondays, so they will not get entry inside the complex on February 19. The site was temporarily closed amid a massive deployment of police and paramilitary forces in central Delhi in view of the farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' march. Sources said "no order has been officially issued for reopening" of the site, adding, it was closed in accordance with police instructions and accordingly reopened. Thousands of farmers are staying put at the Shambhu and Khanauri points of the Punjab-Haryana border with layers of barricade

Shallow fog seen in parts of north India; IMD predicts rainfall in Delhi

Dense fog was also reported in Rajpura city, in the Patiala district of Punjab. Shivnath, a driver, complained that dense fog is leading to traffic jams

Delhi's Alipur fire probe: Two, including factory owner's son, arrested

Days after 11 people died in a fire at a paint factory here, two persons, including the factory owner's son, were arrested in connection with the incident on Saturday, police said. The accused have been identified as Akhil Jain (37), the son of factory owner Ashok Jain, who died in the fire, and Rajrani, who owns the land on which the factory was situated, they said. Besides Ashok Jain, 10 workers died in the fire that broke out in the factory in outer Delhi's Alipur area on the evening of February 15. The fire was preceded by a blast and soon it spread to nearby buildings, including a drug rehabilitation centre and eight shops. According to the FIR registered in the matter, a huge quantity of inflammable material was found inside the factory. Earlier, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had said that the building where the fire broke out was being used illegally for the purpose of mixing chemical paint. The FIR was registered on a complaint by Sub-Inspector Anil Kumar of Al

Delhi's Cong unit holds protest against freezing of party's bank accounts

Delhi unit of Congress on Saturday held a demonstration against the freezing of party bank accounts by the Income Tax department a day ago. The Congress' main bank accounts were frozen on Friday over an income tax demand of Rs 210 crore but an I-T appellate tribunal later allowed it to operate them pending a further hearing next week, a huge relief for the party which said the move had impacted all political activity. The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee's (DPCC) protest was led by its president Arvinder Singh Lovely with demonstrator carrying placards and raising slogans. Adequate security was deployed near the DPCC office where the protestors were stopped and not allowed to move towards the ITO office.

Delhi court denies statutory bail to Sharjeel Imam in sedition case

A court here on Saturday dismissed the plea of student activist Sharjeel Imam seeking bail on the grounds that he had been in custody for the last four years, which was more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence. The court directed to continue Imam's custody, saying the present case was "different" from other cases because of the nature of allegations against Imam and his "disruptive activities which finally resulted in the riots". Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing Imam's plea seeking bail under 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), saying he was in custody since January 28, 2020, while the maximum sentence for the offence under section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is seven years, if convicted. According to Section 436-A CrPC, a person can be released from custody if he has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence. "Keeping in view the alleged acts

Cong's Kamal Nath arrives in Delhi amid speculation over switch to BJP

Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath arrived in the national capital Saturday afternoon amid speculation that he could cross over to the BJP. Over the past few days, Nath had been on a tour of his bastion Chhindwara, from where he had been an MP for nine terms. His son Nakul Nath won the seat in the 2019 polls, even as the BJP swept the remaining 28 seats in the state. Asked about the speculation that Nath could cross over to the BJP, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said in Jabalpur earlier in the day, "I spoke to Kamal Nath at 10.30 pm yesterday, he is in Chhindwara." "A person who started his political journey and stood with the Nehru-Gandhi family when Indira Gandhi was sent to jail by the Janata party, do you think such a person will ever leave Congress and the Gandhi family?" Singh said. Kamal Nath is said to be disgruntled over not getting a Rajya Sabha berth and also Rahul Gandhi being opposed to him since the party lost the assem

Highlights: Haryana Police use tear gas on farmers at Shambhu border

Farmers' protest march LIVE updates: Catch all the latest updates on the farmers' protest here

CM Arvind Kejriwal moves a motion of confidence in Delhi Assembly

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he will seek vote of confidence in the Assembly on Friday. The announcement came days after he alleged that the BJP tried to poach AAP MLAs and topple his government. "I will bring the vote of confidence in Delhi Assembly today," Kejriwal said in a post on X in Hindi. However, he did not specify the reason behind the move.

Death toll in Delhi's Alipur market fire rises to 11, four injured

The death toll in an explosion and subsequent fire in a paint factory in outer Delhi's Alipur area has climbed to 11 with four more bodies recovered from the premises, police said on Friday. Four people were injured in the fire that broke out on Thursday evening and are undergoing treatment at a hospital, they said. The charred bodies of the 11 victims were recovered from the factory, which also houses chemical godowns, located in Alipur's Dayalpur market, a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official said. The fire was preceded by a blast and soon it spread to nearby buildings, including a drug rehabilitation centre and eight shops. The DFS official said a call about the fire was received around 5:30 pm on Thursday and 22 fire tenders were pressed into service. The blaze was brought under control by 9 pm, he said, adding that 11 charred bodies were recovered from the factory premises. In a post on X, DFS chief Atul Garg said, "Despite best efforts by DFS, 11 labours died in paint factory

2020 Delhi riots: Court convicts son of rioting charges, acquits father

A court here has convicted a man of unlawful assembly and arson charges in a case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, while acquitting his father of all alleged offences. Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala was hearing a case against Jony Kumar and his father Mitthan Singh, who were accused of being part of a riotous mob that torched two houses in the Khajuri Khas area here on February 25, 2020 during the communal riots. "Accused Jony Kumar is held guilty and convicted for the offences under sections 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) and 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with the intent to destroy house etc.) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), read with section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC, and under IPC section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant)," the judge said. In an order passed on Wednesday, the judge acquitted Singh of "all the charges levelled against him". The court rejected the defence counsel's argument ..

Water supply to be hit in several Delhi areas on February 16: DJB

Water supply will be affected in several areas of the city on Friday due to flushing of underground reservoirs in Khyala Phase-1, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said in a notice. "Due to flushing of underground reservoirs at Khyala Phase-1, water supply in several areas shall not be available/ available at low pressure in the evening of February 16," the notice read. "Residents are advised to store sufficient quantity of water in advance as per requirement. Water tanker will be available on request," it said. Areas where water supply will be affected are Raja Garden, Ramesh Nagar, Khyala, Rani Bagh, Shakurpur, Pitampura, Moti Nagar, Sharda Puri, Tagore Garden, Tihar Village, Tilak Nagar and Rajouri Garden. Water supply will also be affected in Karam Pura, Saraswati Garden, Hari Nagar, Mansarovar Garden, Ganesh Nagar, Krishna Puri, Subhash Nagar, Chand Nagar and adjoining areas.

Highlights: SC to decide on validity of electoral bond scheme tomorrow

LIVE news updates: Catch all the latest updates from around the world here

Delhi biz hit due to farmers' march, buyers' footfall from NCR down by 75%

Delhi's business affected by farmers' movement is witnessing 75 per cent reduction in customers coming from NCR regions, according to a statement by Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI). The CTI said that every day around three lakh people come from NCR for shopping. Due to farmers' movement, less than one lakh people are coming. According to Brijesh Goyal, chairman of CTI and president Subhash Khandelwal, the leading organisation of traders, the number of customers in Delhi markets has declined by 75 per cent, with more than 15,000 commercial vehicles have been stopped from entering the city and more than 25,000 commercial vehicles stuck in Delhi. Around three lakh buyers from NCR cities -- Sonipat, Panipat, Rewari, Bahadurgarh, Narnaul, Gurgaon, Bawal, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad etc -- visit the markets of Delhi every day, the statement said. On Wednesday, on Basant Panchami, there are about 40,000 marriages scheduled to take place in Delhi but due to the farmers' movement, guest

Water supply to area around Burari Metro Station to be affected on Fri: DJB

Water supply will be affected in the Burari Metro Station area on February 16 due to water pipeline interconnection work by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Delhi Jal Board officials said on Wednesday. There will be no supply of water for 18 hours from 9 am on February 16 to 3 am on February 17, they said. "Due to interconnection of 700 mm dia water pipeline by DMRC Ltd. at Burari Metro Station, the competent authority has approved the shut down for 18 hours on February 16 from 9 am to 3 am on February 17. Residents are advised to store sufficient quantity of water in advance as per requirement. Water tanker will be available on request," a DJB notice said. Areas that will be affected are Burari Harizan Basti, Ekta Enclave, Garhi village, Prem Nagar, Baba Colony, Laxmi Vihar, Sant Nagar, Kaushik Enclave, Tomar Colony and adjoining areas. In the Kadipur ward, areas including Kadipur village, Nagli Poona, Badipur, Swarup Vihar, Makhmal Pur, Nathupura Colony and adjoining areas will

Farmers' march: Traffic unrestricted at Ghazipur border, closed at Singhu

On the second day of the farmers' Delhi Chalo march, traffic movement remained unrestricted at the city's Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday while it was completely closed at the Singhu and Tikri borders with Haryana. There is tight security in the national capital because of the farmers' march, with personnel being deployed in large numbers and barricades put up to regulate movement in central Delhi and at the border points with Haryana. The NH-9 and NH-24, which connect Delhi with Ghaziabad and Noida and further with Meerut, witnessed uninterrupted movement of vehicles during the day. According to police, traffic was heavy on both carriageways of the DND Flyway. In a post on X', the Delhi Police said, "Due to the deployment of picket/checking on DND Flyway, traffic is heavy on both the carriageways of the DND Flyway. Commuters from Noida to Delhi and vice-versa are advised to take alternative routes like Chilla Border route." Multiple layers of barricades, concrete

Delhi gets another 350 electric buses, overall number increases to 1,650

Delhi has now become the city with the maximum number of electric buses in the country