Page 8 - Delhi-ncr

Noida farmers hold protest march, meeting with police yields no outcome

Thousands of farmers from around 100 villages of Noida and Greater Noida on Thursday took to the streets seeking hiked compensation for lands acquired by the government, bringing traffic to a standstill in several parts of Delhi-NCR as they made an unsuccessful bid to march towards Parliament. The farmers have decided to continue their protest outside the offices of the Noida and Greater Noida authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district. Their decision came after a meeting with police and the district administration, which, they said, did not yield any outcome. "The Parliament session ends this weekend and if we get no resolution to our issues in the next meeting, we will attempt a Delhi march once again," a Bharatiya Kisan Parishad (BKP) member told PTI on Thursday night. Earlier in the day, barricades were set up at the Chilla border with Noida Police on one side and the Delhi Police on the other side to prevent protesters, who started their march from the Mahamaya

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Dense fog blankets parts of Delhi-NCR amid cold wave, visibility affected

Meanwhile, a similar situation was recorded in Punjab; visibility was affected in the state due to dense fog on Monday night

Trains, flights delayed as dense fog blankets Delhi-NCR, UP, and Bihar

Early morning commuters in the national capital say that they are finding it difficult to cope with the weather

Demand for industrial spaces in Delhi-NCR fell 42% last year: Colliers

The share of Delhi-NCR in the total demand across five cities came down to 20 per cent from 36 per cent in the 2022 calendar year

Parts of Delhi-NCR receive light rain, air quality remains 'very poor'

The IMD's forecast for the week also suggests fog will prevail in Delhi, with the minimum temperature remaining below 10 degrees Celsius till the end of January

Grap-3 restrictions reimposed in Delhi-NCR as AQI dips to 'severe' category

The central government on Sunday ordered a ban on non-essential construction work and plying of BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel four-wheelers in Delhi-NCR amid worsening air quality in the region. The Commission for Air Quality Management, a statutory body responsible for forming air pollution reduction strategies for the region and their implementation, noted a significant rise in Delhi's AQI (458 and 457 at 10 am and 11 am) due to unfavourable climatic conditions and local pollution sources. Anticipating a prolonged period of severe air quality, the committee decided to implement GRAP Stage-III curbs ('severe' air quality index (AQI) range) immediately to prevent further deterioration. The curbs include a ban on non-essential construction work and the plying of BS III petrol and BS IV deisel four-wheelers in the region. Construction work related to national security or defence, projects of national importance, healthcare, railways, metro rail, airports, inter-state bus terminals,

Migsun Group sells retail space in national capital to Dmart for Rs 108 cr

Realty firm Migsun Group on Friday said it has sold 47,000 square feet retail space in its commercial project in the national capital to Dmart for Rs 108 crore. Dmart has bought the space at the project in sector 22, Rohini in Delhi, according to a statement. A leading hypermarket retail chain, Dmart has acquired the project's lower ground and first floors to set up a hypermarket store. The retail space has been acquired for Rs 108 crore, the statement said. Last year, Migsun Group had acquired 9-acre land parcels for Rs 265 crore to develop a high-street retail project. "We will develop a high-street retail project on this land, comprising 1 million square feet area," Migsun Group MD Yash Miglani had said. Commenting on the deal, Miglani on Friday said the project provides an exceptional investment opportunity for businesses seeking to establish themselves at a prime location. "It is close to Rohini West metro station and has a huge catchment area of families with high spending

Unsold homes in Delhi-NCR fall 23% to 94,803 units at 2023-end: Anarock

Unsold housing stock in Delhi-NCR at the end of last year has fallen 23 per cent from 2022-end level driven by high velocity of sales and restricted new supply of residential properties, according to Anarock. Real estate consultant Anarock data showed that number of unsold units in Delhi-NCR fell to 94,803 units at the end of last year from 1,23,692 units in 2022-end. Delhi-NCR's unsold stock is currently at a decadal low, dropping below one lakh units for the first time in the last 10 years, the consultant pointed out. Anarock Vice Chairman Santhosh Kumar attributed the fall in unsold housing stock to higher sales transactions compared with new launches during the last calendar year. In 2023, housing sales in Delhi-NCR stood at 65,625 units while new supply in the region was 36,735 units, he said. "Developers continue to consciously restrict new supply in the region so that they can remain focused on project completions and thus reduce their previous unsold stock," Kumar said. T

Improvement in Delhi's PM2.5 levels since 2015-17 halted in 2023: CSE

Delhi-NCR recorded the longest spell of 'very poor' or worse air quality and the maximum number of smog episodes in November and December 2023 in the last six years, according to a new analysis. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), an independent think-tank that analysed pollution data for Delhi-NCR, said the gradual long-term improvement in annual PM2.5 levels since 2015-17 halted in 2023. This occurred despite cleaner-than-usual summer and monsoon seasons and significantly reduced intrusion of smoke from farm fires in northern states. However, this winter witnessed unusually low surface wind speeds, trapping high levels of local pollution. Due to the impact of unusual winter levels, the overall annual levels have plateaued and worsened, reversing the gains of the long-term downward trend, the CSE said. Despite a decrease in stubble burning contributing to Delhi's pollution this year, coupled with increased rainfall in November and milder winter conditions, the annual lev

India logs 602 fresh Covid-19 infections, five deaths; active cases dip

Five deaths were reported due to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The uptick in the cases has been attributed to the emergence of the new 'JN. 1 variant' and cold weather conditions

Cold weather conditions prevail in Delhi; mercury to plunge further: IMD

According to the IMD, 'very dense' fog is when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, 51 and 200 metres is 'dense', 201 and 500 metres 'moderate', and 501 and 1,000 metres 'shallow'

Delhi-NCR booked most Uber trips, Mumbai topped late-night bookings in 2023

Delhi-NCR emerged as the top region in terms of the overall highest number of Uber trips, while Mumbai pipped the national capital in the most late-night trips booked, according to the ride-hailing firm's annual data report. Meanwhile, Kolkata indulged in weekend travel the most, as per Uber India's report titled How India Ubered in 2023. Uber trips during the year covered a record 6.8 billion kilometres, enough to traverse the entire 6.37-million-kilometre road network in India more than a thousand times over, or nearly thrice every day, an Uber release said. The cities with the highest number of Uber trips in 2023 were Delhi-NCR, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, and Kolkata. "While Delhi-NCR did have the overall highest number of trips, Mumbai beat the national capital in terms of the most late-night trips booked, while Kolkata indulged in weekend travel the most. Residents of Delhi NCR used Uber for their work commute the most among all cities, and had the highest number of .

Gross leasing of office space up 12% this year across 6 cities: Savills

Gross office space leasing rose 12 per cent to a record 62.3 million square feet this year, while fresh supply remained flat across six major cities, according to Savills India. The absorption of office space stood at 55.4 million square feet in the previous year. New supply of office space stood at 53.3 million square feet, as against 53.4 million square feet in the previous year. "Office gross absorption across India's six major cities is recorded at a new all-time high of 62.3 million square feet in 2023, registering a 12 per cent growth over last year," Savills said in a statement. Bengaluru saw a decline of 10 per cent to 15.6 million square feet this year, from 17.3 million square feet in the previous year. "Mumbai saw record leasing activity at 10.1 million square feet owing to large transactions by tech and consulting occupiers. Gross absorption increased by 51 per cent compared to 2022," Savills said. Delhi-NCR saw similar absorption levels as last year at 11.3 million s

Traffic snarls in several parts of Delhi due to Christmas celebrations

Traffic snarls were reported from several parts of Delhi on Monday as people thronged markets and churches to celebrate Christmas. The Delhi Traffic Police asked commuters to avoid Mathura Road and Lodhi Road. "Due to high footfall and the parking issue in Sunder Nursery, Nizamuddin traffic is affected on Mathura Road and Lodhi Road near Neela Gumbad. Commuters are advised to avoid this stretch," the traffic police wrote on X. Earlier in the day, police said the churches and cathedrals of the national capital expecting heavy congregation of devotees include the Sacred Heart cathedral near Gol Dak Khana, St Thomas church (Mandir Marg), Free church (Sansad Marg), Cathedral church (in front of the Rashtrapati Bhawan), St Martin's church (Delhi Cantonment), St Thomas church (R K Puram) and St Mary's Knanaya church (Vasant Kunj). Commuters also took to X to complain about the traffic situation across the city. Heavy traffic was reported from the Miraj cinema area at Subhash Nagar towar

Office demand jumps 92% in Oct-Dec in top 6 cities in 2023: Colliers

Office space demand surged 92 per cent during October-December period across six major cities on better demand of workspace from corporates and coworking operators, according to Colliers India. Real estate consultant Colliers India report shows that gross leasing of office space stood at 20.2 million square feet in the fourth quarter of this calendar year from 10.5 million square feet in the year-ago period. Helped by strong demand during the December quarter, the total leasing of office space rose 16 per cent to 58.2 million square feet during the 2023 calendar year from 50.3 million square feet last year. Colliers tracks office demand and supply of 6 cities -- Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune. Gross leasing or absorption does not include lease renewals, pre-commitments and deals where only a letter of intent has been signed. According to the data, the office space leasing in Bengaluru rose 58 per cent to 5.5 million square feet during October-December .

BluSmart raises $24 million via issue of equity rights to fund expansion

Electric vehicle ride-hailing service and charging infrastructure network operator BluSmart on Thursday said it raised USD 24 million (Rs 200 crore) through issue of equity rights to its existing investors for funding the company's expansion. The latest funding round saw participation through over-subscription of equities by existing investors, founders and the leadership team, BluSmart said in a statement. Currently, the platform operates over 5,500 electric vehicles in the domestic market. It owns and operates over 4,000 EV chargers across its 34 charging superhubs. The platform said it aims to scale to a fleet size of around 8,000 EVs across Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru by next year. "BluSmart has raised USD 24 million (Rs 200 crore) in a new equity round in December 2023," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to expand our brand promise of zero ride denials, on time service and clean mobility to more geographies. The overwhelming support for the rights issue by our ..

NCAP funds remain largely unused in Delhi-NCR cities, govt data shows

Cities in Delhi-NCR and covered under the National Clean Air Programme have utilised less than 40 per cent of the funds allocated to curb air pollution levels, the Centre informed Parliament on Thursday. According to data presented by Union Minister of State for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey, the central government released Rs 428.61 crore to Delhi, Noida, Alwar, Meerut, Faridabad and Ghaziabad between 2019-20 and 2023-24. Of this, only Rs 170.58 crore (around 40 per cent) has been utilised. Delhi received Rs 38.22 crore but utilised only Rs 10.77 crore. Similarly, Noida utilised only Rs 0.95 crore of the Rs 26.42 crore allocated to it under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Alwar utilised a meagre Rs 0.04 crore from its allocation of Rs 15 crore. Meerut and Ghaziabad, receiving funds under the 15th Finance Air Quality Performance Grant, utilised Rs 81.93 crore and Rs 76.89 crore from their allocations of Rs 139.19 crore and Rs 136.25 crore, respectively. The NCAP, laun

ED searches in Delhi-NCR, Punjab against Chandigarh-based Parabolic Drugs

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted fresh searches at about a dozen locations in the Delhi-NCR and Punjab as part of a money laundering investigation against a Chandigarh-based pharmaceutical company and its promoters linked to an alleged bank fraud, official sources said. The first round of searches in this case against the company -- Parabolic Drugs-- were carried out in October. The central agency had earlier arrested Parabolic Drugs promoters Vineet Gupta (54) and Pranav Gupta (56), who are also the co-founders of the Sonepat-based Ashoka University, and CA Surjeet Kumar Bansal (74) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Guptas stepped down from their posts at Ashoka University in 2022 after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against them and the company in 2021 for their alleged involvement in a bank loan fraud of Rs 1,626 crore. The ED filed a money laundering case against them in January last year. The

CNG price hiked by Rs 1 per kg in Delhi-NCR from today: Check new rates

The price of compressed natural gas (CNG) has been increased to Rs 76.59 per kg in Delhi-NCR; the new price of CNG in Noida is now at Rs 82.20 per kg, and Rs 81.20 per kg in Greater Noida