Page 2 - Delhi

Delhi airport connects to 150 destinations, becomes country's first

On Sunday, Thai AirAsia X launched direct flights between Delhi and Bangkok-Don Mueang (DMK), marking the 150th destination connected to Delhi airport, according to a release

Weather update: Rain alert issued in Tamil Nadu, dense fog in other states

The IMD predicts dense fog in late night/early morning in Haryana, Chandigarh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh until December 17. Due to fog, the visibility may go down to less than 50 metres

Govt will bring Doctors' Protection Act if need arises: Delhi CM Atishi

CM Atishi further stated that the AAP government was committed to providing good education and health facilities to the people of Delhi

Delhi's minimum temperature drops to 4.9 degrees C, air quality 'poor'

The minimum temperature dropped to 4.9 degrees Celsius in Delhi on Sunday, though cold wave conditions did not prevail, according to the weather department. No cold wave conditions prevailed, as per the data, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The minimum temperature in Delhi dropped to 4.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 3.1 notches below the normal nighttime temperature. Earlier on Saturday, the minimum temperature was recorded at 8 degrees Celsius. Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius on Sunday, 0.2 notches below normal, the IMD said, adding that humidity levels ranged between 91 per cent and 45 per cent. The IMD has forecast moderate fog for Monday, with the maximum and minimum temperatures expected to remain at 23 degrees Celsius and 5 degrees Celsius, respectively. Meanwhile, Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) was in the 'poor' category, with a reading of 294 at 4 pm. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 1

No room for factional politics in party: Karnataka BJP chief Vijayendra

Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra on Sunday said there is no room for factional politics in the party, and organising meetings was unacceptable. He urged party leaders holding any such meetings and conferences to immediately stop their activities. Pointing out at the media reports about preparations for a show of strength event being organised by a section of party leaders in his favour, Vijayendra said, "There are no factions in the BJP and everyone in the organisation is a staunch party worker." "I urge all our former legislators and party leaders who have gathered in Davangere that already our conducts have created a lot of confusion among party workers and supporters in the state. By organising such events no one should give room for more confusion," he told reporters here. "I'm making it clear that no such convention or event is before us. No one should pay heed to such things. Through the media I want to tell our former legislators and party leaders that no such events o

AAP unveils final Delhi poll list; Kejriwal criticises BJP for 'no CM face'

After AAP released its final list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Delhi, party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who will contest from the New Delhi constituency, took a swipe at the BJP, alleging that the saffron party has no chief ministerial face. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday released its final list of 38 candidates for the Assembly polls due in February, fielding Kejriwal from New Delhi besides repeating Chief Minister Atishi from Kalkaji. In a post on X in Hindi, Kejriwal said, "The party is contesting the elections with full confidence and full preparation. BJP is missing. They have no CM face, no team, no planning, and no vision for Delhi. They have only one slogan, only one policy, and only one mission -- 'Remove Kejriwal'. Ask them what they did in five years, and they reply, 'Kejriwal ko bahut gaali di' (cursed Kejriwal a lot)." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is yet to announce its candidates, is reportedly planning to pitch Parvesh Verma, son of ..

Illegal tree felling in Delhi: NGT issues notice to environment ministry

The National Green Tribunal has issued notice to the Centre regarding the alleged felling of scores of trees in the national capital. The green body was hearing about the alleged illegal felling of thousands of trees at Chajju Ram Bagh in Jindpur by a private builder to construct a warehouse and commercial godown. In an order dated December 9, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that the district magistrate of north Delhi did not file his reply, as per the tribunal's earlier order to produce the relevant khasra entries and revenue record of Chajju Ram Bagh of last 20 years to ascertain the correct position. The bench also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel noted that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) filed a compliance report enclosing an order where the forest officials concerned had imposed a compounding fee of Rs nine lakh for illegal felling of 15 trees. "It cannot be ascertained under what ...

Atishi accuses Centre of settling Rohingyas in Delhi; Puri denies claim

Delhi Chief Minister Atishi wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, accusing the BJP-led Centre of settling "a large number of illegal Rohingyas" in different parts of the city. With the AAP targeting Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri over his tweets and claiming that settling these refugees here was a "conscious decision" of the BJP-led NDA government, the minister accused AAP of indulging in "politics of diversion, false narratives and half-truths". In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly polls due in February 2025, the ruling AAP and BJP have been hitting out at one another over the issue of illegal Rohingya and Bangladeshi people staying in the national capital. The BJP has already complained to the Election Commission about illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis registered as voters in Delhi "at the behest of AAP". Citing two tweets by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in 2022, Atishi alleged the Union government has settled a large number of illegal Rohingya refugees in ...

Dairy farms in Delhi asked to get pollution control consent within 15 days

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee has directed cow shelters and dairy farms in the city to obtain pollution control consent within 15 days, warning of strict action in case of non-compliance. The Committee issued a public notice on Sunday directing all 'gaushalas' and dairy farms with 15 or more cattle, and all dairies operating in dairy colonies in Delhi to apply for mandatory consent under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. The directive has been issued in compliance with recent court orders and must be adhered to within 15 days of the notice, failing which legal action will be initiated. The notice follows the "Guidelines for Environmental Management of Dairy Farms and Gaushalas" issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) as per the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) order on May 20, 2020. These guidelines categorise dairy farms and 'gaushalas' as "Orange" and "Green" categories ...

Delhi HC reserves verdict on plea against ban on eateries' service charge

The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on the petitions by restaurant bodies challenging the guidelines prohibiting hotels and restaurants from automatically levying service charge on food bills. "Arguments heard. Judgement reserved," said Justice Prathiba M Singh. Federation of Hotels and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) and National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) moved court in 2022 by filing two separate petitions. The guidelines, issued by Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on July 4, 2022, were stayed by the high court later that month. The counsel for FHRAI, in his rejoinder submissions on Friday, asserted the CCPA had no power or jurisdiction to impose such a ban, without following the principles of natural justice. "Merely holding a meeting with the industry body is not in compliance of natural justice," he said, "the guideline could only be advisory in nature". He said the service charge was levied on customers for the benefit of th

SC orders aid to ailing farm leader, urges adoption of 'Gandhian' protest

Observing protesting farmers should adopt the Gandhian way, the Supreme Court on Friday ordered immediate medical aid to farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, whose health is deteriorating owing to his indefinite fast of over a fortnight at a Punjab-Haryana border. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan directed the Centre and Punjab government representatives to immediately meet Dallewal, who has completed over 17 days of fast. "Farmers should not get violent and do peaceful agitation. They should adopt the Gandhian way of protests because their grievances are being looked into," the bench said after being informed that violent agitations had created problems at both the sites. The court further asked to provide him with medical help and persuade him to break his indefinite fast saying his life was precious. "It is the bounden duty of the state of Punjab and union of India to take all peaceful measures and provide adequate immediate medical aid to Dallewal without forcing

Delhi-Dehradun expressway to be completed within three months: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday said that the Delhi-Dehradun expressway, which is expected to reduce travel time between the two cities to two hours, will be completed within the next three months. Currently, the travel time between the two cities is five to six hours Addressing 'Times Network India Economic Conclave 2024', Gadkari further said that construction of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is expected to be completed within two months. The travel time between the two metropolitan cities is expected to reduce to 12 hours with the completion of the expressway from the present 24 hours. The road transport and highways minister said Delhi-Dehradun highway project has two packages. "A Rs 10,000 crore project has been approved for Delhi's Kalindi Kunj, extending to Faridabad. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the project within the next 15-20 days," Gadkari said. Gadkari also said that the Modi government is working to reduce air pollution, lower the import of

Hoax bomb threat strikes Delhi schools again, second incident in a week

Security agencies are investigating an email that claimed explosives were planted in several Delhi schools, prompting an evacuation. So far, no suspicious items have been found at the institutions

Delhi Polls: Cong releases 1st list, fields Sandeep Dikshit from New Delhi

Aam Aadmi Party chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the sitting MLA from New Delhi Assembly constituency

Delhi records coldest December morning in 3 yrs as temp drops to 4.5C

The city recorded its coldest December day in the last three years on Thursday as the minimum temperature dropped to 4.5 degrees Celsius. The forecast predicts cold wave conditions to persist at isolated places until the weekend. The city recorded a low of 4.5 degrees Celsius on Thursday, 0.4 degrees below normal, compared to 4.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The temperature had dropped sharply from 5 degrees Celsius on Wednesday. According to data, the minimum temperature did not drop below 4.9 degrees Celsius in December 2023 and 2022. The lowest minimum temperature recorded in December last year was 4.9 degrees Celsius on the 15th, while the lowest in 2022 was 5 degrees Celsius on the 26th. Cold wave conditions were observed at isolated places in Delhi, including Ayanagar and Pusa, where the temperatures dropped to 3.8 and 3.2 degrees Celsius respectively. According to the India Meteorological Department, cold wave conditions oc

One yr of Parliament security breach: 3 chargesheets, 6 in jail, probe on

A year after a security breach in Parliament, sources in the Delhi Police said they have submitted clinching evidence and made a watertight case against the six accused. The security breach happened on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack on December 13, 2023 and the accused have been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The trial in the case is yet to start as the Delhi Police's probe is underway. But officials claim that they have sufficient evidence against the perpetrators, who were led by Karnataka resident Manoranjan D. The accused had launched a coordinated gas attack by opening colourful canisters in both inside and outside the Parliament house during the Zero Hour. Manoranjan, along with Sagar Sharma, jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery and opened the canisters that released a yellow gas in the House. Two others -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad -- sprayed coloured gases from canisters outside the Parliament .

NGT urges coordinated plan between DDA, DJB to resolve pollution issues

Expressing exasperation at the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) not agreeing on a coordinated action plan, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has observed that the State or its instrumentality cannot suffer a violation of the right to clean environment on any pretext. The green body was hearing a matter regarding health hazards to residents because of a stagnant open drain in south Delhi's Vasant Kunj. In an order passed on December 9, a bench of judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Afroz Ahmad, taking note of the earlier proceedings, said, "The efforts made by this tribunal for coordinated resolution of the environmental issues did not succeed and the environmental issues were not resolved." The tribunal noted that on November 22, it had observed that the "DDA and DJB are not very serious about the protection of the environment and more interested in their financial matters, leaving people to suffer on account of continuous water ...

Drone mist-spraying pilot project in hitch for high costs, limited results

A pilot project that involves the use of drones to spray mist at pollution hotspots has not been approved over the high cost and lack of measurable results, an official has said. The technology was proposed as part of Delhi's 21-point Winter Action Plan to combat worsening air quality. Officials have deemed the project costly and ineffective, stating it has failed to deliver significant, measurable improvements. "The technology is extremely expensive and does not provide noticeable advancements compared to existing methods, which are already yielding better results at a fraction of the cost," an official involved in the evaluation told PTI. On November 8, a demonstration of the project was conducted at Anand Vihar, one of Delhi's most polluted areas. During the demonstration, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai highlighted challenges posed by hotspots, such as narrow roads or congested areas where traditional modes of transport, such as trucks, cannot reach. "Pollution levels in

Kejriwal promises Rs 2,100 monthly aid to women ahead of Delhi elections

Kejriwal has announced Rs 2,100 monthly for women under Mahila Samman Yojana, doubling the initial Budget allocation

Delhi Police launches drive to identify illegal Bangladeshi immigrants

Delhi Police on Wednesday launched a drive for the identification of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the national capital, a day after the LG Secretariat ordered a crackdown on such persons. "The drive was conducted at various parts of Delhi including Kalindi Kunj, Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Nagar areas. The local police officers conducted door-to-door verifications where they checked their Aadhaar cards and voter IDs," a police officer said. "Some of the residents were identified as suspects. They may be sent to the detention centre after the completion of legal process," the officer said. The Delhi LG Secretariat on Tuesday directed the chief secretary and police commissioner of Delhi to launch a two-month special drive to identify and take strict action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants residing in the national capital. Another police officer said cases may be registered if the immigrants are found to be staying illegally or involved in any illegal activity. Delhi h