Delhi Live News: With poor air quality in Delhi and in the neighbouring cities, the Haryana government on Sunday ordered that all schools be shut in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar till November 17. There is also a complete ban on all construction activities.
In Delhi, schools will remain closed for a week from Monday onwards, while construction activities will not be allowed from November 14 to 17, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday. Government offices will all work from home, he said. Virtual classes at schools will continue, but physical classes will be stopped so that children do not have to step out and breathe in polluted air, Kejriwal said. The chief minister was speaking after a meeting called to discuss emergency measures to deal with the city’s worsening air quality.
Delhi’s air quality improved marginally on Sunday, moving to the “very poor” category from Saturday’s “severe” thanks to winds picking up that help in dispersing the pollutants. According to the forecast from the Air Quality Early Warning System, the AQI will continue to remain in the “very poor” category till at least Tuesday.
On Saturday, the Supreme Court had questioned the Delhi government on whether emergency measures like a lockdown for a few days was needed in the national capital to tackle the rising air pollution. A bench led by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said the deteriorating air quality had compelled people to wear masks even at home.
With the spike in air pollution in the national capital, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has kicked in its winter action plan to tackle dust-pollution under its jurisdiction.
According to SDMC officials, the civic body has taken a slew of measures from sprinkling water on roads and empty patches, mechanised sweeping of roads to strict vigil on violators.
Mayor Mukesh Suryan on Sunday said the SDMC has deployed 24 mechanical road sweeping machines and 83 water sprinklers to mitigate dust pollution on city roads.
Besides, it has also set a target of removing dust from at least 600-700 km road stretches every day.
“We have also started a special drive to check dust pollution at construction sites, burning of garbage and penalise violators. We have formed over 100 teams with nearly 200 people to keep a vigil on violators and fine them. One team has been deployed in each ward,” Suryan told PTI. (PTI)
Seven people, including a woman, were arrested and a juvenile was apprehended for allegedly killing a 44-year-old man in outer Delhi’s Ranhola area, police said on Sunday.
Deceased Manoj was stabbed on Saturday night when he tried to save his brother-in-law from being beaten up by seven-eight people in the area over a minor mishap, they said.
According to the police, an argument had broken out between two families after the victim’s brother-in-law, Sanjiv, allegedly hit a woman named Heena Kumar and her minor son with his motorcycle. The woman and her son later gathered their relatives and went to Sanjiv’s place and beat him up, a senior police officer said. (PTI)
A first-of-its-kind “virtual” mega book fair was organised for government schools across the national capital on Sunday.
The book fair, inaugurated by Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia via a video conference, enables the government schools in the city to select books for their libraries online. As many as 8,000 books and titles from a panel of over 220 publishers will be showcased in the book fair till December 1.
“It is for the first time in the country that all the schools of a state are participating in such a virtual book fair together. Books play a big role in the all round development of children. Realising its importance, the Delhi government has made very important changes in the libraries of government schools of Delhi in four-five years,” a statement quoted Sisodia as saying.
The government has allocated Rs 9 crore to 1,031 schools for purchasing books this year, said Sisodia who is also Delhi’s deputy chief minister. (PTI)
In order to curb air pollution in districts around the National Capital Territory of Delhi, including Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonipat and Jhajjar, the Haryana government Sunday issued a detailed set of instructions. As per the orders, Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan has asked all government and private schools to remain shut till November 17, by which time the situation shall be reviewed.
Additionally, all government and private offices have been asked to shift to work-from-home mode. Read more
Intensifying measures to deal with the pollution crisis in the capital, the Delhi Traffic Police said it will prosecute all vehicles plying without pollution under control (PUC) certificates. To implement the same, over 550 personnel have been deployed at more than 170 locations such as petrol pumps, pickets, highways and main markets to stop vehicles and check for valid PUC certificates.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Manish Kumar Agarwal said, “We had already started working on the winter action plan in October. At the 170 locations, staff will be at different places to check all types of vehicles. We are also advising commuters to get PUC certificates at the earliest. We want people to breathe clean air and are working towards it.” Read more
Three years after it was conceived, the standing committee of the South MCD finally passed the proposal for a parking project in Greater Kailash 1 M Block on Friday. The seven-storey automated car parking facility, which will take one-and-a-half years to be completed, can accommodate up to 399 vehicles.
Besides the GK one, several parking projects under the civic bodies have been stuck for years – one in Rajouri Garden has been completely shelved. These projects are in prime locations such as Amar Colony, Janakpuri and Chandni Chowk, which have been delayed for three-four years with no clarity on their completion. Read more
Haryana government orders closure of all schools in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Sonepat and Jhajjar till November 17 because of deteriorating air quality. There is also a complete ban on all construction activities.
Appealing to Delhi residents to come together and join ‘Yuddh Pradushan Ke Virrudh’ campaign, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Sunday said small steps like turning off the engine at traffic signals and using public transport for at least one day every month can make the city “healthy” and “pollution free”.
Sisodia said this during the one-day neighbourhood Raahgiri programme organised by the Delhi government’s Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) in association with Raahgiri Foundation under the theme of anti-pollution campaign ‘Yuddh Pradushan Ke Virrudh’ to spread awareness about pollution in Patparganj Vidhan Sabha.
“It is our collective duty to reduce pollution by coming forward at an individual and community level. To make Delhi pollution free, every citizen has to take their share of responsibility to reduce pollution,” Sisodia was quoted as saying in a statement quoting.
“We can lay the foundation of a healthy Delhi by reducing our share of pollution by taking small steps like turning off the engine at traffic signals and switching to public transport. Every citizen should use public transport at least for one day every month, walk or cycle as their contribution to reducing pollution,” he added. (PTI)
The national capital reported 36 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in a day while the positivity rate stood at 0.07 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here on Sunday. The capital has recorded three deaths due to the infection in November so far.
Four people had succumbed to viral disease in October and five in September. With the new cases, the coronavirus infection tally in the city climbed to 14,40,424. Of this, over 14.14 lakh patients have recovered from the disease. The death toll stands at 25,094.
According to the health bulletin, authorities conducted 54,161 tests, including 44,843 RT-PCR ones, the previous day. (PTI)
The discoms in the city estimate that putting the entire high tension overhead power network in the city underground will cost Rs 2,400 crore or three times more than the cost of insulating it, discom sources said.
The majority of high tension wire in the city is already underground or insulated, they added. Delhi is a very old city, much of it is unplanned. Despite this, a large part of the critical electricity network is insulated or underground. In fact, areas which are planned with a high density of population have a higher percentage of underground network, the sources said.
On the other hand, rural and semi-rural areas, with vast open spaces have a higher degree of overhead network. Moreover, usually the old networks are overhead, and all the new upcoming networks are underground, LT voltage level in general is an exception, they said. (PTI)
As severe pollution persisted in Delhi on Saturday, measures such as shutting schools and construction activity were put into place. All these actions are part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), which was built in 2017 to have a set of actions ready to be implemented as the air quality dips.
But what is GRAP and what does it entail? Read more here
Daily cases of COVID-19 in Delhi were reported in excess of 60, nearly 25 times in the four-month period from July to October, according to official data.
The national capital on Friday had recorded 62 fresh coronavirus cases, the highest daily count since August 8, and two deaths due to it after a gap of nearly three weeks as the positivity rate rose to 0.12 per cent. On Saturday, the cases count stood at 54, while the case positivity rate marginally decreased to 0.10 per cent.
Analysis of official data on reporting of cases, shared by the Delhi health department, suggests that in the period spanning the previous four months, the highest count was recorded in July on July 4, with 94 cases and seven deaths.
The national capital had recorded 94 Covid cases at a positivity rate of 0.12 per cent and six fatalities on June 30. (PTI)
Seventeen people sustained burn injuries after an LPG cylinder caught fire and exploded in a shanty in northwest Delhi on Sunday morning, officials said.
The incident took place in Lal Bagh area of Azadpur and the fire department said a call about the blaze was received around 10 am, they said. However, no deaths have been reported so far, the officials said.
“We rushed three fire tenders to the spot as per the call received and found out that an LPG blast occurred in a 25 yards shanty due to which we were told that initially that five people sustained burn injuries,” said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service.
According to police, five houses got damaged due to the blast, following which 17 people sustained burn injuries. (PTI)
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Sunday said that the department has issued a notification for effective implementation of the emergency measures announced by the government to tackle air pollution.
He said that all schools, libraries and institutions will remain shut till November 20, except for those where exams are being conducted. Construction and demolition activities will be banned till November 17. “In the order issued on late Saturday night by the department, we have clarified that those schools or educational institutions where exams are already being conducted will remain open. All other educational institutions will be closed till November 20,” Rai told reporters in a press conference.
The notification issued by the environment secretary of the Delhi government said that all construction activities will be closed till November 17 with immediate effect. (PTI)
Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal wrote to President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday urging him to withdraw the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian award, bestowed on actor Kangana Ranaut for her remarks allegedly belittling the country’s Independence.
Ranaut on Thursday had kicked off a row by saying India attained “real freedom” in 2014, apparently referring to the Narendra Modi-led government assuming power, and describing the country’s Independence in 1947 as “bheek” (alms).
Maliwal, in her letter, said the actor had “made certain outrageous statements disgracing the great freedom fighters of the country”. The DCW chief also demanded sedition charges against the ‘Queen’ actor. (PTI)
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly and BJP leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri has demanded that the Delhi government should make a time-bound action plan for cleaning the Yamuna river. He said that cleaning of Yamuna is a sacred task, and everyone is ready to cooperate in this. The Delhi government should immediately start this holy task by calling an all-party meeting for this, he said.
Delhi’s 18 big drains are pouring 1,500 million filths into the Yamuna every day. There have been announcements for sewage treatment plants, but all its projects are far behind schedule. “Therefore, instead of blaming each other only on occasions like Chhath Puja or Baisakhi, a time-bound action plan should be made for cleaning the Yamuna and its blueprint should be made public, ” he said.
As the Supreme Court asks the Centre and Delhi government to deliberate if a lockdown is needed as a measure against alarming pollution levels in the national capital, some experts are against the idea altogether, while others believe a safety net would first have to be provided for those whose livelihoods might be impacted. Experts also believe any measure would have to be implemented across the NCR, and not just in Delhi, for any impact to be seen in the seasonal phenomenon of air pollution levels shooting through the roof.
The apex court Saturday asked the Delhi and Union governments to inform it if “emergency measures” like “lockdown for two days” or “stopping vehicles” should be imposed to prevent further worsening of air quality.
“If a lockdown is imposed, a safety net will have to be provided for those whose livelihoods are impacted,” said Karthik Ganesan, fellow and director of research coordination, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
Delhi’s air quality improved marginally on Sunday, moving to the “very poor” category from Saturday’s “severe” thanks to winds picking up that help in dispersing the pollutants.
According to the forecast from the Air Quality Early Warning System, the AQI will continue to remain in the “very poor” category till at least Tuesday.
Two Ugandan women were caught allegedly carrying heroin worth Rs 90 crore at Delhi’s IGI Airport. The incident took place early on Saturday when the airport dog squad detected narcotics in their bags.
On personal search, the customs officers seized a total of 12.9 kg of heroin that was hidden in the false bottom of their luggage. Officers said the women had come from Kenya via Abu Dhabi. They had vacuum packed the drugs so that they would not get caught during baggage checks.
During the baggage search, personnel found the drugs were hidden on both sides of the bags.
Day 1 of the two-day job fair in Noida, that commenced on Sunday, saw 3,300 people submitting their applications.
The “Rozgar Mela” has been organised by the Noida Authority at Shilp Haat in co-ordination with Yamuna Expressway Industrial Authority (YEIDA) and Greater Noida Industrial Authority. Several large and mid-scale companies have set up stalls to provide employment opportunities to locals, officials said.
Spot registrations are being carried out and companies will shortlist candidates as per their requirements. The employers will give preference to residents of Gautam Buddh Nagar and those associated with agricultural activities in the region, the officials added.
Amritsar: A farmer burns paddy stubble at a farm on the outskirts of Amritsar, Thursday, Nov 11, 2021. The pollution and haze around the adjoining states of Punjab and Haryana, especially New Delhi has been linked with stubble burning and is said to be a contributing factor for increasing air pollution. (PTI Photo)
The Delhi High Court Friday questioned the Delhi Police for registering FIRs against Indian nationals who had provided accommodation in their homes or mosques to attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Markaz Nizamuddin during the lockdown last year, asking whether there was any notification to throw people out instead.
“Suddenly a lockdown is imposed, where does one go? On the street? He will remain where he is. What is the offence committed? Is there any bar on residents of Madhya Pradesh to come and stay in Delhi or stay in any temple, masjid, gurdwara,” said Justice Mukta Gupta, while hearing the petitions seeking quashing of FIRs against Delhi residents who are accused of allowing the attendees – mostly foreign nationals – to live in mosques or their houses.
READ | ‘What is the offence committed?’: Delhi HC asks police on those who provided shelter to Tablighis
Two days after a 20-year-old trainee wrestler and her 18-year-old brother were shot dead at a wrestling academy in Sonepat, the special cell of the Delhi Police arrested two men from outside the Dwarka Sector-14 metro station on Friday for allegedly committing the murders. Sonepat police have been informed of the arrests and they have been asked to take the accused into their custody, police said here.
Police said they have arrested Pawan Brak and his associate, Sachin Dahiya (23). Dahiya has a criminal background and two arms act cases were earlier registered against him in Haryana. “We received a specific information that two men involved in the double murder were coming to Delhi to meet their associate. A trap was laid and both the accused were arrested on Friday morning,” a senior police officer said.
READ | Wrestler, brother shot dead in Sonepat: Coach, associate arrested from Dwarka
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor has termed Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut’s statement that what India achieved in 1947 was alms (bheek) but not freedom as an insult to the freedom fighters’ sacrifices and demanded action against her.
Ranaut’s video went viral on social media with several people strongly criticising what the actor had said. In the clip, she is heard saying that what India got in 1947 was “alms”. “That was not freedom but ‘bheekh’ (alms), and the freedom came in 2014,” she added, supposedly referring to the year in which the Narendra Modi-led government came to power.
READ | ‘Insult to freedom fighters’: Delhi BJP spokesperson demands action against Kangana Ranaut for ‘freedom only in 2014’ comment
