Delhi news live: Cinema halls, malls, metro and religious places labeled 'super spreader' areas

Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said that if Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta makes the minimum age of buying liquor in BJP-led states 25 years, then the Arvind Kejriwal government will make it 30 years in Delhi. The AAP MLA was reacting to the remarks of Gupta on the recent decision of Delhi government to lower drinking age in the capital from 25 years to 21 years, in which he said the AAP government was pushing Delhi’s youth towards liquor. “By our decision, this malpractice will be stopped and that is why BJP is upset,” Bharadwaj said.

In the first reduction in rates in over a year, petrol price on Wednesday was cut by 18 paise per litre and diesel by 17 paise a litre as international oil prices tumbled to the lowest since early February. Petrol price was cut to Rs 90.99 a litre in Delhi from Rs 91.17 per litre, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Diesel now comes for Rs 81.30 a litre in the national capital, down from Rs 81.47 previously. Rates have been reduced across the country and vary from state to state depending on the local incidence of taxation (VAT).

In wake of the increasing number of Covid-19 cases, cinema halls, malls, metro and religious place have been called 'super spreader' areas. All DMs have been instructed to increase surveillance in areas: Delhi government

Heavy traffic from Dwarka Link Road towards NH-8 (both carriageways) due to cable laying work by Delhi Transco Limited till 15th May 2021: Delhi Traffic Police

Heavy traffic at Madhuban Chowk. Only one lane available for traffic from Madhuban chowk towards outer ring road: Delhi Traffic Police

The sight of thousands of migrant labourers plodding back to their hometowns during the Covid-19 lockdown remains etched in most minds. Some weren’t lucky in their endeavour to reach home, though a majority of them made it to their villages. Many are yet to return to work in the capital even after the relaxation of the lockdown. But the missing chunk in the labour forces is only one of the current woes of Delhi’s industrial units. Demand continues to remain low despite a seeming return to normal conditions. And exacerbating industry’s struggle is an increase in the prices of raw material.

Restaurateurs and diners have hailed the proposed new excise policy of Delhi government as a step in the right direction. The policy recommended by a group of ministers headed by deputy CM Manish Sisodia lowers the drinking age from 25 to 21 years and promotes private participation in operating liquor stores. However, many leading restaurateurs feel that many other new provisions for hotels, restaurants and clubs, if implemented well, would make it one of the most “comprehensive policy reforms”.

A day after Delhi government announced its decision to exit the liquor retail business, analysis shows that the city would be divided into 32 zones for equitable distribution of shops. The current liquor stores would be reshuffled and distributed evenly across Delhi. In a first, people would be able to buy liquor after tasting it at five super-premium retail vends proposed by the government. These units would have to be created on a minimum 5,000 square feet space. They can set up a tasting room within an enclosed area not visible from the rest of the store. Training and tasting sessions may also be held to educate customers about brands.

Delhi government has started making preparations to roll out the Covid vaccination for people above 45 as the central government has opened the vaccination drive for everyone above the age of 45 years from April 1. A Delhi government official said that they had received a communication in this regard. “We have received the communication from the Centre and preparations will be made in advance according to the Centre’s blueprint for giving Covid shots to people above 45,” the official added.

Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has banned gatherings, congregations and public celebrations during upcoming festivals like Holi, Shab-e-Barat, Navaratri, etc in the wake of the recent surge in Covid cases. In an order issued on Tuesday, DDMA stated: “Gatherings, congregations and public celebrations during upcoming festivals like Holi, Shabe-Barat, Navaratri, etc may pose a considerable threat of spread of virus and may cause setback to the appreciable gains made in the suppression of chain of transmission of Covid cases. Considering this, it has been decided that public celebrations and all gatherings/congregations during upcoming festivals should not be allowed in public places.”

The daily count of Covid-19 in Delhi crossed the 1,000 mark on Tuesday with 1,101 more people testing positive for the viral infection. This is the highest single-day count in nearly three months. On December 19, 1,139 cases were recorded in a single day. Tuesday’s 1,101 cases came out of 84,237 tests — 52,099 RT-PCR and 32,138 Rapid Antigen — conducted over the past 24 hours, officials in the state health department said, adding that the positivity rate had gone up to1.31%.