Children attend classes while maintaining all Covid protocols as schools reopened in Delhi on Monday. (Express Photo)Delhi Live News: After being shut for more than 19 months, schools in Delhi finally re-opened on Monday — including at the primary level.
Primary and middle school grades — up to class VIII — have not been opened for even a single day since schools in Delhi shut as a precaution against Covid-19 on March 12, 2020. Schools had opened shortly for classes IX to XII, starting January this year, before closing completely on April 9 because of the second wave of the pandemic. They opened again for classes IX to XII on September 1, but there had been no approval for schools to open for younger children.
Cinema halls, theatres and multiplexes in Delhi, too, will be allowed to reopen with 100 per cent seating capacity starting today. The revised guidelines also raised the number of people allowed to attend weddings and last rites from 100 to 200, as Covid-19 cases is now subsiding in the city. Movie theatres and multiplexes were closed in April after the cases saw an exponential rise during the second wave.
Meanwhile, the air quality index of the national capital dipped to the “very poor” category on Monday morning. At 9 am, the overall AQI was recorded at 302. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered “good”, 51 and 100 “satisfactory”, 101 and 200 “moderate”, 201 and 300 “poor”, 301 and 400 “very poor”, and 401 and 500 “severe”.
After lining up in little circles outside their schools to get their temperatures checked and hands sanitised, primary and middle school children in Delhi walked into their schools after more than 19 months on Monday.
While most private schools are waiting till after Diwali to re-open for the younger children, government schools opened for them on Monday to moderate turnout. The neat organization of their entries gave way to little groups as friends called out to each other to meet after all these months. Read more
Delhi's draft electoral roll published on Monday shows the total number of voters falling by one lakh in the city compared to the last roll published in January, officials said.
The total number of electors in Delhi stands at 1,47,95,549 in the draft roll, with the names of 3,19,222 voters, including over 59,000 who died, deleted and those of 2,16,702 added, according to the data shared by Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh at a press conference here. He said there is a net decrease of 1,02,520 electors in the draft roll.
'Of these (deleted names), 59,423 were such voters who had died, and 2,51,062 had permanently shifted out of Delhi and 8,737 names had duplicate entries, so, these were deleted accordingly,' Singh said.
There is a decrease in the number of both male and female voters since January 15 when the last electoral roll was published. (PTI)
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Monday termed "misleading" media reports that it has sought the recovery of non-Net fellowship from research students.
The university said in an official statement it disburses such fellowships to MPhil and PhD students as per University Grants Commission guidelines.
"It's clarified that some reports in the Indian media alleging that the University has sought recovery of Non-Net fellowship from research students are misleading," it said.
The clarification comes after allegations by students that the varsity has started recovering non-NET fellowships from research students.
"It is underlined that Jawaharlal Nehru University disburses Non-Net fellowship to students of MPhil/PhD programs as per guidelines prescribed by University Grants Commission," the statement said.
"Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) is paid to eligible students by UGC directly to their bank accounts and the university only verifies and uploads relevant documents of such students on the UGC portal for disbursement," the statement said. (PTI)
Aiming to make the capital begging-free, the city government on Monday launched a pilot project to create livelihood opportunities for beggars through training and skill-building in central Delhi.
According to a survey conducted by the Social Welfare Department and the Institute for Human Development in February, there are around 20,719 persons engaged in the act of begging (PEAB) in Delhi. Of these, 10,987 are men, 9,541 women and 191 transgenders. East Delhi district has the highest number of PEABs (2,797).
The project will be conducted at Ashray Griha, Katra Maula Bux, Roshanara Road for men and Ashray Griha (DUSIB Night shelter), Khairia Mohalla, Roshanara Road for women. (PTI)
Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday directed the Union health secretary to identify and send team of experts to states with high active dengue cases, as he reviewed the situation in Delhi and assured the Centre’s full support.
Mandaviya chaired a high-level meeting with the Delhi government to review the public health measures taken for control and management of dengue. “Reviewed the dengue situation in Delhi and assured Centre’s full support,” the minister tweeted. Read more
NCB Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede on Monday visited the federal anti-narcotics agency’s headquarters in New Delhi and met senior officers.
Officials said Wankhede visited the NCB headquarters for some “official work”. It was not immediately known if he met NCB director general S N Pradhan or deputy director general (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh.
Singh is conducting a departmental vigilance probe into allegations of extortion made in the cruise drug bust case, in which Wankhede and his team had arrested actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and seven others on October 3. Read more
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders on Monday staged a protest at the Civic Centre, which houses the headquarters of North and South civic bodies, against the non-payment of salaries to municipal employees.
Protesting AAP leaders and councillors demanded immediate payment of salaries to the employees of the civic bodies. The three civic bodies—North, East and South Delhi Municipal Corporation—in Delhi are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while the AAP is the principal opposition in these corporations.
AAP councillor and Leader of Opposition in North Delhi Municipal Corporation, Vikas Goel, alleged that MCD employees have not got salaries for last two-three months. (PTI)
Former Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash has challenged a court order discharging Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and nine others in a case related to an alleged assault on him in 2018. All charges against the accused were dropped in August. Charges were framed only against AAP MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.
A Special Judge of Rose Avenue District Court on Monday issued notice to Kejriwal and others on Prakash’s revision plea and listed the matter for further proceedings on November 23. Read more
Sameer Wankhede, the Narcotics Control Bureau’s Mumbai zonal head, will meet National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairperson Vijay Sampla here on Monday to present his original caste documents to prove that he is a Dalit, sources said. Wankhede will meet Sampla at the NCSC office here at around 12 pm, sources said. Wankhede is leading the probe in the cruise drugs case in which actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan was arrested. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court on Monday said that it cannot allow the sale of firecrackers within Delhi even to those who may want to use them outside the national capital, where there may be no prohibition on its use.
“If somebody were to come, say from an area ‘A’ where the air quality is excellent and there is no prohibition and were to come to you in Delhi and purchase it from you, then the point of sale will be Delhi which would be in contravention of the order of the Supreme Court. The ‘sale and use’ means you can’t sell it in Delhi and you can’t use it in Delhi by bringing it from outside,” Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva said. Read More
Five fresh dengue deaths have been reported in Delhi, taking the total number of deaths due to the disease to six in the national capital, according to a civic body report released Monday. The civic body is yet to share details of the patients. This is the highest number of dengue deaths reported in the past four years. In 2017, ten deaths were reported, four in 2018, two in 2019 and one death in 2020. For the first time, the number of cases also crossed 500 in just one week this year, with 531 cases being reported last week, taking the total number of cases in Delhi to 1,537. Read More
Nearly four years after 17 workmen died in a fire incident at a firecracker manufacturing factory in Bawana, the Delhi High Court has directed the factory owner to deposit Rs 34 lakh with the Commissioner under the Employees’ Compensation Act, and ordered release of Rs 2 lakh each to the victims or their legal heirs.
The court was hearing a petition challenging the notices issued by the commissioner to the factory owner, Manoj Jain, directing him to pay the computed compensation amounts to the legal heirs of the employees who died in the 2018 incident. Read More
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will protest outside the MCD head office Civic Center on Monday to protest against the non-payment of salaries to employees of the civic body. There are around 8,000 teachers, 5,000 nurses, paramedics and health workers and thousands of other staff employed under the North MCD whose salaries have been delayed. Read More
The first day of reopening of government schools for primary and middle school children exhorted moderate response. The focus was been on acclamatizing the students with the Covid protocol. In the first few months, the focus will be on foundational literacy and numeracy for all children of these grades. (With inputs from Sukrita Baruah)
Stock up for your Diwali diyas, lights and home decor items from one of the most popular Diwali mela of the city, the Blind School Diwali mela. The mela had gone online last year, but this year it’s back in full form, and it has 69 stalls selling everything from clothes and accessories to Diwali staples. Owing to Covid restrictions, the mela doesn’t have any food stalls on the premises this year. At the Blind School Relief Association, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, opposite The Oberoi hotel. Till November 1, 10-8 pm. Read More
A 52-year-old businessman was allegedly shot dead near the hotel he owned in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area late on Sunday.
The deceased, identified as Krishan Pal Sehrawat, lived in Gurgaon and owned a hotel called Dolphin International in Mahipalpur. He was shot in the head, said the police. The police said Sehrawat gave his hotel on lease to a man around 10 months ago and was having issues with the tenant over bills and lease payment. The tenant, Roshan Mishra, and his associates are the prime suspects and they are on the run, said the police. Read More
Delhi residents felt a slight chill on Monday morning as the minimum temperature dipped two notches below normal to settle at 13.6 degrees Celsius. According to an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the sky will remain clear through the day and the maximum temperature is likely to settle around 30 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the air quality index (AQI) was recorded in the "very poor" category on Monday morning, real-time data of the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research showed. At 9 am, the overall AQI was recorded at 302 in the national capital. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ''good'', 51 and 100 ''satisfactory'', 101 and 200 ''moderate'', 201 and 300 ''poor'', 301 and 400 ''very poor'', and 401 and 500 ''severe''. (PTI)
The Delhi Jal Board will rectify bills that are of high amounts in the current billing cycle compared to the previous billing cycle, according to an order issued by Akriti Sagar, Director (Revenue). Due to lockdowns and cases of homes remaining locked, meter readings have accumulated leading to higher bills. In such cases, DJB will rectify the bills.
Teachers, nurses, and other employees of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation said they will be forced to not celebrate Diwali properly for the third year in a row as the corporation has not paid salaries for the past one-two months.
There are around 8,000 teachers, 5,000 nurses, paramedics and health workers and thousands of other staff employed under the civic body. Ram Niwas Solanki, general secretary of the Municipal Corporation Teachers’ Association, said though the salary delay is a constant, it is worse when they cannot celebrate a festival properly because of it. “There has been a two-month delay now; our children want new clothes and toys, and we find ourselves helpless,” he said. Read More