Old Delhi khari baoli market wears a deserted look during the weekend curfew in Delhi (Express photo/ Amit Mehra)Delhi News: Delhi on Monday reported 12,527 new Covid cases and 24 deaths. The positivity rate is at 27.99%. The Delhi government in a release further stated that 2,684 Covid patients are now admitted in hospitals across the state. Out of them, 909 are on oxygen support and 833 in the ICU.
A total of 44,762 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. As many as 18,340 patients have been discharged from hospitals or recovered or have migrated.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the number of fresh Covid-19 cases has been reducing in the city for the last few days. Delhi had reported 18,286 Covid-19 cases on Sunday and a positivity rate of 27.87 per cent, down from 30.64 per cent reported on Saturday.
But the decline in the absolute number of Covid-19 cases has been because of the fewer tests conducted on Sunday as reported in the next day’s bulletin. The number of tests conducted has been reducing in Delhi since the new ICMR testing guidelines were introduced, which do away with testing of asymptomatic persons on demand, low-risk contacts, and asymptomatic persons undergoing other procedures at hospitals.
A woman receives a dose of Covid-19 vaccine at Anand Vihar Metro Station amid concern over rising Omicron cases, in New Delhi, Saturday Jan. 15, 2022. (Express Photo/Amit Mehra)
The Delhi government Monday constituted a seven-member committee to look into the utilisation and management of funds of the 12 Delhi University colleges funded by the Aam Aadmi Party dispensation, according to an official order.
This comes even as the Delhi government and the administration of the 12 colleges remain locked in a tussle over release of grants. The committee has been directed to submit its report within 15 days i.e by February 2, the order said.
Delhi Higher Education Minister Manish Sisodia constituted the committee to "inquire into the position of funds, sources of funds, utilization of funds and management of funds in respect of 12 Delhi government fully funded colleges of University of Delhi", the order said. (PTI)
The AAP on Monday asked Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta to clarify his links with the builder mafia or resign "immediately", after the Delhi High Court sought his response on a plea alleging his role in an illegal and unauthorised construction.
The plea has also alleged that Gupta, the councillor of West Patel Nagar, has made crores of rupees in corruption and spent huge amounts in properties and construction work by misusing his power and position. The public interest litigation filed in the court alleging that Gupta was involved in unauthorised-illegal construction on public land has "exposed" the BJP's "intoxication of power and repeated misuse of public assets", the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said in a statement.
West Patel Nagar falls under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and like in this civic body, the BJP is also in power in the city's two other municipal corporations, SDMC and EDMC. (PTI)
Former Mumbai police officer Sachin Waze Monday approached the Delhi High Court seeking to quash the sanction granted to prosecute him under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with industrialist Mukesh Ambani's Antilia bomb scare case.
The plea came up before a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani which asked the counsel for Waze to place before it copies of relevant judgements being relied upon by him and listed the matter for further hearing on January 24.
The Centre raised preliminary objections to the maintainability of the petition on the ground that it should have been filed before Bombay High Court as everything related to the case happened in Mumbai.
Advocate Puneet Bali, representing Waze, submitted that the Delhi High Court has territorial jurisdiction over the issue as the sanction order was passed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which is located in the national capital. (PTI)
Delhiites shivered in the biting cold on Monday as cold day conditions prevailed at isolated places in the city with the temperature plummeting at least five to six degrees below normal in some parts, the weather office said.
However, at the Safdarjung observatory, which is considered the official marker of Delhi, there were no “cold day” conditions as the maximum temperature settled four notches below the season's average at 16.1 degrees Celsius on Monday.
The minimum temperature of the city was recorded at 8.7 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a “cold day” is when the minimum temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature is at least five degrees Celsius below normal.
IMD data showed that cold day conditions prevailed at Lodhi Road, Ridge, Narela, Jafarpur and Mayur Vihar. (PTI)
The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed petitions challenging the closure of spas and wellness centres in the national capital on account of COVID-19.
Justice V Kameswar Rao, while dealing with pleas by certain spa owners challenging the December 28 decision of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), noted that the authorities were seized of the issue and it was not for the court to decide if a direction can be given for the opening of spas and wellness centres at this stage.
The judge said that there was a surge in cases in December, which resulted in the authorities imposing a curfew during the night and weekends and a decision was taken to close down the spas in view of the circumstances existing at the relevant time. (PTI)
After missing several deadlines and facing delays due to the lockdown, construction work on the extension of the Ashram flyover to the Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) expressway has picked up the pace. The 1.2-km, six-lane flyover, which was supposed to be completed by March this year, is now expected to be finished by August.
The project was approved in the cabinet along with the proposal to construct the Ashram underpass in 2019, and a foundation stone was laid in December of the same year. Read more
The Delhi Police's Crime Branch has arrested a 39-year-old man alleged to be the kingpin of a well-organised betting and crime syndicate, officials said on Monday.
Lalit Verma alias Neetu, a resident of East Uttam Nagar, was on the run since 2016 and the Delhi Police had announced a reward of Rs 50,000 on his arrest, officials said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Monika Bhardwaj said that on Sunday, a team of Interstate Cell of Crime Branch, Chanakyapuri arrested Verma, who is the kingpin the well-organised syndicate.
She said Verma was booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act in 2015 in Delhi's Bhajanpura and was declared a proclaimed offender. A reward of Rs 50,000 was announced on him. He was previously booked by the Punjab police in a similar case. (PTI)
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will develop four of its major gardens -- Nehru Park, Lodhi Garden, Talkatora Garden and Sanjay Jheel -- into world-class facilities with smart lighting, upgraded nursery and walking tracks, among other things, officials said on Monday.
"NDMC takes pride in its gardens and intends to now further develop them in a manner befitting their location. It is proposed in this year's budget to get all the designs finalised by engaging a consultant under NDMC Smart City Projects for four major gardens. The consultant for the project would be appointed," NDMC vice chairman Satish Upadhyay said.
Smart irrigation through drip and sprinklers, manicured lawns, enhanced lighting in parks through smart lighting, improved walking tracks, aesthetic boundary wall railing in uniform pattern, upgraded bonsai and bamboo garden, provision for bird feeding and drinking water facility will be among the facilities made available at the parks. (PTI)
The decline in the absolute number of Covid-19 cases has been because of the fewer tests conducted on Sunday as reported in the next day’s bulletin. The number of tests conducted has been reducing in Delhi since the new ICMR testing guidelines were introduced, which do away with testing of asymptomatic persons on demand, low-risk contacts, and asymptomatic persons undergoing other procedures at hospitals.
Just 44,762 tests were conducted on Monday, which is the lowest since November 29 when 43,499 tests were conducted. There were 52,721 tests conducted on average every day in the last week of November, which was increased to 62,276 in December last week when Covid-19 cases started increasing after remaining low for over six months. Read more
Here are the region-specific Covid vaccination numbers in the 15-18 age group in Delhi
The Delhi government received as many as 12,471 calls on its Covid helpline number 1031 over the last one week, even as the number of calls saw a slight decline from January 13 to January 16.
Data provided by the city health department also showed that between January 10 and January 16, as many as 9,899 calls were received for ambulances.
Meanwhile, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday said the number of fresh COVID-19 cases has been reducing in the city for the last few days.
According to the health department's data, between January 10 (Monday) and January 16 (Sunday), a total of 12,471 calls were received on the government's Covid helpline number and 9,899 calls for ambulances were received separately. (PTI)
The Centre on Monday sought more time from the Delhi High Court to file a fresh reply to the petitions seeking criminalisation of marital rape. It also told the court that it wants to place on record its clear stand on the matter but will need “reasonable time” to do so. Read more
Delhi on Monday reported 12,527 new Covid cases and 24 deaths. The positivity rate is at 27.99%.The Delhi government in a release further stated that 2,684 Covid patients are now admitted in hospitals across the state.
Out of them, 909 are on oxygen support and 833 in the ICU. A total of 44,762 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. As many as 18,340 patients have been discharged from hospitals or recovered or have migrated.
The Delhi High Court Monday sought response of the Delhi government and Lieutenant Governor on a plea alleging unauthorised construction and encroachment on public land by Delhi BJP chief and municipal councilor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Delhi government, Lieutenant Governor, North MCD, Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta, who is a councilor of West Patel Nagar constituency, and Chief Executive officer of BSES Yamuna on the petition. The court granted time to the respondents to file a response to the petition and listed the plea for further hearing on February 18.
The PIL alleged that the councilor has failed to act in accordance with the norms of integrity and conduct which ought to be followed by public functionaries and abused his position to obtain favour for himself or others. Petitioner and advocate Hemant Choudhary claimed in the plea that the councilor was involved in the unauthorised illegal construction over public land adjacent to municipal corporation school opposite to his residence at West Patel Nagar here to construct a personal office. (PTI)
Three men were arrested for alleged visa fraud, police said on Monday. Two of those arrested are Joginder Singh (53) and Surjeet Singh (53). They used to work as agents in rural areas of Kaithal and Kurukshetra in Haryana and arranged visas and passports by unfair means for people intending to travel abroad, the police said.
The third arrested accused is Kuldeep Singh (33), a passenger who intended to travel on a fake visa, police said.
According to the police, a complaint was received from immigration officials at IGI Airport police station alleging that on the intervening night of January 8 and 9, a passenger named Kuldeep Singh approached for immigration clearance at the airport to depart to Dubai.
"During clearance and scrutiny of travel documents, a fake Canadian visa was found affixed on a page of his passport as it did not have any security features as that of the original Canadian visa. A case was registered and investigation taken up," Sanjay Tyagi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport), said. (PTI)
A plea on Monday urged the Delhi High Court to direct the Central government to give a road map for vaccinating children of the age group of 12 years and below for COVID-19. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said it would hear the plea on March 22.
The counsel for petitioners, a 12-year-old girl and another, submitted that presently vaccination is being administered to only children of 15-17 years of age. The court was informed by senior advocate Kailash Vasudev, appearing for the petitioners, that no roadmap has been given by the government for vaccinating children of the age of 12 years and below.
He urged the court to direct the government to give a roadmap for vaccinating kids of the age group of 12 years and below.
The issue of vaccinating children below 12 years of age was raised during the hearing of a PIL filed on behalf of a minor and other seeking directions for the immediate vaccination of those in the 12-17 age group on the ground that there were fears that the third wave of COVID-19 could affect them more. (PTI)
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday flagged off the first electric Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus in the city in presence of Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot. He said another 300 electric buses were expected to ply by April.
Bus no. E-44 was Monday operational between IP Depot and Pragati Maidan. It's a 12 metre long, low floor AC bus, with a ramp for the physically challenged and other facilities like CCTV and panic button.
“This is the first electric bus in Delhi to become operational. It is important in many ways. It is the beginning of a new era in the transport sector in Delhi with the first electric bus hitting the road today,” Kejriwal said at the flagging off ceremony.
“I believe gradually electric buses will replace the old buses. It is a major step towards controlling pollution in the city. It is noise free and zero emission...By April, we expect another 300 buses to reach Delhi. Our target is to run around 2000 more electric buses in the coming years,” he added.
Kejriwal also said this was the first bus to be inducted in the DTC fleet since 2011.
"Another important development is that since 2011, not a single new bus had been inducted in the DTC fleet. There was some jinx; whenever we tried, we ran into some problem. Today this bus has been added to the DTC fleet finally," said Kejriwal. (ENS)
About 2,500 Delhi Police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 since January 1 and 767 of them have recovered, an official said on Monday. According to the latest data, since January 1, about 2,500 Delhi Police personnel from all ranks and units of the force tested positive for Covid.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chinmoy Biswal who is also the spokesperson of Delhi Police had tested positive for the virus. He, however, has recovered and resumed work, a senior police officer said.
"Many of them are recouping well and resuming their duties on a daily basis," the officer added. "About 2,500 personnel have tested positive for Coronavirus since January 1 till date. Out of them, 767 infected personnel of the force have recovered and resumed their work," said Biswal, Delhi Police PRO.
Meanwhile, a special camp is being organised for police personnel of all ranks to administer booster doses to eligible ones. (PTI)
At least 15 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital in the first two weeks of January this year, according to a civic report released on Monday. Cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch till mid-December.
Last year, 9,613 dengue cases, the highest number of cases of the vector-borne disease recorded in the national capital in a year since 2015, and 23 deaths were reported. According to the civic report, a total of 15 dengue cases have been recorded this year till January 15. For the January 1-15 period, no cases were recorded in the preceding three years, while one case was logged in 2017 and three in 2018, it said.
In the years prior to 2021, the total dengue cases reported were -- 4431 (2016), 4726 (2017), 2798 (2018), 2036 (2019) and 1072 (2020), as per the report. In 2015, the city had witnessed a massive outbreak of dengue, when the number of dengue cases reported had crossed 10,600 in October itself, making it the worst outbreak of the vector-borne disease in the national capital since 1996. (PTI)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that indulging in a blame game over the pandemic situation will not eradicate the coronavirus and it should be eliminated from the entire country. His remarks came in response to Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij's statement that "increasing coronavirus cases in Delhi have affected the NCR (National Capital Region) and the infection rate has increased in Gurugram, Faridabad and Sonipat districts".
Asked about Vij's remarks, Kejriwal said, "I won't indulge in blame game. It's not going to eradicate the disease. Wherever there is coronavirus in the country it should be eradicated." He said the number of COVID-19 cases is reducing in Delhi and around 12,000-13,000 fresh cases are expected on Monday, down from over 18,000 cases recorded on Sunday. (PTI)