Covid-19 restrictions in Delhi will be eased as soon as possible, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said. (File)Delhi Live News: Delhi on Tuesday logged 6,028 Covid-19 cases, 9,127 recoveries, and 31 deaths. The active case tally of the national capital went up to 42,010 along with the positivity rate dipping to 10.55 per cent.
Covid-19 restrictions in Delhi will be eased as soon as possible, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said at an event organised by the city government to celebrate Republic Day 2022. “We don’t want people’s livelihoods to be affected by Covid-19,” Kejriwal added.
According to the IMD forecast, Delhi’s minimum temperature will be recorded at 6 degrees Celsius and the maximum temperature at 16 degrees. The air quality is likely to remain in the ‘poor’ category on Tuesday and Wednesday with the current Air Quality Index at 253.
Live Blog
Senior AAP leader and Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will campaign for his party candidates for the Uttarakhand assembly polls from January 26 to 31.
During his six-day 'Nav Parivartan Samvaad Yatra', Rai will attend meetings and other programmes in five assembly constituencies in the hill state.
"We are getting a very good response from the people of Uttarakhand as they see the Aam Aadmi Party as a credible alternative today. In the past 21 years, people have seen that neither the Congress nor the BJP could fulfil their aspirations and achieve the goals with which Uttarakhand was formed as a state," Rai told PTI when asked about the poll prospects of his party in the state.
He said the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal had contested assembly polls in the state in the past but could not become an alternative to the BJP and the Congress. (PTI)
On the eve of Republic Day, the national capital was illuminated by the laser and drone lights rehearsal at Vijay Chowk.
Here's a look from the lightshow captured by Tashi Tobgyal:
The central government announced Padma awards on Tuesday, the eve of Republic Day. Among other honours, late General Bipin Rawat and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan.
The Padma Bhushan will also be conferred on Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and SII MD Cyrus Poonawalla.
Olympians Neeraj Chopra, Pramod Bhagat and Vandana Kataria, and singer Sonu Nigam will be awarded the Padma Shri. (Read more)
Questioning the government decision to provide ex-gratia amount of Rs 1 crore to the next of kin of healthcare professionals who died of Covid while working at government or private hospitals requisitioned by the state to deal with cases, the Delhi High Court Tuesday said the government needs to reconsider its policy as the distinction – between such healthcare workers and those working at other hospitals – does not appear to be justified. (Read more)
Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh on Tuesday said his office is moving forward in line with the Election Commission's vision of leaving no voter behind as evidenced in the outcomes of the recent special summary revision exercise.
On the occasion of National Voters' Day, he also said this occasion is to encourage, facilitate, and maximise voter registration and participation, particularly among first-time voters.
The theme for the 12th National Voters' Day set by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is 'making elections inclusive, accessible and participative'.
"Voters are the backbone of a democracy. Our constant endeavour is to educate, motivate, facilitate, engage and empower the voters so that they could play their democratic role more and more effectively. Let's renew our commitment for making elections truly inclusive, accessible and participative on this special occasion," Singh told reporters. (PTI)
A delegation of Delhi BJP MLAs met Lt Governor Anil Baijal on Tuesday and requested him for lifting of weekend curfew and odd-even system of opening shops dealing in non-essential items, citing improvement in Covid situation in the city.
Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said after the meeting that the LG responded positively to the requests of the BJP legislators. The legislators also raised other issues like liquor shops opened in residential areas of Delhi in violation of the Master Plan-2021 and non-payment of salaries to the staff of 12 colleges of Delhi University funded by the Delhi government, Bidhuri said.
BJP MLAs Omprakash Sharma, Jitendra Mahajan, Anil Bajpai, and Ajay Mahawar joined the delegation. Bidhuri said people are facing a lot of trouble due to the rules implemented by the Kejriwal government "in the name of controlling coronavirus" in Delhi. (PTI)
Delhi government will hoist 115-foot tricolours at 75 locations across the city on January 27 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the country's independence, PWD Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday.
The installation of the high-mast national flags is being done by the Public Works Department (PWD) under Delhi government's “Deshbhakti Budget” to celebrate India's 75th year of independence.
“To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the independence, the Delhi government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has decided to hoist 115-ft high tricolours at Delhi's 75 locations. This step will instil the feeling of patriotism among crores of people of the country,” Jain said in a tweet in Hindi.
Addressing the nation on the eve of 73rd Republic Day, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday urged the countrymen to follow the precautions suggested by the scientists and experts in the fight against the Covid spread.
“In the fight against the COVID pandemic, it has now become a sacred national duty of every citizen to follow the precautions suggested by our scientists and experts. We have to discharge this duty till the crisis is behind us,” he said.
For more Republic Day updates follow: Republic Day 2022 LIVE Updates
Delhi on Tuesday recorded the lowest temperature in January this year. Day-to-day progress of maximum and minimum temperature over the national capital as per SFD airport:
Delhi on Tuesday logged 6,028 Covid-19 cases, 9,127 recoveries, and 31 deaths. The active case tally of the national capital went up to 42,010 along with the positivity rate at 10.55 per cent.
The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) on Tuesday launched a campaign pressuring the Delhi government to lift the weekend curfew and the odd-even rule for opening shops here.
They said traders will die of hunger if the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), the highest decision-making body on COVID-19-related issues, decides to continue with the restrictions and thereby cripple businesses.
Representatives from around 50 markets here participated in the rally, “Remove Odd Even and Weekend Curfew, Save Delhi's Business”, from the Kashmere Gate Market.
CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said the campaign will run in more than 100 markets for the next three days and that all market associations have been requested to conduct similar campaigns. (PTI)
President Ram Nath Kovind will address the nation at 7 pm on the eve of Republic Day, which will see low-key celebrations amid the ongoing third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The government has decided to significantly curtail the number of people, who will physically attend the celebrations this year.
For more live updates from Republic day celebrations follow: Republic Day 2022 LIVE Updates
The Supreme Court Tuesday sought replies from the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes “irrational freebies” before polls, saying it is a “serious issue” as sometimes “freebie budget is going beyond regular budget”.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli sought the response in four weeks on the PIL filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay.
The plea, filed ahead of assembly polls in five states, said there should be a total ban on such populist measures to gain undue political favour from voters as they violate the Constitution and the EC should take suitable deterrent measures.
The bench took note of submissions of senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Upadhyay, that a law need to be framed on the issue and steps like seizure of party symbols or taking back the registration of parties or both may be thought of as ultimately it is the citizens who have to pay up.
The Delhi High Court Tuesday proposed to reduce from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 2 lakh the costs imposed on actress Juhi Chawla and two others by a single judge while dismissing her plea against 5G roll out, with a condition that she would have to do some work for public cause, considering that she is a celebrity and has presence in public.
Chawla's counsel, senior advocate Salman Khurshid, on instructions from her, consented to the court's suggestion which came during the hearing of an appeal by Chawla and the two others against the order dismissing her lawsuit against the 5G roll out.
A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh issued notice to the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) secretary seeking his response on the appeal and listed the matter for further hearing on January 27. (PTI)
The national capital shivered on Tuesday under harsh winter conditions as the minimum temperature dropped to 6.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal.
Delhi had experienced cold day conditions on Monday with the maximum temperature settling at 14.8 degrees Celsius, seven notches below the season's average, and minimum at eight degrees Celsius. A shallow fog enveloped the city on Tuesday and people largely stayed indoors or many in streets huddled around bonfires to stay warm.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the minimum temperature recorded at the Safdarjung Observatory, whose reading is considered the official marker for the city, stood at 6.2 degrees Celsius, a notch below normal.
The minimum temperature at Narela was recorded at 5.6 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. On Monday, a dense cover of fog had engulfed the national capital in the morning causing difficulty for early morning commuters. (PTI)
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on Monday launced a special train under the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav-celebrating 75 years of India’s Independence’ flagship. A specially decorated Metro train was launched in the presence of Managing Director, DMRC, Dr Mangu Singh along with other senior officials.
In a tweet, the DMRC said, "The exterior of this 8-coach special train has been decorated with collage of photographs and slogans depicting the glorious history of its people, culture and achievements in the last 75 years signifying the spirit of ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat’."
Ahead of Republic Day, the Delhi Police on Monday was seen putting up posters of suspected terrorists near Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place.
A day after a 23-year-old assistant manager working with a public sector bank was molested and robbed by an auto-rickshaw driver near IGI Stadium, Delhi Police sleuths posed as financiers and followed at least half a dozen vehicle sellers and buyers to trace the accused driver and arrested him Tuesday.
The woman was travelling in an auto-rickshaw Monday when the driver stopped on the side of the road to answer nature’s call but then grabbed the woman and molested her. The woman alleged he grabbed her by the neck and the two got into a scuffle after which he threatened to kill her. She jumped off the moving vehicle to save herself and the accused fled with her bag. (Read more)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday while addressing a Republic Day function organised by the Delhi government said, "Not a picture of any leader, but pictures of Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar ji and Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh ji will be installed in Delhi government offices from today."
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said the Covid restrictions imposed across the national capital will be eased soon so that people’s livelihood and economic activities can return to normalcy.
“After receiving several requests from the market and traders’ association, we sent a proposal to the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) to lift the weekend curfew and ease restrictions. He agreed to some recommendations, but deferred others like the odd-even system and weekend curfew. All these restrictions are imposed for public safety and people need not worry; all these restrictions will be lifted soon,” said Kejriwal after hoisting the national flag ahead of Republic Day. Read more