A health worker collects swab sample of a man in New Delhi. (Express Photo By Amit Mehra)Delhi News highlights: Delhi on Wednesday reported 1,317 fresh Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths, health bulletin said. While 62,556 samples were tested, today’s positivity rate stood at 2.11 per cent.
Meanwhile, amid protests by students, DU Proctor Rajni Abbi Wednesday announced the university will reopen on February 17. By this evening, a notification will be issued from the side of the vice-chancellor, Abbi said, addressing protesting ABVP activists. Nine ABVP activists had launched a hunger strike at Delhi University’s North Campus demanding the reopening of colleges. Left activists were also protesting for the same in the campus on Wednesday.
Delhi University’s Academic Council (AC) is meeting Wednesday to discuss its draft undergraduate curriculum framework (UGCF). Though UGCF is the only item that has been placed formally on the agenda, the reopening of the university was also likely to be discussed. In the afternoon, the proctor, registrar and Dean Students’ Welfare came out to appeal to the ABVP activists to end their hunger strike and made the reopening announcement.
A nodal officer was requested to pursue the matter with government agencies, however, the response from the Delhi government is still awaited. (File Photo)
Delhi on Wednesday reported 1,317 fresh Covid-19 cases and 13 deaths, health bulletin said. While 62,556 samples were tested, today's positivity rate stood at 2.11 per cent.
CBSE second term theory exams will begin on April 26. The exam will be conducted offline mode in centres to be allotted to students.
Akash Dhima, a student of Bachelor in journalism programme from Delhi School of Journalism, North campus says it doesn't matter much since they have just two months left in the college. He said reopening would be good for other batches.
About his studies during the pandemic, he said, "the studies have suffered especially the practical aspect has been affected. These are costly software that is taught in labs which we do not have at home. And you need interaction to learn these things. Many of my friends are from an underprivileged background and do not have a laptop so their learning process has been affected. It's all theory presently. Earlier there used to be seminars, we used to go to news shows and develop contacts."
20-year-old Adhiraj Hazarika says that colleges should be opened following all precautions and COVID protocol. He is a third-year Bcom student.
"The studies have been managed but how much I have been able to learn is a question. It is very little in comparison to how much I would have if I had gone to college. The interaction is less which affects the learning methods since online education is a new concept the current approach is to just get it done," he said.
An official notification regarding reopening issued by DU states that offline classes for all UG and PG courses will begin from February 17. Outstation students are advised to reach Delhi such that they can complete three days of isolation before reporting to their departments/colleges.
'There is no participation in online classes, the assignments are mostly theoretical, and the open book exams feel futile. I feel like if I graduate like this, I will be incompetent,' said 19-year-old Saniya Raahath, a second-year Journalism (Hons) student from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce. She has completed almost four semesters from her home in Kollam, Kerala.
She feels like she chose the wrong college as she started her graduation at Symbiosis Pune before opting for DU as Delhi is the hub of journalism. 'Symbiosis had opened last year, it shut down during the current wave, but it reopened. Meanwhile, I haven't seen my college ever. Despite the high number of cases in Kerala, I see my friends here going to college,' she said
AIIMS, Delhi today announced that it would discontinue the routine COVID-19 testing before inpatient hospitalisation and surgeries.
The vaccination drive in Delhi against Covid-19 has again picked up the pace, with close to 1 lakh doses being administered on Monday and Tuesday, according to data from the government’s CoWIN portal. There were 1,01,890 shots administered on Monday and 98,255 on Tuesday. In comparison, just over 59,800 shots were administered on average each day during the previous week.
Despite the rise in the pace, the number of precaution doses being administered remains low, accounting for only about 9 per cent of the shots administered on both days. So far, there have been 339,330 total precaution doses administered in the city since the drive was opened up on January 10. This means almost 35 per cent of the total 9,70,000 healthcare workers, frontline workers, and people over the age of 60 years with co-morbidities have received the precaution doses. Read More
Amid protests by students, DU Proctor Rajni Abbi Wednesday announced the university will reopen on February 17. By this evening, a notification will be issued from the side of the vice-chancellor, Abbi said, addressing protesting ABVP activists. Nine ABVP activists had launched a hunger strike at Delhi University’s North Campus demanding the reopening of colleges. Left activists were also protesting for the same in the campus on Wednesday.
Niharika Aggarwal,19, is a second year English (hons) student from Hansraj college. She says she is desperately waiting for the college to open as she has seen her campus only once when she travelled from her hometown in Meerut to collect her library card. "I see my friends who have joined private colleges, putting up photos of what they are doing on social media. We did everything right and ended up in the prestigious Delhi University, but we are missing out on the experiences," she said.
The online teachings do not allow for good discussions despite their brilliant teachers trying to make the classes as interactive as possible, she said.
At the same time, the Delhi University Teachers Association is also protesting against the draft Undergraduate Curriculum Framework 2022, the adoption of which is to be discussed in the Acadmeic Council meeting today.
Nine ABVP activists have launched a hunger strike at Delhi University’s North Campus and are demanding the reopening of colleges.
The vaccination drive in Delhi against Covid-19 has again picked up the pace, with close to 1 lakh doses being administered on Monday and Tuesday, according to data from the government’s CoWIN portal. There were 1,01,890 shots administered on Monday and 98,255 on Tuesday. In comparison, just over 59,800 shots were administered on average each day during the previous week.
Delhi University’s Academic Council (AC) will meet Wednesday to discuss its draft undergraduate curriculum framework (UGCF). Though UGCF is the only item that has been placed formally on the agenda, dates for reopening the university is also likely to be discussed. Officials said the reopening dates may be announced after the meeting.
Rains lashed the city overnight even as the minimum temperature settled at 12.8 degrees Celsius, four notches above the season's average, on Wednesday. Delhi's air quality remained in the poor category as the air quality index (AQI) stood at 271. The weather office has forecast a generally cloudy sky with light rain or drizzle along with gusty winds.
A day after the controversy over tweets from an unverified Twitter handle in her name (@SantishreeD), newly appointed Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit said on Tuesday that she “never had” a Twitter account.
The handle, which had tweets calling Jamia Millia Islamia and St Stephen’s College “communal campuses”, used slurs for Indian Christians and described civil rights activists as “mentally-ill jihadists”, was deleted following the uproar on Monday.
In a matter related to the Northeast Delhi riots, the Delhi High Court Tuesday granted time to the petitioners to file applications to implead political leaders and activists, who they have accused of delivering hate speeches, as parties in the case.
Asking the petitioners whether the court can issue directions against whom the allegations have been made without them being arrayed as parties, the division bench of Justice Siddharth Mirdul and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani said, “If you make allegations against a person, are they not entitled to be afforded a hearing and an opportunity to defend themselves?”
The court also asked whether a PIL was maintainable in a criminal case and why the petitioners should not approach the magistrate instead. Read More
Delhi on Tuesday recorded a maximum temperature of 26 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal, officials said.
The minimum temperature in the city settled at 11.5 degrees Celsius, two notches above the normal, they said. The relative humidity was recorded at 63 per cent in the evening, according to the India Meteorological Department. The weatherman has forecast a generally cloudy sky with light rain or drizzle on Wednesday.
The air quality index (AQI) in Delhi was recorded in the 'poor' category on Tuesday, Central Pollution Control Board data showed. 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'.
On Monday, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 26.1 degrees Celsius and a minimum temperature of 8.8 degrees Celsius. (PTI)
The Delhi Police Special Cell has busted a fake visa racket and arrested five persons in connection with the case. Over 225 passports and hundreds of visa stickers have been recovered.