President Ram Nath Kovind with former union minister Vijay Goel during the inauguration of the 'Heritage Park', near Jama Masjid, in New Delhi, Sunday, March 20, 2022. (PTI)Delhi News News Updates Today: Endowed with a Mughal-style ‘baradari’ and rich stocks of flowers, a new heritage-themed park near Jama Masjid in old Delhi was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday.
Till Saturday evening, more than 40,000 Covid jabs were given in Delhi, driven mainly by vaccination in the 12-14 year age group that became eligible Wednesday. This comes just a day after the capital saw only 13 shots being administered on Holi, one of the lowest figures the city has seen since the drive began in January last year. This is the first time in 12 days that the total number of vaccines administered has crossed the 40,000 mark.
In other news, admission to Delhi University colleges from the next academic year could be solely based on Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores, if a proposal in this regard is cleared by the varsity’s decision-making bodies. Senior Delhi BJP leaders, along with party MPs, legislators and farmers, will stage a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Sunday morning to press their demands related to subsidies on agricultural equipment and fertilisers among others, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, an SUV rammed into an autorickshaw on South Delhi’s Barapullah flyover on Friday evening, killing a 13-year-old boy and his mother, besides injuring two of his family members and the driver, police said. In other news, two research scholars of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have taken the university to court after they were told to change their research supervisor midstream on the grounds that the guide would superannuate in less than three years.
A Lady carrying water bottles on her head as temparature rises in New Delhi on Saturday. (Express/Praveen Khanna)
Endowed with a Mughal-style 'baradari' and rich stocks of flowers, a new heritage-themed park near Jama Masjid in old Delhi was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday.
The park was opened amid colourful cultural performances, strains of classical music and traditional dance by a troupe of artists in the 'baradari' which was decked up with flowers and a chandelier.
President Kovind inaugurated the park by unveiling a plaque. He was also given a tour of the garden during his brief visit. (PTI)
Taking its flagship ‘Happiness Curriculum’ a step further, the Directorate of Education is coming out with an English version of the updated teachers’ curriculum’ handbook which will be ready for dissemination on April 1. Also starting next Friday is the survey on the socio-emotional status of children after the pandemic across Delhi government schools. This will be conducted jointly with the Planning Department from April 1, and those who will be doing data collection for the survey are currently being trained. Read more
The Delhi Police have registered a first information report (FIR) against M3M India Private Limited for allegedly cheating a Delhi-based company named MGF Developments Limited of Rs 450 crore. Read more
A Delhi court has ordered framing of charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik and others in a case related to alleged terrorism and secessionist activities that disturbed the Valley in 2017. The court ordered framing of charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam and others, under various sections of the stringent UAPA and Indian Penal Code (IPC), including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country, and unlawful activities and terrorism, in a case pertaining to secessionist activities that disturbed Jammu and Kashmir.
The court also charged Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor. Special Judge Praveen Singh, after discussion of evidence, said prima facie, it is established that Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik, Rashid Engineer, Altaf Fantoosh, Masrat and Hurriyat/Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) were the direct recipients of terror funds. (PTI)
Fewer new cases of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) were reported in Delhi over the last two years —3,629 cases in 2020 and around 4,500 cases in 2021 — according to data from the Delhi State AIDS Control Society (DSACS) that implements the national control and prevention programme in the state.
This, however, is a cause of concern for the officials. There wasn’t an actual decrease in the number of cases, they say. Rather, fewer people going to hospitals during the lockdown and surge in Covid resulted in a decline in detection of HIV cases over the last two years, according to officials from Delhi’s health department. Read more
The Delhi High Court has sought the Delhi government's response on a plea by an NGO seeking to make functional a government school here which was constructed and developed back in 2011-12 and is lying unutilised. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla issued a notice and sought the response of the Delhi government and Directorate of Education (DoE) on the petition which also sought to take action against the officials who are answerable for their "lackadaisical attitude and dereliction of duties".
The court listed the matter for further hearing on March 29. The petition by NGO Lakshya submitted that a full-fledged school -- Rajkiya Uchh Madhyammik Balika Vidyalaya -- in Joshi Colony in IP Extension here was constructed and developed in 2011-12 and lying unutilised in a poor condition. The NGO, through its president Sanju, claimed that anti-social elements are stealing articles, including iron gates, windows, water taps, and washbasins, from the building and consuming alcohol and other contraband substances there. (PTI)
It was a warm Sunday morning in the city with the minimum temperature settling at 21.2 degrees Celsius, five notches above the season's average, the Met office said. According to the India Meteorological Department, the sky will remain clear through the day and the maximum temperature is likely to hover around 37 degrees Celsius. The humidity at 8.30 am was recorded at 75 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Air Quality Index (AQI) was in the 'poor' category (255) at 9 am, data from the Central Pollution Control Board 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'. (PTI)
A 53-year-old man in Dwarka was arrested for allegedly assaulting his 76-year-old mother over property issues which led to her death a day later, the Delhi Police said Sunday. The elderly woman, who sustained injuries on her head and arm during the assault on Thursday morning, succumbed to the injuries at a hospital on Friday, the officers added. Read more
In the tumultuous days following the Partition, as thousands of refugees from West Punjab flowed into Delhi, the famed monuments of the city became their very first home. Reports from the time suggest that by October 1947, close to 80,000 refugees were settled in the refugee camp of Purana Qila and as many in Humayun’s Tomb.
Nathu Singh Kaushik was about 15 at that time. His family had, for generations, been living in the village of Khirki. His home was in the vicinity of a historic mosque that gave the village its name. The Khirki Masjid is known to have been built in the 14th Century by Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah, the prime minister of Firoz Shah Tughlaq. For residents of Khirki though, the identity of the mosque was rather vague, given that no religious rituals were held on its premises. For those like Kaushik it was a ‘qila’ or a grand historic structure that was characteristic of their village, and where they played and rested as children. Adrija Roychowdhury writes
The online application process to entry-level seats in Delhi’s private schools under the economically weaker section (EWS)/disadvantaged groups (DG) and children with special needs (CWSN) categories for 2022-2023 has been delayed by a week and will now begin on March 29. According to the earlier schedule issued by the Directorate of Education, applications for these seats were supposed to begin online from March 22 and the date of the first round of centralised computerised draw of lots was supposed to be conducted on April 11.
However, according to a revised schedule issued by the department, the online application process will begin on March 29 and the last date for submitting applications is April 12. The first round of computerised draw of lots will take place on April 19. Read more
The East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has extended the last date for the amnesty scheme for depositing property-tax till March 31. Earlier, the last date for this scheme was March 15. Under this scheme, 100 per cent rebate on interest and penalty will be given on payment of outstanding property-tax, said a senior official. Due to Covid-19, property holders are not able to take advantage of this facility provided by the EDMC, so keeping in mind the convenience of local residents, it has been decided to extend the last date of the amnesty scheme, he said. Read more
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The Public Works Department (PWD) in Delhi has decided to repair and redevelop all footpaths and walkways across the city to make them more accessible and disabled friendly, officials have said. According to officials, footpaths and pavements at several locations and roads are in a poor condition and have been encroached upon.
“Due to the broken pavements and encroachments, pedestrians are having difficulty walking on roads. There are several stretches that are not disabled-friendly and the ramps are missing or broken and constructed improperly. Thus, to make the footpaths accessible, the department has decided to repair all footpaths in the city,” said a senior PWD official. Read more
A 35-year-old hawaldar died after allegedly shooting himself with his service weapon on the National Security Guard’s (NSG) campus in Manesar on Friday. Police said no suicide note has been recovered so far. Police said the deceased, Vikram Kumar, was found dead with a gunshot wound on his head around 3.30 pm Friday near his service quarters. A police officer said, “The reason for the suicide is yet to be ascertained.” Read more
An SUV rammed into an autorickshaw on South Delhi’s Barapullah flyover on Friday evening, killing a 13-year-old boy and his mother, besides injuring two of his family members and the driver, police said. They added that an engineering student has been arrested in connection with the case. Police said that the incident took place around 8.50 pm at Baba Banda Singh Bahadur flyover. The family were returning home from Holi celebrations when the car, a Tata Nexon, hit the autorickshaw and its occupants fled the spot. The car hit another vehicle as well. Read more
Two research scholars of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have taken the university to court after they were told to change their research supervisor midstream on the grounds that the guide would superannuate in less than three years. In their petition before the Delhi High Court, the students have alleged the decision is “illegal, unnecessary and mala fide”. The two, Akhilesh Rawat and Om Prakash, are fourth-year MPhil-PhD students at the School of Computer and Systems Sciences (SC&SS).
They had taken admission in 2018, and professor Rajeev Kumar was appointed as their supervisor at the time. In September last year, they were told to change their supervisor orally by the Dean, which was turned into a written directive in January this year, and later affirmed by the Rector on February 28. Now the two students have approached the HC against JNU, the Dean of SC&SS as well as the University Grants Commission, and Zahid Raza as the Chairperson, MTech/PhD Coordination cum Advisory Committee of SC&SS who issued the letter. After the first hearing, Justice Rekha Palli issued a notice to the parties in a written order on March 11. Read more
Senior Delhi BJP leaders, along with party MPs, legislators and farmers, will stage a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence on Sunday morning to press their demands related to subsidies on agricultural equipment and fertilisers among others.
According to a statement by the Delhi BJP, the protest march will begin from Chandgi Ram Akhara at 11.15 am under the banner of Kisan Morcha, affiliated to the Delhi BJP, and will culminate at the chief minister's residence on Flagstaff Road. State BJP president Adesh Gupta, Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, MPs and MLAs, along with thousands of farmers, will participate in the protest march, the statement said. (PTI)
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Saturday said it has shared the performance of Class XII students in their Term-I examinations with schools, but the results would only be declared after the Term-II examinations scheduled to begin on April 26. In a circular Saturday, CBSE Controller of Examinations Sanyam Bhardwaj said, “The Term-I examinations were conducted as per schedule. Performance of the students in Term-I examinations is being communicated to the schools now.”
“The Board is informing the schools only about the theory performance of their students of Class XII in a collective manner. Hence, the performance of the individual student will not be made available on the website…. The information about practical/project/internal assessment is already with the schools,” he added. Read more
More than 40,000 Covid jabs were given in Delhi till Saturday evening, driven mainly by vaccination in the 12-14 year age group that became eligible Wednesday. This comes just a day after the capital saw only 13 shots being administered on Holi, one of the lowest figures the city has seen since the drive began in January last year. This is the first time in 12 days that the total number of vaccines administered has crossed the 40,000 mark.
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