A healthcare worker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a student between the age group of 12 to 14 years at a vaccination centre in New Delhi. (Express)Delhi News Live Updates Today: Delhi on Saturday reported 61 fresh Covid-19 cases and one death, while the positivity rate stood at 0.68 per cent. The relatively lower number of cases came out of the lesser number of tests — 9,011 — conducted a day ago, which was a holiday in view of Holi festival. With 61 fresh cases, the national capital’s case count increased to 18,63,694 while the death toll rose to 26,146. Delhi reported 140 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero deaths on Friday, while the positivity rate was recorded at 0.43 per cent.
More than 40,000 Covid jabs were given in Delhi till Saturday evening, driven mainly by vaccination in the 12-14 year age group for which the drive opened 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.
With vaccination reaching a saturation point in Delhi and the number of shots each day continuing its downward slide, the government is soon likely to take a decision on shutting down a few centres, especially those that were opened at schools. “Currently, children are on vacation and many are out of the city as well. So, the vaccination count is lower. Hopefully, the numbers will increase once the drives begin at schools. We have already reached out to the department of education to check with schools and give us a schedule on when the camps can be organised,” said a Delhi government official.
Children playing Holi after two years of Covid pandemic, in New Delhi on Friday.
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)
Congress MP Deepender Hooda on Saturday supported the demand for setting up an Ahir regiment in the Indian Army.
Hooda went to the Kherki Daula toll on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway here to convey solidarity with the members of the community who have been protesting there since last month to press their demand for an Ahir regiment.
“Yaduvanshis have a deep connection with both plough and arms. Their valour needs no introduction. It is time now that an Ahir regiment is established to give them due recognition,” Hooda said. The Ahir community members mostly identify themselves as Yadavs. (PTI)
The national capital reeled under early summer heat with the maximum temperature settling at 36.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, making it the warmest day of the season, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The summer heat has set in across the region with mercury levels showing a continuous rising trend. The minimum temperature was recorded at 19.8 degrees Celsius, which is three notches above the season's normal.
According to the weather office, the temperature is likely to rise further on Sunday. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 37 degrees Celsius and 21 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the IMD forecast. (PTI)
After a delay of over a year during which it missed nearly eight deadlines, the 750-metre-long underpass at the perennially clogged Ashram crossing in Delhi is all set to open for public next week, a move that will benefit lakhs of commuters.
Delhi's Public Works Department (PWD) has finalised the construction work of the underpass. "The construction work has almost been completed. Only some finishing touches are being given. We hope to open it next week on the given date," a government official said.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had earlier this month carried out an inspection of the underpass in south Delhi and had announced that it would be opened for the public on March 22. (PTI)
Traders of several markets, including Sarojini Nagar, Palika Bazar and Janpath, have written to the NDMC to resume the process of renewing licences of shops and kiosks allotted to them. A New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) member assured that the issue would be "resolved soon".
The traders have alleged that the renewal of the license deed has been stopped for the "last two or three years". According the rules and Acts of the NDMC, the licence deed of shops and kiosks allotted by the NDMC has to be renewed after every 10 years.
Ashok Randhawa, president of the Sarojini Nagar Mini Market Traders Association, told PTI that several allottees have sought the renewal of licences but got no response.
The Delhi University's academic council will meet on Tuesday to discuss changes in the admission process to colleges in view of it adopting the Common University Entrance Test.
From the next academic year, it has been proposed that students will get admission to undergraduate courses solely on scores they get in the entrance test. With the implementation of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), the Delhi University (DU) will be doing away with the earlier system of admission under which it used announce cut-offs based on Class 12 board results.
The DU academic council will meet on March 22 to discuss changes in the admission criterion since the varsity has decided to opt for the CUET from the 2022-23 academic year. (PTI)
A man was killed by five people following an argument at a pan shop in west Delhi's Naraina area, police said on Saturday. All the accused in the incident, which occurred on Friday around 10 pm, have been apprehended, they said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Ghanshyam Bansal said, "A fight broke out at a pan shop near PVR Naraina in which the man, Shiva, was killed by five people." A case under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intension) has been registered, and five people, including a juvenile, have been apprehended, the DCP said.
The accused have been identified as Dharmendra Rai (54), his sons Ramanuj (29) and Sachin (22), and Vakil Ahmed (23), all residents of Naraina village, the police said. (PTI)
The Delhi Police penalised more than 2,450 people for traffic violations in the city on Holi and Shab-e-Barat, including over 190 for drunken driving, officials said on Saturday. According to data shared by the police, out of the total, 1,921 people were fined for riding without helmets, 314 for triple-riding, 196 for drunken driving and 25 for dangerous driving.
"A total of 2,456 challans were issued for various traffic violations and a majority of these were issued to motorists without helmets," an official said.
A fatal accident took place on Friday evening in which a 13-year-old boy died and four people were injured after a speeding car hit an auto-rickshaw on the Barapullah flyover. (PTI)
The Delhi government plans to assess the "success and survival rate" of all transplanted trees in the national capital and has roped in the Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute for this purpose, officials said.
According to forest department data, 12,852 trees had been transplanted at 23 sites in the city till the end of last year. To assess the "success and survival" rate of the transplanted trees, an FRI team will look at the site selection criteria for transplantation, size of pits and their spacing; method and time of transplantation, health and growth of the transplanted trees and maintenance schedule, an official of the department said.
FRI scientists will also take stock of irrigation frequency, soil-moisture conservation, check dams, contour trenches, fencing measures, silviculture practices and protection strategies against biotic and abiotic interferences etc, according to a proposal received from the institute. The study will be conducted over a period of six months after the approval from the minister concerned, the official said. (PTI)
A Mughal-style 'baradari' and rich stocks of flowers now dominate an open space near Jama Masjid in old Delhi which earlier was covered in filth, encroached from mutiple sides and often used by anti-social elements.
The plot, owned by the local civic body, after months of hard labour and meticulous planning has been transformed into a beautiful heritage-themed park that is slated to be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday evening.
People associated with the planning and execution of the 'Heritage Park', which faces the Mughal-era Red Fort on one side, are ecstatic about this "urban landscape transformation" that they plan to replicate in neighbouring areas. (PTI)
A 72-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was arrested for allegedly molesting and kidnapping an 11-year-old minor girl from the Bengali Market area on the Barakhamba Road Thursday. The accused was taking her to Haridwar when the police arrested him and rescued the girl.
DCP (New Delhi district) Amrutha Guguloth said the accused has been identified as Raghu Nath, a resident of Geeta Colony and has four sons and a daughter. “The incident came to light on March 17 around 6.36 pm after the victim’s parents approached the police and informed them that their daughter had gone missing from near Bengali Market. We immediately lodged an FIR and teams were formed to trace her,” she said. Read more.
Five persons including a 16-year-old juvenile have been apprehended from west Delhi’s Naraina for allegedly killing a 29-year-old man after his motorbike touched one of them.
The police said the accused have been identified as Dharmendra Kumar, his two sons Sachin and Ramanuj, his employee Waqil Ahmed, and his nephew, a juvenile.
“The deceased was identified as Shiva, who was staying in Naraina village with his family. The incident took place on Friday at around 9.30 pm when a fight broke out at a pan shop near PVR Naraina after which Shiva was killed by a group of five persons. Shiva’s vehicle hit the employee of the alleged party, which led heated arguments and then the death,” said DCP (west) Ghanshyam Bansal. Read more.
Delhi is likely to record a maximum temperature of around 36 degrees Celsius and clear skies on Saturday, going by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast for the national capital.
The maximum temperature has remained above normal for the past few days. On Friday, a maximum temperature of 35.7 degrees was recorded, five degrees above the normal for this time of the year at the Safdarjung weather observatory. The minimum temperature registered early on Saturday was 19.8 degrees Celsius, three degrees above the normal. While the relative humidity at 8.30 am was 85%, the temperature at the same time was 22.6 degrees.
The normal maximum temperature for March 19 to 21 is 30.6 degrees Celsius. The normal minimum temperature for the same period is 16.5 degrees Celsius. On Thursday, the maximum temperature stood at 36.1 degrees at the Safdarjung weather station. Read more.
Delhi reported 140 fresh Covid-19 cases and zero death due to the viral disease on Friday, while the positivity rate was recorded at 0.43 per cent, according to data shared by the city health department. With this, the national capital's Covid case count increased to 18,63,633, while the death toll due to the disease stood at 26,145, according to the latest health bulletin issued by the department. (PTI)
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