Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai. (File photo)Delhi News Live: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will chair a multi-department high-level meeting on air pollution on Monday to plan a campaign against open burning of garbage, fires at landfill sites and dust pollution, officials said. The meeting will be held at the Delhi Secretariat around noon and senior officials from the environment department, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, fire services, Public Works Department, Delhi Development Authority and municipal corporations will be in attendance.
Meanwhile, the Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam reversed its order banning the sale of raw meat during the period of Navratri. As per the initial order issued Friday, the ban would have been in effect between April 2 and 10. Officials had claimed that the meat ban during the festival was a routine order.
On Saturday, a fresh letter issued by the Mayor stated that the regulations by the UP government would be followed in this case. Currently, there are no orders by the state government banning sale of meat, officials said.
An ‘Early Warning System’ identifying children in potential distress by tracking their school attendance is helping authorities in the capital to intervene and identify solutions to keep them in school.
From the system’s introduction in September 2021 to February 2022, 1,600 children were brought back to school — at least for the immediate time being — after interventions through this tracking, according to records maintained by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR). Read More
A differently-abled girl was raped allegedly by a man in her neighbourhood in Delhi, said police, adding that the accused has been arrested.
“The incident took place on Saturday when the man allegedly raped the girl. Later, she narrated her ordeal to her parents,” a senior police officer said.
Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Police said it has arrested the accused in a rape case. “On receiving the information, the police reached the spot and sent the girl for medical examination. Further proceedings continue,” it tweeted. Read More
Over 500 protests, demonstrations and sit-ins have taken place in the national capital in the first two months of this year, according to official data.
While a dharna or sit-in is a way of showing disagreement with something by refusing to leave a place, a protest is a strong complaint showing disagreement, disapproval or opposition, police said.
Using these definitions, the data stated that in January and February, there were 103 dharnas, 49 demonstrations and 349 protests in the city.
Of the total number of dharnas, 60 were political, 33 related to issues of labourers, five were youth or student programmes, and five were communal in nature, it stated.
Thirty demonstrations were political, 13 related to issues of labourers and six communal in nature. PTI
Yati Narsinghanand, the head priest of Ghaziabad’s Dasna Devi Temple and an accused in the Haridwar hate speech case, Sunday exhorted Hindus to pick up arms and said that if India a Muslim Prime Minister, “50% of you (Hindus) will change your faith in the next 20 years”. He was speaking at Delhi’s Burari ground, where around 200 people had gathered on Sunday to participate in a ‘Hindu mahapanchayat’.
The event was organised by Preet Singh, founder of the Save India Foundation. Singh was also one of the organisers of an event at Jantar Mantar last year when anti-Muslim slogans were raised. He was arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with that case and is currently out on bail. Narsinghanand, too, is out on bail in connection with the Haridwar case. Read More
Asthma, recurrent chest infections, breathing difficulties and other respiratory illness are common in families living in the shadow of Delhi’s tallest garbage mountain, Ghazipur landfill site, with frequent fires leaving them gasping for breath.
A regular issue in election manifestos and often the subject of political blame game, Ghazipur dumping yard has been a long-standing problem with residents around the area complaining of serious health hazards.
A fire at the dumping yard that broke out on March 28 could be doused over 50 hours, forcing the locals to stay indoors. While no casualty was reported in the blaze, a thick blanket of smoke engulfed the adjoining areas. Read More
The Delhi unit of the Congress staged a protest in east Delhi's Trilokpuri area against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government for constant rise in fuel and gas prices. The protest, part of the opposition party's "Mahangai Mukt Bharat" campaign, was led by Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Chaudhary Anil Kumar.
The protesters raised slogans against the central government, holding it responsible for "sharp" increase in the prices of oil and natural gas. In the protest, agitators mocked the central government by garlanding cylinders and motorcycles.
Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai will chair a multi-department high-level meeting on air pollution on Monday to plan a campaign against open burning of garbage, fires at landfill sites and dust pollution, officials said.
The meeting will be held at the Delhi Secretariat around noon and senior officials from the environment department, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, fire services, Public Works Department, Delhi Development Authority and municipal corporations will be in attendance.
Rai had on Wednesday directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to impose a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the East Delhi Municipal Corporation and take action against officials responsible for a massive fire at the Ghazipur landfill site. (PTI)
The minimum temperature in the national capital on Sunday settled at 19.3 degrees Celsius, a notch above the season's normal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The weather office has forecast clear sky throughout the day and the maximum temperature is expected to settle around 39 degrees Celsius.
The weather department has predicted severe heatwave conditions at isolated places between April 3 and 6. A severe heatwave is declared if the departure from normal temperature is more than 6.4 notches, according to the IMD. The weather department attributed the unusual heat to the lack of rainfall due to the absence of active western disturbances over north India and any major system over south India. (PTI)
Petrol in Delhi will now cost Rs 103.41 per litre as against Rs 102.61 previously, while diesel rates have gone up from Rs 93.87 per litre to Rs 94.67, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.
Rates have been increased across the country and vary from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxation.
This is the 11th increase in prices since the ending of a four-and-half-month long hiatus in rate revision on March 22. In all, petrol prices have gone up by Rs 8 per litre. (PTI)
Yati Narsinghanand, the controversial priest of Dasna temple in Ghaziabad, and Sudarshan TV editor-in-chief Suresh Chavhanke arrived at the Hindu Mahapanchayat being held at Burari Ground. The gathering has been organised to demand repeal of the five laws to control illegal occupation in the country.
Northwest India, including Delhi, experienced heatwaves in March. Delhi recorded heatwave conditions from March 29-31, and recorded no rainfall for the entire month, keeping temperatures high. While western disturbances did pass across North India during the month, they did not carry enough moisture to bring rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The normal amount of rainfall for the Safdarjung observatory in March is 15.9 mm. Read more
The Delhi government has allowed private shops to offer up to 25% discount on the maximum retail price (MRP) of liquor, over a month after it prohibited such discounts in the national capital.
An order issued by the Excise Commissioner states that licensees can from now on offer discounts of up to 25% on the MRP of liquor in Delhi. It further mentions, “The licensees shall, however, strictly abide by the terms and conditions of the licence and if any violation of the same is noticed, strict penal action shall be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Delhi Excise Act and Rules…” Read more
Nearly seven months after it was installed, the impact of the smog tower at Connaught Place at different distances from the tower is still unclear and being studied.
The smog tower, installed by the Delhi government on the Supreme Court’s orders, near the Shivaji Stadium Metro station was inaugurated on August 23 last year. IIT-Bombay is undertaking a two-year-long study to assess its performance. An official of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) said IIT-Bombay is likely to submit an interim report by June, which might provide more details on the tower’s functioning. Read more
As a special one-time measure, Delhi University (DU) has decided to give students who will be appearing for exams in the physical mode after a gap of almost two years an additional 30 minutes to write the exam. Faculties and departments have also been asked to provide them more choices in the question paper.
Due to the Covid pandemic, DU had shifted to the online open book exam mode for students in 2020 and had been continuing to hold exams in the same format since. Read more
The Delhi government conducted its first mega Parents-Teachers Meeting (PTM) since the onset of Covid to “help parents understand the educational and emotional needs of their children in the post-Covid era”. The PTMs were conducted in more than 1,000 Delhi government schools.
Meeting students and parents during the session, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “Schools were closed for almost two years due to the pandemic. This not only harmed the education of our children but also affected their ability to think, understand and be happy. Now, the need of the hour is to fix this together. Joint efforts by parents and teachers will help children cope with the post-pandemic situation better.” Read more
The Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam reversed its order banning the sale of raw meat during the period of Navratri. As per the initial order issued Friday, the ban would have been in effect between April 2 and 10. Officials had claimed that the meat ban during the festival was a routine order.
On Saturday, a fresh letter issued by the Mayor stated that the regulations by the UP government would be followed in this case. Currently, there are no orders by the state government banning sale of meat, officials said. Read more