Delhi Police officials receiving Covid-19 booster shots in New Delhi, on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)Delhi Live News: In another slight uptick in cases, Delhi Wednesday reported 1,367 fresh Covid-19 cases as compared to 1,204 infections recorded on Tuesday, the city’s health department said. The capital witnessed one related fatality with a positivity rate recorded at 4.50 per cent. Delhi started recording an increase in the positivity rate, going over 1 per cent from April 4 onwards, soon after the masking mandates were removed in the state.
Meanwhile, Mayor of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mukesh Suryan Wednesday inspected parts of Jaitpur, Sarita Vihar and Madanpur Khadar to assess the extent of encroachments. During his visit, Suryan said a similar exercise and anti-encroachment drive will be undertaken in Shaheen Bagh, area that saw anti-CAA protests for months.
In other news, amid a spike in daily Covid cases during the examination season, the Delhi University administration has given colleges permission to reschedule practical examinations for students with the virus.
Delhi University (DU) vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh has constituted a committee to look into the “shortfall” in enrolment of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students in the past years, and come up with recommendations to address the issue.
Until last year, DU used to conduct its undergraduate admissions through cut-off lists based on Class 12 marks with separate and usually lower cut-offs released for reserved categories. However, SC and ST enrolment has been a problem in DU. Despite special drives, the university has struggled to fill these seats, with ST seats, in particular, seeing low enrolment. Read more
To increase Covid-19 vaccination coverage among children between the ages of 12 and 14, Delhi districts have been working on increasing the number of camps in schools and vaccination sites that remain open till 4 or 5 pm, said officials. The uptake of the second dose in this age category has been slower with schools reopening fully for offline classes from the beginning of April. Read more
The much-delayed Benito Juarez Marg underpass will be opened to the public from next month, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said after he inspected and reviewed work on the stretch near South Campus.
Presently, commuters travelling to and from Gurugram and the airport have to take Dhaula Kuan route to reach AIIMS and Central Delhi. Once the underpass is ready, these commuters can take Outer Ring Road via the underpass to reach AIIMS and Moti Bagh, said officials. Read more
The Centre has started the process of evicting artises who had been allotted government bungalows on rent in Asiad village in the 1970s. These include several Padma and Sangeet Natak Akademi awardees.
Among them is 91-year-old Odissi dance exponent Guru Mayadhar Raut, who was awarded a Padma Shri – the country’s fourth highest civilian honour – in 2010 by the President for his significant role in giving Odissi its classical status. On Tuesday afternoon, the certificate signed by the President was lying on the road along with his other belongings as he was evicted. Read more
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi will speak on the Delhi government policies at the United Nations General Assembly in a meeting on the ‘New Urban Agenda’.
The UNGA has convened a high-level meeting on implementation of the New Urban Agenda on April 28. The stated objectives of the meeting are to “assess the progress in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and facilitate an ongoing exchange of experiences among the member states, local and regional governments, and other constituencies of the New Urban Agenda such as professional associations, grassroots organisations, and business leaders”. Read more
The AIIMS administration Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that a committee will be constituted to examine the grievances of members of its nurses’ union, who had gone on strike on Tuesday morning.
The strike was called off Tuesday evening after the court asked the union to ensure that its members and nursing officers resume their duties forthwith. Read more
Work is set to begin on 10 hectares of land in the Central Ridge to remove vilayati kikar, an invasive species, and restore the natural biodiversity of the region in a pilot project, according to Environment Minister Gopal Rai.
“In the initial phase of this experimental project, work will begin on 10 hectares of land. The department has set a target to plant local species of plants by eradicating the vilayati kikar (Prosopis juliflora) growing in Delhi. The exercise of removing the invasive tree species will be done by the canopy lifting method,” Rai said after a visit to the Central Ridge on Wednesday. The canopy lifting method means the branches of the tree are pruned. Read more
In another slight uptick in cases, Delhi Wednesday reported 1,367 fresh Covid-19 cases as compared to 1,204 infections recorded on Tuesday, the city’s health department said. The capital witnessed one related fatality with a positivity rate recorded at 4.50 per cent. Delhi started recording an increase in the positivity rate, going over 1 per cent from April 4 onwards, soon after the masking mandates were removed in the state.