Power Minister Satyendar Jain wrote to the Centre Thursday, requesting it to ensure adequate coal availability to power plants that supply electricity to the national capital. (File)Delhi Live News: Amid the power crisis in India, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said his government is somehow handling the power supply situation in Delhi, and called for quick, concrete steps to tackle the crisis facing the country. Meanwhile, city’s power minister Satyendar Jain said the capital’s coal stock to generate electricity will only last for a few days. “India power demand in Summers will be at its peak. I appeal to the the central government to ensure availability of coal,” Jain said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, for the second consecutive day, heatwave conditions remain on the forecast for Delhi on Friday with the maximum temperature likely to be 44 degrees Celsius, slightly above the 43.5 degrees recorded on Thursday.
In Covid-related news, Delhi continued to witness increase in its daily coronavirus cases as the city on Thursday reported 1,490 fresh infections at a positivity rate of 4.62 per cent. Two deaths also were reported taking the toll to 26,172. The number of active cases stand at 5,250.
Higher temperatures were recorded at other weather observatories in Delhi-NCR, with some weather stations crossing the 45-degrees mark for the first time this season. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday took a dig at the BJP and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal with a poem over the Delhi Chief Minister’s “mannerless” posture row.
The BJP had criticised Kejriwal on Wednesday over his “mannerless” posture during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Covid situation in the country and questioned whether this is how a chief minister should behave at an important meeting. Read more
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi is set to organise a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) summer boot camp named ‘Change.Makers’ for students of classes 11 and 12, who will be able to use the institute’s state-of-the-art facilities to “convert their impactful ideas to reality”.
The non-residential boot camp will be held from May 23 to June 24, and will begin with a “hands-on, rapid prototyping-based training in digital fabrication techniques”. Applications will be considered till May 7 or until slots are available. They are available at https://tinyurl.com/46r89njw. Read more
The IMD alert for Delhi on Friday is ‘orange’ which indicates a severe heat alert for the day. It warns of an increased likelihood of heat illness symptoms among people who are exposed to the sun for a long period. The ongoing heatwave spell could continue till May 2, the IMD forecast indicates. Read more
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has constituted a new award to recognise individuals and organisations which have done significant work towards the welfare of children.
These pan India awards will be called the ‘Children’s Champion Awards’ and will be conferred in 12 categories – politics, jurist, journalism, education, health & nutrition, child protection, art, academia, sports, business and public service. There is also a separate category to recognise children “who have displayed leadership in solving problems”. Read more
Five policemen were injured after a scuffle broke out between the cops and members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Noida.
According to the cops, the incident took place outside Sector 39 police station after VHP members gathered there seeking the release of their associate. Read more
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said his government is somehow handling the power supply situation in Delhi, and called for quick, concrete steps to tackle the crisis facing the country. The power situation in the whole of India is very grave, he said.
"There is a huge shortage of power in the country. So far we have managed it somehow in Delhi. The situation is very grave in the whole of India. Together we soon need to find its solution. Quick, concrete steps are required to tackle this problem," Kejriwal tweeted.
Amid a deepening coal shortage crisis, the Delhi government on Thursday warned that there may be problem in providing uninterrupted electricity supply to important establishments in the capital including Metro trains and hospitals.
Delhi Power minister Satyendar Jain had held an emergency meeting to assess the situation and wrote to the Centre requesting it to ensure adequate coal availability to power plants supplying electricity to Delhi. ---PTI
Delhi High Court on Friday adjourned student activist Umar Khalid's bail plea in the larger conspiracy case of Northeast Delhi riots to May 06, saying that the challenge to constitutional validity of 124A IPC - one of the provisions invoked against Khalid - is pending before the Supreme Court and listed for hearing on May 05.
"124A is under challenge before the Supreme Court and is coming up for hearing on 5th of May. The findings on the 124A will have bearing on these cases as well," observed the court.
Senior Advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, submitted that the case before the Supreme Court is not likely to conclude on the same day. "In so far as 124A is concerned, that is not an issue before you lordships. If it were only 124A, I would have got bail long ago, It's [Section] 43D(5) [of UAPA] and whether 15, 17, 18 [of UAPA] are applicable at all," submitted Pais.
Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar, who is hearing the case alongwith Justice Siddharth Mridul, said that the court will list the bail plea after May 5. "Let the Surpeme Court take a view on it," said Justice Bhatnagar. Justice Mridul agreed that the court should await outcome of the Surpeme Court hearing.
The Delhi Police apprehended a burglar following an encounter in South Delhi’s CR Park colony Friday morning, officers said. According to the police, the incident took place at Jahapanah City Forest where investigators laid a trap to nab five burglars on Thursday night.
The officers tried to arrest the accused, but the men allegedly retaliated using knives and also fired at them, they said, adding that in the cross-firing, one of the men sustained a bullet injury and was caught. Read more
The Supreme Court Thursday reserved its order on the Centre’s plea that the matter related to its dispute with the Delhi government over control of administrative services in the National Capital Territory should be referred to a five-judge Constitution bench as it involves interpretation of a substantial question of law. Read more
Former students of Delhi University (DU) who could not complete their undergraduate or postgraduate degree will now get a second chance to complete their courses as a “centenary chance”, the university has said in a notification. The portal for registration will open on May 1.
Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh had earlier announced that such a chance would be provided to former students as part of DU’s centenary year celebrations from May 1. Read more
For the second consecutive day, heatwave conditions remain on the forecast for Delhi on Friday with the maximum temperature likely to be 44 degrees Celsius, slightly above the 43.5 degrees recorded on Thursday.
The IMD alert for Delhi on Friday is ‘orange’ which indicates a severe heat alert for the day. It warns of an increased likelihood of heat illness symptoms among people who are exposed to the sun for a long period. The ongoing heatwave spell could continue till May 2, the IMD forecast indicates. Read more
Days after a video titled ‘Taking away the cow smuggler’ went viral on social media, wherein purported ‘gau rakshaks’ are seen forcing a man into an SUV at gunpoint, police have ascertained it is from Haryana’s Nuh district. After the first such video emerged on Sunday, two more followed — one showing a gun being pointed at people from a moving vehicle, titled ‘Gau Raksha Dal, Haryana, Mewat raid’, and another showing armed men taking away a man and threatening to shoot at villagers. Read more
Delhi-NCR will soon see the country’s first-ever rapid rail running on tracks, as the 17 km-long priority section of Rapid Rail Transit Corridor (RRTS) is going to get the first set of trains by May, said officials.
The first train set will arrive from Savli plant, Gujarat to Duhai depot. Read more
The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Delhi Police to file a status report with respect to CCTV cameras installed at police stations and also apprise it of the time period for which their footage is preserved.
The court was hearing a petition seeking directions for ensuring that CCTV cameras installed in all police stations of Delhi function properly, and their footage is stored at least for one year or 18 months. The petition also seeks disciplinary proceedings against DCP Rohini and SHO North Rohini police station for allegedly delaying and failing to comply with a trial court order for preservation of CCTV footage of the police station.
The petition was filed in court by industrialist Chandril Dabas. In it, he stated that on June 1, 2021, he was going to his factory in Bawana Industrial Area when he was stopped by police for production of an e-pass. Since Dabas, who was on his way to collect the required documents for registration, could not produce the e-pass, he was allegedly taken to the North Rohini police station where he was allegedly harassed and forced to sign some papers. Read More
Commuters in Gurgaon will soon be able to book the city bus service (Gurugaman) through the Uber app.
The Board of Directors of Gurugram Metropolitan City Bus Services Private Limited (GMCBL), which runs the bus service, gave the go ahead to start a special bus service where commuters can book their rides through cab aggregator Uber app, after a meeting on Thursday. The meeting was chaired by Sudhir Rajpal, CEO Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and chairperson, GMCBL.
Officials said the special bus service will initially be run on a pilot basis for nine months with two buses plying on two routes – Badshahpur bus Stand to Huda City Centre Metro Station and BPTP Astaire Garden sector 70 to DLF Cyber Park Shankar Chowk. Officials claimed that Uber will enable booking of seat in the bus through its app, making it a first-of-its-kind service in the country. Read More
The extreme heat in the city coupled with the ongoing spike in the number of Covid cases has led to schools in Delhi reducing outdoor activities for students.
Schools in the national capital have been functioning completely in the offline mode and in full capacity since April 1. However, in less than a month, the city is experiencing both — extreme heat conditions, with a maximum temperature well above 40 degrees Celsius being recorded persistently, and a spike in Covid cases, with the city recording 1,000 cases and above for the last week. These conditions are pushing students into their classrooms, and reducing their time outdoors. Read More
The Delhi Police said Thursday they arrested one of the main accused from West Bengal in connection with the Jahangirpuri communal violence that took place earlier this month. The man identified as Farid, 31, alias Neetu, was picked up from his relatives’ place in West Bengal, they added.
Teams of the Crime Branch and Special Cell were looking for him after he was seen in one of the videos of the violence. A senior police officer from the police headquarters said, “We found that Farid was involved in the riots and is one of the conspirators. We recovered CCTV footage and other videos from social media and locals. The man is seen firing at the other community. After riots, he fled from his home in Jahangirpuri and has been hiding in Tamluk”. Read More