A health worker takes a swab sample of a passenger for Covid testing at Indira Gandhi International Airport, in New Delhi. (Express photo by Amit Mehra)Delhi News Live: Delhi on Thursday reported 2,726 fresh Covid-19 infections and six deaths. The positivity rate for the day stood at 14.38 per cent. The national capital also saw 2,085 recoveries. More than 19,760 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Delhi from August 1-10, as per official data shared by the city health department, news agency PTI reported. Besides, there has been a nearly 50 per cent rise in the number of containment zones in the city during this period. Meanwhile, wearing masks has been made mandatory in Delhi and a fine of Rs 500 would be imposed on those violating the rule.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that there seems to be something wrong with the Centre’s finances the way it is “strongly opposing” free facilities for people. Citing the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, reduction in states share in central taxes from 42 per cent to 29 per cent, Goods and Services Tax (GST) imposed on food items and 25 per cent cut in MNREGA fund, Kejriwal asked where was all the money going.
An Uttar Pradesh court Thursday rejected the bail plea of Shrikant Tyagi who was arrested by the police on charges of abusing a woman in Noida. Tyagi is reportedly affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), though the party has denied any links. He was booked for verbally abusing and pushing a woman during an argument about encroachment of the common area in a posh residential society last week.
Gautam Buddh Nagar Police Commissioner Alok Singh addresses a press conference after the arrest of Noida-based politician Shrikant Tyagi, in Noida, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022 (PTI Photo)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for giving a “perverse twist” to the debate on freebies, saying the AAP leader’s comments are an attempt to create fears in the minds of the poor.
A day after Kejriwal joined the debate on freebies calling for a referendum on spending taxpayers’ money on healthcare and education, Sitharaman said that spending on these two has never been called or classified as freebies since Independence and to drag them now into the debate is to give a perverse twist.
“Delhi Chief Minister has given perverse twist to the debate on freebies. Health and education have never been called freebies,” she told reporters here. (Read more)
Delhi on Thursday reported 2,726 fresh Covid-19 infections and six deaths. The positivity rate for the day stood at 14.38 per cent. The national capital also saw 2,085 recoveries.
Delhi High Court judge Justice Prathiba M Singh has opined that the Indian women “are a blessed lot” since scriptures like Manusmriti give a very respectable position to them, Bar and Bench reported.
“I really think we are a blessed lot of women in India and the reason for that is our scriptures have always given a very respectable position for women and as Manusmriti itself says that if you don’t respect and honour women, all the pooja path that you may do has no meaning,” Justice Prathiba Singh said.
“So I think our ancestors and Vedic scriptures knew very well how to respect women,” the judge added. (Read more)
Ahead of Independence Day, the Delhi Police on Thursday issued a traffic advisory to ensure smooth vehicular movement across the capital. According to the advisory, traffic for general public around Red Fort, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation on I-Day Day, will remain closed from 4 am to 10 am. It will be open to only authorised vehicles, it said.
Eight roads -- Netaji Subhash Marg, Lothian Road, SP Mukherjee Marg, Chandni Chowk Road, Nishad Raj Marg, Esplanade Road and its link road to Netaji Subhash Marg, Ring Road from Rajghat to ISBT and Outer Ring Road from ISBT to IP Flyover -- will remain closed for general traffic, the advisory stated.
Noida, Loni, Singhu, Ghazipur, Badarpur, Safia, Maharajpur, Aya Nagar, Auchandi, Surya Nagar, Rajokri, Dhansa, Apsara, Kalandi Kunj, Jharoda, Bhopura, Lal Kuan Pul Prahlad Pur and Tikri borders will be closed for the movement of commercial and transport vehicles on Friday from 10 pm to 11 am on Saturday, and similarly on Sunday and Monday, it said. Buses bound for Kauria Pul/Red Fort/Old Delhi Railway Station will operate via ISBT bridge (Yudhistir Setu) and terminate at Boulevard Road near Mori Gate U-Turn, it said. (PTI)
With Jamia Millia Islamia yet to reopen its hostels even after shifting to offline classes, some students have not returned to campus citing difficulties in arranging private accommodation.
The university had shifted back to offline classes for all students, except those in the first year, on July 18 and classes for first-year students started on August 1. However, hostels continue to remain closed with the administration citing renovation and construction work.
“As all are aware that due to the pandemic, all the hostels of the University were closed, therefore, there is a dire need for getting them renovated before allotting it to students as well as construction of some new hostels for the students… the allotment of hostels will be done only after completion of renovation/construction of all the hostels,” read a notification issued by Registrar Nazim Jafri. (Read more)
A day after police arrested the manager and six bouncers of the Casa Danza club for allegedly beating up a multinational company manager and his friends after they confronted one of the bouncers for misbehaving with a woman, the Gurgaon police commissioner on Thursday made police verification and background checks mandatory for all the security staff working in the city’s bars and clubs.
“If anyone is found to have criminal antecedents, legal action will be taken accordingly against them and the security agencies. Action will be taken against those agencies that do not get verification checks of their staff done. The exercise is likely to be completed by August 31,” said assistant commissioner of police Preet Pal. (Read more)
The Delhi Art Week (DAW), in its second edition, is set to return in a hybrid avatar on August 24, the organisers announced on Thursday. To be organised in location-based four 'art zones' spread across New Delhi -- including areas such as India Gate, Defence Colony, Greater Kailash, and Vasant Vihar -- the DAW 2022 will feature a variety of art programs from 37 galleries, two museums and over four art institutions.
Besides showcasing the programming physically in their own spaces till August 31, it will be made available online on the internationally recognised platform, Artsy, till September 14. "This edition of DAW takes into account the accepted reality of a pandemic world and the monumental changes and shifts that have taken place in the global arts business – that physical events must be complemented by a presence online. (PTI)
Way Centre is opposing free facilities, something seems wrong with its finances: Kejriwal New Delhi, Aug 11 (PTI) There seems to be something wrong with the Centre's finances the way it is "strongly opposing" free facilities for people, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday.
Citing the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme, reduction in states share in central taxes from 42 per cent to 29 per cent, Goods and Services Tax (GST) imposed on food items and 25 per cent cut in MNREGA fund, Kejriwal asked where was all the money going.
He said the Centre collects huge amount of taxes, including Rs 3.5 lakh per annum on petrol and diesel, and was still against providing people of the country free education, healthcare and other facilities."What has happened all of sudden that Centre is citing lack of funds even for paying pension to soldiers. There seems to be something wrong with its finances," he said. Kejriwal hit out at the Centre, claiming it waived Rs 10 lakh crore of loans and Rs 5 lakh crore of taxes of super rich people and their companies. (PTI)
More from Cities
More than 19,760 Covid-19 cases have been recorded in Delhi from August 1-10, as per official data shared by the city health department. Besides, there has been a nearly 50 per cent rise in the number of containment zones in the city during this period.
On August 1, the national capital had logged 822 cases with a positivity rate of 11.41 per cent and two deaths. The figures increased significantly in the next few days amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the city in the last several weeks. On August 2, the daily cases count breached the 1,000-mark as the city reported 1,506 cases and three deaths. The positivity rate was recorded at 10.63 per cent, as per the data.
The very next day, on August 3, the count crossed the 2,000-mark and till date, barring August 8, the daily cases have been logged in excess of 2,000 with an escalating positivity rate that is inching closer to 20 per cent. (PTI)
Shrikant Tyagi has been attending events of BJP but the party abandoned him since his spat with a woman last week, his wife Anu Tyagi has claimed. Anu, who has been twice detained by the police for questioning since last Friday, alleged she was mentally tortured and her family harassed during the whole episode.
Noida Police involved in the investigation have denied the allegations. Tyagi identifies himself as national executive member of the BJP’s Kisan Morcha and national co-coordinator of its Yuva Samiti, but the party has maintained he was not its member. (Read more)
The Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University inaugurated Wednesday four new labs in its Dwarka campus for BSc medical laboratory technology students in association with Metropolis Healthcare.
A university representative said: “This partnership shall reap dual benefits – ensure students have access to better, high-quality equipment which are currently utilised across the diagnostic industry during their programme duration. Besides, it will help organisations to save their time and resources that they have to deploy in training graduates. Through this partnership, the B Sc medical laboratory technology programme is being developed in close collaboration with experts from industry and academia, both to come forth with a curriculum that is updated, relevant, and in line with the expectations of hiring agencies.” (Read more)
Gifting a new lease of life to her brother on Rakshabandhan, a 43-year-old woman donated a part of her liver for a complex transplant surgery, a statement from a private hospital said on Thursday. The 40-year-old man had a case of liver failure and could even lose his life if surgery was not conducted within three months, the statement said.
“For me, my brother is everything. I am happy that I gifted him something precious this Rakshabandhan. My family and I had been really worried about his situation for months. I'm thankful to the doctors for saving my brother's life,” Pooja Jain, the donor, said.
According to the Akash Healthcare hospital in Dwarka, which conducted the surgery, the patient at the time of his admission into the hospital had been suffering from a range of conditions, such as jaundice, prolonged renal issues, ascites (water in the belly) and severe coagulopathy as a result of the failure of the liver. (PTI)
With rising cases of Covid-19 and related deaths in Delhi over the past two weeks, the government has made the wearing of face masks in all public places mandatory and said a fine of Rs 500 will be imposed on violators.
District magistrates have directed officials to implement existing Covid guidelines in Delhi more stringently. The South Delhi district has constituted three teams to monitor enforcement and report the daily challan figures to the Coordination Branch of the South district.
Earlier this year, it had been decided in a Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) meeting that the mask mandate in public places would remain but people would not be penalised for not wearing one. Read more
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Thursday issued a notice to the Delhi Police after three minor schoolgirls were allegedly raped by a man who had offered to book train tickets for them.
The DCW said that it has received a complaint from the three girls, aged 14, 15, and 15 respectively, who had gone to New Delhi Railway station on July 6 planning to take a Mumbai train. The girls had met a stranger there who had offered to book tickets for them and took them to his residence in Rohini. Read more
A court in Noida has rejected the bail plea of Shrikant Tyagi, who allegedly abused and assaulted a woman during an argument in Grand Omaxe residential society last week.
The plea in other matters, including in the FIR related to impersonation and cheating, will be heard by the Surajpur court on August 16. Read more
The investigation into a call detail records (CDR) procuring and selling racket in Delhi has revealed that a Noida-based private detective agency illegally obtained more than 1,000 call logs, the police said Thursday. The call logs were sold by the agency to customers seeking an “investigation” into marital or family disputes.
On Monday, the police arrested a field agent of the agency Pawan Kumar (22) for selling CDR for Rs 25,000. The Outernorth district team caught Kumar after a staff member posed as a decoy customer and pretended he needed the CDR of a man. The accused was caught with a pen drive and laptop with all the incriminating documents. Read more
An exhibition on the partition has been set up at the Rajiv Chowk and Kashmere Gate metro stations by the Delhi Metro as part of the ongoing Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav for 75 years of India’s Independence.
The exhibition, set up to mark the ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’, was inaugurated on Wednesday and will be open for visitors till August 14. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that August 14 would be observed as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’ across the country.
The exhibition has been set up according to the directions of the Ministry of Culture and has been curated by the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) and Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA). Read more
Wearing masks has been made mandatory in Delhi as the national capital witnessed an uptick in Covid-19 cases. According to news agency ANI, a fine of Rs 500 would be imposed on those violating the rule.
The fine under this provision of the notification will not be applicable to persons traveling together in private four-wheeler vehicles, the agency reported.
In a bid to decongest roads and provide a smooth commute for the public travelling from Delhi to Haryana, the Public Works Department has planned to develop an integrated transit corridor and improve street network connectivity at Outer Delhi’s Peeragarhi junction, one of the key stretches connecting the borders of the capital.
Under this project, the PWD is planning to construct a 600-metre-long three-lane flyover on both sides of the Metro line on Laxmi Narayan Mandir Road near Udyog Nagar Metro station and an underpass for u-turn at Chaudhary Balbir. Besides, a one-lane for taking left turn lane from Nangloi to Mangolpuri, a two-lane slip road from Mangolpuri to Punjabi Bagh for south-left turn and a two-lane slip road for a westbound left turn from Punjabi Bagh to Vikas Puri have also been proposed under the plan. Read more