The MCD in Delhi has been run by the BJP for three consecutive terms. (Representational/File)Delhi News Highlights: The Delhi civic body elections will be held on December 4 from 8 am to 5.30 pm and the results will be declared on December 7, the State Election Commission announced Friday. Candidates can start filing their nominations from November 7. Nominations will close on November 14. The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) will be imposed in Delhi from Friday itself, State Election Commissioner Vijay Dev said.
In other news, a Delhi court Friday ordered to release two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar on interim bail till November 12. Kumar furnished a personal bond in the sum of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties in the like amount. Two cops will be present with him round the clock, as per court orders.
In a slew of directives to tackle the air pollution crisis in the National Capital on Friday, the Delhi government announced that 50 per cent government employees will be directed to work-from-home and all primary schools will be shut. As the air quality plunged in north India, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Friday said stubble burning was not a political issue, and asked state governments to work together to curb it. Tomar’s statements came hours after Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, the Chief Ministers of Delhi and Punjab respectively, addressed the crisis in the national capital region and said this was “not the time for blame game and politics”.
That the capital experienced its first good air day this year in September says a lot about the pollution levels that have been taken as par for the course by its residents. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)
Ghaziabad police Thursday issued a notice to Dasna Devi temple priest Yati Narsinghanand, directing him not to hold a planned three-day Dharam Sansad on December 17 or a preparatory meeting before the same.
According to the notice, the preparatory meeting on November 6 is not allowed nor is the Dharam Sansad on December 17, the birth anniversary of BJP MP Baikunth Lal Sharma, as no permission has been taken from the district administration for either event. Read more
Keeping in view the prevailing AQI levels of 450 (severe Category) in Delhi, all the Heads of governemnet, government aided and unaided private recognised schools of Directorate of Education have been asked to ensure the following as per a Delhi government order issued Friday evening.
i. All primary classes in Delhi will be closed till 08.11.2022 (Tuesday).
ii. No school shall conduct outdoor assembly and play activities till 08.11.2022 (Tuesday).
iii. All the activities for the students should be conducted indoors and they shall be encouraged to wear masks
Fates of parties contesting Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls will be sealed on December 4, while counting for votes cast on that day will be held on December 7, the State Election Commission (SEC) announced Friday.
The MCD comprises 250 wards, down from 272 that made up the civic body before it was unified earlier this year. Before unification, the MCD was split into three – South, North and East.
SEC Commissioner Vijay Kumar Dev said the Model Code of Conduct will come into force with immediate effect from Friday itself. Read more
A Delhi court has ordered to release two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar on interim bail till November 12.Kumar furnished a personal bond in the sum of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties in the like amount.
Two cops will be present with him round the clock, as per court orders. Read more
A Delhi court Friday held that inaction by three policemen on the 2017 Unnao rape complaint was a punishable offence and directed that charges be framed against them.
The direction came after the CBI submitted to the court that the three officers who dealt with the case, in which former Bangarmau MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar was convicted, had failed in their duties.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Kumar said: “In the considered opinion of this court, there is ample material on record which prima facie discloses commission of offence punishable under section 166A (public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person) IPC by the accused persons.” Read more
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia inaugurated an artificial turf on Friday to promote hockey in Delhi. Sisodia said the athletes and students would be able to practise at the new hockey field at the Vivekananda College in Vivek Vihar during the day as well as at night.
The turf has four high-mast flood lights and six automatic water sprinklers have also been installed. There is a separate drainage system for the field besides a modern rainwater harvesting system. A water storage tank with a capacity of 1.5 lac litres is present under the turf.
Sisodia said the Delhi government built four artificial turfs to promote hockey, adding that the new field would contribute to the cause of popularising the game among the youth. (PTI)
More than 15,500 students have been admitted across Delhi University colleges in the second round of seat allocation, Registrar Vikas Gupta said on Friday. With this, the total number of students admitted to the university so far has gone beyond 61,500. The university has 70,000 seats.
Of the 15,550 candidates admitted in the second round of seat allocation, 9,626 were upgraded from the seats allotted to them in the first list, while 3,806 admissions were done afresh.
The university has also informed the students on its website about the number of vacant seats after the first two rounds of seat allocation. The university will offer a window from November 5 to 7 for mid-entry for fresh applicants and an option for upgrading for the candidates already admitted. (PTI)
With the national capital grappling with yet another year of intense pollution that has sent the air quality index (AQI) plummeting, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Friday that schools for primary classes would be shut from Saturday, while for secondary and senior secondary classes, outdoor activities and physical education periods would be suspended until further orders.
He also announced that his government is considering implementing the ‘odd-even’ vehicle rationing scheme.
Apart from this, the government has announced work from home for 50% of government employees and staggered timings for its departments. Read more
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For the second consecutive day and the third time this week, Delhi’s air quality was in the ‘severe’ category on Friday with an AQI of 447.
The contribution of stubble burning to PM2.5 levels in Delhi was around 30% on Friday, lower than the 34% recorded on Thursday, according to an update from the SAFAR forecasting system. Data from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute showed that Punjab recorded 2,437 paddy residue burning related fire events on Friday.
Higher wind speed is likely to improve the dispersion of pollutants on November 5 and 6, the SAFAR forecast said on Friday. A forecast issued by the Air Quality Early Warning System also said that the air quality is likely to be in the ‘very poor’ category from November 5 to 7.
This December 4, Delhiites will vote for cleanliness, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said hours after the MCD poll schedule was announced by the State Election Commission on Friday.
"In the past 15 years, the BJP has spread filth around the city and created mountains of garbage," Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
Amid plummeting air quality across the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has announced ‘work from home’ for 50 per cent of government employees.
Besides, staggered timings for all departments and markets will be issued soon by the revenue department, environment minister Gopal Rai said.
The government has also decided to implement all recommendations suggested by the Central Air Quality Management (CAQM) under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) stage IV. Read more
The Delhi high court Friday dismissed an application “with cost” seeking to implead Twitter CEO Elon Musk in connection with the suspension of a user’s account by the platform.
A single judge bench of Justice Yashwant Varma dismissed the application calling it “thoroughly misconceived”.
The application states that Musk has a “very different stand on free speech” that “as long as speech does not violate the law of the country in question, the same should not be curtailed by the platform”. The application relied on Musk’s tweets to assert this point. Read more
The state election commission Friday said the model code of conduct (MCC) will be imposed in Delhi from today. An app 'Dilli Nigam chunav' has been launched ahead of the MCD elections, which will allow users to complain against MCC violations.
Restrictions will be imposed on loudspeakers from 5 am to 11 pm, the SEC added.
The Delhi civic body elections will be held on December 4, the State Election Commission announced Friday. Candidates can start filing their nominations from November 7. Nominations will close on November 14.
'More than 2,000 sector magistrates will be deployed to check field arrangements for smooth functioning of the civic polls,' SEC head Vijay Dev said.
Additionally, more than one lakh staff will be deployed.
'68 general observers and external expenditure will be deployed besides elaborate law and order, security and other arrangements,' Dev said.
'We are completely ready for civic polls in Delhi,' SEC head Vijay Dev said Friday.
'As per the statutory provisions, there are 250 wards in 68 assembly wards, of which, 42 seats are reserved for SCs. Of these, 21 seats reserved for woman,' he said. In the remaining seats, 104 have been reserved for women, Dev added.
There will be total 13665 polling stations and one station will be completed manned by women staff.
'Mock polls will start on election day....NOTA will be there and there will be provisions of photos of candidates on the ballot papers,' Dev said.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has arrested a 24-year-old man for his alleged involvement in the well-publicised carjacking of a Fortuner SUV on the morning of October 29 in the Delhi Cantonment area.
The arrested accused, identified as Saurabh, is a member of the Prince Tewatia gang, according to police. Read more
As the air quality plunged in north India, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar Friday said stubble burning was not a political issue, and asked state governments to work together to curb it.
Tomar’s statements came hours after Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, the Chief Ministers of Delhi and Punjab respectively, addressed the crisis in the national capital region and said this was “not the time for blame game and politics”.
“Despite the Centre providing funds and machines to states, rising stubble burning incidents is cause of concern,” Tomar said, suggesting the use of the PUSA decomposer, which has been effective in controlling stubble burning. Read more
The government has constituted a six-member committee to closely monitor the implementation of curbs and measures to control air pollution in the Capital, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said Friday.
Special task forces will also be formed to monitor pollution hotspots in the city.
The minister added that staggered timings will be released for functioning of markets and office complexes.
To curb pollution, the Delhi Government has decided to implement the recommendations suggested by CAQM. All petrol and diesel trucks,lorry and commercial vehicles except Essentials and CNG vehicles will not be allowed to enter Delhi.
--All type of construction and demolition activities such flyover, road repair etc banned in Delhi.
--Delhi government announces wfh, 50 percent staffs to work from home.... Similar advisory will be issued to private organisations
The BJP on Friday accused the Delhi government of registering “bogus” construction workers and siphoning off money meant for them for AAP’s party-related work. In a joint conference with party MP Manoj Tiwari, BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s intent and integrity was polluted. Patra termed it the biggest corruption case in India as far as construction workers were concerned. He said three NGOs working for construction workers alleged massive corruption in their registration through proxies. Read more.