Delhi News Today Updates, Delhi Building Collapse:  Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday lauded the AAP-led Punjab government for regularising 8,736 school teachers, and urged the Centre and states to do the same by making temporary employees permanent. “At a time when government jobs are being reduced and more temporary employees are being hired, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann regularised the services of 8,736 teachers. This will prove to be an example for others too,” Kejriwal said.

“People working as temporary employees are right at the bottom of the hierarchy, they are the poorest, and they are exploited. It is time to end their exploitation. This trend will spread from Punjab now,” he added.

The Delhi Traffic Police has decided to deploy around 500 personnel in New Delhi district on Saturday and Sunday after receiving inputs that thousands of people would come to see the revamped Central Vista Avenue around the Kartavya Path. Even on Friday, the stretch of the avenue near Janpath Road, which was nearly deserted in the afternoon, gradually began to get crowded by the evening.

A day after two men died after being trapped in a sewer while it was being cleaned in Outer District’s Bakkarwala area Friday afternoon, the family of one of the victims alleged he was made to clean the sewer even though it was not his job to do so.

The incident took place on Friday afternoon at a DDA apartment complex in Pocket D, Loknayak Puram. The victims were identified as Rohit Chandilya (32), a private sweeper who worked at the complex, and Ashok (28), a guard at the society who tried to rescue Chandilya. (Read more)

Delhi on Saturday recorded 137 new Covid-19 cases, zero death with a positivity rate 1.17 per cent.

Shutterbugs flocked the revamped Central Vista Avenue on Saturday, the first weekend after its inauguration, clicking selfies against the backdrop of the verdant lawns and the newly unveiled 28-foot statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Selfie takers had a field day on the rechristened Kartavya Path – from the Raisina Hill complex to India Gate – which was thrown open to the public on Friday after two years. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Most of the visitors, especially the youngsters, were busy choosing their favourite spots near the lawns and the newly built bridges on the water bodies looking to get the perfect snap of themselves. (PTI)

Parts of Delhi received light to moderate rainfall on Saturday with the maximum temperature settling at 36.8 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, according to the India Meteorological Department. The city is likely to receive light rainfall over the next five days, the IMD said. The national capital recorded a minimum temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal, it said.

A brief spell of light to moderate rainfall was reported in several areas including Mukherjee Nagar, GTB Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Civil Lines, Dilshad Garden, Seemapuri and Kashmere Gate. (PTI)

A 38-year-old mason died after allegedly falling from the 19th floor of a tower at an under-construction site in Sector 65 here, police said on Saturday. According to the police, the incident happened on Wednesday around 5.30 pm when the mason identified as Manoj Shah, a native of district Champaran in Bihar, was repairing a lift in one of the under-construction towers. Family members of the deceased have alleged there were no safety measures at the site.

"Manoj died due to negligence of the contractor and builder as they had not provided him with any safety equipment like safety belt, helmet or shoes. For the death of my relative only the construction company ACC private limited and Builder Company M3M is responsible," complainant Shivbalak Kumar, brother-in-law of the victim, alleged.

Shah was rushed to a civil hospital, where doctors declared him dead, he added. Following the complaint, an FIR has been registered against the contractor and the developer of the project under sections 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings), 304-A (death by negligence) and 34 (common intention) of IPC at Sector 65 police station. (PTI)

A 28-year-old man was shot at by suspected robbers while he was chasing them in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, police said on Saturday. At 10:55 pm on Friday, an unidentified man put his hand on the shoulder of Mandeep Singh, a resident of Tilak Nagar, near DTC Depot, Hari Nagar. Singh thought the man was trying to steal his gold chain and started chasing the latter, who was accompanied by two others, Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Ghanshyam Bansal said.

When Singh was chasing the three, they fired at him. Singh sustained a gunshot injury in his back. He was taken to a hospital, where his condition is stated to be stable, the DCP said. A case has been registered in the matter under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act at Hari Nagar police station. Several teams have been formed to nab the culprits, Bansal said. (PTI) 

Delhi LG V K Saxena on Saturday directed officials to develop constructed wetland systems for natural treatment of sewage water over major drains in the national capital similar to that of the Neela Hauz biodiversity park. Saxena visited the Neela Hauz Bio-diversity park developed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in south Delhi.

Walking through the scenic "Constructed Wetland System (CWS)", the LG described it as an exemplary model of urban rejuvenation and appreciated the DDA for developing and maintaining the park, said officials.

After witnessing the natural water treating system that includes in-situ remediation of sewage water through two oxidation and stabilisation ponds, filtration zone and aquatic plants without using any power, and the quality of treated water thereof, he instructed officials to explore the possibility of developing such systems over other major drains in the city, they added. (PTI)

A day after a 22-year-old man was stabbed to death in Outer Delhi’s Mangolpuri allegedly by a group of men, police Saturday said there was no communal angle in the issue.

Police said a call was received around 4.30 pm in Mangolpuri’s K Block about a stabbing incident. Three persons, Armaan, Moin Khan, and Fardeen, were brought with stab injuries to SGM Hospital, and Armaan was declared dead on arrival. Fardeen, who sustained minor injuries, claimed he had had an altercation with the brother of one of the accused after he touched his bike while driving past their house. (Read more)

A day after five people got injured when a four-storey under-construction building collapsed in north Delhi's Azad market, police said the investigation is underway in connection with the incident. A senior police officer said the investigation is underway to ascertain the role of the person behind the incident, following which necessary action will be taken.

The fire department had received a call about the incident at 8.30 am on Friday. A fire official said one fire tender is still at the spot as standby. The work of removing the debris from the area is still underway. The injured have been identified as Congresh Yadav (31), Nitesh Yadav (29) and Amarjeet Yadav (21), all residents of Khagaria district in Bihar, and Azizur Rehman (44) and Jamil (45), both residents of Sheesh Mahal in Azad Market.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi had said no one was staying in the building which may have collapsed due to overloading. The owner of the building has been identified as Ajay Kumar Jain, a resident of Rajinder Nagar, and the builder is Mohammad Muzaffir, a resident of Takiya Rajan Mohalla in Azad Market, he had said. (PTI)

Punjabi singer Hirdesh Singh alias Honey Singh has paid an interim settlement amount of Rs 1 crore to his wife Shalini Talwar as they have filed a divorce petition before a Delhi court, his lawyers said. 

Shalini had approached a Delhi court in 2021 alleging physical, mental and emotional abuse at the hands of her husband. She had filed a domestic violence case against her husband and demanded a compensation of Rs 20 crore from the respondents.  

Singh was represented by his lawyer Advocate Ishaan Mukherjee who has refused to comment on the case but has confirmed the developments. (Read more)

The Amar Jawan Jyoti is conspicuous in its absence at the India Gate, visitors to the war memorial here said, even as many others felt the revamp was long overdue and the 'eternal flame' has only been physically moved. The revamped stretch of the rechristened Kartavya Path – from the Raisina Hill complex to the India Gate – and the verdant lawns surrounding them were thrown open to the public on Friday after two years.

The stretch was inaugurated on Thursday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who urged people to visit it and take selfies with it and upload them on social media. The Central Vista redevelopment project was envisioned in September 2019. Visitors at the monument were seen clicking selfies and pictures with friends and families. While many were busy making Instagram reels, some stood rather motionless in front of the sober buff sandstone arches of the over 90-year-old monument with their gazes transfixed at the empty space beneath it.

"The Amar Jawan Jyoti is conspicuous in its absence at the very spot beneath the India Gate where we all have seen it flickering since our childhood days, physically or on television or in films over the past several decades," said graphic designer Manish Bhandari from Ghaziabad who visited the monument Friday evening. (PTI)

Several reports of attacks by pet dogs in residential societies in Noida and Ghaziabad have deepened faultlines among dog owners, resident welfare associations and other stakeholders.

Last week the owner of a labrador was arrested by Noida police after the animal allegedly bit a 10-year-old boy in a residential complex in Sector 56. And on Tuesday, Ghaziabad police booked the owner of a Beagle after a nine-year-old boy was bitten inside a lift.

On Wednesday, a video was circulated on social media capturing a pet dog jumping on a man standing in the corner of a lift in a residential apartment complex in Noida’s Sector-75. (Read more)

The Congress on Saturday hit out at the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) for its ‘mischievous’ post on a Christian pastor’s conversation with former party president Rahul Gandhi, who is on his 3,570-km Bharat Jodo Yatra.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress’ General Secretary in-charge of communications, tweeted, “An atrocious tweet from the BJP hate factory is doing the rounds. It bears no relation whatsoever to what is recorded in the audio. This is typical BJP mischief that has become more desperate after the successful launch of #BharatJodoYatra which is evoking such a huge response. (sic)”.

This came after BJP’s national spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, shared a clip of Rahul’s interaction with a Christian priest, whom he identified as George Ponnaiah, saying “Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons?”. Poonawalla claimed that Ponnaiah was earlier arrested for “Hindu hatred”. (Read more)

George Ponnaiah who met Rahul Gandhi says “Jesus is the only God unlike Shakti (& other Gods) “ This man was arrested for his Hindu hatred earlier - he also said “I wear shoes because impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us.” Bharat Jodo with Bharat Todo icons? pic.twitter.com/QECJr9ibwb

A total of 173 cases of lumpy skin disease have been identified among cows in Delhi so far, Minister for Environment Gopal Rai said, adding that most of the cases have been reported in South and West Delhi.

“In the Goyla Dairy area, 45 cows have symptoms. In Rewla Khanpur, 40 cows have symptoms, 21 in Ghumanhera, 16 in Najafgarh, and stray cases have also been identified in some areas,” Rai said. The contagious disease, which has also led to cattle deaths, has been reported from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. Its symptoms include fever, nodules on the cow’s skin, watery eyes and loss of weight. Read more

Days after the former vice-chairman of the Sohna market committee was shot dead in Gurgaon, his family members and villagers from Sohna staged a protest at the office of the police commissioner on Friday, demanding that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to probe the case.

Sukbir Singh (48) alias Sukhbir Chairman, a property dealer hailing from Rithoj village, had gone to purchase clothes from a showroom in Sadar Bazar on September 1 around 3.30 pm, when at least five assailants opened fire at him. He was rushed to a private hospital where he succumbed to injuries. Singh’s son had said in the first information report (FIR) that Singh’s brother-in-law was the main suspect as relations between him and his father had been strained for some time. Read more

When Delhiites are caught violating the traffic laws in 2022, they get challaned by either an official of the traffic police or an automated violation camera. The traffic police deal with a broader range of violations, while an automated violation camera issue more challans and fines. Read here

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday appealed to the Centre and states to end temporary employment of workers and make them permanent employees. “People working as temporary employees are right at the bottom of the hierarchy, they are the poorest, and they are exploited. It is time to end their exploitation. This trend will spread from Punjab now,” Kejriwal said.

The chief minister said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) would make sure that they follow this wherever it forms the government.

Changes are required in the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 and 'certain dots need to be connected' in the scheme, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday. In his address at a programme organised by the Delhi Teachers University here, Sisodia said education-related policies should be given a 360-degree view and all aspects, including teacher training, included in it.

"Changes are needed in NEP 2020. There are certain dots that need to be connected in this policy. It is also the vision of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that education-related policies are given a 360-degree view, and all aspects including teacher training should be included in it," he said. (PTI)

The Delhi government has spent Rs 168.43 crore to provide healthcare facilities to more than 4.27 lakh patients between 2017 and March 2022, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Friday. In a review meeting with health department officials, Sisodia directed them to focus on working towards ensuring timely benefits of government schemes to the maximum number of people across Delhi.

Sisodia added that there are four schemes under Delhi Arogya Kosh, which include government financial support for medical implants, various types of surgeries, 136 types of medical tests and the Farishtey scheme for treatment of accident victims. Read more

After Delhi University’s Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College notified that it could pay its teachers only a portion of their July salary because of “paucity of funds”, its Governing Body chairman hit back stating there is Rs 25 crore in its bank account.

The college — one of the 12 DU college’s fully funded by the Delhi government — issued a notice stating it has retained Rs 30,000 and Rs 50,000 from the salary of Assistant Professors and Associate Professors for the month of July . “This is for the information of all permanent teaching staff that due to paucity of funds, Rs 30,000 has been retained from Net salary of Assistant Professors and Rs 50,000 from Net Salary of Associate Professors /Professors for the month of July 2022. The same will be released as and when the funds are available,” read the notice issued by officiating principal Hem Chand Jain. Teachers have not been paid their salary for the month of August. Read more

Speaking after her husband was granted bail on Friday, Raihana, Siddique Kappan’s wife, said that the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) has stood with the family throughout. At the time of his arrest, Kappan was the Secretary of the Delhi unit of the KUWJ. Soon after his arrest, the union filed a habeas corpus petition in the Supreme Court challenging Kappan’s custody. “The habeas corpus petition took around six months to settle. When the SC was hearing the habeas corpus petition, we couldn’t move the lower court,” said P K Manikandan, former secretary, KUWJ Delhi unit.

After a lineman was electrocuted while repairing electric lines in Noida’s Sector 10, officials at Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited Friday said a primary inquiry into the incident has been carried out.

A senior official at UPPCL said, “The lineman was a contractual worker, and they are deployed through agencies. In the said incident, we have already carried out a primary inquiry. Precautions were observed while carrying out repairs. The whole line was shut down. A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, mentioned in the clause in the contract, will be provided to the victim’s family.” The official said if any additional facts arise, they will be looked into.