New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): India and Bangladesh held the 38th meeting of the ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) on Thursday in New Delhi where both sides finalised the text of the MoU on interim water of the Kushiyara river.

New Delhi Feb 22 PTI In a relief to commuters passing through the busy Ashram crossing in south Delhi the Public Works Department is likely to make operational a 750-metre-long underpass there by the second week of March sources saidAccording to officials of the Public Works Department PWD over 95 per cent work of the underpass has been completed and the work pertaining to covering of ramps is being carried out which is likely to be completed by the end of this monthThe facility is likely to be opened in the second week or latest by third week of March PWD sources saidThe officials however said a trial run of traffic in the underpass is likely to be carried out in the first week of MarchThe Ashram Chowk is an important link between central and south Delhi and also with Faridabad The junction connects Mathura Road and the Ring Road linking Lajpat Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and DND FlyoverThe traffic police data shows that around 25 to 3 lakh vehicles cross the Ashram intersection every day during peak traffic hoursTo ease the traffic logjam here a 750-metre-long underpass is being built on Mathura Road between Nizamuddin Rail Bridge and CSIR Apartments at Ashram crossingOnce the project is completed it will benefit commuters passing through the busy Ashram crossing and ease the traffic towards Sarita Vihar Badarpur and Faridabad from ITO and vice versaOfficials said the pace of construction work had slowed down in January due to rains which delayed the projectThe project had also earlier got delayed due to ban on construction activities in November-December last and previously owing to COVID-19 restrictionsThe foundation stone of the project was laid by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on December 24 2019 The estimated cost of the project is Rs 78 croreThe projects initial deadline was December 2020 which was extended to March 2021 and further pushed to June 30 and then to September that yearIt was again shifted to November last and then to December The latest deadline of the project is March 2022 officials saidPTI AKM SRY

New Delhi Jan 27 PTI Delhi is likely to witness cold day conditions on Thursday with the city registering a drop of three degrees in the minimum temperature at 63 degrees Celsius the weather office saidAccording to weather officials the city has been reeling under cold day conditions for the last three to four days due to rains fog and little exposure to the sun Tuesday was Delhis coldest January day in nine years with the maximum temperature plunging to 10 degrees below normal and settling at 121 degrees CelsiusBefore this January 3 2013 had recorded a maximum temperature of 98 degrees Celsius according to India Meteorological Department IMD dataIt was also the second consecutive severe cold day in the national capital Wednesday was also a cold dayAccording to IMD a cold day is when the minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum is at least 45 degrees Celsius below normalA severe cold day is when the maximum temperature is at least 65 notches below normalThere will be mainly clear sky The city will witness cold day conditions at isolated places on Thursday the IMD forecast said It said that maximum temperature of the day is likely to hover around 17 degrees Celsius The maximum temperature on Wednesday had settled six notches below the seasons average at 164 degrees CelsiusThe relative humidity at 830 am on Thursday was 97 per cent the weather office said Delhis air quality was in poor category as its air quality index AQI at 8 am on Thursday was 264 the Central Pollution Control Board data showedAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severePTI AKM SRY

New Delhi Jan 27 PTI Delhi is likely to witness cold day conditions at isolated places on Thursday with the city registering a drop of three degrees in the minimum temperature at 63 degrees Celsius the weather office saidAccording to weather officials the city has been reeling under cold day conditions for the last three to four days due to rains fog and little exposer to the sun Tuesday was Delhis coldest January day in nine years with the maximum temperature plunging to 10 degrees below normal and settling at 121 degrees CelsiusBefore this January 3 2013 had recorded a maximum temperature of 98 degrees Celsius according to India Meteorological Department IMD dataIt was also the second consecutive severe cold day in the national capital Wednesday was also a cold dayAccording to IMD a cold day is when the minimum temperature is less than 10 degrees Celsius and the maximum is at least 45 degrees Celsius below normalA severe cold day is when the maximum temperature is at least 65 notches below normalThere will be mainly clear sky The city will witness cold day conditions at isolated places on Thursday the IMD forecast said It said that maximum temperature of the day is likely to hover around 17 degrees Celsius The maximum temperature on Wednesday had settled six notches below the seasons average at 164 degrees CelsiusThe relative humidity at 830 am on Thursday was 97 per cent the weather office said Delhis air quality was in poor category as its air quality index AQI at 8 am on Thursday was 264 the Central Pollution Control Board data showedAn AQI between zero and 50 is considered good 51 and 100 satisfactory 101 and 200 moderate 201 and 300 poor 301 and 400 very poor and 401 and 500 severePTI AKM SRY

New Delhi Jan 23 PTI Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said he has been informed by sources that the Enforcement Department ED may arrest his cabinet minister Satyendar Jain just before assembly elections in Punjab However he said the Aam Aadmi Party AAP leaders and workers do not fear these agencies as they have done nothing wrong From our sources we have got to know that right before Punjab polls in coming few days the ED is going to arrest Satyendar Jain Delhi Health and Home Minister They are most welcome Previously too the Centre had conducted raids at Satyendar Jain but got nothing Kejriwal said in a virtual press conference hereHe alleged that whenever the BJP realises that it is losing it unleashes all the central agencies on its opponents Since there are elections raids and arrests will be made We do not fear such raids and arrests because we have done nothing wrong Kejriwal saidHe also said that previously raids were conducted at his premise his deputy Manish Sisodias premises Jains residence and also AAPs 21 MLAs were arrested but they got nothing Punjab goes to polls on February 20PTI AKM DV DV

New Delhi Sep 24 PTI The South Delhi Municipal Corporation SDMC has identified nearly 1200 illegal mobile towers in its jurisdiction and has warned of strict action against property owners and telecom companies for such installations without taking permission from the civic body officials said on FridayAccording to SDMC officials the civic body has slapped heavy fines against such illegal installations SDMC officials said that the number of illegal mobile towers was ascertained during an ongoing survey to identify such installations after many complaints from residents regarding burgeoning number of mobile towers even in inner colonies SDMC Mayor Mukesh Suryan said that no illegal mobile tower will be spared and huge fines will be levied against any such installation which is done without the municipalitys approvalIn our ongoing survey so far we have identified 1190 illegal mobile towers These towers were set up without seeking any permission from the SDMC We will impose huge penalties against them We have already slapped fines against 390 illegal towers and will slap fines on other 800 such installations Suryan told PTIThe mayor said that these fines are issued not only against the telecom company or the contractor but also against the owner of the propertyHe said all the the parties are equally responsible for such illegal activities because it is also responsibility of the owner of the building to inform the municipality about the installation The penalty amount will be recovered in retrospective manner from violators the Mayor saidCivic officials said that it is mandatory to seek permission from the civic body before installing mobile towers in any area The mayor said that the issue of illegal mobile towers was brought to his notice a few months back by councillors as well as the general public so a special House meeting was convened in August first week to address issues related with mobile towers In the House meeting the mayor had directed civic officials to start a survey to identify mobile towers running illegally in SDMC areas The fine being imposed in connection with illegal mobile towers goes up to lakhs It varies for every property depending upon the time period of installation and the area No illegal mobile tower will be spared and concerned people will have to pay penalty Suryan said He however could not divulge the details about the amount of revenue collected in the driveOfficials of the SDMCs Remunerative Cell said that the action will not only regulate installation and operation of mobile towers in south Delhi but also boost the municipalitys revenue The civic body is going though a fund crunch so imposing penalty on illegally running mobile towers will strengthen municipalitys coffers an official said Earlier this week the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had also issued a direction to put on hold installation of new cellular on wheels mobile towers in its areas and review already identified sites after people complained that many were located in inner colonies or small parksPTI AKM DV DV

New Delhi Aug 31 PTI The Draft Regional Plan-2041 which aims to make NCR a smart connected region by improving connectivity among towns with the help of bullet trains helitaxi services smart road infrastructure will be taken up for discussion by the NCR Planning Board on Tuesday The regional plan says that population in the National Capital Region NCR is expected to grow to around 7 crore by 2031 and to about 11 crore by 2041 so there is a need to make NCR future ready for sustainable developmentThe NCR Planning Board NCRPB covers entire Delhi eight districts of Uttar Pradesh 14 districts of Haryana and two districts of Rajasthan Collectively it covers an area of about 55083 sq kmThe draft report says that 57 per cent of the total areas of the region will be urbanised by 2031 and 67 per cent by 2041The draft plan states it is necessary to minimise journey times across NCR and limit travel times across NCR under 30 minutes by superfast trains and helitaxis within 60 minutes by other trains and two to three hours by car preferablyDelhi should have 30-minute connectivity through super fast trains with major cities of NCR Efforts should be directed towards easing out traffic congestions and create a more integrated user-centric accessible and affordable transportation system the Draft Regional Plan 2041 statedIt also envisages to develop trauma centre on each national highway state highway and expressway at an interval of not more than 50 km or within travel time of one hour golden Hour with all the facilities including blood bankAlong with expansion of existing airport services and expediting development of Jevar International Airport the draft plan puts impetus on connecting cities in NCR with helitaxi services to promote tourism and quick connectivityHelitaxi service be provided at each district headquarters and tourist destinations to promote tourismA network of air transport across NCR with heliports and operational airports at every NCR district headquarter is proposed to promote Fly-from-Delhi NC through creation of worldclass air travel facilities and aviation hubs the draft plan saysThe plan also proposes to divide the Natural Conservation Zone into two categories forests and green cover to enhance prospects of development in such regionPTI AKM DV DV