New Delhi Apr 18 PTI Commuters in Delhi had a harrowing time on Monday as various autorickshaw and taxi unions went on a strike demanding subsidy on CNG prices and a fare revision in the wake of the rising fuel pricesMany commuters complained that they had to wait for a long time for Ola and Uber cabs that were available at inflated rates due to surge pricingPeople in Delhi are likely to face similar hardships on Tuesday as wellThe Sarvodaya Driver Welfare Association of Delhi whose members work with cab aggregators said its strike will continue for another dayHowever the Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh an umbrella body of auto drivers said it has no such plan for Tuesday and a decision on further strike will be announced laterHardly any autos cabs and feeder buses were available at railway stations Inter-State Bus Terminals ISBT and metro stations across the citySome were caught unawares by the strikeI and my family reached Delhi from Raipur this morning No cabs and autos were available at the New Delhi Railway Station due to the strike I waited for an hour to get a cab or an auto but in vain Finally I had to call up my friend to go home in Ghaziabad Vinay Prajapati told PTIAnother commuter Preeti Dahiya had a hard time trying to hail an autoI have been standing here for around 15-20 minutes and I had to go to Geeta Colony I tried booking a cab but the waiting time was more than 25 minutes and there was surge pricing I spotted a few autos but no one agreed to go due to the strike said Dahiya who was standing near the Patel Chowk metro stationShe said auto drivers were only willing to undertake short trips of 2-3 kmsDiljeet Singh another commuter said Every day I take a cab to my office near Central Secretariat and it costs me around Rs 400 for a one-way trip But today due to the strike fewer cabs were available and fares have shot up I had to pay over Rs 650 to reach my office from Noida There are over 90000 autos and more than 80000 registered taxis complementing the public transport system in DelhiAuto and cab drivers unions have been demanding a hike in fares and slashing of CNG prices to offset the impact of the rising fuel pricesThey refused to call off their strike despite an announcement by the Delhi government to set up a committee to consider fare revision in a time-bound mannerOur strike was successful in conveying our message Seeing the difficulties faced by the public we have decided to postpone our strike The future course of action will be decided later Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh general secretary Rajesh Soni told PTIHe said the government should either provide a subsidy of Rs 35 per kg on CNG prices or hike faresThe Sarvodaya Driver Welfare Association of Delhi threatened to go on an indefinite strike if its demands are not acceptedOur strike will continue on Tuesday We have given a two-day ultimatum to the governments Centre and city to consider our demands after which we will go on an indefinite strike said Ravi Rathore president of Sarvodaya Driver Welfare Association of DelhiAuto and cab drivers also staged a dharna near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence at Civil Lines later in the day to press their demandsSmall protests were also held at a number of other places including Kashmere Gate ISBT Rani Bagh and New Delhi Railway Station auto standThe Delhi Congress supported the strike and demanded that the Kejriwal government give subsidy on CNG pricesThe strike has caused tremendous inconvenience to commuters as they were stranded at many places The chief minister was unmoved by the plight of the people as he refused to meet the auto-taxi unions CM Arvind Kejriwal should concede their demand for subsidy on CNG Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said in a statementIn the morning there were reports claiming that cabs entering Delhi from neighbouring Noida and Ghaziabad were being stopped at border points adding to the woes of the commutersHowever cab and auto drivers associations said they were not stopping anyone and merely informing fellow drivers about the strikeThe strike was planned at a short notice so many of the cab and auto drivers from the NCR were unaware of it Hence they were told about the strike at Delhi borders and were requested to participate in it after completing their trips Rathore said PTI AKM AKM DIV DIV

New Delhi Apr 18 PTI Commuters had a harrowing time as various auto-rickshaw cab and taxi unions in the capital went on a two-day strike on Monday to demand a CNG subsidy and fare revision in the wake of rising fuel pricesPassengers complained that they had to wait a long time for Ola and Uber cabs and added that those were available at inflated ratesThe impact of the strike called by various auto-rickshaw cab and taxi unions in the capital was visible as autos cabs feeder buses were hardly available at transport hubs like railway stations Inter State Bus Terminals ISBTs and metro stations across the cityPeople who were most affected by the strike were those who arrived in Delhi from other states through rail bus or other modesVinay Prajapati who arrived in the city on Monday morning with his family and was unaware of the strike had to call his friend to drop him homeI along with my family reached here from Raipur today morning There were no cabs and autos were unavailable at the New Delhi Railway Station due to the strike I waited for an hour to get a cab or an auto but in vain I finally had to call up my friend to go home in Ghaziabad Prajapati told PTIThere were many like Prajapati who faced hardships in getting transport to their destinations in Delhi-NCR due to the strike as it led to a shortage of cabs and autosPreeti Dahiya another commuter said she had been waiting for an auto near Patel Chowk metro station for around 20 minutes but in vainI have been standing here for around 15-20 minutes and I had to go to Geeta Colony I tried booking a cab but the waiting was above 25 minutes along with surge pricing I spotted a few autos but no one agreed to go due to the strike Dahiya saidShe added that auto drivers were ready to go to destinations located at shorter distances of 2-3 kilometres but refused to take passengers for long distance tripsAnother commuter Diljeet Singh said Everyday I take a cab to my office near Central Secretariat and it charges me around Rs 400 on one way trip But today due to the strike less cabs were available and fares have shot up much I had to pay over Rs 650 to reach my office from Noida There are over 90000 autos and more than 80000 registered taxis complementing the public transport system in the cityPeople also took to social media to report about cab and auto drivers strike and problems caused to the publicA very difficult day to reach office by public transport in Delhi As today auto and cab union strikes Delhi government should understand the problem of middle class Vaibhav Mishra said on TwitterAuto and cab drivers unions have been demanding a hike in fares and slashing of CNG prices to offset the impact of rising fuel prices They refused to call their strike off despite an announcement by the Delhi government to form a committee to consider a fare revision in a time-bound mannerOur strike has started and it will continue throughout the day CNG has become costlier and we cannot keep running our business on losses We should either be provided a subsidy of Rs 35 per kg on CNG or fares should be hiked Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh General Secretary Rajendra Soni told PTI The auto taxi and cab drivers also sat on a dharna near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence at Civil Lines later in the day to press their demandsSmall protests were also witnessed at number of places including Kashmere Gate ISBT Rani Bagh Civil Lines New Delhi Railway Station auto stand While some unions said they will be on a one-day strike the Sarvodaya Driver Association Delhi which has members who drive for cab aggregators said it will be a two-day strike and may turn into an indefinite strikeWe are giving two days ultimatum to the governments Centre and state to consider our demands else our symbolic strike will turn into an indefinite strike We dont want to do this but we have no other option left Ravi Rathore of Sarvodaya Driver Association Delhi saidThere were reports claiming that cabs entering Delhi from Noida and Ghaziabad were being stopped at border points and were being asked not to ply adding to the woes of the commutersHowever cab and auto driver associations said they were not stopping the cabs and merely informing fellow drivers about the strikeThe strike was planned on a short notice so many of cab and auto drivers from NCR town were not aware of it Hence they were told about the strike at Delhi borders and were requested to participate in it after completing their trips Rathore said PTI AKM AKM TDS TDS

New Delhi Apr 18 PTI Various auto-rickshaw cab and taxi unions in the national capital went on a strike on Monday demanding a CNG subsidy and a fare revision in the wake of rising fuel prices Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh General Secretary Rajendra Soni said they will also hold a protest outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence in Civil Lines later in the day to press their demands Commuters in the city faced difficulties in getting cabs and autos on Monday morning Though cars were available on Ola and Uber apps the fares were inflatedAuto and cab drivers unions have been demanding a hike in fare and slashing of CNG prices to offset the impact of rising fuel pricesThey refused to call their strike off despite an announcement by the Delhi government to form a committee to consider a fare revision in a time-bound manner Our strike has started and it will continue throughout the day CNG has become costlier and we cannot keep running our business on losses We should either be provided a subsidy of Rs 35 per kg on CNG or fares should be hiked Delhi Auto Rickshaw Sangh General Secretary Rajendra Soni told PTI While most unions said they will be on a one-day strike the Sarvodaya Driver Association Delhi which has members who drive for cab aggregators said it will be an indefinite strike There are over 90000 autos and more than 80000 registered taxis complementing the public transport system in the city PTI AKM TIR TIR

Chandigarh Mar 30 PTI Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said the attack on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwals house in the national capital in police presence is a cowardly act which shows that the BJP is afraid of only AAP and its national convener Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia earlier in the day alleged that activists of the BJPs youth wing BJYM attacked and damaged CCTV cameras and security barriers at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence in the national capital during a protest Reacting to the incident Mann in a tweet alleged that the frustration of the BJP is clearly visible after the crushing defeat in the Punjab Assembly polls at the hands of the Aam Aadmi Party AAP The attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals house in the presence of police is a cowardly act Now it is clear that the BJP is afraid of only AAP and Arvind Kejriwal Mann said in a tweet Punjab minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said the rulers of the country are scared CM ArvindKejriwals HOUSE ATTACKED BY BJP GOONS BJPKeGunde broke CCTV cameras security barriers boom barriers at Delhi CMs House all in the presence of Delhi Police Hayer tweeted In another tweet Hayer said Punjabs victory has made it clear that the countrys next PM will be ArvindKejriwal This is why the BJP is scaredHayer tweeted in Hindi Punjab Tourism and Culture Minister Harjot Singh Bains said how can a chief ministers residence that too one like Arvind Kejriwals be attacked by goons in presence of the Delhi Police Activists of the BJYM led by its president Tejasvi Surya staged a protest at Kejriwals residence in Delhi demanding his apology for allegedly mocking Kashmiri Pandits In a tweet Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that BJP goons damaged CCTV cameras and security barriers at Kejriwals residence in Delhi The boom barrier at the gate was also broken he said The goons of the BJP resorted to vandalism at CM Arvind Kejriwals house BJPs police instead of stopping them took them to the gate of the house Sisodia said in another tweet Delhi Home minister Satyendar Jain also alleged that the attack by the BJP people took place in the presence of Delhi Police personnel BJYM national Secretary Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga said the workers and leaders of the organisation staged a protest near Kejriwals residence but did not resort to vandalism The BJP and AAP have been engaged in a word of wars over The Kashmir Files movie with Kejriwal recently attacking the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Delhi Assembly over it The BJP leaders and workers have been assailing Kejriwal and accusing him of mocking the pain of Kashmiri Pandits and terming the movie based on their genocide in Kashmir a lie PTI SUN VSD RDK RDK

New Delhi Mar 20 PTI Delhi BJP leaders along with party MPs MLAs and the partys farmers wing on Sunday staged a protest near Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence demanding subsidy on agricultural equipment and fertilisers an official statement said Delhi MP and Union Minister of State Meenakshi Lekhi said she will take up farmers issues with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Addressing a large number of farmers sitting on protest near the chief ministers residence here Lekhi said it is shameful that farmers are protesting to get the status of a farmer in Delhi The protest was held under the banner of Delhi BJPs Kisan Morcha We will take up their cause before the Centre because there is need for a change in Delhi now Had there been no MCD schools or dispensaries in every ward the situation of Kejriwals so called health or education model would have been worse the statement quoted Lekhi as saying All three municipal corporations in Delhi are currently ruled by the BJP Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said his party will take this farmers protest to every house in the villages of the national capital Some of the farmers land in Delhi is under dirty water for years and nothing has been done to clear that and make it of use again for them Gupta said in the statement He said under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi over 11 crore farmers are now getting Kisan Samman Nidhi and several works are being done by the Centre in Delhi as well Kejriwal tells lies in other states that in Delhi the state government is buying farmers produce at the Minimum Support Price MSP whereas the fact is farmers are neither getting their rights nor even the status of being a farmer Gupta claimed in the statement MP Manoj Tiwari alleged that electricity is provided to farmers at commercial rate in Delhi PTI AKM CK

New Delhi Feb 28 PTI The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea challenging a Delhi High Court decision to stay an order directing the AAP government to decide and formulate a policy on the implementation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals announcement that if a poor tenant was unable to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic the state would pay itA bench of Justice DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant which perused the speech of Kejriwal said promissory estoppel will not lie on the basis of speech There has to be some policy a notification has to be issued in this regardIn contract law promissory estoppel refers to the doctrine that a party may recover based on a promise made as it had relied on the said promiseThe bench said that it is an interlocutory order passed by the Delhi High Court and therefore it is not interfering with itSince the Special Leave Petition is directed against an interlocutory order which has been passed by the division bench of the High Court in an appeal against the judgment of the Single Judge no case for interference under Article 136 of the Constitution has been made out The Special Leave Petition is dismissed on that ground it orderedOn September 27 last year the Delhi High Court had stayed an order of single-judge bench directing the AAP government to formulate a policy on the implementation of the Chief Ministers announcement that if a poor tenant was unable to pay rent during the COVID-19 pandemic the state would pay itThe High Court had issued notice on the Delhi governments appeal against the order passed by a single judge who had also held that a Chief Ministers promise to citizens is enforceable in natureThe notice was issued to petitioners -- daily wagers and workers -- on whose petition the single judge had passed the order which has been challenged by the Delhi GovernmentIt had said that irreparable loss would be caused to the appellant Delhi government if an order of stay is not passedOn July 22 last year a single-judge bench of the High Court had ruled that a Chief Ministers promise to citizens was enforceable and directed the AAP government to decide within six weeks Kejriwals announcement that the state would pay rent on behalf of a poor tenant who is unable to do so on account of COVID19The judge had said that against the backdrop of a commitment made by the Chief Minister a lack of decision-making or indecision was contrary to lawA statement given in a consciously held press conference in the background of the lockdown announced due to the pandemic and the mass exodus of migrant labourers cannot be simply overlooked Proper governance requires the government to decide on the assurance given by the CM and inaction on the same cannot be the answer the single judge had said in the verdictThe judge had said that in the present case the assurance was not a political promise as was sought to be canvassed as it was not made as a part of an election rally but it was the statement made by the Delhi Chief MinisterThe statement was not made by a government functionary at a lower level in the hierarchy who could be devoid of such knowledge The CM is expected to have had the said knowledge and is expected to exercise his authority to give effect to his promiseassurance the judge had said adding that a citizen would believe that the CM has spoken on behalf of his government while making the promise PTI MNL MNL RKS RKS

New Delhi Jan 31 PTI Hundreds of Anganwadi workers staged a protest near Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence at the Civil Lines here on Monday to press for their demands including recognition as government employeesThe protest was organised under the aegis of Delhi State Anganwadi Workers and Helpers Union The protesters shouted anti-government slogans and displayed placards demanding the roll back of the New Education Policy They also demanded that government employee status should be be given to them They were stopped by the police a few metres away from the CM residence following which they sat on a dharna and continued their protestThe protesters held placards which read Inqalab Zindabad and Karmachari Ka Darza Hamara Adhikar PTI AKM TDS TDS

New Delhi Jan 29 PTI Hundreds of gym owners on Saturday took out a protest march to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence here to oppose the DDMAs decision to keep fitness centres closed even as the number of Covid cases have come down in the cityDemanding that gyms and spas be allowed to reopen and raising slogans against the government demonstrators started their march from the Chandgi Ram Akhara to Flagstaff Road in the Civil LinesThey however were stopped by police a few metres away from the chief ministers residenceThough the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA on Thursday lifted the weekend curfew and also allowed restaurants bars and cinema halls to operate with 50 per cent capacity gyms and schools in the city are still shutRestrictions had come into force under a yellow alert issued by the authority in December last year when the Covid positivity rate had crossed 05 per cent in the national capitalWe took out the protest march to make the government and the Delhi lieutenant governor L-G hear the plight of gym owners and others engaged in this business said Chirag Sethi the president of the Delhi Gym Association DGA under which the agitation was organisedThe fitness industry has already suffered a lot due to the Covid pandemic in the last two years and not allowing our establishments to reopen will prove to be a death warrant for our businesses he told PTIHe said that Covid cases in the city have come down drastically and other business establishments such as multiplexes restaurants and bars have been allowed to open Then why are fitness centres not being permitted to function Sethi askedThis is a genuine demand The government and the DDMA should consider it in its next meeting as soon as possible Sethi saidLater in a statement he claimed that fitness centres are open in neighbouring states but no surge in cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is being seen because of gymsNo case of Covid transmission has been seen in any gym all over the world Sethi saidDo we want the people of Delhi to stay unhealthy unfit and obese If gyms are not opened soon then thousands of gym owners and their families will come on the road to protest against this he warned in the statementThe protest was attended by over 200 gym owners fitness trainers and staff members They demanded that gyms be opened immediately to save them from losing their livelihoodThe DGA on Friday had said that gym owners and its members would be staging a protest near the L-Gs residence but according to it they were not granted permissionSethi had earlier said that the DDMAs decision to keep gyms shut is affecting the livelihood of around 5 lakh people There are around 5500 gyms in the city he had saidThe number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching a record high of 28867 on January 13Delhi on Friday reported 4044 fresh COVID-19 cases and 25 deathsThe positivity rate which was 306 per cent on January 14 now according to data released on Friday stands at 86 per cent for the city PTI AKM ANB ANB

New Delhi Jan 29 PTI Hundreds of gym owners on Saturday took out a protest march to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence here to oppose the DDMAs decision to keep fitness centres closed even as the number of Covid cases have come down in the city Demanding that gyms and spas be allowed to reopen and raising slogans against the government demonstrators started their march from the Chandgi Ram Akhara to Flagstaff Road in the Civil Lines They however were stopped by police a few metres away from the chief ministers residence Though the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA on Thursday lifted the weekend curfew and also allowed restaurants bars and cinema halls to operate with 50 per cent capacity gyms and schools in the city are still shut Restrictions had come into force under a yellow alert issued by the authority in December last year when the Covid positivity rate had crossed 05 per cent in the national capital We took out the protest march to make the government and the Delhi lieutenant governor L-G hear the plight of gym owners and others engaged in this business said Chirag Sethi the president of the Delhi Gym Association DGA under which the agitation was organised The fitness industry has already suffered a lot due to the Covid pandemic in the last two years and not allowing our establishments to reopen will prove to be a death warrant for our businesses he told PTI He said that Covid cases in the city have come down drastically and other business establishments such as multiplexes restaurants and bars have been allowed to open Then why are fitness centres not being permitted to function Sethi asked This is a genuine demand The government and the DDMA should consider it in its next meeting as soon as possible Sethi said The DGA on Friday had said that gym owners and its members would be staging a protest near the L-Gs residence but according to it they were not granted permission Sethi had earlier said that the DDMAs decision to keep gyms shut is affecting the livelihood of over 1 lakh people There are around 5500 gyms in the city he had said The number of daily cases in Delhi has been on the decline after touching a record high of 28867 on January 13 Delhi on Friday reported 4044 fresh COVID-19 cases and 25 deaths The positivity rate which was 306 per cent on January 14 now according to data released on Friday stands at 86 per cent for the city PTI AKM ANB ANB

New Delhi Jan 20 PTI Delhi Gym Association representatives and owners of gyms across the city Thursday staged a protest outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence demanding they be allowed to reopen their fitness centres which have been shut for over 20 days due to the spike in Covid casesGyms were closed in the city during the yellow alert which was sounded by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA when the positivity rate of COVID-19 cases had crossed 05 in December last yearThe protesters also carried empty liquor bottles to argue that if liquor vends can remain open gyms can tooThey said that all the other activities are kept open but gyms are always the first ones to be closed They argued that in the neighbouring states also gyms are open and no spike in the cases of Covid is seen from the gymDelhi Gym Association Vice President Chirag Sethi said it was unfair on the part of the Delhi government and the DDMA to close gyms when everything else even liquor shops is openIn the last 20 months our gyms have been closed for 9 months How are we going to survive like this How will we pay rent fixed electricity and water charges take care of our family In evening if your kid goes out where you want them to go at a wine shop or to a gym which makes their body and mind healthy Sethi saidIn Delhi there are 5500 gyms and over 1 lakh people are dependent on the fitness industry for their livelihoodGyms build immunity its easy to track people in gyms in case someone is found Covid positive compare to a restaurant or weekly markets The businesses that promote immunity are asked to shut but wine shops are open Sethi lamentedDelhi on Thursday reported 12306 fresh COVID-19 cases and 43 more fatalities due to the viral disease while the positivity rate dipped to 2148 per cent according to data shared by the city health departmentThis is the highest number of deaths reported in a day since June 10 2021 when 44 fatalities were recorded PTI AKM TIR TIR