New Delhi Apr 26 PTI Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain on Tuesday directed officials to ensure unhindered transportation of foodgrains to fair price shops and ensure that no beneficiary is deprived from getting free ration in Delhi an official statement saidHe also directed the commissioner to submit daily reports to him on the matter Hussains directions came during a review meeting for the smooth distribution of free ration in DelhiThe Kejriwal government is fully committed to provide free ration to every single beneficiary of the state Food and Civil Supplies Minister directs FSOs and FSIs to remain vigilant in their respective zones and ensure no malpractices occur during distribution of foodgrains the statement saidHussain also directed officials for deployment of civil defence volunteers for orderly distribution of foodgrains at fair price shops The minister directed the officials to ensure timely and continuous pickup of foodgrains from FCI godowns and transport to the respective Fair Price Shops for smooth distribution of ration to the ration beneficiaries in DelhiHe directed the Commissioner FS to personally ensure the transportation of ration to various FPSs and submit daily reports regarding the supplydistribution of food grains to FPSs the statement added PTI AKM TDS TDS

New Delhi Apr 24 PTI The Delhi government is mulling to bring Malcha Mahal the 14th century Tughlaq-era hunting lodge located in the central ridge on citys tourist map after renovating the heritage structure official sources said Malcha Mahal was the abode of self-proclaimed descendants of the Nawab of Awadh and lies neglected since the death of the last of the royal family in September 2017 Hidden behind thick foliage in the central ridge along Sardar Patel Marg the ancient structure is neither the ASI protected monument nor the state government has paid any attention to conserve it The hope to conserve its heritage value has been rekindled as the sources said the state governments archaeology department is making effort to hire a consultant to prepare a detailed plan for its restorationA request for proposal is being prepared and it will be issued soon to hire a consultant for the restoration work of Malcha Mahal We are planning to invite agencies who have expertise in this field to carry out the restoration work the sources said adding that if everything goes as per plan the restoration work should begin in the next five-six months After starting of the restoration work it is likely to take a few years to complete the project they said The official sources said that most of the people are unaware about this hidden historical monument in the city so the government is also planning to put it on citys tourist map by developing tourist friendly activities there They however said that this plan is in very nascent stage and it will be early to predict what sort of facilities or activities will be planned there for tourism purposes Let us first work on the restoration of the heritage site then we can plan tourism activities there the official sources said According to officials Malcha Mahal was built by the then Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq and was used as a hunting lodge by him PTI AKM KVK KVK

New Delhi Apr 18 PTI Various auto-rickshaw cab and taxi unions in the capital went on a strike on Monday demanding a CNG subsidy and a fare revision in the wake of rising fuel pricesThe strike led to a shortage of cabs and autos across Delhi-NCRCommuters 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 inflated 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 a commuter Diljeet Singh told PTIAuto 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 in 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 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 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 saidPeople took to social media to report about cab and auto drivers strikeThere 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 saidThere are over 90000 autos and more than 80000 registered taxis complementing the public transport system in the city PTI AKM TDS TDS

New Delhi Mar 21 PTI Cab and tourist taxi driver associations staged a protest at Jantar Mantar here on Monday to demand removal of MCD toll tax and streamlining the process of fixing fares by app-based taxi services Uber and OlaThere was however no visible impact on cab services in the city due to the stirScores of drivers of tourist taxis Ola Uber cabs and three-wheelers participated in the protest at Jantar Mantar The protesters demanded that the MCD toll tax which is realised from commercial vehicles while entering Delhi from NCR towns should not be taken from taxis and cabsThey also alleged that online cab aggregators pay a small share of the fare to drivers which should be streamlinedThe government should intervene in rate fixation as online cab aggregators arbitrarily fix fares and then pay a small amount to drives For instance if the fare is Rs 100 then drivers get only Rs 30 while the rest is kept by the aggregator This practice should be streamlined Convenor Sanyukta Sangharsh Samiti Indrajeet Singh told PTISanyukta Sangharsh Samiti is an umbrella body of several taxi and cab unionsSingh also said the government should provide CNG and fuel at subsidised rates to cab and taxi drivers on the lines of benefits given to other industries Cab and taxi drivers are badly hit by the pandemic and the industry is still reviving So the government should help them by providing fuel at subsidised rates he said Singh also said that the MCD parking fee should not be realised from taxis plying in outer Delhis rural areas as they dont use MCD parkingThough there was protest by cab drivers there was no visible impact on the availability of cabs and taxis in the citySingh said it was a symbolic half-a-day protest so the impact on cabs was negligible He said if their demands were not met they will stage massive protest and will also think about going on strike in the future PTI AKM TDS TDS

New Delhi Feb 23 PTI Delhi Government websites will be redeveloped as a one-stop solution for all government information and services and will be linked with social media and communication channels to increase transparency an official statement said on Wednesday The websites will be integrated with all major Delhi government social media profiles and live updates on policies it said The decision was taken during the review meeting by Delhis Information Technology Minister Kailash Gahlot Gahlot said that user-friendly interface for all websites will be developed and it will be more dynamic interactive with help of Chatbot integrations and enhanced security features Government websites will have advanced search options and visitors grievances and suggestions portals he said in the statement Gahlot said that government websites have a stereotypical notion of being outdated and difficult to manoeuvre linked to them and it is about to be changed Linking websites to our social media and communication channels will not just make it more interactive for the user but also increase transparency and accountability in the way the government functions I am confident that once the revamped websites go live the users will have a great experience navigating our websites Gahlot said in the statement He also said that the government is also working on creating feedback mechanism for all its services which will help in receiving alerts in case any service is not working as expected The current interface occasionally shows errors and the server crashes when there is a heavy influx especially in the event where a new scheme is being launched The new website will also see more interactive features like IoT Internet of Things Chatbot Integration enhanced security features for in-house and external links better and advanced search options and visitors grievances and suggestions portals the statement saidWe are aware of some Delhi government sites reporting issues and the department is working on a war footing to get the websites up and running it added PTI AKM RCJ RCJ

New Delhi Jan 29 PTI As many as 552 liquor shops out of 849 permitted vends have been opened till January 28 under the Delhi governments new excise policy official sources said The policy was implemented on November 17 last year An updated list of all the functional liquor vends has also been uploaded on the excise departments website Under the new excuse policy the liquor business in the city was completely handed over to private players wherein they can open 849 spacious and swanky vends in 32 zones having an area of at least 500 square metres Such outlets will also allow walk-in facility to consumers where they can choose the alcohol brand of their choice as they do at shopping malls The Delhi BJP which is in power in the three civic bodies - North East and South - had been opposing the policy by alleging that liquor shops have been opened in violation of norms Municipalities have also launched a crackdown on liquor shops which they said were set up illegally According to civic authorities till January first week the three civic bodies have sealed nearly 25 shops and issued notices against around 130 such establishments Our crackdown against illegal liquor shops continues Yesterday we issued notices against several liquor shops for unauthorised construction and violation of building norms SDMC standing committee chairman B K Oberoi told PTI The Delhi government had moved out of retail business of liquor under the new policy through privatisation of all 849 liquor vends more than half of which were run by its four agencies earlier PTI AKM SRY

New Delhi Jan 28 PTI Bicycles will be provided to five per cent of the meritorious students of Class 4 studying in SDMC primary schools the municipal corporation announced on Friday ahead of the civic polls here It said that bicycles will be given to students based on their academic performance in Class 3 out of which a minimum 50 per cent will be girls A proposal in this connection was approved in the South Delhi Municipal Corporations standing committee meeting on Friday It will increase enrolment in primary classes by alluring the guardians to admit their wards in SDMC schools It will create a healthy competition among children of Class III to come under 5 per cent of students on the basis of their academic performance Hence it will help to raise the academic standard of students the proposal stated According to the proposal the move is aimed at building health and strength of students along with providing them with the conveyance facility to school and vice versa The proposal stated that the move will incur an expenditure of Rs 90 lakh every year on the municipality It has been proposed that the SDMC may provide bicycles to 5 per cent of students of Class IV out of which minimum 50 will be girls of each school on the basis of their academic performance in class III This scheme will cover 3000 students every year as estimated on the basis of the data of students of the current academic year 2021-22 the proposal read All the three municipalities North South and East are likely to undergo polls before May this year The poll schedule is yet to be announced The civic bodies are ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP while Aam Aadmi Party AAP is the principal opposition there The proposal also said that cycling is a pollution-free means of transport for students and it will inculcate a sporting spirit among them The SDMCs education department runs 568 primary schools 14 independent nursery schools and 10 aided schools Nearly 3 lakh students get primary and pre-primary education at these municipal schools The SDMC also provides to its students free textbooks note books stationery items school bags and cash subsidies on uniforms It also provides a girl child incentive of Rs 1000 to each girl student PTI AKM RCJ RCJ

New Delhi Jan 25 PTI The Delhi government does not want livelihood of people to be affected and Covid restrictions will be eased as soon as possible Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted on Tuesday saying the citys positivity rate has reduced to 10 per cent in 10 daysRestrictions were put in place in view of peoples health Kejriwal said after hoisting the national flag at the Delhi governments Republic Day functionDelhiites have suffered the most due to Covid We dont want that your livelihood is affected but your health is important so we had to put restrictions he saidRecently the Delhi governments proposal to lift weekend curfew and odd-even scheme of opening shops in view of the improving Covid situation here was turned down by the Lieutenant Governor L-GLast week some traders had come and they said they are facing lots of problems due to the odd-even scheme and weekend curfew The L-G agreed to some proposals and on some he differed We will remove these restrictions as soon as possible Kejriwal saidHe said Delhi is suffering from the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic which is being fuelled by the Omicron variant of the virusThe Omicron variant spreads very fast but it is said to be mild the chief minister saidKejriwal also spoke on reducing number of Covid cases and Delhis vaccination programmeOn January 13 the number of cases were 29000 and even then only 2500-3000 beds were occupied he saidThe chief minister said on January 15 the highest positivity rate was reported which was about 30 per cent But it has reduced to 10 per cent in last 10 days he said adding that the number of cases is also reducingHe said it was possible due to consistent vaccinationVaccination in Delhi has been conducted at the ward level on mission mode First dose has been administered to 100 per cent people while 82 per cent have got the second dose as well I think it is a record in the country and the world as well Kejriwal saidHe said that in the entire country it is the third Covid wave but for Delhi it is the fifth waveCovid is a virus which came from foreign countries and most international flights come to Delhi So whenever a new variant is reported it has come to Delhi first Kejriwal saidBut the way Delhis officers doctors and others tackled this coronavirus pandemic and the way Delhiites patiently faced it in a disciplined way is really commendable he said PTI AKM VIT ANB ANB

New Delhi Dec 20 PTI The South Delhi Municipal Corporation SDMC on Monday carried out an anti-encroachment drive around the Mehrauli-Badarpur Road area in its central zone and freed nearly nine kilometres of roadsides and footpaths of illegally occupationIn the drive the ESI Hospital to Tehkhand village road stretch D-Block MCD Store to Railway Road Tehkhand village Surj Kund Road MB Road to Lal Kuan and both sides of the Prahladpur Road were freed from encroachment it said in a statementDuring the drive the traffic police seized two vehicles and 15 violators were fined Nearly 80 permanent and temporary structures were dismantled and 45 items were seizedDeputy Commissioner of Central Zone Radha Krishan said in the statement that footpaths are being freed from illegal occupation to facilitate movement of pedestriansHe said such actions will continue in the central zone to make the area clean and encroachment free PTI AKM IJT

New Delhi Oct 31 PTI Ahead of Diwali the Delhi governments Food Safety Department on Sunday seized 700 kg of foul smelling khoya during a surprise check at two wholesale markets here officials said According to officials surprise checks were conducted by teams of a task force constituted by the Food and Safety Department at Mori Gate khoya Mandi near Kashmere Gate and Sanjay Market near Chandni Chowk here and foul quality khoya was seizedThey said 200 kg khoya was seized from Moro Gate and 500 kg from Sanjay Market700 kg 200kg 500 kg of perishable foul smelling khoya seized by the task force team from khoya mandi auction site Mori Gate and from Sanjay Market Bagh Diwar respectively the Department of Food Safety said in a tweet on Sunday evening Khoya is widely used in preparation of a number of sweets Adulterated unhygienic and foul smelling khoya dairy product is often seen being sold into the market during the festive seasonTo ensure there is no adulteration in food materials during Diwali the Food Safety Department had on Thursday formed a special task force to check such practices The task force have two teams of officials who have been tasked to gather information about food adulteration practices and crackdown upon offendersThese teams are tasked with conducting surprise inspections of wholesale markets and shops to check for the adulteration of food items specially for the materials used in the festive season such as milk Khoya paneer ghee and oilThe Food and Safety Department has issued a helpline 1800113921 and email IDcessdelhinicinfor the public to share information related to food safety adulteration and non-compliance of norms PTI AKM TDS TDS