New Delhi Apr 19 PTI Delhi has recorded a nearly 26 per cent jump in fresh Covid cases in the last 24 hours while the positivity rate has been reported at 442 per cent according to data shared by the city health department on TuesdayNo death has been reported in the city due to the coronavirus in this time period it saidThe department said that 632 fresh Covid cases have been reported and the positivity rate is 442 per cent The city had on Monday recorded 501 cases and zero death while the positivity rate stood at 772 per centThere are 9735 beds for Covid patients in Delhi hospitals and 80 082 per cent of them are occupied the department said in bulletinIt said that 9918 per cent beds 9657 beds in city hospitals are vacantOfficials said that the last time the number of cases was above 632 was in February 19 when the city had reported 635 cases The national capital on Sunday recorded a 421 per cent positivity rate with 517 casesWith the new cases the citys infection tally has increased to 1869683 while the death toll stood at 26160 as no new fatality was reported the Tuesday bulletin saidOn Saturday 461 Covid cases and two deaths were reported in Delhi while the positivity rate was 533 per centA total of 14299 Covid tests were conducted the previous day the bulletin stated on TuesdayThough the positivity rate has gone down the number of patients under home isolation have increased in the last few days On Tuesday a total of 1274 COVID-19 patients were under home isolation while on Monday this number was 1188 On Sunday as many as 964 patients were under home isolationThe bulletin said that as on date there were 625 containment zones across the cityThe number of daily COVID-19 cases in Delhi had touched the record high of 28867 on January 13 this year during the third wave of the pandemicThe city had recorded a positivity rate of 306 per cent on January 14 the highest during the third wave of the pandemic which was largely driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of coronavirus PTI AKM ANB ANB

New Delhi Mar 30 PTI Delhi Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain on Wednesday conducted a surprise inspection of a ration shop in Laxmi Nagar where he found several irregularities prompting him to order an inquiry an official statement saidDuring the inspection the minister observed that two E-Pos devices were being used by the fair price shop FPS dealer instead of the single allocated E-Pos device The investigating team has been directed to conduct a thorough investigation it saidThe statement said that operating E-Pos machine other than the one allocated for the FPS is a serious violation of the law which indicates diversion and misappropriation of subsidised ration by the dealerHussain observed that a godown was also being operated in the adjoining premises of the ration shop against departmental norms The minister showed his displeasure and directed the commissioner food and civil supplies to submit a detailed action taken report against the FPS dealer for violating departmental norms prohibiting the operation of godown from the FPS premises the statement said PTI AKM ANB ANB

New Delhi Mar 30 PTI The Delhi traffic police on Wednesday issued an advisory saying that the Ashram underpass will be opened for vehicular movement only during peak traffic hours of morning and evening till April 2The Ashram underpass was opened for traffic on trial basis on March 22 The underpass is likely to be inaugurated early next monthAshram Underpass both carriageways from New Friends Colony to Bhogal and vice-versa will be open to Traffic from 8 am to 1030 am and from 5 pm to 8 pm until April 2 2022 Motorists are advised to plan their journey accordingly Inconvenience is regretted the Delhi traffic police said in a tweetAccording to PWD officials the underpass will remain shut except for peak traffic hours to complete the remaining works including the finishing touches of the underpass It is likely to be opened in the first week of April so we want to finish the remaining works at the earliest a PWD official said who wished not to be namedThe works related to sheds on the underpass ramps fixation of signage lights and lane marking are remaining Ashram intersection is an important link between central and south Delhi and also with Faridabad The junction connects the Mathura Road and the Ring Road linking Lajpat Nagar-Sarai Kale Khan and the DND flyoverOnce the underpass is formally opened for traffic it would benefit commuters passing through the busy Ashram crossing and ease their ride towards Sarita Vihar Badarpur and Faridabad from ITO and vice versa PTI AKM ANB ANB

New Delhi Mar 24 PTI It was a sunny morning in the national capital on Thursday and the minimum temperature was recorded at 212 degrees Celsius four notches above the seasons average There will be mainly clear sky during the day The maximum temperature of the day is likely to settle around 36 degrees Celsius the India Meteorological Department IMD saidIt said that the maximum temperature is likely to increase in the days to comeThe maximum temperature on Wednesday settled at 357 degrees Celsius five notches above the normalThe relative humidity at 830 am was 75 per cent on Thursday the IMD saidDelhis air quality was in the poor category on Thursday morning The Central Pollution Control Board CPCB data showed that the Air Quality Index AQI at 8 am on Thursday was 270An 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 severe PTI AKM ANB ANB

New Delhi Dec 27 PTI The South Delhi Municipal Corporation has started a initiative Vikalp to discourage usage of single-use plastic bags in its south zone an official statement said Under the initiative shoppers who do not bring cloth bags can take a cloth bag by depositing Rs 20 at Vikalp stalls in markets A customer can return the bag at the Vikalp stall after using it and get refund of the money There is no time limit to return these bags and a person can return the bag at any of Vikalp stall the statement saidIn view of the Swachh Survekshan-2022 Vikalp stalls are being set up in various markets under jurisdiction of the civic bodyDeputy Commissioner South Zone Ankita Chakravarty said 22 such stalls have been set up in 14 markets such as those is Green Park Yusuf Sarai Hauz Khas SDA Saket Arbindo Market Greater Kailash and Chitranjan Park Market among othersChakravarty said that stickers of Vikalp stalls in markets are being pasted at shops so that customers can know their location The official appealed to shopkeepers to make people aware about single-use plastic and its ill effects With the facility of cloth bags in a market people will develop the habit of using cloth bags instead of plastic ones People will be made aware about the move through Nukkad Nataks street plays and other awareness campaigns Chakravarty said in the statement PTI AKM ANB ANB

New Delhi Sep 22 PTI The South Delhi Municipal Corporation under its ease of doing business initiative has launched a portal to provide permission for film shooting at different locations in its area the civic body said in a statement The municipal corporation has developed a portal for smooth facilitation of the entire process of granting approval and applicants will have to apply through the SDMCs official website it said The statement said that after submitting relevant documents and paying the permission fee approval of film shooting will be given by the directorate of press and information PI in a period of three days Under ease of doing business a single-window policy for online approval of film shooting is also being developed for various agencies of Delhi and the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation DTTDC has been appointed the nodal agency it said The SDMC in July had formulated a policy for allowing shooting films under its jurisdiction Under the policy filmmakers will have to seek permission for shooting and will also have to pay a fee of Rs 75000 for shooting in parks heritage buildings office complexes malls or markets falling under the SDMCs jurisdiction officials said They will also have to deposit a security amount of Rs 25000 Prior to this there was no policy of the SDMC regarding film shooting However the New Delhi Municipal Council charges a fee from filmmakers for shooting in its area SDMC Additional Commissioner A A Tazir Additional Commissioner SDMC and Director PI SDMC Sanjay Sahai on Wednesday convened a meeting with film and line producers and shared details related to the newly drafted policy The officials also sought suggestions and feedback from the producers who attended the meeting They said that the policy that will boost the revenues of cash-strapped civic body PTI AKM ANB ANB