New Delhi Mar 25 PTI Around one lakh senior citizens have been provided monthly financial assistance in the financial year 2021-22 till December 2021 while310 lakh women in distress were remitted financial aid according to Economic Survey of Delhi 2021-22The Delhi government provides financial assistance of Rs 2000 per month to senior citizens aged 60 to 69 and Rs 2500 per month to people aged 70 and aboveA financial aid of Rs 2500 per monthis given to persons with special needs and women in distressAbout 111 lakh people have been provided financial assistance under the scheme Financial Assistance to Persons with Special Needs in 2021-22 till December 2021 against 102 lakh in 2020-21About 425 lakh senior citizens and 281 lakhwomen in distresshad received monthly financial assistance in 2020-21Government data showed 12833 households have been provided financial support under the National Family Benefit Scheme during FY 2021-22 till December 2021 against 13676 families in 2020-21 PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Jan 29 PTI Footfall at popular shopping commercial and tourist places in Delhi dip by up to 33 per cent due to an increase in air pollution levels a new study has shownClimate-tech start-up Blue Sky Analytics and data analytics firm Near studied the impact of high pollution levels on footfalls in New Delhis popular shopping commercial and tourist hubs Karol Bagh Lodhi Gardens and Connaught Place over a period of six months from October 2019 to March 2020The period was further divided into weeks with Week 1 beginning October 1 2019The researchers compared footfall trends to rising pollution levels with air quality data provided by Blue Sky Analytics which uses machine learning and combines real time ground observations from more than 250 Central Pollution Control Board air quality sensors with near real time satellite data to provide a continuous spatio-temporal map for PM25 and PM10In Connaught Place one of the main commercial financial and business centres in New Delhi footfall dropped from around 17000 a day to 14000 a day between week 10 and week 14 when PM25 concentration rose to a high of 336 microgram per cubic metreIn the densely populated Karol Bagh a residential and commercial area and a popular weekend destination for locals and tourists alike consumer footfall dropped by a massive 33 per cent in response to pollution levels increasing by 25 percent in week five early NovemberThe PM levels rose to 443 microgram per cubic metre during week five and this could also have caused consumers to decide against travel the report readIt underlined that Karol received more footfall from the 45-plus age group hence a dip in footfall due to an increase in pollution levels was more noticeableIn Lodhi Gardens a city park that offers over 90 acres of green walking space for local residents footfall dipped from around 900 a day to around 700 a day from October end till mid-November the study showedChief Executive Officer Blue Sky Analytics Abhilasha Purwar said Through this report we hope to put a spotlight on the impact pollution has on consumer behaviour health and commercial activity We hope this study encourages both public and private governing bodies to strongly advocate the need for cleaner air and promote work on solutions to this crisis Purwar addedShobhit Shukla co-founder and president of Near said With these insights we hope to enable decision makers to take the right steps to better tackle the problem of air pollution while taking into consideration both social good as well as economic growth PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Jan 25 PTI Delhi saw foggy conditions -- with visibility levels below 1000 metres -- for just 252 hours in the December-January period this season which is the lowest since 1991-92 according to the India Meteorological Department IMD The December-January period is known for peak fog formation over north India The capital witnessed foggy conditions for 75 hours over 22 days in December 2021 which was the lowest in 40 years Normally the city sees 288 hours of fog over 26 days in the monthIn January so far the city has recorded 175 hours of fog over 23 days as compared to the normal of 290 hours over 26 days senior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said Altogether the December-January period has seen foggy conditions for just 252 hours over 45 days as against the normal of 570 hours over 52 days the IMD data showedIn terms of total hours and days Delhi saw lowest foggy conditions in the December-January period after 1991-92 when it saw such weather for 255 hours over 44 days Jenamani saidNot much fog is predicted in the remaining six days of January as winds will be strong in the coming days he saidThe capital hasnt recorded very dense fog in the December-January period so far It saw dense fog only on seven days as compared to the normal of 18 days and moderate fog on just 13 days as against 33 days normallyVery dense fog is when visibility is below 50 metres In the case of densefog visibility is between 50 and 199 metres moderate is 200 and 499 metres and shallow is 500 and 999 metresDespite low fog formation Delhi has witnessed one of the longest cold spells this January It is due to low clouds or upper-level fog preventing long exposure to sun weather experts saidAccording to the IMD data the capital has recorded six cold days in January so far the highest in the month in at least a decadeJenamani said Delhi has recorded a maximum temperature of less than 17 degrees Celsius on 11 days this month equalling the number of such days in 2015 Eighteen such days were recorded in 2003 he said PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Jan 25 PTI Delhi on Tuesday reported 6028 new Covid cases and 31 deaths while the positivity rate dropped to 1055 per cent according to data shared by the health departmentThe health bulletin showed 9127 patients were discharged in a day and less than 15 per cent of the Covid beds in hospitals were occupiedOn Monday the capital had logged 5760 new Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1179 per cent and 30 deathsThe number of daily cases in Delhi has been declining after touching the record high of 28867 on January 13The capital had recorded a positivity rate of 306 per cent on January 15 the highest so far in the ongoing wave of the pandemicDelhi had on Sunday reported 9197 new Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1332 per cent and 34 deaths due to the infection It took just 10 days for cases to drop below the 10000-markThe capital on Saturday recorded 45 deaths due to Covid the highest since June 5 and 11486 cases with a positivity rate of 1636 per centOn Friday the city logged 10756 cases with a positivity rate of 1804 per cent and 38 deathsAs many as 574 people have succumbed to Covid in the national capital so far in JanuaryHowever Health Minister Satyendar Jain and officials have maintained that most patients had comorbidities such as cancer liver or kidney diseases and Covid wasnt the primary reason for deaths this time PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Jan 24 PTI Delhi on Monday reported 5760 new Covid cases and 30 deaths while the positivity rate dropped to 1179 per cent according to data shared by the health departmentThe health bulletin showed 48844 Covid tests were conducted in the capital the previous day as compared to 69022 on SaturdayThe number of daily cases in Delhi has been declining after touching the record high of 28867 on January 13The capital had recorded a positivity rate of 306 percent onJanuary15 the highest so far in theongoing wave of the pandemicDelhi had on Sunday reported 9197 Covid cases with a positivity rate of 1332 per cent and 34 deaths due to the infection It took just 10 days for cases to drop below the 10000-markThe capital on Saturday recorded 45 deaths due to Covid the highest since June 5 and 11486 cases with a positivity rate of 1636 per centOn Friday the city logged 10756 cases with a positivity rate of 1804 per cent and 38 deathsAs many as 543 people have succumbed to Covid in the national capital so far in JanuaryHowever Health Minister Satyendar Jain and officials have maintained that most patients had comorbidities such as cancer liver or kidney diseases and Covid wasnt the primary reason for deaths this timeThere are 15411 beds for Covid patients in Delhi hospitals and 2394 1553per cent of them are occupiedThe bulletin stated that the number of Covid patients in hospitals has dropped from 2624 on January 19 to 2290 on MondayCurrently 160 patients are on ventilator supportThere are 45140 active Covid cases in Delhi Of these 36838 patients are recovering in home isolation it said PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Jan 24 PTI The Delhi government has directed all its departments autonomous institutions and local bodies to follow the official social media handles of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and share and retweet its content widelyAzadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Centre to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of progressive India and the glorious history of its people culture and achievementsThe General Administration Department of the Delhi government has asked the heads of all departments autonomous institutions and local bodies to follow and tag official handles of Amrit Mahotsav in all social media postsThey have been asked to shareretweet Amrit Mahotsavs published content on all social media platforms widely Adhering to the Branding Manual for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav the government asked the departments to share high-resolution photographs and videos of major events on real time basis with the coordination team of Amrit MahotsavAmrit Mahotsav to be tagged on caption instead of tagging on the image Use of hashtag Amrit Mahotsav for various activities hosted by the UT the directions read PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Nov 29 PTI The national capital reported 34 new cases of COVID-19 and one death in a day while the positivity rate stood at 008 per cent according to the data shared by the health department here on Monday This is the third day on the trot that Delhi has reported a fatality due to the viral infection The national capital has recorded seven deaths due to the infection in November so far Four people had succumbed to the viral disease in October and five in September With the new cases the coronavirus infection tally in the city climbed to 1440900 Of this over 1415 lakh patients have recovered from the disease The death toll stands at 25099 According to the health bulletin authorities conducted 43399 tests including 39916 RT-PCR ones the previous day There are 285 active Covid cases in Delhi of which 122 are in home isolation The number of containment zones stands at 105 Delhi reported 32 COVID-19 cases and a death on Sunday and 27 cases and a death on Saturday On Sunday Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop flights coming to India from countries affected by a new variant of coronavirus with immediate effectThe Centre on Sunday decided to review the resumption of international flights introduced stricter guidelines for people travelling from or transiting through at-risk countries and issued a slew of directions to the states for ramping up testing-surveillance measures and health facilitiesIn April and May Delhi battled a brutal second wave of the pandemic that led to a shortage of oxygen and essential drugs at hospitalsOn April 20 Delhi had reported 28395 cases the highest in the city since the beginning of the pandemic On April 22 the case positivity rate was 362 per cent the highest so farThe highest number of 448 deaths was reported on May 3According to government data over 225 crore vaccine doses have been administered in Delhi since the inoculation exercise started on January 16 Over 87 lakh people have received both doses PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Nov 28 PTI Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai Monday said the ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi will continue till further orders in view of the high air pollution levelsThe ban on the entry of trucks barring those engaged in essential services will continue till December 7 while CNG and electric trucks will be allowed to enter Delhi Rai said after a review meeting with officials of departments concernedExperts have said low temperature and low wind speed have led to stagnant conditions and that Delhis air quality is likely to remain very poor in coming days The situation can improve if it rains as predicted by the India Meteorological Department the minister saidConsidering the situation we have decided to extend the ban on construction and demolition activities in Delhi till further orders Non-polluting construction activities such as plumbing work interior decoration electrical work and carpentry are allowed he saidRai said the governments Red Light On Gaadi Off campaign to curb vehicular pollution is being extended till December 18The Delhi government had on Thursday re-imposed the ban on construction and demolition activities following the Supreme Court order in this regardChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said the workers affected by the ban on construction activities in the national capital will be provided a financial assistance of Rs 5000 each and his government will also compensate them for the loss of minimum wagesPhysical classes in schools colleges and other educational institutions resumed and government offices reopened from MondayThe government has also launched a special bus service to ferry its staff from government residential colonies in 14 areas in the city PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Nov 25 PTI Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Thursday said technology and resources without a sense of responsibility cannot rejuvenate rivers in the countryOur forefathers neither had technology nor resources still they ensured our ponds lakes and rivers remained pristine It was due to their sense of responsibility the minister said while launching River Cities Alliance RCA hereRCA is platform for 30 Indian cities on the banks of the river or with rivers passing through them to discuss and exchange information for sustainable management of urban riversOnly technology and resources cannot do it rejuvenate rivers Ultimately we have to connect people with the rivers the alliance should work on peoples participation he said PTI GVS RHL

New Delhi Sep 30 PTI Almost a year after Delhi started a trial of 50 Hydrogen-enriched CNG buses the government is likely to abandon plans to scale it up with officials saying the reduction in nitrogen oxide NOx levels is debatable and the return and investment is not commensurate Officials also said the question of converting CNG buses to HCNG does not arise when the government has taken a conscious decision to move towards electric vehicles The city government had started a six-month trial of the Hydrogen-enriched Compressed Natural Gas HCNG in a fleet of 50 cluster buses with the inauguration of Indias first semi-commercial HCNG plant and dispensing station at the Rajghat depot here The Delhi transport department had provided Rs 15 crore for the setting up of the plant and conducting a study on the fuel to ascertain its benefits in terms of economy and emissions You have to look at the larger picture The question doesnt remain when we have taken a conscious decision of replacing and augmenting our fleet with electric vehicles a senior government official told PTI He said the study is still under evaluation and there are mixed outcomes While the fuel efficiency has increased to some extent the critical element -- whether there has been a reduction in NOx nitrogen oxides levels -- is debatable the official said A presentation was made before officials of the environment and transport departments There is a divergence of views between the Indian Oil Corporation Limited IOCL and Indraprastha Gas Limited IGL on the matter officials claimed The IOCL which has developed and patented the technology for the production of the fuel had earlier estimated that the cost escalation for shifting to HCNG buses will be about 72 paise per kilometre If at all this model has to be scaled up it entails mixing hydrogen with CNG either at source or here If you do it here its a very capital-intensive project and return and investment is not commensurate the official quoted above said The IGL is not prepared to do the mixing at source because the level to which it is required nowhere else in the world this has been done So it is a challenge he added While inaugurating the Rajghat HCNG plant which can produce four tonnes of fuel per day Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot had said the use of HCNG could be scaled up to other buses and private vehicles in Delhi once the trial is completed successfully According to reports HCNG fuel emits 70 per cent less carbon monoxide reduces total hydrocarbons emissions by around 15 per cent and increases fuel efficiency by 3-4 per cent As it is our buses operate on CNG and are less polluting Making a huge investment into a project converting CNG buses to HCNG of this nature we are not sure of its cost-benefit In any case it is a theoretical debate because we are transitioning to electric now the official said According to the Delhi governments electric vehicle policy 50 per cent of the bus fleet has to be electric by 2025 Delhi has around 6750 state-run buses Of this 3760 are owned by the Delhi Transport Corporation while the rest are cluster buses operated by private entities for the state transport department PTI GVS RHL