New Delhi Apr 20 PTI In view of a spike in coronavirus cases in the national capital the Delhi government on Wednesday decided to make the wearing of masks mandatory again in public places and impose a fine of Rs 500 in case of a violationThe decision was taken at a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA which also decided not to shut schools and come up with separate Standard Operating Procedures SOPs in consultation with experts for themThe announcement came on a day Delhi registered 1009 fresh coronavirus cases a 60 per cent jump from Tuesdays tally and one death due to COVIDLt Governor Anil Baijal in a series of tweets shared details of the DDMA meeting and saidit was decided to make the wearing of masks mandatory in public places The government is expected to issue an official order regarding the mandatory use of masks soon Fine on not wearing a mask was lifted by the Delhi government on April 2 after the decline in COVID cases in the cityThe DDMA meeting emphasised strict enforcement of the SOPs for schools by the school management concernedIn the larger interest of students in case of non-compliance or violation of SOPs a penalty as deemed appropriate should be imposed for creating a deterrent effect Baijal tweetedOfficials said authorities have been asked to keep a close watch on social gatherings and ramp up testing in the national capitalThey said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is closely monitoring the situation and instructions have been issued to officials to ensure the implementation of steps to check the spread of the virus and preparations for the treatment of COVID patientsIn the DDMA meeting emphasis was also laid on early vaccination of eligible groups as it will help keep in check the impact of the pandemic officials saidSeveral participants asserted that there was no need to panic since the number of hospitalisations was low despite a rise in COVID cases they saidIt was highlighted that the trends of hospitalisation needed to be closely monitored for the next fortnight as well as conducting genome sequencing of all positive samples put through the RTPCR testIt was also decided to increase the number of tests being done with the focus on people with symptoms they saidThe DDMA meeting chaired by Baijal was also attended by Kejriwal Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and other top officials and expertsThe LG advised all the agencies to remain vigilant and work in coordination to tackle the situation as it emergesAccording to official figures there are 9735 beds for COVID patients in Delhi hospitals and just 80 082 per cent of them were occupiedThe health department said 632 fresh cases were reported on Tuesday and the positivity rate was 442 per centThe 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 pandemic The positivity rate had soared to 306 per cent on January 14 the highest during the third wave PTI VIT BUN PYK PYK

New Delhi Apr 19 PTI The unabated heatwave pushed the power demand in Delhi to 5735 MW on Tuesday the highest ever in April discom officials saidThe previous high was recorded at 5664 MW on April 30 2019 they saidThe unabated heat wave in the national capital continues to push the power demand to newer highs At 330 pm on Tuesday Delhis peak power demand touched 5735 MW the highest ever in the month of April officials said This is an increase of over 28 percent from April 1 when the citys peak power demand had clocked 4469 MW The peak power demand was 5641 MW on Monday Delhis peak power demand in April so far has crossed the 5000 MW-mark on nine days vis--vis zero days in 2021 and 2020 In 2019 it had crossed 5000 MW on seven days in April they saidThe peak power demand of Delhi had breached the 7000 MW-mark for the first time peaking at 7016 MW in 2018In 2022 it is expected to soar to around 8200 MW which is an increase of around 285 percent over the peak power demand of 2879 MW in 2002 discom officials said Delhi has recorded seven heatwave days so far this summer the IMD official said The maximum temperature in the city has been upwards for 40 degrees Celsius in past many days raising the demand for power PTI VIT VIT TDS TDS

New Delhi Mar 25 PTI Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Manish Sisodia presented the status report of the Outcome Budget for the year 2021-22 in the Legislative Assembly on Friday Sisodia said they were the first to introduce the Outcome Budget wherein they put out details of the status of various projects undertaken by the government It is a General Knowledge question Which is the government that promises and also delivers them Except for some MLAs everyone knows the answer to this question he told the House in an apparent reference to the Opposition members While presenting the status report he said the city government constructed 13181 classrooms in its schools while the number of students enrolled in government schools rose from 15 lakh to 18 lakhNearly 80000 applications for 4800 seats were received for the 31 schools of excellence The Deshbhakti curriculum has been implemented in all government schools and will be implemented in private schools from the next year said Sisodia who is also Delhis Education Minister PTI VIT SLB CK

New Delhi Feb 24 PTI Delhi BJP on Thursday demanded Kejriwal government to withdraw fresh maintenance charges imposed on industrialists in old industrial parks in the city Adesh Gupta Delhi BJP president and party MP Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma claimed that the government was imposing the maintenance charges on industrial areas in the city that were set up 4-5 decades ago No immediate reaction was available from Delhi government on the claim made by the BJP leaders Recently notices have been served in the industrial areas by the government for payment of maintenance fee due to which there is anger among the industrial organisations they claimed Kejriwal government should immediately withdraw this fee The industrialists should not pay it if government does not withdraw the fee they said Gupta said that industrial areas in Okhla Narayana Mayapuri Kirti Nagar and such others were developed four to five decades ago and with the passage of time most of these industrial plots have been got freehold by the industrialists by paying fee In these industrial areas the work of street lighting and cleaning is looked after by the municipal corporation and Delhi government has to maintain the roads that are in a very bad shape presently he said PTI VIT RCJ RCJ

New Delhi Nov 25 PTI Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced the formation of a Yamuna Cleaning Cell YCC to expedite inter-departmental decision making and execution of projects for cleaning the heavily polluted Yamuna river The Cell to be headed by the chief executive officer of the Delhi Jal Board DJB will have representatives of all the departments concerned he said In order to expedite inter-departmental decision making and execution we formed a Yamuna Cleaning Cell YCC today headed by CEO DJB and representatives of all concerned depts This will expedite Yamuna cleaning process Kejriwal tweeted The Cell will guide Delhi governments fight against pollution by overcoming administrative hurdles he said A major hurdle that we were facing in our quest to clean the Yamuna river was the fact that it was plagued by a complex system of being governed by a multiplicity of bodies under the Delhi Government itself he added Last week the Delhi chief minister announced a six-point action plan to clean Yamuna expecting the work will be completed by February 2025 The action plan includes new sewer treatment plants and raising the capacity of the existing ones sewer connection of slum clusters and rehabilitation of old sewer systems We are leaving no stone unturned in restoring the lost beauty and sanctity of Yamuna Formulating Yamuna Cleaning Cell will expedite inter-departmental decision making and execution Kejriwal stated as per a statement from the Chief Ministers office The chief minister convened a high-level review meeting on management of wastewater from industrial areas and slum clusters in respect of Yamuna cleaning termed Yamuna cleaning as top priority of his government and added the river is to be transformed like schools and hospitals were transformed in Delhi it said The Delhi Jal Board will now take over the operations and maintenance of common effluent treatment plants CETPs to prevent industrial waste from falling into Yamuna Drainage from slum clusters will be diverted to sewage treatment plants to eliminate untreated discharge in storm water drains the statement said Kejriwal instructed the officials to leave no scope for loopholes in the action plan and emphasised that there can be no compromises with the prioritisation of Yamuna cleaning and water supply The Cell will oversee the working of all the bodies concerned and help in identifying and delegating responsibility and streamline projects he said The Yamuna Cleaning Cell has been formulated keeping in mind an integrated approach for Yamuna cleaning the statement said It will consist of six senior officials of the DJB DUSIB DSIIDC DPCC and Irrigation and Flood Control Department looking after sewerage of slum clusters and industrial clusters CETPs industries violating pollution norms Yamuna cleaning projects and in-situ treatment it said These officers will report to the Delhi Jal Board CEO They will also be responsible for the execution of the decisions taken by the Yamuna Cleaning Cell it added The Cell will further take over the responsibility of sewerage systems of slum clusters industrial clusters and CETPs It will also be jointly responsible for all the action points of Yamuna cleaning that include -- construction of new STPSDSTPs upgradation of existing STPs and capacity augmentation laying of sewerage network in 1799 unauthorised colonies septage management desilting of trunk and peripheral sewer lines providing sewer connections in already notified areas trapping of 108 drains under ISP and in-situ treatment of drains the statement said Currently in Delhi there are about 675 slum clusters which are unsewered Untreated wastewater generation in JJCs enters river Yamuna it said There are 13 CETPs in Delhi that currently cater to 17 industrial areas it said PTI VIT AQS AQS

New Delhi Oct 30 PTI With COVID-19 cases going down in Delhi the enforcement action too has slowed down even as expert keep warning of a third wave of the virus after the festival season official figures show During the second wave a total of 85175 challans were issued in May It rose to 158341 in June and 211267 in July the Delhi government figures show With the number of cases and positivity rate declining enforcement action started slowing down as there were 181103 challans issued in August and 169370 in September A total of 104270 challans were issued till October 25 The amount of fines realised from violators of COVID-appropriate behaviour like wearing face mask social distancing and other pandemic related orders and guidelines reflects the declining trend in enforcement action In July the enforcement teams of Delhi government collected Rs 3621 crore as fines from various violations of COVID-appropriate behaviour and official guidelines The fine amount reduced to Rs 3017 crore in September and further came down to Rs 2051 crore till October 25 Officials cited reasons such as nearly full resumption of normal life post lockdown period and lack of adequate resources to monitor and enforcement of a whole lot of COVID related guidelines behind the slowdown in enforcement action Experts in the Delhi Disaster Management AuthorityDDMA meeting earlier this week had emphasised on strict enforcement of COVID-appropriate behaviour and other official guidelines during the festival season PTI VIT HDA HDA

New Delhi Oct 29PTI The Delhi Disaster Management Authority DDMA on Friday issued an order allowing full-seating capacity in cinema halls theatres and multiplexes and also raised the number of people allowed to attend weddings and last rites from 100 to 200The order listing various allowed and restricted activities because of the Covid pandemic will come into effect from November 1It stated that owners of cinema halls theatres and multiplexes will be responsible for strict adherence to standard operating protocol SOP official guidelines and Covid-appropriate behaviour at the premisesIn case any violation is found strict penal criminal action shall be taken against the owner of the restaurant bar cinemas theatres and multiplexes said the orderCinemas theatres multiplexes in the city were closed with the imposition of lockdown in April amid a raging second wave of Covid infections They were allowed to reopen with 50 per cent seating capacity in the last week of JulyThe order also allowed meetings and conferences in banquet halls of the city So far only marriages and exhibitions were allowed thereThe order permitted funeral and marriage-related gatherings with a ceiling of 200 people During the Covid surge in April attendance at funerals was scaled down to 20 while marriages were permitted with the presence of 50 peopleWith improvement in the Covid situation 100 people were allowed in both types of gatheringsAll classes in schools will also resume from November 1 according to the order This decision was taken in a meeting of DDMA earlier this week because of appreciable improvement in the Covid situation in the city Senior classes nine to 12 were restarted earlier with a maximum 50 per cent seating capacityAll social political sports entertainment cultural religious gatherings will remain prohibited However festival-related gatherings will be allowed according to the DDMAs September 30 orderRestaurants and bars will continue to open with a 50 per cent seating capacity Delhi Metro and public transport buses will ply with full seating capacity but no standing passengers will be allowed stated the orderAll the allowed and restricted activities will be permitted till the intervening night of November 15-16 or till any further orders it added PTI VIT GJS NSD NSD

New Delhi Oct 28 PTI Delhis sex ratio at birth has increased from 920 females per thousand males in 2019 to 933in 2020 and the infant mortality rate declined from 2419 to 2037 percent during the same period Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said citing a city government report on ThursdayThe increase in sex ratio is the result of social awareness and it is a matter of great pride that the society is being educated and is understanding the importance of girls Sisodia said in a statementIn Delhi public awareness efforts have also yielded beneficial effects The birth rate fell from 1835 per thousand in 2019 to 1485 per thousand in 2020 In 2020 a number of 301645 births were registered compared to 365868 in 2019 the statement saidThe reduction in infant mortality is the result of great changes in health infrastructure and better access to health facilities to all citizens he saidAccording to the annual report of the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the Delhi government the sex ratio rate in the national capital increased to 933 females per thousand males in 2020 as compared to 920 in 2019The infant mortality rate in Delhi has also decreased in comparison to 2019 The infant mortality rate per thousand in 2019 was 2419 whereas it was 2037 in 2020 the report showedSisodia also pointed out that the maternal mortality rate in Delhi has also decreased The maternal mortality rate was 055 per 1000 births in 2019 which fell to 054 per 1000 births in 2020The death rate in Delhi has decreased as a result of dramatic changes in the citys health infrastructure and universal access to better health care for all inhabitants According to the data the death rate has decreased from 729 per thousand in 2019 to 703 per thousand in 2020 it added PTI VIT TDS TDS

New Delhi Oct 24 PTI Two Shiromani Akali Dal leaders along with their supporters joined the BJP here on Sunday the partys Delhi media head Navin Kumar saidThe leaders joined in the presence of BJPs Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta and MP Gautam Gambhir Kumar saidWelcoming senior SAD leaders Gurmeet Singh and Manjit Singh along with their supporters Gupta said the BJP is a family that is expanding with people coming to its fold impressed by the welfare policies and programmes of the Narendra Modi governmentGambhir said the youth should only be focusing on work and hoped that both the leaders who joined on Sunday as well as others will work for further development of the city PTI VIT TDS TDS

New Delhi Sep 27 PTI The Delhi government has so far approved nearly 7000 applications under a scheme to provide relief to families who have lost a member to COVID-19 and disbursed ex gratia of Rs 50000 each in over 6000 such cases an official statement said on MondayThe government has so far approved 6995 applications under itsMukhyamantri COVID-19 Parivar Arthik Sahayta Yojna and disbursed ex gratia in 6019 cases it saidRevenue minister Kailash Gahlot who held a review meeting with officials for expediting ex-gratia disbursal said the Delhi government is taking all the necessary steps to ensure that ex-gratia support is given to all the affected families at the earliestThe government has so far received9643 applications for grant of ex-gratia relief under its scheme the statement saidA list of 25709 deceased persons shared by the Health department has been segregated district-wise by the Revenue department for processing and further action it saidThe call centre set up by the Delhi government for making calls to the affected families and apprise them about the scheme as well as assisting them in filing the application on e-district portal received around 11000 calls till Sunday it saidWe are taking utmost care and sensitivity so that grieving families arent troubled Number of applications have increased steadily since the SDM teams started visiting the affected families We are hoping to finish all the home visits by the end of this week Gahlot saidThe Mukhyamantri COVID-19 Parivar Arthik Sahayata Yojna was started by the Delhi government in June to provide financial assistance to the surviving family members of the bread earner who died due to COVID-19 in Delhi since the outbreak of the pandemic Under the scheme the Kejriwal government provides an ex-gratia of Rs 50000 for each to in the family of deceased This amount will be given to the kin of the person who died due to Covid after he or she applies for the same said the government statementA monthly financial assistance of Rs 2500 per month is also given if the working member of a family died due to COVID-19 PTI VIT TDS TDS