Tag: Delhi

Kejriwal CAA

Kejriwal To Skip ED Summons Again, Calls Notice Illegal

By LokMarg

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor scam case, the Aam Aadmi Party sources said on Wednesday.

ED issued a third summons to CM Kejriwal earlier on December 22 last year, in connection with the excise policy case, asking him to appear before the agency on January 3.

As per the party sources, Kejriwal in his reply to ED has expressed his readiness to cooperate with the investigation but declined to appear today calling the notice “illegal”.

Kejriwal further questioned the timing of the notice as a move to stop him from electioneering ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2024, the party sources said.

According to sources Kejriwal is ready to cooperate in ED investigation but the ED notice is illegal. Sources claim that the agency intends to arrest Arvind Kejriwal as they want to stop Kejriwal from the election campaign. The AAP has questioned the timing of the notice just before the 2024 elections.

The Delhi CM was first called by the central agency to appear on November 2, but he did not depose, alleging that the notice was “vague, motivated and unsustainable in law.”

He further alleged that the said summons appeared to be politically motivated and issued for extraneous considerations.

Kejriwal was issued the second summons by the ED on December 18, asking him to depose at the federal agency’s office on December 21, which the Chief Minister skipped.

Kejriwal was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI on August 17, last year.

In February 2023, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi’s new excise policy. The policy was withdrawn amid allegations of foul play by the opposition. AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was also arrested in the same scam in October 2023. (ANI)

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Delhi NCR cold

Fog In Delhi, NCR; Extreme Cold To Continue For Next Few Days

By LokMarg

Parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region woke up on Wednesday morning to dense fog, reducing visibility in several parts of the national capital.

The minimum temperature recorded in Delhi on Wednesday was 9 degree Celsius while the maximum temperature is expected to be around 20 degree Celsius, as per the IMD.

According to IMD, Delhi is likely to see extreme cold in the next next few days with minimum temperature touching 7 degree Celsius on January 3.

According to the Met Department “Visibility Recorded (at 530 am today) (was less than 200 metres): Rajasthan: Bikaner, Jaipur & Ajmer-50 each; Jammu Division: Jammu-200; Haryana: Ambala-200; East Madhya Pradesh: Sagar-200. Current Visibility over Delhi: Sardarjung-500m and Palam-600m.”

Visuals from the Indira Gandhi International airport showed dense fog over the airport. Several flights to and from Delhi were delayed due to low visibility.

At least 26 trains arrived late due to fog in the national capital, Indian Railways said.

Trains which arrived late in the national capital include Bhopal- Nizamuddin, Bangalore- Nizamuddin, Bhubaneshwar- New Delhi Rajdhani, Ranikamlapati Bhopal- New Delhi, Howrah- New Delhi Duronto, Chennai- New Delhi, Puri- New Delhi Purushottam Exp, Kanpur-New Delhi Shramshakti, Howrah- New Delhi Poorva Exp, Saharsa- New Delhi Vaishali Exp, Rewa- Anand Vihar Exp, Prayagraj-New Delhi Exp, Azamgarh- Delhi Kaifiyat Exp, Bhagalpur- Anand Vihar Exp, Rajendranagar-New Delhi, Banaras- New Delhi Exp, Ambedkarnagar- Katra Exp, Chennai- New Delhi GT, Chennai – New Delhi, Hyderabad- New Delhi, Ranikamlapati-Nizamuddin, Katihar-Amritsar Exp, Jammutawi- Ajmer Exp, Kamakhya-Delhi Exp, Ferozpur-sey and Ajmer-Katra Exp.

The homeless in the national capital were seen taking refuge at night shelters.

Hailing the facilities provided by the Government, a resident of Bihar, staying at the winter shelter tent said “We get food free of cost, washrooms are there inside the tent. Staff is always there for the security.”

“All facilities are here. Blankets, food, water tea, everything is provided here. 19 beds have been put up in which around 25 people are inducted,” said Raju, a guard of the winter rescue tent.

As the temperature dipped, people were seen sitting by the bonfire in a bid to keep themselves warm.

Amid harsh weather and dense fog, forces were seen rehearsing for the Republic Day parade at Kartavya path in the national capital.

According to today’s weather warning by the Met Department-dense to very dense fog and cold day to severe cold day conditions at a few places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Dense fog has been forecast today at a few places over Uttarakhand and at isolated places over Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Division of Jammu and Kashmir. People expressed their discomfort due to cold in areas surrounding Delhi, including Agra, Meerut and Mathura.

According to the IMD, due to the fog cover late Tuesday evening, visibility in the areas was reduced, with Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly recording the lowest at 25.

Meanwhile, in the wake of multiple accidents due to prevalent fog, the Uttar Pradesh transport commissioner issued strict instructions and mentioned that children below 18 years of age will clearly be banned from driving. In case anyone below 18 years of age is seen driving, vehicle owner will be imprisoned for three years and fined Rs 25,000 as punishment.

According to the IMD, ‘very dense’ fog is declared when visibility is between 0 and 50 metres, while it is ‘dense’ when the visibility is between 51 and 200 metres. Fog is considered ‘moderate’ when the visibility is between 201 and 500 metres ‘moderate’, and ‘shallow’ between 501 and 1,000 metres. (ANI)

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Baku-Bound IndiGo Takes Off Without ATC Clearances, Pilot Grounded

Flights Disrupted At Delhi Airport As Visibility Drops To Zero

By LokMarg

Flight operations were severely affected at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi as visibility dropped to 50 meters on Tuesday.

According to airport sources, the 50-meter visibility is considered zero visibility. There was a slight improvement in visibility at 8.30 am when visibility was 75 meters, but it again dropped to 50 meters.

“Flight operations have been affected as many flights got delayed due to weather conditions. There might be certain diversions,” according to airport sources.

As of now five flights got diverted to Jaipur since 8.30 – 10 am due to weather conditions at Delhi airport, the sources said.

Meanwhile, Delhi Airport again issued a passenger advisory on the second consecutive day.

“While landings and take-offs continue at Delhi Airport, flights that are not CAT III compliant may get affected. Passengers are requested to contact the airline concerned for updated flight information. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” reads the advisory issued by Delhi Airport.

The airport authorities initiated the anti-fog landing system, technically called the CAT-lll Instrument Landing System (ILS). The CAT IlI system helps with a precision approach and landing when the runway visibility level is low.

Meanwhile, the winter chill continues to grip North India, as cities such as Prayagraj, Ghaziabad and Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and Moga in Punjab faced cold waves, engulfed in dense fog on Tuesday morning.

The IMD on Tuesday morning released satellite images showing a layer of fog spreading over Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Delhi-NCR region was also covered with a dense layer of fog on Tuesday morning, as the temperature dropped to almost 7 degrees in the national capital, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The IMD also warned of possible health impacts on people due to the dense fog in the national capital.

“Dense fog contains particulate matter and other pollutants and in case exposed it gets lodged in the lungs, clogging them and decreasing their functional capacity which increases episodes of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath,” IMD said in a release on Monday.

The IMD release further stated that the fog conditions may tend to irritate the membranes of the eye causing various infections leading to redness or swelling of the eye. (ANI)

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Arvind Kejriwal

ED Issues Fresh Summons To Kejriwal For Questioning On Dec 21

By LokMarg

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday issued fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for questioning on December 21 in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.

Delhi CM was first called by the federal agency to appear on November 2, but he did not depose alleging that the notice was “vague, motivated and unsustainable in law”.

“The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is to say the least is vague and motivated and I am advised, unsustainable in law,” Kejriwal stated in his letter to Jogendar, Assistant Director, ED.

He further alleged that the said summons appears to be politically motivated and issued for extraneous considerations.

Arvind Kejriwal was earlier summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April this year, in connection with the case.

However, Kejriwal was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI on August 17, last year.

In February 2023, Arvind Kejriwal’s Deputy Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi’s new excise policy. the policy was withdrawn amid allegations of foul play by the opposition. (ANI)

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Delhi

Delhi Grapples With Cold: IMD Reports Dip In Temp

By LokMarg

Delhi recorded a temperature of 7.4 degrees Celsius at 5:30 am on Saturday.

As the chill intensifies, residents are resorting to various measures to keep warm. While some are looking at night shelters, others are gathering around bonfires to beat the cold.

Adding to the wintry conditions, a layer of fog has enveloped the national capital, further adding to the problems of the people.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has reported that the minimum temperatures have dipped to between 5-10 degrees Celsius in most parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, North Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

In Delhi’s Nizamuddin area, a group of people, including two security guards, Rakesh Kumar and Mohammad Nausad, were seen huddled around a bonfire. Both guards noted a significant increase in the cold compared to previous days.

“The cold has increased significantly compared to before,” Rakesh Kumar told ANI.

“The cold has been intensifying for the past two days. The cold is severe, hence the need for the fire. The cold has indeed increased a lot compared to before,” Mohammad Nausad told ANI.

Meanwhile, in Kanpur, the weather has been fluctuating, leading to the onset of cold weather and a significant drop in temperature. This cold weather has also resulted in decreased visibility due to fog. Underprivileged individuals and early morning commuters were seen huddled around a bonfire to ward off the cold.

Md Chand Hussain, the caretaker of a night shelter home in Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan area, mentioned that all 20 beds in his shelter are full and that there is another shelter set up nearby. He added that a medical team visits the shelter and that they provide beds, blankets, and food for the homeless.

“We have 20 beds here and all our beds are full. We have another shelter set up ahead. There is no shortage. A medical team also comes. In the tent, we have beds, blankets, and food for the homeless, all of these are available here,” Md Chand Hussain said.

Rakhi, who took shelter in a night shelter in Delhi’s Sarai Kale Khan area, praised the facility, noting that they receive food three times a day and timely medicine. Another person, Akshaya, commended the government for providing the night shelter, mentioning that they receive all necessary facilities, including medicine, from nearby Mohalla Clinics.

“It’s good, we get food three times a day. We get medicine on time,” Rakhi said.

“The government has done a good job by providing this night shelter. We get all the facilities here. We also get medicine from the nearby Mohalla Clinics,” Akshaya, said. (ANI)

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Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tarik

Oman Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik Lands In Delhi For Maiden India Visit

By LokMarg

Oman Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has landed at the national capital airport for his maiden visit to India.

He was welcomed by V Muraleedharan, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs of India.

Notably, MoS MEA Muraleedharan paid an official visit to the Sultanate of Oman from October 18 to 19 earlier this year.

“His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik of Oman arrives to a warm welcome in New Delhi on his first State Visit to India. Received by @MOS_MEA at the airport. The visit will further reinforce the longstanding friendship and cooperation between India & Oman and strengthen bilateral ties,” posted MEA spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi on X.

The Sultan of Oman has begun his three-day state visit to India today.

He is visiting the country with a high-level delegation of senior ministers and officials, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in an official release.

India and Oman share a long-standing friendship rooted in historical, cultural, and economic ties. Moreover, people-to-people contact between India and Oman can be traced back 5,000 years.

The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1955, and the relationship was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2008.

According to MEA, this will be the first state visit of Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to India and marks a significant milestone in the diplomatic relations between India and Oman.

Upon arrival here in the national capital, Oman’s Sultan will also be called on by the External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar today (Friday), the MEA said in a release.

The Sultan of Oman is visiting India at the invitation of President Droupadi Murmu and will be received by PM Modi and President Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for a ceremonial welcome on December 16.

He will also visit the National Gallery of Modern Art here and hold a meeting with PM Modi at Hyderabad House on day two of his visit.

During his visit, PM Modi will also host a luncheon in his honour.

The visit will be an opportunity to explore avenues for future collaboration between India and Oman for regional stability, progress and prosperity, the MEA release said.

Oman is India’s closest defence partner in the Gulf region as well, and defence cooperation has emerged as a key pillar of the strategic partnership between India and Oman, according to MEA.

Oman is the only country in West Asia with which all three services of the Indian Armed Forces conduct regular bilateral exercises and service-level staff talks.

Given the strong relationship with Oman, India also extended a special invitation to the Sultanate of Oman to participate in the G20 Summit and meetings as a guest country under India’s G20 Presidency.

Oman actively participated in over 150 working group meetings, and nine ministers from Oman participated in various G20 ministerial meetings. (ANI)

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Chhath Puja Yamuna Delhi

Delhi: Devotees Stand In Knee-Deep Toxic Foam In Yamuna For Chhath Puja

By LokMarg

Devotees offered ‘Araghya’ to the rising sun as toxic foam floated on the surface of the polluted Yamuna river during Chhath Puja celebrations at Kalindi Kunj, in the national capital, on Monday morning.

The toxic foam is due to the high phosphate content in the Yamuna River, which can cause skin and respiratory problems.

Meanwhile, devotees across the country offered ‘Araghya’ and broke their 36-hour fast on Monday morning, marking the conclusion of the four-day-long Chhath Puja festival.

In Jharkhand’s Ranchi, devotees offered prayers to the sun.

Performing the rituals, the devotees made offerings to the sun while standing in knee-deep water.

The four-day festival of Chhath began on Friday and is regarded as the festival of purity, goodwill, and faith.

The Chhath Puja is a festival in which devotees worship and make offerings to the setting and rising sun.

Chhath Puja is celebrated every year with much exuberance in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bengal. However, celebrations are also witnessed in the national capital, where a large section of people from the aforementioned states live.

Devotees especially take the fast and worship the sun for the long lives and well-being of their family members, also praying for their expectations and attempts to come true.

The trend of celebrating the festival of Chhath is believed to have started in the hilly regions of Nepal after the political change of 1990 when democracy was restored in the Himalayan nation.

It is believed that a person’s desires and prayers from the heart’s core will bring blessings. During the time of fasting, only those foods that are considered to be pure are consumed and cleanliness is one thing that is cared for the most during the period.

This festival witnessed a high participation rate of women, is marked with fanfare and is also regarded as an occasion to take a break from household chores and be refreshed. (ANI)

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Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

One Day AAP Will Rule The Country: Kejriwal

By LokMarg

Claiming that one day the Aam Aadmi Party will “rule the country, leaving behind the BJP and Congress,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said here on Friday said that AAP is the “fastest growing party in the world.”

The AAP convenor further said that the “Guinness Book of World Records should feature the party.”

While addressing the AAP ‘Karyakarta Sammelan’, he said, “All the workers and office-bearers (of AAP), who have come here, I want to congratulate you that you are part of the fastest growing party in the world. To date, there has not been any party in the whole world that has progressed so fast. I think we should ask the Guinness Book of World Records to feature us.”

He said that the party formed its government in Delhi with a thumping majority within a year of the AAP’s formation 10 years ago, and went on to emerge victorious in the neighbouring Punjab last year.

“Then in Gujarat, we won 5 seats with 14 per cent vote share. I am confident that the next government in Gujarat will be formed by Aam Aadmi Party,” Kejriwal said.

“Now we have also got the status of national party. We are in third position in the entire country out of 1350 registered political parties. And at the pace we are growing, my heart says that one day the Aam Aadmi Party will rule the country, leaving behind BJP and Congress,” Kejriwal said in his address to the party workers.

Hitting out at the BJP over the central agencies’ actions against his party and colleagues, the AAP national convenor claimed that “PM Modi wants to form government in Delhi.”

“Since AAP is growing fast, it is natural that big conspiracies are being made against AAP. BJP and PM Modi realised that they can’t win against AAP in Delhi. So they (BJP) made a conspiracy– liquor policy scam. An actual liquor scam is happening in Gujarat so many people have died here,” he said.

The Delhi Chief Minister, who himself has skipped an ED summon in connection with the excise policy scam, said that the AAP leaders including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and senior leader Manish Sisodia have been arrested in a “fake case.”

“Our leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Satyender Jain and Vijay Nair were arrested in a fake case and now they’re going to arrest me, their intention is to topple the AAP government and PM Modi wants to form government in Delhi, they know they can’t defeat us through elections. I want to tell them that even if they put me in jail, AAP will win from jail,” Kejriwal added.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh was arrested on October 4, after a day-long questioning by the ED officials at his Delhi residence.

Allegedly, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also involved in the same liquor policy scam. He is currently lodged in jail in connection with the same. The former Delhi Deputy CM and excise minister was first arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam.

Kejriwal skipped the Enforcement Directorate’s summon earlier this month and went to attend a roadshow in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly elections were held today.

The Delhi CM had demanded the ED to withdraw its “vague and motivated” notice summoning him for questioning, claiming that it was “illegal and politically motivated”. (ANI)

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West Bengal Pollution Control

WB Pollution Control Board Chairman Mocks At Air Quality Of Mumbai, Delhi

By LokMarg

Amid poor air quality indices across various metropolitan cities in India, West Bengal Pollution Control Board Chairman Kalyan Rudra said that Kolkata stands in a much better position compared to not just Delhi but even Mumbai.

“The air quality is far better than even Mumbai; forget about Delhi. In the metropolitan cities (Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai), Chennai having sea-side location, has the advantage of land breeze and sea breeze, Chennai is little better (AQI) than Kolkata. But compared to Delhi and Mumbai, Kolkata is far better,” Kalyan Rudra said, speaking to ANI on Monday.

Rudra said that while PM 2.5 was 74 microgram average, the PM 10 average was 136.

“We have dynamic data. We are monitoring it (air quality) at 175 locations, all over West Bengal. PM 2.5 is 74 micrograms average and minimum was 43 and maximum was 112. The PM10 average was 136, while 77 is the mimimum and 207 was the maximum,” he said.

The state Pollution Control Board Chairman said that in central Calcutta, the PM 10 average was 80 micrograms, while the permissible limit is 100 micrograms.

“In central Calcutta, like Ballygunj campus of Calcutta University, the average is 80 micrograms, while the permissible limit is 100 micrograms. It is well within the limit,” he said.

Lauding his team for creating the most intensive network of monitoring Air Quality Index (AQI) in the country, he said, “I am proud that our team has created the most intensive network of monitoring of AQI in the country.”

A thick layer of smog engulfed Delhi and its adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday morning, a day after people celebrated Diwali by bursting crackers across the city and contributing to the deteriorating air quality.

The Air Quality Index (AQI) at several places in Delhi-NCR was in the ‘severe’ or ‘severe plus’ category for the past several days. (ANI)

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Earthquake Of Magnitude 4.1 Strikes Arunachal

Earthquake Of 5.6 Magnitude Hits Nepal, Tremors Felt In Delhi

By LokMarg

Earthquake tremors were felt in Delhi and neighbouring areas on Monday afternoon as an earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hit Nepal.

According to the National Centre for Seismology (NSC), the earthquake occurred at 4:16 pm on Monday.

“Earthquake of Magnitude:5.6, Occurred on 06-11-2023, 16:16:40 IST, Lat: 28.89 & Long: 82.36, Depth: 10 Km ,Region: Nepal,” the National Center for Seismology said in a post of X.

An earthquake of magnitude 3.1 occurred in Manipur’s Churachandpur on Sunday evening.

According to NSC, the earthquake occurred at 5:42 pm on Sunday.

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.1, Occurred on 05-11-2023, 17:42:04 IST, Lat: 24.23 & Long: 93.73, Depth: 30 Km,Location: Churachandpur, Manipur, India,” NCS had said in a post on X.

Tremors were felt in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) and some other parts of north India on Friday as an earthquake of 6.4 magnitude hit Nepal. (ANI)

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