Delhi

The Delhi High Court Friday ordered a stop to the ongoing construction work in connection with the renovation of the purported Sher Shah Suri mosque located within its premises.

“Status quo be maintained till the high court’s Building Maintenance and Construction Committee holds its next meeting to discuss the issue,” said Justice Pradeep Nandrajog.

The court was hearing plea of a group of lawyers seeking the court’s intervention on the disputed site, used by Muslim lawyers and litigants for offering prayers.

Delhi Lt. Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung Friday expressed anguish over 175 families being rendered homeless during an anti-encroachment drive by the Indian Railways, said an official statement.

“He has instructed the railway authorities and the chief executive officer of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board to make immediate arrangements and ensure rehabilitation by this (Friday) evening,” it added.

Legal measures to remove these encroachers will be considered once the weather improves and alternate accommodation has been found, the LG office said.

Delhi experienced a chilly Friday as light rains overnight and nippy winds forced the maximum temperature to drop four notches below the season’s average at 17.1 degrees Celsius. The Met office has forecast a cloudy Saturday but no rain.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city received 0.2 mm of rainfall till 8.30 a.m. Friday and “traces” of rain which are “non measurable” till 5.30 p.m.

“The chill will continue tomorrow (Saturday) but there will be no rain. So, light fog is expected in the morning. The afternoon will be cloudy,” said an IMD official.

With Delhi’s chief minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal repeatedly refusing security for himself, police in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are wringing their hands in despair.

Kejriwal is set to take the oath of office at the head of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government here Saturday, but he remains adamant on his stated decision not to accept police security. Special Commissioner of Delhi Police in charge of security J.K. Sharma said they were in touch with Kejriwal, trying to persuade him to change his mind.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who is bitterly against the ubiquitous “VIP culture”, will take the Delhi Metro Saturday to reach the Ramlila Maidan to take oath as Delhi’s chief minister.

The 45-year-old Kejriwal has also told his six colleagues who will become cabinet ministers to use the public transport — and invited everyone in the capital and elsewhere to attend the official event.

“I will travel by Metro for the oath taking ceremony,” Kejriwal told the media outside the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office on Hanuman Road here.

Delhi’s Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal said Friday that he will try to get the CNG price hike rolled back, and hinted at a hike in auto rickshaw fare if the rollback was not possible.

“Give me two days, we will see if the CNG price hike can be rolled back. We will talk to the central government. If it is necessary to raise the prices and it cannot be rolled back, auto fares will have to be revised,” Kejriwal told reporters Friday.

A cloudy day with light rain lies ahead for Delhi Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Clouds enveloped the national capital Friday morning and it received 0.2 mm of rain till 8.30 a.m. The visibility was 1,500 metres.

The minimum temperature was a notch below the season’s average at 6.5 degrees Celsius.

According to the Met Office, the maximum temperature during the day is expected to be around 20 degrees Celsius.

It was a sunny Thursday for Delhi, with the maximum temperature settling at 20.6 degrees Celsius, average for this time of year, the weather office said. Friday is expected to see cloudy skies.

The minimum temperature early Thursday was recorded two notches below average at 6.2 degrees Celsius, said an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official.

While shallow fog enveloped the capital in the early hours, visibility at 8.30 a.m. was a good 1,200 metres. While flights were not affected, at least 17 trains were delayed, Northern Railway said.

The AAP will “completely overhaul” the system and changes will be visible within 60 days, Somnath Bharti, set to become one of Delhi’s six ministers, said Wednesday.

Slashing the power tariff by half — one of the key promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party — will remain on top of the agenda, he said.

“We will completely overhaul the system, and changes will be visible within two months of our coming to power,” the lawyer-turned-legislator elected from Malviya Nagar in south Delhi told IANS.

“Fulfilling the promises made by our party is on top of every leader’s agenda.

The festive spirit gripped the national capital Wednesday on the occasion of Christmas as people flocked to churches to light candles and pray for peace and harmony.

The decorated cathedrals saw people irrespective of faith and religion – bundled in woollens and wearing bright smiles – light candles and greet each other Merry Christmas.

“I believe this is a festival for everyone. You can see people from all faiths present here in the church, it’s a cultural and religious amalgamation,” said 23-year-old Thomas Phillips at Sacred Heart Cathedral near Connaught Place in central Delhi.

Neighbours, relatives and friends of Somnath Bharti in Bihar’s Nawada district Wednesday celebrated the news that their own “Pappu” would soon be a minister in the Delhi government.

The 39-year-old Bharti was among the six ministers named Tuesday by Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal, who is set to take oath on Saturday as the Delhi chief minister.

“What a coincidence, just as the world celebrates Christmas, we too are happy and celebrating the news of Somnath Bharti being named a minister in Delhi,” Jayant Lal, Bharti’s maternal uncle, told IANS.

The AAP will “completely overhaul” the system and changes will be visible within 60 days, Somnath Bharti, set to become one of Delhi’s six ministers, said Wednesday.

Slashing the power tariff by half — one of the key promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party — will remain on top of the agenda, he said.

“We will completely overhaul the system, and changes will be visible within two months of our coming to power,” the lawyer-turned-legislator elected from Malviya Nagar in south Delhi told IANS.

“Fulfilling the promises made by our party is on top of every leader’s agenda.

President Pranab Mukherjee has cleared the decks for the formation of a minority AAP government with Congress backing in Delhi and chief minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal may be asked to prove majority by Jan 3, official sources said Wednesday.

According to the sources, the home ministry has received a formal communication from the president on government formation and this has been forwarded to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (LG) Najeeb Jung.

“It means the LG can now decide when and where to hold the swearing-in ceremony,” a ministry official told IANS.

People in Delhi can walk through, for a limited period beginning tomorrow, a 1.2-km long service tunnel under Connaught Place, the capital’s oldest shopping hub.

It was during the re-development of Connaught Place that the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) set up the tunnel to house underground cables and water supply lines, NDMC chief Jalaj Shrivastava said.

As part of its centenary celebrations, the NDMC will allow the public to see the tunnel under the guidance of trained officials. The entry will be from 11.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. – from Dec 26 to Jan 5.(IANS)

President Pranab Mukherjee has cleared the decks for the formation of an AAP government with Congress backing in Delhi, official sources said Wednesday.

According to the sources, the home ministry has received a formal communication from the president on government formation and this has been forwarded to Delhi’s Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

“It means the LG can now decide when and where to hold the swearing in ceremony,” a ministry official told IANS.

The Congress said Wednesday that there is no rethink in the party on the “issue-based support” it has declared for an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi.

“There will be no rethinking on the issue-based support the Congress has given to AAP,” spokesman Sandeep Dikshit, also the son of former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, told TimesNow news channel.

He said the Congress was supporting the AAP because of the development-related promises made in its manifesto.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav said Wednesday that they do not have an alliance, tie-up and “not even an understanding” with the Congress and the AAP would “move out” if they do not get support for their issues.

“We have always clarified we do not have an alliance, a tie-up and not even have an understanding with the Congress party. In the absence of that we do not have rights and obligations and it is not for me to say what they should do and what they should not do,” Yogendra Yadav told reporters.

It was a chilly Christmas morning Wednesday here with the minimum temperature settling at 7.5 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season’s average. The Met Office has forecast a clear day ahead.

“The afternoon will be sunny and there will be light mist in the evening,” an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The maximum temperature is expected to settle around 20 degrees Celsius.

Fog in parts of north India continued to affect trains as over 20 were delayed and three had to be rescheduled, A.S. Negi, spokesperson of Northern Railway said.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who will be Delhi’s chief minister, Wednesday said that the swearing in ceremony was unlikely to take place Thursday as the party had not yet received a call from Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

“We have not received any call from Lt Governor yet. It is unlikely that the oath taking ceremony will take place tomorrow (Dec 26),” Kejriwal told the media.

Protesting against the Congress Party’s decision to extend outside support to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for forming the next government in Delhi, the Congress workers on Tuesday burnt effigies of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal outside the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) headquarters. “The Congress high command has extended outside support just for the sake of the people of Delhi. We don’t want to place a burden of re-election on the people. But their (AAP’s) language is demoralizing the Congress workers. We will not tolerate this.

Dense fog in the national capital has disrupted flight schedule once again on Tuesday morning.

According to television reports, at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, three international arrivals have been delayed while one has been diverted.

Six domestic departures have also been delayed and one has been cancelled.

North India usually witnesses early morning fog every winter when night temperatures often dip below five degrees Celsius. (ANI)

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is set to be Delhi’s seventh chief minister after staking claim Monday to take power with Congress backing — amid vocal doubts about the government’s stability.

After a fortnight of deadlock that followed a hung verdict, Kejriwal, 45, announced after meeting Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung that he and his ministers would take oath at the Ramlila Maidan but didn’t give a date.

Over 50 Congress workers Monday protested outside its Delhi office over the party’s decision to give outside support to the Aam Adami Party to form the government, police said.

The Delhi Congress office is located in Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg in central Delhi.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal Monday met Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to stake claim to form the government in Delhi after the Congress decided to give outside support of its eight legislators.

———-IANS

spokesperson Shazia Ilmi on Monday said that they are going to be very tough on the public servants who do not comply and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Ministerial candidate Arvind Kejriwal will crack the whip.

The capital’s British-era Town Hall in old Delhi is to be converted into an international tourist destination, complete with a museum, food court, souvenir shops, library and an open air theatre where families can have “wholesome entertainment and learning”.

“To Live the History” is the tag line given to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (NDMC) ambitious project of renovating the 150-year-old landmark building in Chandni Chowk in the walled city, close to the Red Fort.