Joydeep Thakur

Delhi gets highest rain since 2013, waterlogging brings traffic to a crawl

Delhi received 26.4mm of rain in the past 24 hours which was the highest in 24 hours since 2013. MeT officials say expect more showers over the next two days. Gurgaon received 10mm rain and traffic police personnel maned junctions to regulate traffic.

Weeklong showers predicted as Delhi wakes up to a rainy Monday, monsoon on way

A western disturbance brought Delhi 16.6mm of rainfall till 8.30am. According to MeT department, the capital could see rain showers throughout the week.

Half of Delhi’s 1,000 water bodies vanished due to garbage dumping, encroachments

Delhi relies heavily on the polluted Yamuna, neighbouring Haryana for its water supply. The groundwater table is also fast depleting. Natural and artificial water bodies in the city are being targeted by land sharks as well as local residents who have turned them into garbage dumps.

Delhi’s dying water bodies to be revived by planting trees near them

Delhi’s environment department is relying on trees to revive the city’s dying water bodies and recharge the depleting groundwater table. Trees will be planted around the water bodies to recharge water and ensure more retention of rainwater. Delhi has over 1,000 water bodies.

Stage set for monsoon to arrive in Delhi, expect rains every day from next week

Delhi temperatures fell by seven degrees as overnight showers brought relief from the heat wave. Met officials say a disturbance in Pakistan has paved the way for pre-monsoon showers.

Plastic rice in Delhi? Food safety department says its fake news, samples come out clean

Rumours about plastic rice have been doing the rounds and spreading like wildfire over the past few days. It all started when customer complained that plastic rice was used to prepare biryani in Hyderabad.

Will monsoon keep its date with Delhi? Met officials say it may not

Met officials say Monsoon has fallen short in meeting the deadline in some states. The scheduled date of arrival for Delhi is June 29, however, it may need a ‘push’, such as a depression over Bay of Bengal, to keep its date.

India likely to allow ‘mercy killing’ of wild animals to save crops

With the population of animals such as elephants, rhesus monkeys, nilgai rising, govt is planning to allow their killing for space, lack of resources

World Environment Day: Five trees that can be Delhi’s best bet against pollution

A Delhi University team has identified five trees most effective in sucking up and trapping harmful gases due to their height and leaf characteristics such as texture and shape.

Pollution alert: One Gujarat model that Delhi should follow

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation is introducing an early pollution warning system called ‘Air Information and Response Plan’ to send out alerts about rising pollution levels. Though Delhi has a much poorer air quality, it is yet to develop such a system.

Delhi rain brings good news: Mercury, pollution down, cool week ahead

Met officials says temperatures will remain much below 40ºC till Friday due to the cooling effect of showers in the Capital which have also brought down the pollution level down from poor to moderate.

Will boating be back at Delhi’s Old Fort? ASI starts work to revive Purana Qila lake

The lake at Purana Qila, or Old Fort, forms part of the moat surrounding the 16th century monument. It was a popular tourist attraction in Delhi thanks to the boating facility, which stopped in 2016.

Summer treat: Delhi temperature at par with Dharamshala, you’ve got till Sunday to enjoy

Delhi temperature on Monday was as low as 29.4 degrees Celsius while hilly towns, such as Dharamshala, Chamba, Solan, recorded almost similar day temperatures ranging between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius.

NGT bans open defecation on Yamuna banks, imposes Rs 5000 fine

NGT has said that the day is not far when Yamuna in Delhi will be clean for bathing on auspicious days.

Delhi zoo records highest mortality in India, 171 animals dead within a year

Zoos in India are categorised into large, medium, small and mini zoos — based on parameters such as area, animal population, collection of endangered species and number of visitors among others.

How much extra fuel do bad roads guzzle? Study in Delhi-NCR to find out

Even though India is building around 22 km of roadways every day, there is no data to claim which roads are fuel friendly. Around 47,350 km of roads were laid during 2016-17 under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana.

Heatwave to intensify in Delhi, mercury to touch 43 degrees by Monday

Normally, the met department declares a heat wave when the day temperature shoots up by at least 5 degrees, above the climatic normal. A severe heat wave is declared if the mercury shoots at least seven degrees above the normal.

Malaysian police nab Indian turtle smuggler, first through Operation Wild Net

Fakruddin Ali Ahmad Habeeb was arrested based on a tipoff by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), and 55 turtles were seized from him.

Negligible fall in Delhi pollution after odd-even formula, shows new study

“Only three pockets in the city – Najafgarh, Shalimar Bagh and Greater Kailash – registered around 8 – 10% in pollution levels. In the remaining areas the decline was just around 2 – 3%,” said Sagnik Dey, associate professor at Centre for Atmospheric Sciences in IIT Delhi.

African lion, giraffe, ostrich, toy train part of Delhi zoo’s revival plan

Zoo authorities are also planning to revive some old facilities that once used to exist but were withdrawn or shut down – the toy train and nocturnal house.

Political ‘invitees’ say AAP’s ‘EVM-tampering’ was convincing

Senior MPs and leaders, including TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, Congress’s Tehseen Poonawalla, RJD’s Manoj Jha and CPM’s Nilotpal Basu attended the session.

Why AAP chose to demonstrate ‘hacking’ of dummy EVM inside Delhi assembly

In a special session of Delhi assembly on Tuesday, AAP MLA gave a demonstration of how an EMV can be hacked. AAP has been blaming ‘faulty’ EVMs for its loss in municipal election.

Rescued at IGI airport from a man’s underwear, slow loris spends lonely days in Delhi zoo

In September 2012, three male passengers en route from Bangkok to Dubai were held with the primate at Delhi airport. The lone primate, around 6-7 inches tall and weighing around 200 grams, is in the 2X1.5 feet cage for the last two years.

First fossil evidence of nine-million-year-old Pliopithecoid ape found in India

Anthropologists have discovered two infant lower molar teeth that belong to an ape-like creature Krishnapithecus, from Haritalyangar, around 100km northwest of Himachal capital Shimla.

Art of Living: NGT issues notice to Sri Sri for comment on Yamuna event

Art of Living founder said on April 18 that NGT and the government should be fined for giving permission to Art of Living to organised an event on Yamuna floodplains.

‘Accidental damage’ to Yamuna already restored by nature, says Art of Living report

A scientific report prepared by Art of Living claimed that any ‘accidental damage’ to the ecology of the Yamuna floodplains caused by the Art of Living’s cultural event in 2016 has already been restored by nature.

Scientists wage war on colonial Kikar, reclaim Delhi’s forest land

Kikar (Prosopis julifora) was brought to Delhi from Mexico by the British more than a century ago. The exotic plant became invasive and wiped out most of the native plants

New species discovered in Meghalaya cave: Blind albino crab found in India

A scientist said this is the first cave crab from India. Its physical features are quite different from the crabs seen around or from other cave crabs discovered earlier in Asia.

Delhi: Woman jumps in front of train at Ghitorni Metro station, dies

MCD polls: Dry weekend in Delhi, liquor shops and bars shut till Sunday evening

According to a Delhi government circular, liquor outlets will remain shut from 5.30pm on Friday to 5.30pm on Sunday. April 26 has also been declared a dry day due to counting.