Black flags, protest welcome Arvind Kejriwal in Punjab

Chandigarh: Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who is on a five-day visit to Punjab, faced protest, black flags and 'Go Back Kejriwal' posters on Friday.

Hundreds of Shrimoni Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged protest at Teja Ruhela, Paakan and Mhatam Naar village in Fazilka. As per reports, the protest was held against the Delhi CM for allgedly backing JNU students, accused of raising anti-national slogans.

However, Kejriwal, who later visited the residence of Bheem Tank, a Dalit youth who was murdered, was given a warm welcome by BJP state secretary Sandeep Rinwa.

Despite the protest launched by SAD and BJP parties, Kejriwal's public meeting attracted huge crowd, that cheered for him. According to a report published in Indian Express, AAP leader Bhagwant Mann tagged the protestors as 'Goons of Punjab deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal'.

Addressing to people, Kejriwal reportedly said that 'similar goons were hired by BJP to cause disruptions to AAP during Delhi Assembly polls'. He also attacked Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and accused him of organising protest against him during his Punjab visit.

“Let Sukhbir Badal organise protests against me. He will see the miracle in 2017 polls, when there will be no opposition (for AAP) at all in the Vidhan Sabha,” Indian Express quoted Kejriwal as saying.

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Full water supply only after 2 weeks as Jat stir cripples capital's lifeline

Water supply in the city is likely to take two weeks to be fully restored as Jat protesters have extensively damaged the Munak canal, Delhi's lifeline, which accounts for close to 45% of the supply, at several places.

There was, however, some relief on Monday after Delhi Jal Board started partial production at the Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla treatment plants.

The government announced that schools, shut on Monday due to the water crisis, will reopen on Tuesday. By Tuesday morning, authorities hope to supply 475 million gallons per day, about 50% of Delhi's total supply capacity of 900 MGD.

The Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla plants, with a combined capacity of 238 MGD, take raw water from the Yamuna. These plants too are now unable to fully function due to high levels of ammonia in the river.

Protesters had taken control of Munak canal at Mandora village in Haryana on February 19 and then again the next day. On Monday, the Army finally wrested control but protesters moved to Khubru, a village 35km upstream and stopped supply to the canal completely.

Both banks of the Munak canal have been completely breached along a length of 250 feet, sources said.

A DJB team was sent to Mandora to assess the damage to Munak. After the army took control of the canal, Haryana said it would release water through the Delhi sub-branch, an offshoot of Munak which has a capacity of 215 MGD. However, officials soon realized that despite opening gates, there was no water in the channel because protesters had blocked the canal in Khubru.

"Due to major leakages in the sub-branch, losses of 25% are expected. However, we will now not even get water through that until the protesters are flushed out of Khubru. Munak canal, meanwhile, is seriously damaged. Haryana has communicated to Delhi that repair work may take almost a fortnight and can be carried out only under army security," said sources.

If the canal gates at Khubru are opened, Delhi will get sufficient water to start 50% production in the Bawana, Nangloi and Haiderpur plants.

Meanwhile, the city continued to function on stored water or through tankers as piped water was not available across the city, with the exception of east and parts of south Delhi. Many Delhiites stocked up on mineral water bottles to tide over the crisis while a section of residents in north Delhi opened their tubewells for use by neighbours.

At 5.30pm on Monday, when ammonia levels in the Yamuna had touched 1.3 ppm against a permissible limit of 0.5 ppm, Wazirabad started production at 25%. The Chandrawal and Okhla plants were started later in the evening at a similar capacity. DJB chairperson Kapil Mishra said that production would be scaled up to 50% by Monday night.

This partial supply will benefit NDMC areas and parts of north Delhi. This water will also be taken through tankers to other parts.

he only worry with these plants is that production will be affected if ammonia levels rise again. "While 0.5 ppm is permissible, we can scale down production and carry out treatment up to 1.3 ppm. In this case too, we started partial production at 1.3 ppm but by evening ammonia levels had dropped to 0.9 ppm, allowing us to increase production," said a senior DJB official.

"However, these plants have been affected at least on three occasions already this year due to high ammonia. We have been in touch with Haryana and asked them to ensure that no further pollution is released into the river," the official added.

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Kejriwal's Odd-Even Decision Today, Women Could Lose Exemption In Round 2

It's near-certain now that Delhi will undergo a second round of 'Odd-Even' - when the traffic scheme will relaunch will be announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at 4 pm today.

Sources say April, after the Class 10 and 12 board exams finish, is when the traffic restrictions will apply.

In the second round, women drivers could lose the exemption they enjoyed in January. But two-wheelers are likely to be kept out again, sources said, as the government does not want to overload the already burdened public transport system.

Delhi began 2016 with a court-ordered attempt to cut its toxic smog. The government banned private cars on alternate days. For a fortnight, cars with odd-numbered plates were allowed on the road on odd-numbered dates; even-numbered cars were permitted on the others.

"Dilli mangey dil se, odd-even phir se (Delhi wants odd-even again, from the bottom of its heart)," said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, claiming that the capital is longing for Odd-Even 2.0.

He said the public, in an over-whelming response to the call for feedback, has sent 12 lakh suggestions to the government's website and 9,000 emails. The top 20 suggestions, picked for their unique ideas, were presented to the chief minister on Wednesday.

Sources said a stiff fine will continue in round 2, but the government could also reward those who follow Odd-Even despite being exempted. Supreme Court judges won praise in the last round for car-pooling despite being kept out of odd-even.

Experts disagree on whether the traffic restrictions in January reduced pollution in the city; the courts pointed out the need for more public transport; commuters said metros were packed but driving suddenly turned into a far easier feat than it has been for years.

The government completes its first year in office on Sunday, February 14. Cabinet ministers will join Mr Kejriwal on stage to take calls from residents for two hours. 

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Delhi Government to Deliberate on Re-introduction of Odd-even

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will hold a review meeting tomorrow with his ministers and officials concerned on the implementation of the proposed second phase of the odd-even car-rationing scheme.

The pilot plan was implemented from January 1-15 with Sundays being exempted from it. Based on "positive" response from the public received through different platforms, the government has decided to deliberate on re-introducing the scheme. Four probable launching dates for the second phase are being looked at - February 14, March 1, April 1 and May 1.

A senior official said Delhi government has received over 11 lakh responses on the future course of its car-rationing scheme and most of them voted in favour of the plan that seeks to cut down air pollution by promoting use of public transport. "The Chief Minister has convened a review meeting with his ministers and officials from concerned departments tomorrow to discuss and analysis the responses sent by the masses since January 26," the official said.

Sources said that the next phase of odd-even scheme will be introduced after the CBSE Board examinations. The government received the public opinion through emails, missed calls, online forms and suggestions of people whom it reached out to through interactive voice response system. "Around 28,300 suggestions have been received through online forms while another 9,000 and 1,82,808 have come through emails and missed called respectively. The government, on its part, has made more than 9,00,000 calls to gather public opinion," a senior government official said.

Now we will analyse the responses, he added. An email-id 'oddevenidea@gmail.com' was opened on January 26 to invite public opinion on the scheme, while a dedicated website and a phone line was launched on February 1.

Also people's response was gathered through automated calls through IVRS (Interactive Voice Response System) where they were given a number of options on the proposed second phase of the odd-even scheme. Apart from these, 'jan sabhas' (public meetings) were held across the city on two days to get more feedback.

AAP MLAs, who organised the meetings, have claimed that public opinion was "overwhelmingly" in favour of re-introduction of the scheme which was rolled out on January 1 for a fortnight in the first phase. A structured questionnaire was put forth by the government on whether the scheme should be implemented again, if yes, when it should be done and for what duration among others.

It had also asked people whether the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and Union ministers should be exempted in the second phase. The status of women drivers, who were exempted in the first phase, will also be decided based on the responses.

The government is likely to implement the next phase of scheme after it seeks to first address two major concerns related to commuting by school children and the possibility of people purchasing another car to circumvent the restrictions.

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Why did this man send Arvind Kejriwal Rs 364?

Arvind Kejriwal with LG Najeeb Jung

NEW DELHI: "Embarrassed" by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal wearing sandals during a banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan, a businessman from Visakhapatnam has sent him Rs 364 and requested him to buy a pair of shoes with it.

Arvind Kejriwal was spotted wearing sandals during a banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan, which was hosted in honour of French President Francois Hollande.

Sumit Agrawal, the Visakhapatnam businessman said Kejriwal was representing the country that day at Rashtrapati Bhavan, "not staging a dharna at an Aam Aadmi Party rally at Ramlila Maidan or Jantar Mantar."

Agrawal wondered whether Kejriwal's choice of footwear was a publicity stunt. The businessman, who sent the Delhi CM the money via a demand draft, has also written an open letter to Kerjiwal.

"Kejriwal was at the President's dinner at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, not a friend's birthday party in a restaurant in Hauz Khas. While dressing as per one's convenience is a question of personal liberty, some places are above personal preferences...You're a grown man. Please act according to the situation & dress for the occasion," Agrawal writes.

The businessman then talks about his efforts in collecting Rs 364 in donations for Kejriwal. "Sir, I know that this is a very small amount, but it is the result of the effort of an entire Sunday afternoon of hard work. I had initiated the collection with an initial contribution of Rs 49," Agrawal writes.

He requested Kejriwal to maintain dignity while meeting with foreign delegates. "Sir, certain protocols have dictated our democratic set up & international relations since time immemorial. Though you (a self proclaimed proud anarchist) might have no regard for them, it is strongly recommended that you maintain dignity with foreign delegate," Agrawal said in the letter.

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MCD strike: Arvind Kejriwal slams BJP for littering garbage in Delhi, demands CBI probe into mismanagement of funds

Slamming Opposition for doing politics over the issue of strike by the MCD workers, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said it’s a clear case of mismanagement of fund by the civic bodies and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.

The chief minister addressed a press conference over the issue in Bengaluru where he has gone for treatment.

Highlights of Kejriwal’s press conference in Bengaluru

# The strike by MCD workers is unfortunate
# It is being assumed that the MCD workers have gone on strike since Delhi government has not released their salaries.
# BJP doing politics over the issue and trying to spread garbage on the streets of Delhi
# It is being projected as if Delhi govt was supposed to pay the salaries and it hasn’t released them
# I understand the pain of the MCD workers who did not get their salaries,but what about the BJP people spreading garbage on streets?-
# We have paid Rs 900 crores to the North MCD, double the amount of salary than previous year. Where has all the money gone.
# We have paid Rs 466 crore to the East MCD. Where have all the money gone
# There is corruption in MCD
# There should be a CBI inquiry into the mismanagement of funds of the MCD
# We are trying to arrange the funds to clear the dues of these workers till January 31.
# Delhi doctors have requested us to take over MCD hospitals
# I request MCD workers to call off their strike

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