Minor blaze in Parikrama restaurant

A fire in the kitchen shaft of Parikrama, the revolving restaurant near Connaught Place, created panic on Wednesday evening. The blaze, however, was controlled within minutes. The restaurant staff noticed flames from the shaft in the kitchen around 6 pm, said Atul Garg, Chief Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Services.

Nine fire tenders were sent to Antriksh Bhawan, the multi-storey building atop which the restaurant is located.

The building was immediately evacuated

HTC

India has “sufficient evidence that this act was committed by personnel of the Pakistan Army who crossed the Line of Control in Krishna Ghati sector,” he added.

Sources said the trail of blood leading across the LoC was from the severed heads of the Indian soldiers.

India, Baglay said, had been a victim of cross-border terrorism for four decades and its efforts and policy to counter this menace had received backing across the world. “It is an unfortunate reality that cross-border terrorism continues to pose a grave threat to peace and stability in our region as well as threaten the security of neighbours of the country which is perpetuating it,” he said.

Late at night after a Cabinet meeting, defence minister Arun Jaitley said Pakistan’s denial with regard to its involvement

“The cyclonic circulation had been giving rise to dust storms across the region since Wednesday morning, obstructing the sun’s rays. This phenomenon, accompanied by high-altitude clouds, provided some relief from the rising mercury,” said another official.

He said the heat wave will soon return because the cyclonic circulation is moving eastwards. “The temperature at some places in Rajasthan has already shot up to 44 degrees Celsius,” the official added.

The Met official claimed that though a western disturbance was approaching India from across the border, it wasn’t likely to help Delhi. “This will only have an effect on the higher zones of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Any chances of it impacting the plains are remote,” he said, adding that the weather phenomenon was spotted over northern Afghanistan on Wednesday morning.

Western disturbances usually provide some relief to the city during this time of the year because they trigger dust storms and thunderstorms.

On Sunday, a separate western disturbance over Punjab had triggered slight rainfall in Delhi and many parts of northwest India.

While the national capital had recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius on May 3 last year, the mercury barely touched 40 degrees on Wednesday. The highest temperature ever recorded by Delhi for the month was in 1944, when mercury levels shot up to 47.2 degrees Celsius.

“However, on this occasion, they were already en route Delhi when the beheadings were reported. They crossed the IndiaPakistan border around 9.30 am on May 1, and we received the news only by 12 noon,” he added.

Their trip, however, wasn’t a complete loss. The NGO said that the children, aged between 10 and 15 years, dropped by the Golden Temple and toured several areas of Delhi after reaching India. “They visited the Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Jantar Mantar, Connaught Place and Janpath through Tuesday. They had come with shopping lists to buy gifts for relatives and friends back home. However, I had to tell them later in the evening that they will not be able to meet their pen friends in Indian schools. It was extremely sad to see them heartbroken,” said Tina Vachani, the other co-founder of R2R.

The students were supposed to travel to Agra to see the Taj Mahal on May 3, and end their trip with a programme at the Pakistan Embassy the following day.

Gupta said the NGO cut short the educational trip with the dual intention of honouring the martyred soldiers and ensuring the

The AAP — born out of the 2011-2012 anti-corruption movement — preaches austerity, demands simplicity from its members, and discourages any spectacle such as long convoys typically associated with Indian netas or political leaders.

Delhi chief minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal was the first to give up the red beacon or “lal batti”, a coveted symbol of status, on his car in 2015 after winning 67 of the 70 assembly seats in the city. He is often seen in an untucked half-sleeve shirt, trousers and sandals, or a muffler around his neck in winter; and never travels with a large retinue.

The image is said to be carefully cultivated to underscore the party’s connect with the common people, its core vote base. But Kejriwal found out during his interactions with AAP legislators after the civic poll loss about the flipside of the impression.

So, the unsaid rule for a “sober” image will now give way to a new avatar, replete with a change in demeanour, wardrobe and retinue for the AAP leaders. Party volunteers will always accompany a neta when he is meeting people.

“It’s funny but true. Kejriwalji and the party have said that every MLA will now have at least four volunteers with him all the time. Wearing the AAP’s trademark cap during public visits is mandatory,” Chandni Chowk legislator Alka Lamba said.

Another drawback emerged during the chief minister’s meetings with his legislators: word on the AAP government’s development work didn’t reach the people adequately.

Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti has an answer to this problem.

“I suggested creating a WhatsApp group of resident welfare associations to directly hear them out. This is being done by others,” he said and reaffirmed the party’s need to re-energise its public outreach programmes.

The move signals that both Kejriwal and Sisodia will now focus entirely on New Delhi, sources said.

Vishwas, who until Tuesday night was contemplating quitting the party, thanked all AAP volunteers and members who “stood by him in the time of crisis”.

He assured that the party will not shy away from course correction whenever required. “Every time we need it, we will do it. The party needed to discuss some issues and that is happening now,” he said.

The turnaround was reached after the PAC, which is the party’s top decision-making body, formed a committee to recommend action over Khan’s comments.

“A three-member committee with Ashutosh, Pankaj Gupta and Atishi Marlena has been formed,” Sisodia said. “Khan has been suspended from the party.”

The decision drew slogans and cheers from Vishwas supporters who have gathered outside Kejriwal’s home in north Delhi.

For his part, Kejriwal dashed to Vishwas’s home late on Tuesday after calling him “a younger brother but a little angry”, and then they went to the chief minister’s residence for a meeting with other AAP leaders.

The party appears to have doused the fire of dissent for now, but there is no clarification yet on the AAP’s line on EVMs, which sparked the crisis.

Sisodia went to Khan’s home within an hour of his suspension, and conveyed the decision. The legislator said he respects the party’s decision but stood by his statement against Vishwas, saying it was his “personal opinion”.

A source said the party will give Khan a chance to prove his allegation. “Depending on what Khan says and presents, action will be taken.”