New Delhi, Jan 15: A thick fog enveloped the national capital and surrounding areas early Wednesday morning, severely affecting visibility and causing widespread transportation disruptions. At least seven flights were cancelled, while 184 others were delayed. Additionally, 26 trains heading to Delhi were running late, with six train schedules altered due to the low visibility.

The thick fog caused visibility levels to plummet to near zero in several areas disrupting air, road, and rail traffic.

This comes a day after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert in the national capital, warning of dense to very dense fog.

Road traffic also slowed down as dense fog made commuting difficult across Delhi and other cities in the NCR.

In a statement around 7:30 a.m., Delhi Airport urged passengers to stay informed about their flight status. “Although landings and take-offs continue, flights that do not meet the CAT III (Category III Instrument Landing System) standards may experience delays. We advise passengers to check with their airlines for the latest updates. We regret any inconvenience caused,” said Delhi Airport in repeated advisories.

Budget airlines IndiGo and SpiceJet also issued warnings to travellers, urging them to monitor their flight schedules due to the heavy fog affecting air travel.

The IMD predicted the minimum temperature for the day would dip to 9 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the maximum temperature was forecast to reach around 19 degrees. The weather department also warned of a generally overcast sky throughout the day.

The IMD has forecasted further fog during the evening and night, with cloudy skies expected throughout the day. There is also a chance of light rain later in the day or night, further complicating the weather conditions.

The average air quality in the national capital remains in the “poor” category.

Dense fog and cold wave have become recurring phenomena in northern India, further complicating the already difficult winter conditions. Residents are being advised to take extra precautions while travelling.

New Delhi, Jan 14: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday derided and taunted Kejriwal’s model of governance in the capital while launching a campaign to ‘expose’ its empty and hollow promises of transforming Delhi into a world-class city.

The Congress MP visited Delhi’s Rithala area on Tuesday to showcase the glaring gaps between the AAP government’s promises and reality on the ground. Undertaking the survey of a stinking area, marked with open drains and littered with filth, the Congress leader made a series of taunts at the AAP dispensation.

“Dekho, dilli dekho, yeh hai chamkati hui dilli. Paris jaisi dilli… sab jagah yahi haal hai” (See the city, this is Delhi, this is shining Delhi, the Delhi which looks like Paris), he was heard saying on camera.

In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, broken roads, open sewers and stinking drainage systems have turned out to be major poll planks and all parties are raising this issue to the hilt.

Congress party also posted on X, “Arvind Kejriwal had promised to make Delhi shine like Paris. But, all his claims turned out to be hollow. Today, the people of Delhi are forced to live in clogged sewers, overflowing drains and immense filth.”

Rahul’s fresh pitch on the city’s poor and dilapidated roads and open sewers is a tactful drive to expose the AAP government on its broken promises and also recall the historic development drive undertaken during the Congress government, under the then CM Sheila Dikshit.

“Congress party’s promise is – we will return clean and beloved Delhi to the people of Delhi. We did it, we will do it again,” the party said in X post.

The verbal duel between AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Congress brass got a fresh twist after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi joined the campaign trail, with his first political rally in the Seelampuri area on February 13.

Rahul hit out at the AAP dispensation over issues like inflation, and ignorance of Dalit and minority communities and accused it of making false promises and spreading false propaganda.

In a quick retort, Kejriwal said that he won’t comment on Rahul’s remarks despite abuses.

“His fight is to save the Congress party, my fight is to save the country,” he posted on X.

New Delhi, Jan 14: After a failed attempt a day earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi on Tuesday filed her nomination papers from the Kalkaji constituency and lashed out at police and local election officials for acting promptly on poll-related complaints given by the BJP and ignoring the ones filed by the AAP.

CM Atishi raised questions over the impartiality of the Election Commission (EC) and police, claiming, “I hope the commitment of free and fair elections given by the EC to us will be fulfilled.

” Reacting to the registration of an FIR in Kalkaji for alleged misuse of a Public Works Department (PWD) van for transporting AAP election campaign posters, CM Atishi said, “When we complain against BJP candidate Parvesh Verma for distributing money and spectacles, we are told an inquiry is on. But, in my case, an FIR has been filed in Kalkaji without even an inquiry.”

“Something is fishy,” she said, adding that lower-level election officials are under pressure and the police are also favouring a particular party.

Attacking Parvesh Verma for allegedly blatantly violating the poll code, Atishi said he is openly issuing posts on social media, holding health camps, and distributing bedsheets.

The Delhi Chief Minister also attacked the Congress and the BJP for secretly collaborating to fight the February 5 Assembly election and misleading the people.

She said how is it possible without a BJP-Congress alliance that Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit promptly gets time to meet Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena to complain against the AAP scheme while AAP legislators are made to wait for weeks before getting an appointment to meet the L-G.

On Monday, Atishi held a roadshow in Kalkaji but could not file her nomination as she was forced to join an AAP delegation that met EC officials to complain about the alleged manipulation of the voters’ list in the New Delhi seat.

Earlier, the Delhi BJP accused CM Atishi and her party leaders of using government vehicles for personal campaigns even as the Kalkaji District Election Officer (DEO) got an FIR registered for misuse of a PWD van for carrying the CM’s posters.

Addressing a press conference, South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that the BJP’s District Vice-President in Kalkaji detected a van on January 7, after the Model Code of Conduct for the polls came into effect, delivering posters and flags of CM Atishi at her office in Govindpuri Gali number 30.

“The AAP, which claims to be an honest party, is indulging in such gross violation of the Model Code of Conduct. There is a huge difference in their words and practice,” said Bidhuri, claiming that the area where the incident took place falls in his parliamentary constituency.

An FIR has been filed by the election office against a PWD engineer for the alleged incident of allowing the use of an official to transport the AAP candidate’s election campaign material in the Govindpuri area.