New Delhi, August 13
All the roads leading through central Delhi were blocked with massive traffic jams during the peak hours this evening after the arrested yoga guru Ramdev refused to go to a faraway makeshift jail on the city's outskirts in Bawana.

People returning from offices were stuck in maddening jams for hours as thousands of Ramdev's supporters were trailing him on the roads.

Traffic in the whole of central Delhi was affected due to Ramdev's arrest with the police asking the protesters to move into the stadium nearby as the jam could upset the functioning of a number of government hospitals operating in the vicinity. Long lines of vehicles were spotted near ITO in central Delhi.

"It took me three hours to reach ITO from Connaught Place which is just at a stone's throw," said Sunita Sharma.

According to a traffic police official, the sudden heavy rains during the march caused chaos on roads in many parts, especially in central Delhi.

"I was stuck for at least one hour at one point and my car did not move even an inch," said Sanjay Gupta.

The traffic police also received complaints about roads being flooded.

Ramdev was detained by the police as he led protestors towards Parliament, seeking the return of black money stashed abroad and an end to corruption.

A senior police official said that they did not take Ramdev to Bawana as it would take long to reach the locality in Outer Delhi.

The yoga guru then forced the police to take him to a football stadium. Ramdev, who was to be taken to the makeshift jail in Bawana, also demanded that thousands of his supporters should be taken in custody.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said that both yoga guru Ramdev and anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare are politically backed by the BJP.

Commenting on Ramdev's agitation followed by a protest march and sharing of dais by BJP national president Nitin Gadkari and JD (U) chief Sharad Yadav at Ramlila Maidan today before he was arrested, Dikshit said both the BJP is supporting the Hazare's and Ramdev's agitation. "We always said that the movements of both Hazare and Ramdev are politically motivated and the BJP is behind this movement and it came out true," she said.

Making light of Team Anna's plans to make a foray into politics by fighting the Delhi Assembly election next year, Dikshit said that all sorts of candidates, including independents, can contest the election. "Some times they say they are in politics, some times they say they are not. If it is the final decision, let them fight (the election). Anyone can fight election here," she added.

Talking on Team Anna's plans to test the waters in the Delhi Assembly elections while skipping the polls in BJP-ruled Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year, Dikshit said that he should contest elections.

The three-time Chief Minister is all set to lead the election campaign of the Congress for a fourth consecutive victory in the polls slated for November 2013. On August 3 while calling off his fast, Hazare had announced formation of a political alternative, though he had said he would not be a member of the party.

Ramdev was arrested along with his supporters when they tried to march towards Parliament, but later they were released.

New Delhi, August 13
The Delhi Cabinet today gave its approval for implementing the 'Dilli Annashree Yojana', announced in the Budget 2012-13, in order to provide food security to two lakh vulnerable households, not covered under Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Ahar Yojana (AAY) schemes.

The cabinet also recommended to the Lieutenant Governor to summon the monsoon session of the Assembly from September 4 to 7. The session would have four sittings. The decisions were taken in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

While briefing the media after the cabinet meeting, Dikshit stated that 'Dilli Annashree Yojana' is a flagship scheme of the city government which is keen to expand its social security network.

"The new scheme would go a long way in making Delhi a hunger-free state. The city government was keen to provide relief to those vulnerable families which were not covered under BPL and AAY categories," said Dikshit.

There are around 4 lakh households with BPL and AAY ration cards in Delhi, getting subsidized grain under PDS.

Dikshit stated that under the scheme, a monthly food subsidy of Rs 600 will be transferred to the bank account of the seniormost female member of the household. An outlay of Rs 150 crore has been provided for this purpose during the current financial to cover two lakh households identified as per the approved parameters of Mission Convergence.

The families are supposed to make an application with a photograph, copy of Adhaar card, EPIC card, ration card and the bank account details of the head. The recommendation of the area MLA will also be taken. A card under 'Dilli Annashree Yojana' will be provided to the beneficiaries with a photograph to prevent any misuse. The amount would be utilized for purchase of grain such as rice, wheat, sugar and other essential eatables.

The food subsidy being implemented under the 'Dilli Annashree Yojana' is in addition to other social security schemes like free education, health insurance, pension to senior citizens, disabled persons and women in distress, assistance during the marriage of widows' daughters and low-cost housing for the urban poor. 

New Delhi, August 13
A teenager drowned when he with his friends went to Kalkaji Ghat for the immersion of Lord Ganesh idol in southeast Delhi this evening.

The deceased has been identified as Raja (17), who is a resident of Okhla. He with his 10-odd friends was performing rituals when the incident took place at around 6.20 pm.

According to the police, initially three youths were drowning, but two of them, Vivek and Rajiv, were rescued on time. The locals informed us, and the police approached the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) for a rescue operation. A fire tender was rushed to the spot.

Raja's body was later found by DFS divers and taken to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He was declared dead on arrival.

New Delhi, August 13
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has reported the maximum number of malaria cases among the three corporations this year.

The data revealed by senior leaders of the corporation states that the number of malaria cases has been on the rise in the past six year. Delhi reported 137 malaria cases in 2007, 203 in 2008, 134 in 2009, 163 in 2010 and 277 in 2011.

According to official data obtained between January 1 and August11 this year, 169 cases have been detected in the NDMC area alone. It is followed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) which admitted 148 persons infected with malaria, whereas the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) has registered 44 cases of the vector-borne disease.

Last year, the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had reported 20 malaria cases in the period between January and August, while the corresponding figure for 2011 was 88, however, the numbers went up to 122 in 2012.

Figures of dengue cases also show similar trend as it was 1,131 in 2011, 6,259 in 2010, 1,153 in 2009, 1,312 in 2008 and 548 in 2007. The total number of cases reported till August 11 this year is 10.

Chairman of the EDMC standing committee Mehak Singh said that till date, not even a single case of dengue has been reported so far in this region. "It could only be possible because of awareness in the community and the system of working by the corporation in a planned manner and overwhelming support by RWA officials," he said.

The EDMC organised 64 awareness programme, one in each ward, covering all its 64 wards. The corporation observed this month as ''Malaria-Dengue Prevention Month'' to create awareness among the masses about dengue, malaria and chikungunia.