City Briefs

NDMC launches 15-day cleanliness campaign in Lutyens’ Delhi

New Delhi: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) on Tuesday launched a 15-day special cleanliness drive in the capital’s most prominent neighbourhoods ahead of Christmas and New Year, according to the official statement. Vice Chairperson Kuljeet Singh Chahal inaugurated the drive on Christmas Eve with a “wet and dry” cleaning programme at the Sacred Heart Cathedral and the Gole Dak Khana roundabout, carried out during evening and night hours, the statement read. Similar drives were conducted at other churches and major religious sites.

CBI arrests MCD officials red-handed taking Rs 2 lakh bribe

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) — an assistant engineer and a beldar — allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh for filing a closure report of a building, the agency said on Wednesday. Ashish Siwach, posted as assistant engineer, and Mahesh Kumar, a beldar, both were deployed in the MCD’s Shahdara zone, according to an official statement. The CBI said it had received a complaint alleging that the beldar, on behalf of the junior engineer and the assistant engineer, had demanded Rs 2 lakh from the complainant for preparing a closure report related to a building that was booked by the MCD.