Naveen Patnaik files nomination for post of BJD president for 9th time
Bhubaneswar, Apr 17 (PTI): Leader of Opposition in Odisha assembly, Naveen Patnaik, on Thursday filed his nomination papers for the post of BJD president for the ninth time here.
The former chief minister was the sole candidate for the post, said BJD’s returning officer for the organisational elections, Pratap K Deb.
Patnaik has been elected BJD president eight times in a row since the party’s inception in 1997. He was last elected to the post in February 2020.
He filed his nomination papers on the 28th death anniversary of his father Biju Patnaik, after whom the regional party, the Biju Janata Dal, is named.
“The time for filing nominations was between 10 am and 1 pm. We have received only one nomination from Naveen Patnaik and the name of the president will be announced on April 19 at Sankha Bhawan,” Deb said.
Earlier on April 15, the BJD had announced names of 18 district presidents, who were elected unopposed, in the fourth phase of the organisational elections.
Two more phases are due to be held in the next two days, Deb said.
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Dense fog envelops Delhi-NCR; air quality remains 'very poor'
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog enveloped large parts of Delhi-NCR on Thursday morning, significantly reducing visibility and disrupting traffic across the region.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), dense fog conditions prevailed over the city based on the 6 am observation. Visibility at Palam Airport dropped sharply to 150 metres, while Safdarjung Airport reported visibility of 200 metres.
The dense fog affected road traffic in several areas, with vehicles seen moving slowly on major arterial roads and highways connecting Delhi with neighbouring cities, such as Gurugram, Ghaziabad and Noida. Morning commuters faced delays as low visibility prompted motorists to exercise caution.
According to the officials, the current visibility at Indira Gandhi International Airport, Palam is 100 metres. General visibility is expected to increase to 150 metres in the next 30 minutes and will gradually improve thereafter. No further reductions are expected.
Weather officials said foggy conditions are likely to persist during early mornings in the coming days as winter intensifies. The IMD has forecast dense fog on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, air quality in the national capital remained in the 'very poor' category, with the air quality index (AQI) recorded at 358, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
On the weather front, the minimum temperature in the national capital settled at 9.0 degrees Celsius, which is 0.9 notches above the season's average. The maximum temperature is likely to hover around 23 degrees Celsius, the IMD said.
The relative humidity was recorded at 100 per cent at 8.30 am.
As per the CPCB classification, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor' and 401 to 500 'severe'.
