Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the 'severe' category, prompting the implementation of Stage-IV GRAP measures and hybrid classes for schools.
Delhi choked under a thick blanket of smog on Monday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) settling at 498, which falls in the higher spectrum of 'severe' category.
A thick layer of toxic smog enveloped the national capital on Saturday as air quality deteriorated sharply, prompting the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to invoke the strictest curbs under Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) across Delhi-NCR.
Delhi Police have detained three individuals, including two doctors, in connection with the car explosion near the Red Fort. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities questioning multiple people and examining potential links to a wider terror module.
Delhiites continued to breathe toxic air on Tuesday as the air quality edged closer to the severe zone in some areas.
A seven-year-old boy went missing in northwest Delhi's Ashok Vihar and his body was found hours later in a drain, with his mother alleging on Monday he lost his life because the drain was open and he would go there to relieve himself as the area lacks proper toilet facility.
This deterioration in air quality led to prompting enforcement of Stage II of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in the national capital.
The upcoming Delhi Assembly elections are set to be a thrilling contest between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the Congress. The BJP is focusing on its "Parivartan" (change) slogan and a targeted campaign against AAP over corruption allegations, while AAP is highlighting the credibility of its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and his promises to deliver on his promises. The Congress, seeking to reclaim its lost footing in the national capital, is also campaigning with a renewed vigor.
Power distribution company officials said several areas, largely in central and east Delhi, were affected due to the failure. Some areas in north Delhi also faced outages.
Pollution levels in the national capital entered the "severe" zone for the first time this season on Thursday, with scientists warning of a further spike over the next two weeks.
'It is necessary to have a person at the top who can make strict decisions without hesitation. Modiji has done that.'
The capital witnessed a clear morning on Friday with the minimum temperature settling a notch below normal at 14.6 degrees Celsius.
Areas in the National Capital Region -- Noida and Gurugram -- recorded an AQI of 529 and 478 respectively both in the highly toxic 'severe'.
A quake of magnitude 3.4 hit Delhi on Sunday, a third in less than a month.
The neighbouring cities of Faridabad (469), Greater Noida (464), Ghaziabad (470), Gurgaon (472) also recorded 'severe' air pollution levels.
22 of the 37 air quality monitoring stations across Delhi recorded the air quality in the severe category on Thursday morning.
The quake, with its epicentre near Wazirpur in northeast Delhi, occurred at 1.26 pm at a shallow depth of 5 km, said JL Gautam, Head (Operations) at NCS, an institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
The October 28 decision of the President rejecting the plea is based on an opinion rendered by the Election Commission, the poll panel said.
Mange Ram Garg died around 7.30 am at Action Balaji Hospital in Paschim Vihar, north Delhi. He was not keeping much well due to age-related issues.
Entrepreneurs, however, say they are unsure when the many obstacles in India will be cleared.
"The overall Delhi's Air Quality Index is in the very poor category with few Delhi locations entering at higher zone but that will be short lived. This is mainly because the extremely calm local surface winds which were prevailing yesterday are likely to increase slightly and may further pick-up by Oct 26," SAFAR said.
A thin layer of toxic haze hung over Delhi in the morning and the overall air quality index stood at 313 at 9 am. It continued its upward trend and was recorded at 337 at 1 pm.
Vehicular movement was badly affected on the busy Vikas Marg, Akshardham, Deepali Chowk, Wazirpur, Moolchand and the Delhi-Jaipur Highway. Carrying VHP flags, slogan-shouting supporters of the Sangh Parivar started assembling at various intersections at about 0900 hours for their two-hour nationwide road blockade stir.
The court will hear MLAs' pleas on Wednesday.
The dip in the air quality can be attributed to low wind speed and temperatures which allowed accumulation of pollutants.
The city's overall air quality index stood at 306 on Friday.
He died following an infection in his intestine and multi-organ failure.
The overall AQI deteriorated further and touched the 268 mark, which falls in the poor category.
The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday replaced its Mehrauli and Mundka candidates for the Delhi assembly polls following an inquiry by the party's "internal Lokpal", triggering protests outside Arvind Kejriwal's Kaushambi residence.
In a setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party which dominated the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the party managed to win only from three seats while the Aam Aadmi Party made its debut by winning five seats and the Congress wrested four seats in the bypolls to 13 wards.
The 20 MLAs told the high court that they would move fresh petitions against the taking away of their assembly seats as their pleas had become infructuous after President Ram Nath Kovind put a stamp of approval on the EC's recommendation.
The court also extended till February 7 the interim order restraining the EC from issuing any notification announcing bypolls.
'Traders have been the worst hit because of the government's policies, but for some unknown reason, many continue to support the BJP.'
It is believed that the crop residue burning in the nearby states of Punjab and Haryana are contributing to polluting the air.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, the overall air quality of the national capital docked at 376 at 8:30 am on Tuesday.
The EC had found no merit in the plea.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday arrested the co-owner of Micromax mobiles and another top executive of the company while they were allegedly giving Rs 30 lakh bribe to the engineers of North Delhi Municipal Corporation for clearance to a banquet hall construction.
20 legislators disqualified from the Delhi assembly for allegedly holding offices of profit.
The driver of the private school van had his earphones on and was driving on the wrong side of the road. The milk tanker driver was allegedly under the influence of alcohol, police said.
Govt has done away with the need to secure crucial permits.
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