Mumbai: After weeks of fluctuating weather, Mumbai woke up to bright blue skies and crisp air on Wednesday, signalling a likely end to the monsoon spell. No rainfall was recorded anywhere majorly across the city on Tuesday, indicating that the rain clouds have finally retreated for the season.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city is likely to witness partly cloudy skies through the day, with the possibility of light showers or isolated thunderstorms in a few pockets. Temperatures are expected to remain comfortable, hovering around a maximum of 33°C and a minimum near 23°C, making for a pleasant midweek morning.

The brief round of showers earlier in the past few weeks not only cooled Mumbai but also played a key role in improving the city’s air quality, which had dipped after the withdrawal of monsoon winds. The stagnation of air and rising vehicular pollution had led to hazy conditions and reduced visibility across many areas.

However, the latest data from AQI.in on Wednesday morning painted a much healthier picture. Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 81, categorised as moderate. While this marks a slight dip from the good air recorded over the past few days, it still reflects a significant improvement compared to the post-monsoon smog.

Several residents across the city reported clearer views of the skyline and fresher air quality. Among monitoring stations, Parel-Bhoiwada recorded the highest AQI at 163 (poor), while Chembur (137) and Mankhurd (113) also fell in the poor range. Areas such as Mulund West (93) and Wadala Truck Terminal (72) reported moderate air quality.

Cleaner air was observed in the western suburbs, with Kandivali East (50) recording good air quality. Malad West (57), Jogeshwari (57), Powai (57) and Kurla (65) all fell within the moderate category, showing a balanced improvement across the city’s expanse.

As per AQI.in’s classification, readings between 0–50 are considered “Good,” 51–100 “Moderate,” 101–150 “Poor,” 151–200 “Unhealthy,” and values above 200 are categorised as “Severe” or “Hazardous.”

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has asked beneficiaries of the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin’ scheme to complete the mandatory e-KYC by November 18.

State Women and Child Development Minister Aditi Tatkare said that the honorarium for October will be disbursed from Wednesday, and the amount will be credited directly into the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of all eligible women beneficiaries.

The state government’s flagship scheme, launched in July last year, provides monthly assistance of Rs 1,500 to women in the 21-65 age group, whose annual family income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh.

The government made e-KYC mandatory for the scheme in September, giving beneficiaries two months to complete the process and issued a government resolution regarding this.

Tatkare, in a post on X, said that the scheme, launched as a social and economic empowerment initiative for women across Maharashtra, continues to gain widespread support and trust from women in the state.

She said that to ensure smooth continuation of the scheme, an e-KYC facility was available on the official portal, ladakibahin.maharashtra.gov.in, since last month, and all beneficiaries have been asked to complete the e-KYC process by November 18.

Talking to PTI, the minister said, “The government has stopped monthly disbursal of Rs 1,500 to 12,000 bank accounts held by men, while the amount disbursed to ineligible women beneficiaries, who were government employees and those covered by other government schemes, over the last year has been recovered.” At present, more than 2.3 crore beneficiaries are registered under the scheme, and the monthly instalment for October will be disbursed from Wednesday, she said.

Chandigarh, Nov 4: After the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct for the by-election to the Tarn Taran Assembly constituency, Punjab Police, following the directions of the Election Commission, has made seizures of drugs, liquor, cash and freebies valued at over Rs 57.47 crore.

According to details, from October 7, the day the Model Code of Conduct came into effect, till November 3, the police in the Tarn Taran constituency seized 51,429.50 litres of liquor valued at Rs 32,89,160, narcotic substances of Rs 56,67,10,500 (21,811.10 grams), cash amounting to Rs 9,73,480, and other items valued at Rs 37,85,700.

Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C said the police have been directed to maintain round-the-clock surveillance through CCTV cameras at all checkpoints in the constituency to curb illegal smuggling activities.

He added that strict action is being ensured against those attempting to influence voters by distributing cash or any other kind of freebies during the elections.

The Chief Electoral Officer said there are a total of 192,838 voters in the constituency, which includes 100,933 men, 91,897 women and eight third-gender voters. There are 1,357 service voters, 1,657 voters aged above 85 years, 306 NRI voters, and 1,488 voters with disabilities. The number of young voters aged between 18 and 19 years stands at 3,333.

He said there are 222 polling stations set up at 114 polling station locations, of which 60 are urban and 162 are rural.

The Tarn Taran bypoll on November 11 was necessitated by the death of AAP MLA Kashmir Singh Sohal, who had won the seat with 52,935 votes, defeating Shiromani Akali Dal’s Harmeet Singh Sandhu.

Fifteen candidates are in the fray. They include Sukhwinder Kaur of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Harjit Singh Sandhu of the BJP, Harmeet Singh Sandhu of the Aam Aadmi Party, and Karanbir Singh of the Congress.