Mumbai: Mumbai began Thursday on a relatively cool and crisp note, offering residents a brief glimpse of winter-like comfort. Clear skies, light winds and lower humidity made for a pleasant early morning. However, the relief was short-lived as a visible layer of smog soon settled over the city, reducing visibility and once again underscoring Mumbai’s worsening air pollution crisis.

Despite favourable weather conditions forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), air quality quickly emerged as the city’s biggest concern. The IMD had predicted a bright and comfortable day, with temperatures expected to hover between 17°C and 34°C. Yet, commuters, morning walkers and schoolchildren stepping out early were greeted by hazy surroundings and an acrid smell in the air, particularly in traffic-heavy corridors and low-lying areas.

According to data from air quality monitoring platform AQI.in, Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 254 during the early hours, placing it in the ‘unhealthy’ category. After showing signs of improvement over the past few weeks, pollution levels have once again deteriorated. Such AQI levels pose health risks to all residents, with children, senior citizens and those suffering from respiratory or cardiac ailments being especially vulnerable.

The renewed spike in pollution is largely being attributed to construction dust and fine particulate matter. Massive government-led infrastructure projects, including metro rail corridors, flyovers, coastal road extensions and extensive road-widening works, continue across the city. These, coupled with aggressive private real estate development, are releasing large volumes of dust into the atmosphere. Vehicular emissions during peak traffic hours are further compounding the problem, especially at key junctions.

Several areas emerged as major pollution hotspots. The Wadala Truck Terminal recorded a worrying AQI of 407, categorised as ‘hazardous’, indicating conditions that can seriously impact even healthy individuals. Chembur and Colaba followed with AQI readings of 328 and 318, respectively, both falling in the ‘severe’ category. Sion registered an AQI of 317, while Worli, a prominent commercial and residential hub, recorded 308.

Suburban areas fared marginally better, though pollution remained widespread. Kandivali East logged an AQI of 107 and Goregaon East stood at 130, both categorised as ‘poor’. Other areas such as Parel-Bhoiwada (153), Borivali West (177) and Charkop (187) also slipped into the poor range, reflecting the citywide spread of pollution.

For context, AQI levels between 0–50 are considered good, 51–100 moderate, 101–150 poor, 151–200 unhealthy and anything above 200 hazardous. With large parts of Mumbai hovering at or above unhealthy levels, concerns are growing over the long-term health implications as winter progresses and pollution episodes become more frequent.

Bhiwandi: Trade unions and workers’ organisations staged a strong protest in Bhiwandi against the four labour codes introduced by the Centre and implemented by the state government, terming them “anti-worker” and a direct attack on hard-earned labour rights.

The protest was organised at late Anand Dighe Chowk under the leadership of Comrade Sunil Chavan, president of the CITU-affiliated Lal Bavta Powerloom Warper and Unorganised Workers’ Organisation. Workers from multiple sectors, including powerloom, domestic work and the beedi industry, participated in large numbers, giving the agitation a strong grassroots character.

The protesters demanded the immediate withdrawal of the four labour codes, under which 29 existing labour laws have been repealed and consolidated. According to union leaders, these changes dilute statutory safeguards that Indian workers secured after decades of struggle.

Addressing the gathering, Comrade Sunil Chavan warned that the new labour framework would severely weaken job security, collective bargaining rights and social protection for workers. “These labour codes will push workers into extremely vulnerable conditions, virtually reducing them to bonded labour,” he said, alleging that the reforms overwhelmingly favour employers at the cost of workers’ dignity and livelihood.

Union leaders said that the labour codes undermine provisions related to minimum wages, working hours, industrial dispute resolution and social security, particularly affecting unorganised sector workers who already lack adequate legal protection.

Chavan pointed out that central trade unions across the country are opposing the labour codes and have repeatedly demanded that the government hold meaningful consultations with workers’ representatives before implementing such sweeping reforms.

The protest saw participation from senior labour activists including Anil Tyagi, Kamla Gattu, Mumtaz Sheikh, Suryabhan Yadav, Premchand Saroj, Sadanand Bharti, Pramod Yadav and Suresh Sachan. A significant number of women workers from the powerloom sector, domestic work and the beedi industry were also present, highlighting the gendered impact of the labour reforms.

The demonstrators raised slogans against both the Centre and the state government, accusing them of ignoring workers’ voices and prioritising corporate interests. They warned that if the labour codes are not withdrawn, trade unions would intensify their agitation through larger protests and strikes in the coming days.

The protest in Bhiwandi reflects growing unrest among industrial and unorganised sector workers across Maharashtra, as labour groups continue to mobilise against reforms they believe threaten the very foundation of workers’ rights and social justice.

New Delhi, Dec 17: Acting on the orders of its special Court at Patna, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has attached two immovable properties of an accused in a transnational human trafficking and cyber frauds case, the agency said on Wednesday.

The properties involved one flat in Thane, Maharashtra, and a piece of land in Siwan, Bihar.

According to the NIA, “Both had been purchased by the wanted accused Anand Kumar Singh in his wife’s name using money earned illegally from human trafficking activities. The accused, a Cambodia-based Indian national, was involved in trafficking Indian youth to Cambodia for forced criminal cyber frauds, NIA investigations had revealed.”

The special Court of NIA at Patna had established the two properties to be proceeds of crime and had, on December 10, ordered their attachment under section 107 of BNSS. It had further directed that the money obtained after their auction be forfeited.

As per NIA’s investigation, the accused was part of a syndicate engaged in luring vulnerable youth from India with false promises of well-paying legitimate jobs in foreign countries.

Once the victims reached the foreign land, their passports were seized by the syndicate, and they were sold to scam companies. Refusal to work for these companies led to mental and physical torture, NIA found during the investigation.

Efforts are in progress to unearth and dismantle the complete transnational nexus involving the syndicate.

The anti-terror agency last month filed a chargesheet against 10 accused in a Bhubaneswar court in connection with the trafficking of a minor Bangladeshi girl from across the eastern border into Odisha.

The set of charges filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), before a Special Court, charged the accused with luring the girl with the promise of employment and then pushing her into immoral trafficking to make money.

The accused had taken advantage of her family’s poor financial condition to execute the trafficking operation, the NIA found during the investigation, which exposed a major human trafficking network.