Mumbai: Mumbai woke up on Friday morning to clear skies overshadowed by a thick layer of smog that blurred its iconic skyline. Several areas across the city, including Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), were shrouded in dense haze, marking a sharp decline in air quality after weeks of improvement.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while the city will experience clear skies through the day, visibility was significantly reduced in the early hours due to smog. Daytime temperatures are expected to hover around 32°C, with the minimum settling near 20°C, conditions described as pleasant for early November.

Just days ago, Mumbai enjoyed cleaner air following a brief but intense spell of rain that helped wash away pollutants and brought temporary relief from humidity. However, the improvement was short-lived, as the city’s Air Quality Index (AQI) plunged to alarming levels within a matter of days.

Fresh data from AQI.in released on Friday morning showed Mumbai’s overall AQI at 263, placing it in the unhealthy category. The figure marks a steep fall from the good to moderate readings recorded earlier in the week. Residents from several areas reported hazy horizons and visibly poor air quality, with the city’s skyline appearing smudged even after sunrise.

Among the city’s monitoring stations, Parel-Bhoiwada recorded the highest AQI at 320, followed closely by Deonar (319) and Colaba (318). Other prominent localities such as Vile Parle West (313) and BKC (310) also reported AQI levels in the severe range, indicating dangerously high concentrations of particulate matter.

Relatively cleaner air was observed in a few western suburbs, with Kandivali East recording an AQI of 93, categorised as moderate. Meanwhile, Mankhurd (140), Borivali East (163), Bhandup West (173) and Malad West (173) all fell under the poor bracket, reflecting a widespread drop in air quality across the city.

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

Navi Mumbai: A massive fire broke out in a scrap warehouse located at Airoli’s Digha on November 6, an envelope of black smoke could be seen engulfing the area. According to Fire officer Santosh Patil, the fire was brought under control by 3.30 PM. He also informed that no casualties were reported in the incident.

While speaking to nerws agency Media, Fire officer Patil said, “…I received information on mobile from local workers about the fire… The fire was brought under control at 3.30, and now cooling operations are being carried out… There are no casualties in this incident…”

New Delhi, Nov 6: The Congress on Thursday renewed its allegation of electoral manipulation and “Vote Chori”, outlining its plan to submit a memorandum with over 5 crore signatures to President Droupadi Murmu on November 8 for seeking urgent corrective action.

K. C. Venugopal, General Secretary, AICC, (Organisation), in a statement, said that so far over 5 crore signatures have been collected nationwide – a powerful testimony to the anger, apprehension, and deep concern among citizens about the “naked murder of democracy through manipulative practices such as duplicate voting, fake voter entries, and fraudulent addresses in the electoral rolls”.

Highlighting the party’s “Vote Chor Gaddi Chod” campaign, Venugopal said through the signature campaign the public has made five clear and democratic demands from the Election Commission of India: Prosecute officials and agents involved in systematic voter suppression; publish a machine-readable voter list with photographs for public scrutiny; release all deletion and addition lists with photographs before every election; establish a grievance redressal mechanism for wrongful deletions and announce a clear cut-off date for voter list changes, avoiding last-minute manipulations.

The Congress General Secretary said the party has been consistently raising concerns about electoral roll manipulation and large-scale electoral fraud undermining the sanctity of the democratic process.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly exposed the dangerous “vote chori” orchestrated by the BJP in collusion with the Election Commission of India, a direct assault on the people’s mandate, he said.

As part of the Congress party’s nationwide movement to defend democracy, the party launched the “Vote Chor Gaddi Chod” Signature Campaign, a mass public outreach and door-to-door initiative to mobilise citizens against electoral fraud, he said.

Beginning on September 15, 2025, following the successful culmination of the “Vote Chor Gaddi Chod” state-level rallies (August 22 – September 7), the campaign has seen participation from lakhs of citizens across districts, blocks, and mandals, said Venugopal.

Party functionaries, community leaders, professionals, and a large number of the public have joined hands to register their protest against the ongoing subversion of democratic norms, he said.

In the meeting of General Secretaries, In-Charges, and PCC Presidents held on Wednesday, it was unanimously decided that the first phase of the campaign will culminate with flag-off events at all State Headquarters on November 8, he said.

These programmes will be attended by senior leaders and party functionaries, symbolising the collective unity and determination of the Congress Party in this national struggle to safeguard democracy, said the Congress General Secretary.

After the culmination of events, all collected signatures will be dispatched to the AICC Headquarters, and in the next phase, the Congress Party will continue gathering more signatures from citizens across India, he said..

“Ultimately, these signatures – representing millions of voices – will be submitted to the President of India, demanding urgent corrective action,” he said.

Venugopal said that the “Vote Chor Gaddi Chod” campaign is not just a political movement – it is a citizens’ movement demanding accountability, transparency, and restoration of faith in the electoral process.

“The Congress Party stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of India in this collective call to protect the soul of our democracy,” he said.