Mumbai: Mumbai woke up on Thursday to a winter chill, greeted by clear blue skies, light winds and a crisp coolness in the air. For many residents, the morning brought a refreshing break from the city’s usually warm and humid conditions. However, beneath the pleasant weather lingered a thin layer of haze, reflecting an ongoing environmental challenge that continues to plague the city, its steadily worsening air quality.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Thursday was expected to remain pleasant throughout the day, with temperatures ranging between a minimum of around 15°C and a maximum of 32°C. While these conditions offered comfort, the city’s air quality told a different story. Mumbai’s Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 144 early morning, as recorded by AQI.in, placing it firmly in the ‘poor’ category.

This level, though slightly better than last month’s alarming figures, is still unhealthy, especially for sensitive groups. Massive government-led projects such as metro lines, bridges, coastal road stretches and large-scale road widening, coupled with a surge in private construction, continue to throw up dust and fine particulate matter into the air.

Several pockets across the city emerged as major pollution hotspots. The Wadala Truck Terminal registered a shockingly high AQI of 368, categorised as ‘severe’, indicating dangerously polluted air that can pose serious health risks even to healthy individuals.

In Deonar and Bandra, AQI levels stood at 197 and 187, respectively, both marked as ‘poor’. Other areas, including Worli (180) and Chembur (177), also recorded air quality in the poor range, reflecting how both commercial hubs and residential areas remain heavily affected.

Suburban pockets showed comparatively cleaner air, though still not ideal. Govandi (63), Kandivali East (67) and Charkop (85) fell under the ‘moderate’ category, indicating that while the air is acceptable, pollution levels remain evident. Powai (123) and Juhu (127) also landed in the moderate bracket.

For reference, AQI values between 0–50 are Good, 51–100 Moderate, 101–150 Poor, 151–200 Unhealthy, and above 200 Hazardous.

Mumbai, Dec 10: The Mumbai Airport Customs in 15 cases over the past eight days have seized smuggled drugs worth ₹43 crore, gold worth ₹1.51 crore and diamonds valued at ₹87 lakh.

According to the Customs, during December 03 till December 10 they detected ten cases of smuggling of hydroponic weed.

“Based on spot profiling, a total of 37.26 kg of suspected hydroponic weed valued at approximately ₹37.26 crore in the illicit market were recovered under seven cases from nine passengers who had arrived from Bangkok via various flights and were arrested under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act,” said a Customs officer.

“The modus operandi used by the accused in these cases were that the passengers attempted to smuggle hydroponic weed by concealing the contraband inside the trolley bags and using the baggage tags of another flight to avoid detection by Customs Officers. In some cases, the passengers attempted to smuggle hydroponic weed by concealing the contraband inside the lumps of tamarind to avoid detection,” the officer said.

In three other cases, based on specific intelligence, a total of 6 kg of suspected hydroponic weed, valued at approximately ₹6 crore in the illicit market were recovered from three passengers who had arrived from Bangkok via various flights and were arrested under the provisions of the NDPS Act.

“Other than the NDPS cases, four gold smuggling cases were booked in which a total of 1,256 grams of gold valued at ₹1.51 crore were recovered and seized from four passengers. In one case, diamonds valued at ₹87.75 lakh were recovered and seized from one passenger,” the officer said.

Nagpur: In yet another success to the Maharashtra government’s campaign to end left-wing extremism, 11 CPI (Maoist) commanders and cadres carrying a cumulative bounty of ₹82 lakh surrendered before the Gadchiroli police on Wednesday morning in the presence of Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla.

The surrendered group includes several high-ranking leaders — Divisional Committee Members, Platoon Committee Members and Area Committee Members — marking one of the most significant mass surrenders in recent years. Security was tightened at the venue as four of the Maoists arrived armed and in full uniform.

Among those who surrendered were Ramesh alias Baju Lekami and Bhima alias Kiran Hidma Kowasi, both Divisional Committee Members of the banned outfit. Senior Platoon Committee members Poriya alias Lucky Adama Gota, Ratan alias Sanna Masu Oyam, and Kamala alias Rago Iriya Veladi also laid down arms. Others include Poriya alias Kumari Bhima Veladi, Ramji alias Mura Lachhu Pungati, Sonu Podiyam alias Ajay, Prakash alias Pandu Pungati, Sita alias Jaini Tonde Pallo, and Sainath Shankar Made.

Local officials believe the surrender has delivered a major blow to Maoist operations across the Dandakaranya region, spanning Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana. The event was attended by Additional Director General (Special Actions) Dr Tshering Dorje, DIG Ankit Goyal, DIG (CRPF) Ajay Kumar Sharma and Superintendent of Police Neelotpal.

Wednesday’s surrender is being hailed as one of the biggest successes for Gadchiroli police since Bhupathi alias Mallojula Venugopal Rao, a Politburo member of the CPI (Maoist), surrendered before Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on October 15 along with 60 others.

“This is the beginning of the end of Naxalism in Gadchiroli. We are committed to the Union government’s deadline of March 31, 2026, to eliminate leftwing extremism from India,” DGP Rashmi Shukla said, adding that over 100 Maoists have surrendered in Gadchiroli district this year.