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Saturday,22-November-2025
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Delhi CM bans firecrackers on Diwali to fight pollution

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 In a move to fight pollution, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced a complete ban on the storage, sale and usage of firecrackers for the third year in a row.

“In view of the dangerous level of pollution during Diwali in Delhi witnessed in the last three years, we are again imposing a complete ban on the storage, sale and usage of any kind of firecracker to save people’s lives,” Kejriwal tweeted, appealing traders to avoid buying or keeping stocks of crackers this year.

The decision has been made keeping Delhi traders in mind as last year the same announcement at the eleventh hour had left many sellers in confusion for they had already purchased huge stocks weeks ahead of the festival.

With the onset of winter, the capital starts gasping for fresh air as pollution level due to burning of crop-residue in the neighbouring states of UP, Punjab and Haryana starts during the same time. Bursting of firecrackers adds to the problem, leaving the air highly toxic and its citizens with severe breathing problems for at least a week.

Only recently, the chief minister, citing a WAPCOS report, urged the central government to encourage farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana to use a Pusa-made bio-decomposer which will resolve the issue of stubble-burning by proving a greener and better alternative to get rid of crop residue.

Other than that, the Delhi government is also working on a Winter Action Plan. All the departments from environment to transport to MCDs have been asked to come up with a plan by September 21 so that a conclusion can be reached by this month end.

National News

Mega Block On Sunday, 23-11-2025: Mumbai Local Train Services To Be Affected On CR’s Main Line, No Block On Harbour & Trans-Harbour Line; Check Details

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Mumbai, Nov 22: Central Railway, Mumbai Division will operate Mega Block on its main line suburban sections to carry out various engineering and maintenance works on Sunday, 23th November.

UP and DOWN FAST Lines between Thane and Kalyan stations from 10.40 am to 3.40 pm

Down Fast/Semi-Fast local services departing CSMT Mumbai from 09.34 am to 15

3.03 pm will be diverted on Down Slow line between Thane and Kalyan stations halting at Kalva, Mumbra and Diva stations in addition to their respective scheduled halts and will arrive destination 10 minutes later than their scheduled arrival.

Up Fast/Semi-fast services departing Kalyan from 10.28 am to 3.40 pm will be diverted on Up Slow line between Kalyan and Thane stations halting at Diva, Mumbra and Kalva stations in addition to their respective scheduled halts and further re-diverted on Up Fast line at Mulund station and will arrive destination 10 minutes later than their scheduled arrival.

Down Mail/Express trains departing CSMT/Dadar will be diverted on 5th line between Thane and Kalyan stations.

Up Mail/Express trains arriving CSMT/Dadar will be diverted on 6th line between Kalyan and Thane/ Vikhroli stations.

There will be no Mega block on Harbour line & Trans-Harbour line-Only special traffic block between Belapur & Panvel.

According to Railway, these maintenance mega blocks are essential for infrastructure upkeep and safety. Passengers are requested to bear with the Railway Administration for the inconvenience caused.

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Navi Mumbai: Overturned Tar Tanker Causes Traffic Snarl On Nerul–Uran Road; Cleared After 12 Hours

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Navi Mumbai, Nov 22: After close to 12 hours of operation, the tanker filled with tar that overturned on Friday was finally cleared from the Nerul–Uran road, bringing relief to thousands of motorists who were stuck in day-long congestion.

The tanker, carrying highly flammable liquid bitumen from Chembur to Uran, had overturned near Ekta Vihar Society around 6.30 am, choking traffic on the busy stretch for several hours. Although police managed to allow movement through a single lane, vehicles headed towards Uran crawled through the day, leaving commuters frustrated.

According to officials, the driver lost control of the tanker, causing it to topple in the middle of the road. Senior Police Inspector Pramod Bhosale of the Belapur Traffic Division and his team rushed to the spot along with the fire brigade soon after the accident.

With the bitumen inside the tanker at a temperature of nearly 180°C, there was a significant risk of ignition, prompting the fire brigade to launch cooling operations and prevent any spillage on the road. The tar was carefully transferred to another tanker over several hours.

By around 5 pm, a crane was used to lift and remove the overturned vehicle, allowing authorities to restore normal traffic flow, Bhosale said.

The Nerul–Uran route, which sees heavy movement of JNPT-bound trucks as well as routine traffic to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters, remained clogged for most of the day. Many motorists were stuck in long queues, bearing the brunt of the prolonged congestion caused by the accident.

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Business

New labour codes to boost formalisation, gender parity of India’s workforce: Industry leaders

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New Delhi, Nov 22: India’s top industry bodies and staffing leaders on Saturday labelled the implementation of the Four Labour Codes a landmark step toward formalising the workforce, expanding social security, and aligning India’s labour framework with global standards.

The India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) said the reforms would significantly benefit the high-technology sectors by enhancing workforce stability, improving safety standards, and enabling labour flexibility with social protection.

“Mandatory appointment letters, universal minimum wages, and pan-India social security coverage (including ESIC expansion) ensure greater formalisation. This strengthens worker confidence — critical for skill-intensive manufacturing such as fabs, ATMP, component manufacturing and design centres,” said Ashok Chandak, President, IESA and SEMI India.

Provisions for fixed-term employment, faster dispute resolution, single licensing, and simplified compliance directly support the scaling of high-tech manufacturing clusters, the statement said.

Meanwhile, parity of benefits for Fixed-Term Employees (FTE) and expanded social security protections ensure a balanced, worker-centric ecosystem, he added.

Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services, a technology and digital talent provider, said the reforms were long overdue for India’s gig economy and will offer protection to a fast-growing but previously unorganised workforce.

The new laws are also expected to promote gender parity in the workforce by opening doors to wider opportunities across diverse sectors. Additionally, other groups such as”

He also pointed out that new laws will promote gender parity and contract workers, youth workers, and fixed-term employees will benefit from clearer working-hour norms, expanded social security, minimum wage protections, and health benefits.

“By simplifying compliance and unifying the regulatory framework, the codes can significantly expand formal employment, bringing millions of workers, especially in industries that rely on contract, temporary, and project-based roles, into the fold of structured, protected work,” said Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services.

“National floor minimum wage creates a consistent benchmark across states and is an important step in India’s evolution from a minimum-wage economy to a living-wage economy,” he noted.

Suchita Dutta, Executive Director of Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), said the codes simplify compliance for employers, reduce regulatory burdens, and foster a more flexible hiring environment — crucial for the staffing industry, which has long advocated for such changes to unlock formal job creation.

The government, on November 21, implemented the Four Labour Codes — the Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Code on Social Security (2020), and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code (2020) — repealing and rationalising 29 existing central labour laws.

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