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Schools in Delhi shut down till further orders due to pollution

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Due to ‘very poor’ air quality, all schools in Delhi will remain closed from December 3 onwards till further order, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Thursday.

Earlier on November 13, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced to shut down physical classes in schools for a week, adding that education will continue in virtual mode. After a gap of almost two weeks, all schools in the national capital were reopening on November 29.

This move of the Delhi government came after the Supreme Court of India gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the Centre, Delhi and its neighbouring states to act against rising air pollution. Despite the ban, CBSE exams would go ahead with necessary precautions and safety measures.

The state government took a similar decision on Monday when it announced a blanket ban on all the construction and demolition (C&D) activities in the city until further orders. Besides, the entry of non-CNG and non-electric trucks from outside of Delhi was also prohibited on the same date till December 7 to reduce vehicular emission.

While stubble burning in the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab is reported to be a major source of pollution in the capital, dust from the construction and demolition activities, vehicular emission and pollution from open burning contribute as the city’s own source of pollution.

On Thursday, Delhi’s overall AQI at 9.30 a.m. stood at 382 with the level of PM2.5 and PM10 standing at 227 and 401, respectively, as per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR).

According to the Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the air quality is likely to remain in the ‘Very Poor’ category on December 3 and December 4. “Winds are likely to remain slow/calm during December 3 to 5 which are unfavourable for dispersion of pollutants. The Outlook for subsequent five days: The air quality is likely to remain in Very Poor category with PM2.5 to be the predominant pollutant,” It added.

Maharashtra

Senior IPS Officers Transferred in Maharashtra; Key Changes in Mumbai Police Leadership

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Mumbai: (By Kamar Ansari) In a major reshuffle within the Maharashtra Police, senior IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, whose life inspired the Bollywood film 12th Fail, has been appointed as the new Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Mumbai.

Sharma, a 2005-batch IPS officer, has previously served as DCP Zone-1 and Additional Commissioner of Police (West Region) in Mumbai. He has also served with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). His appointment is being seen as a significant move in strengthening Mumbai’s law and order administration.

In another key transfer, Anil Kumbhare, who was serving as Joint CP (Traffic), has been appointed as the new Joint Commissioner of Police of the Crime Branch, Mumbai.

Senior IPS officer Rajesh Pradhan of the 2003 batch will now head the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Mumbai.

Meanwhile, 2004-batch IPS officer Sussairaj Jayakumar, who was serving as Joint CP (Administration), Mumbai, has been appointed as the new Special Inspector General of Force-1, Maharashtra. Jayakumar has earlier served in Mumbai Police as DCP, Additional CP and Joint CP, and began his policing career as ASP in Malegaon.

Another senior officer, Satya Narayan Chaudhary, who was serving as Joint CP (Law and Order), has now been transferred as Joint CP (Traffic), Mumbai.

Additionally, 2004-batch IPS officer Pravin Padwal, who was serving as IG (Training), has been appointed as Inspector General of Police, Nashik Range.

The reshuffle is considered an important administrative move aimed at strengthening policing, crime control, traffic management and internal administration across Mumbai and Maharashtra Police departments.

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Maharashtra

Maha Vikas Aghadi should form a task force to revise voter lists in Maharashtra on the model of Bengal: Raees Sheikh

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Mumbai: A day after the Election Commission announced the Comprehensive Audit of Voter Lists (SIR) in Maharashtra, Samajwadi Party MLA from Bhiwandi East Raees Sheikh has urged Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders to form a state-level task force to monitor the process and take steps to ensure that the incident of voter exclusion in West Bengal does not repeat itself. The SIR process led to the defeat of the Trinamool Congress in Bengal.

In a letter to Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) state president Shashi Kant Shinde, MLA Raees Sheikh said that the Maha Vikas Aghadi should constitute a task force to guide voters, train Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and coordinate with the Election Commission. The SIR process in Bihar and West Bengal has resulted in the exclusion of a large number of voters, especially voters from tribal, Dalit, minority and weaker sections. 68 lakh voters in Bihar and 91 lakh voters in West Bengal have been excluded in this process. Maharashtra may face a similar situation if opposition parties do not take timely action. “In the recent West Bengal assembly elections, BJP won 95 seats while Trinamool Congress won 51 seats in constituencies where 25,000 voters were excluded during the SIR process, leading to TMC’s defeat,” MLA Raees Sheikh claimed. He added that under the SIR initiative, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit voters’ homes between June 30 and July 29. “Voters will need help in completing the necessary documents, understanding the new voter registration process and the objection registration process. Booth Level Officers (BLAs) of all the allied parties and coordinating with the state Chief Electoral Officer and the Central Election Commission. Maha Vikas Aghadi must take immediate steps in this regard. Otherwise we will not be able to stop the ruling party’s vote rigging. The proposed state-level task force should include representatives of all allies in the alliance.”

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Maharashtra

Joint site inspection to be conducted to effectively implement mosquito control measures, Ashwini Bhide directs

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Various agencies in Mumbai should cooperate in providing access to the Pest Control Department team during site visits in mosquito control measures. Mosquito control measures should be effectively implemented by providing necessary support to the Pest Control Department in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation area. Besides, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ashwini Bhide directed that the objective should be to reduce the number of patients through preventive measures against monsoon diseases by the Municipal Corporation.

A review meeting of the Mosquito Control Committee was held at the Municipal Corporation Headquarters today (14 May 2026) under the chairmanship of Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide.

. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Western Suburbs) Dr. Vipin Sharma, Deputy Commissioner (Municipal Commissioner’s Office) Prashant Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner (Public Health) Sharad Uday, Executive Health Officer Dr. Daksha Shah, Pesticide Officer Amrit Suryavanshi were present in the meeting along with representatives of various government and semi-government organizations of Mumbai. Senior officers and representatives of government, semi-government organizations from Central Public Works Department, Mahada, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Mumbai Port Trust, Navy, Air Force, BEST, Postal Department, Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Dairy Department, Mahavataran, LIC, Airport Authority, Public Works Department, NTC attended the meeting. Obstacles in the access of the pest control team to places like dilapidated buildings, grassy areas, mill plots and containment areas of various agencies should be removed. There is a need to take mosquito control measures here with joint efforts. This will make it possible to control the increasing number of patients due to monsoon diseases. It has been observed that mosquito control measures have not been implemented for 6,160 water tanks in the premises of 21 agencies in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation area. A joint inspection visit should be organized in collaboration with the Pesticides Department of Mumbai Municipal Corporation and various agencies. Mumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ashwini Bhide directed that various agencies should make joint efforts to implement preventive measures at mosquito breeding sites by May 31, 2026.

Training of over 5000 personnel at construction sites completed
Large-scale reconstruction of buildings is underway in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation area. Security officers and workers are being trained to implement mosquito control measures at construction project sites. More than 5000 personnel have been trained in mosquito control measures in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation area. A WhatsApp group has also been created for communication and coordination between security officers and the pest control department. As part of the monsoon measures, the pest control department has been conducting a drive since February to personally visit various establishments and inspect the covers installed on water tanks. During the inspection, it was observed that the covers of the water tanks were not in good condition and were not installed properly. It was also found that the work of removing obstructions and materials has not been completed. Engineering measures need to be implemented at some places. Various government and semi-government institutions have been directed to implement mosquito control measures before the monsoon through site visit campaigns. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has directed that the mosquito control measures should be completed in a planned manner by 31 May 2026 through a joint campaign.

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