Kolkata, April 17: A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Thursday, permitted a non-government organisation (NGO) to visit the communal violence-hit Murshidabad and distribute relief material among the affected people.

While granting permission to the NGO christened ‘Khola Hawa (Open Air)’, which was earlier denied permission by the district administration, the single-judge bench of Justice Amrita Sinha observed that there was no rule that organisations other than government bodies would not have permission to distribute relief materials at any place.

She also observed that the existing law and order problem could not be an excuse for denying permission, since the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) were already posted in Murshidabad.

The NGO approached the bench of Justice Sinha after the Murshidabad district magistrate denied permission for its members to visit the troubled spots in the district to distribute relief there. Parts of Murshidabad district in West Bengal have been on the boil last week after protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent.

In the petition, the NGO alleged that while the district administration was allowing different political parties to reach the troubled spots with relief materials, the permission to the organisation was deliberately denied.

The matter came up for hearing on Thursday afternoon. The counsel for the NGO argued that there was no reason for the district magistrate to deny the permission since the state Director General of Police had already claimed that the situation at Murshidabad was currently more or less normal. “The NGO members want to go there to distribute relief items like tarpaulin, food, and medicines to those affected,” the counsel of Khola Hawa argued.

Although the state government opposed the arguments, Justice Sinha finally accepted the argument of the counsel of Khola Hawa and permitted the NGO to visit the troubled spots and distribute relief items there.

However, she maintained that only three members of a relief team should visit any troubled spot at a time for the time being. At the same time, these three team members would have to inform the district magistrate at least 24 hours in advance about their visit. The visiting team members, as per the court order, should also not make any provocative statements during the process of relief distribution that might trigger tension in the area again.

Mumbai, April 17: Music maestro A.R. Rahman, currently preparing for his ambitious “Wonderment” tour, has admitted that news and rumours about him do take a toll on his mental well-being. In an exclusive conversation with Media, A.R. Rahman opened up about his preparation for the ‘Wonderment’ tour, the use of AI in music, his mental state, and much more.

When asked, “Music requires a happy state of mind, do news and rumours about you that circulate everywhere affect you?”

Rahman replied, “I think every artist goes through this. Sometimes they are in a very, very sad state, and they have to do ‘Chhaiya Chhaiya’ or ‘Hamma Hamma’. You can’t say I’m not in the mood. They will go to somebody else. Sometimes you are very happy, and they want you to do the saddest song. You should be ready for it. In music, you have to be in a very neutral condition. You are almost like an actor. You are sad inside but you have to play happy.”

When further inquired , “But as an artist and as a human being, does it really affect you when you read so much about yourself.” Opening about it Rahman quipped, ‘It does, It does affect but it’s part of the game. The ups and downs.”

For the unversed, A.R. Rahman’s wife announced her divorce with him in the month of November 2024. Soon a social media post went viral accusing Rahman of having an extra-marital affair with one of his band members which led Rahman to issue a statement. He also announced to take a legal action against those spreading defamatory news about him.

Further during the conversation, A.R. also spoke about his health and shared a message with his fans stating “Thank you for all the love. Sorry to have scared you. The hospital gave something which went viral. I am here healthy with all your prayers and love. See you on the 3rd at D.Y. Patil stadium.”

In the month of March, A.R. Rahman was admitted to the hospital in Chennai due to chest pain.

Mumbai: The city woke up to sunny skies in the morning on Saturday. Mumbai witnessed partially cloudy mornings with rains for the past few days, which resulted in improving the atmosphere’s air quality. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) however predicted clear sunny skies in the city and suburbs in the morning today.

The weather agency also predicted that the city and suburbs will continue to see sunny skies towards the afternoon and by the evening. The temperatures on Saturday are likely to be between 26°C to 31°C.

Mumbai’s temperature on Saturday morning was recorded at 28°C while the humidity was 67%.

Mumbai AQI

As per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the AQI in Mumbai is currently in the ‘satisfactory’ category, with a reading of 78.

For context, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 is ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.

AQI Of Different Areas In Mumbai

Colaba: 58 AQI Satisfactory

Andheri: 56 AQI Satisfactory

Malad: 98 AQI Satisfactory

BKC: 103 AQI Moderate

Borivali: 84 AQI Satisfactory

Mazagaon: 75 AQI Satisfactory

Worli: 47 AQI Satisfactory

Navi Mumbai: 89 AQI Satisfactory