As the mercury dips in Madhya Pradesh, the air quality in Bhopal and surrounding areas has been worsening continuously for the last ten days as the AQI crossed the 300 mark, putting it in the ‘very poor’ category.

Winter is making its presence felt in Madhya Pradesh with night temperatures in several parts dipping below 10 degree Celsius.

The minimum temperature in the capital city Bhopal was 11 degree Celsius, three degrees below the normal mark on Wednesday.

As always, the state's only hill station, Pachmarhi recorded the lowest temperature at 7.8 degree Celsius on Wednesday.

Temperatures in Shajapur, Shivpuri and Rajgarh were also recorded between 8.7 degree Celsius and 9.6 degree Celsius.

The Delhi-Darbhanga Special Train (number 04068) got derailed at Harinagar railway station in Bihar's West Champaran district in the early hours of Thursday.

The incident occurred as the train was entering track No.4 of the station, resulting in four wheels of coach number 153735/GSLRD coming off the tracks. This led to panic among passengers; however, no casualties were reported.

Following the derailment, the down line was temporarily closed, while the up line remained operational. The derailed coach was removed, and after a delay of approximately four hours, the train resumed its journey to Darbhanga around 4 a.m.

Officials from the Samastipur Railway Division confirmed that four wheels of a coach on the Delhi-Darbhanga Special Train derailed at Harinagar railway station on Thursday. Fortunately, no injuries were reported among the passengers.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday was conducting raids at multiple places in the Jammu division of J&K, said officials here, adding that the action is being taken as part of probe in fresh cases registered by the agency.

Sleuths of the NIA assisted by CRPF and J&K Police started the raids at over a dozen places in Doda, Udhampur, Kishtwar and Reasi districts.

Official sources said these raids are being carried out in connection with new cases registered by NIA pertaining to over-ground workers (OGWs) of terrorist outfits and recent cases of infiltration into the union territory from across the border.

The OGWs are unarmed over-ground workers of terrorist outfits that provide logistic support to the terrorists. These otherwise unarmed civilians work as the eyes and ears of the terrorists. They provide information about the movement of the army, security forces and police to the terrorists.

A layer of smog blanketed Delhi on Thursday morning, as the air quality index (AQI) was at 389 at 7.15 a.m., falling into the "very poor" category. However, some areas continued to have severe air pollution levels.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data, in 12 areas of Delhi, the AQI level remained between 400 and 500. It was 408 in Alipur, 405 in Anand Vihar, 414 in Ashok Vihar, 418 in Bawana, 401 in Dwarka Sector 8, 435 in Jahangirpuri, 413 in Mundka, 411 in Nehru Nagar, 407 in Punjabi Bagh, 407 in Rohini, 412 in Shadipur, and Wazirpur remains at 436 level.

Whereas in 26 areas of the national capital, the AQI level remained above 300 and between 400. It was 369 in Aya Nagar, 339 in Chandni Chowk, 343 in Mathura Road, 368 in Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, 360 in DTU, 370 in IGI Airport, 341 in Dilshad Garden, 365 in ITO, 354 in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

The air quality in Jaipur on Thursday slipped into the 'very poor' category as the AQI level reached 344 in the Mansarovar area. The air remained in the 'poor' category in other areas of the city where the quality index was over 200.

Besides Jaipur, the air quality index (AQI) stayed 'poor' in other cities of Rajasthan like Jhalawar, Sikar, Sawai Madhopur and Sri Ganganagar.

On Thursday, Jhalawar had 245 AQI, Sikar had 279, Sawai Madhopur had 204, Tonk had 324 and Sri Ganganagar had 242. Kota in Shrinath Puram had an AQI level of 294, said Central Pollution Control Board officials.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), an AQI is considered "poor" between '200 and 300', "very poor" at '301 and 400', "severe" at '401-450," and 450 and above is "severe plus".

In a significant haul of drugs in Mizoram, the Assam Rifles and state police jointly seized 28.520 kg of Methamphetamine tablets, 52 grams of Heroin worth Rs 85.95 crore and a foreign Pistol in three separate operations on Wednesday in Champhai district, bordering Myanmar.

Assam Rifles sources said that two Myanmar nationals were apprehended with these drugs.

The sources said that acting on secret information, the Assam Rifles troops and Mizoram police in two separate operations seized the drugs from Zokhawthar, a border two along the India-Myanmar frontier.

The Manipur government on Wednesday extended the suspension of mobile internet and data services for three more days in seven trouble-torn districts, while with some improvement in the law and order situation, like the previous day, curfew was relaxed in four Imphal Valley districts for five hours.

Commissioner, Home, N. Ashok Kumar in his order said that in view of the prevailing law and order situation, the government has decided to extend the suspension of mobile internet and data services for three more days in seven trouble-torn districts with effect from 5.15 p.m. on Wednesday to 5.15 p.m. on Saturday. The seven districts, comprising both the valley and hills, are Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Kangpokpi, and Churachandpur.

After the widespread violence and attacks by mobs started in valley districts including Imphal East and Imphal West on November 16 following the recovery of six bodies of missing three children and three women in Jiribam district on November 15 and 16, Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi on November 16 ordered the suspension of mobile internet and data services in these seven districts for two days.

The Char Dham yatra created a record of sorts with an astounding turnout of more than 47 lakh devotees this year. Besides this, the Yatra is hogging the headlines for yet another reason – for earning Rs 8 lakh from the disposal of inorganic waste during the pilgrimage season.

The Badrinath Nagar Panchayat undertook an extensive cleaning drive to restore the cleanliness and sanctity of the shrine by cleaning its premises as well as the surroundings, ahead of its closure during the winter.

A dedicated team of 50 Paryavaran Mitra carried out the operation, collecting 1.5 tonnes of waste from prominent areas such as Brahm Kapal, Astha Path, Tapt Kund, Main Bazaar, and Mana village. The initiative reaffirmed the commitment of local authorities to preserving the sanctity and cleanliness of the revered Char Dham pilgrimage site.

Six landmines, planted along the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K’s Poonch district, exploded in a forest fire on Wednesday, officials said, adding the blaze, which originated from the other side could be a "deliberate attempt" to cripple the defence system to enable an infiltration bid by terrorists.

The six landmines were part of an anti-infiltration obstacle system, the officials said.

"The forest fire started from across the border in the afternoon and spread to this side of the LoC in the forward areas of Krishna Ghati sector of Mendhar sub-division. Six blasts were heard at regular intervals over the past few hours after the fire activated the landmines, but there was no report of any casualty. Efforts are on to control the flames, the cause of which is yet to be clearly ascertained," an official said.

"A deliberate attempt from across the border to harm the anti-infiltration obstacle system cannot be ruled out. Army is on high alert to foil any attempt of infiltration by terrorists," the official said.

A woman (22) ended her life by jumping into a well in the Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh, an official said.

Police officials said that they recovered the body on Tuesday and initiated a probe.

The victim was pursuing her graduation from a government college in Jaisingh Nagar in the district.