Stringent anti-pollution measure GRAP-4 has been revoked in Delhi and the neighbouring region amid a dip in pollution levels. The air quality index or AQI of Delhi has been “continuously improving” since morning, said the committee on GRAP curbs. At 5 PM, the AQI was “very poor” at 364, which is 36 points below the limits decided by the Supreme Court for invoking Stage-4.

Curbs under Stages 1, 2 and 3, however, will remain in force to prevent any further worsening of the air quality, said the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). “Actions under Stage I, II, and III of the revised GRAP shall remain invoked and be implemented, monitored, and reviewed by all the agencies concerned in the entire NCR to ensure that the AQI levels do not slip further,” the commission said in its order.

Stage-4 curbs under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) were reimposed, nearly 10 days after the measures were eased to Stage-2, in the national capital and its adjoining areas last week (December 16) when it breached the 400 mark. 

The AQI is likely to remain in the “very poor” category in the coming days due to favourable meteorological conditions and wind speed, according to the air quality and weather forecast provided by the India Meteorological Department and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

Measures under GRAP-4 include a ban on all construction activities, entry of non-essential polluting trucks into Delhi and mandatory shifting of school classes, except for classes 10 and 12, to hybrid mode.

The Graded Response Action Plan is a set of emergency measures implemented in the national capital region to battle air pollution based on the severity of the Air Quality Index.

Every year, Delhi sees a dip in the air quality with dipping temperatures due to low wind speeds, vehicle emissions and the burning of crop remains and firewood.

Recently, the Delhi government imposed a round-the-year ban on firecrackers which led the Supreme Court to direct Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to enforce a similar move.

Unseen footage from Hyderabad’s Sandhya Theatre – where a stampede December 4, as actor Allu Arjun‘s ‘Pushpa 2: The Rise‘ was being screened, killed a young mother and critically injured her eight-year-old child – shows the confusion and chaos that prevailed that night.

The 14-second clip doesn’t have audio but shows a crowd pushing and shoving as they funnel through a doorway. The metal gates on either side are literally torn from their hinges. The ground is littered with pieces of paper and plastic water bottles stomped on by the surging mob.

The timestamp on the video is around 9.15 pm, which is 15 minutes before Allu Arjun arrived – unannounced, according to the police – at the theatre. News of the actor’s arrival, the cops have alleged, led to the stampede as adoring fans fell over each other to get a glimpse of the actor.

In the crush that followed Revathi, 35, was killed and her eight-year-old son, Sri Tej, was left critically injured. Mr Arjun, 41, was arrested nine days after the tragic incident.

A lower court sent him to judicial custody for 14 days but, in a cinema-like twist, a few hours later the Telangana High Court granted interim bail, underscoring the actor’s right to liberty.

Mr Arjun spent the night in jail anyway because the court’s order came late.

Out on bail, the actor was summoned today to join the police investigation. He did so, appearing at the city’s Chikkadpally Police Station for a nearly four-hour question session.

Among the questions thrown at him by the police were:

• Did you know police permission had been denied for you to come to the premiere?
• Who took the call to proceed with the plan (for the actor to attend the special screening) despite denial of police permission?
• Did any police officer inform you about the stampede outside?
• When did you know about the death of the woman?

READ | “Did You Know…”: What Cops Asked Allu Arjun In ‘Pushpa 2’ Stampede Case

The actor and his security team, and the theatre owner, general and security managers have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. 

On his part, Allu Arjun has rejected allegations he was responsible for the stampede and the death of the woman. On Saturday, he told reporters the incident was “very unfortunate” and criticised what he called “misinformation” and “character assassination” against him.

READ | “Misinformation, Character Assassination”: Actor Allu Arjun On Stampede Row

Public sentiment, though, has been divided; on Sunday there was a protest outside his home.

A mob barged in and vandalised parts of the compound; they broke flower pots and threw tomatoes at the building. The protesters, reportedly university students, also shouted slogans till they were ejected.

The world’s largest airline operator, American Airlines, resumed operations in the United States on Christmas Eve after a brief pause due to an unspecified technical glitch. The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the ground stop of American Airlines after halting operations.

The disruption, which lasted over an hour, affected thousands of passengers in the US during the Christmas period when air travel is at its peak.

“Our teams are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible, and we apologize to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline earlier said while responding to a passenger’s complaint on X.

Announcements were made at airports when passengers were ready to board the flights. A video from an airport in the US showed the airline informing passengers that “They will give an update every 15 minutes and let them know what is going on…Our system is down and we cannot put the crew on or board any customer…We are working on it.”

Announcement from American Airlines as we wait at @FLLFlyer @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/zL4137ih4g

— Anna McAllister (@annamactv) December 24, 2024

The problem came on the morning of Christmas Eve, which is expected to set a travel record, according to the AAA. Several passengers posted on social media about the inconvenience faced, especially at the airport as flights were cancelled or grounded hours before the scheduled take off.

A note from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the company has requested for grounding of all flights.

The shares of the carrier were down 3.8% before the bell, Reuters reported. The airline has not made any formal statement on social media but responded to passenger complaints on X, Facebook and Bluesky.

This comes almost six months after the world faced a Microsoft outage, with airlines, banks, and businesses scrambling to resume operations.

The US grounded all planes briefly; flights in other nations were affected. It was one of the biggest IT crashes in recent history, affecting global communication and air traffic.