GRAP-IV, or the fourth stage of anti-pollution measures in effect for Delhi and the National Capital Region, will remain in force for the next 72 hours, the Supreme Court said Friday, with the AQI in the city and surrounding areas at 371, or still in the ‘very poor’ category, this morning.

The court also underlined its intention to retain control of dropping down a level, or even two, in the GRAP, or Graded Response Action Plan, hierarchy; Justice Abhay S Oka said, “What we are suggesting is this… on Monday we will examine compliance (of its orders by the Delhi government)… and then we will consider whether to bring it down from GRAP-IV to GRAP-II.”

Further, the court also proposed the government post police personnel at the 113 checkpoints on the city’s borders to monitor entry of trucks into the national capital region. Under GRAP-IV trucks and commercial vehicles carrying non-essential goods and services are banned from entering the capital, but questions have been raised about the enforcement of this ban.

The court said, “Tell us how you (the Delhi government) are stopping entry of trucks? We want a team of experts to monitor entry of trucks into the NCR and then we will take a call.”

It dismissed as “arbitrary” the Delhi government’s plea it had, in fact, done just that, observing, “This is meaningless if you’re not providing the list of the entry points. It cannot be verified.”

An Indian fishing vessel with a crew of 13 collided with an Indian Naval submarine near the Goa coast, officials said today.

A massive search and rescue operation has been launched by the Indian Navy, which has deployed six ships and aircraft. While 11 crew have been rescued, two are still missing.

The vessel, Marthoma, collided with a Scorpene-class submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast, the Ministry of Defence said in an official statement.

“Search and rescue efforts for the remaining two are underway and are being coordinated with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC). Additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts,” the statement read.

“The cause of the incident is being investigated,” it added.

Scorpene-Class Submarines

Scorpene-class submarines are a key part of India’s naval power in the Indian Ocean as they can undertake multifarious types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.

The state-of-the-art technology utilised for the construction of the Scorpene-class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons.

The attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on the surface.

Holly Bowles died in hospital more than a week after first falling ill in a Laos tourist town. 

​Holly Bowles died in hospital more than a week after first falling ill in a Laos tourist town.