The weather bureau has stated the possibility of heavy to very heavy accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in isolated pockets of the districts. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)Mumbai News Highlights (September 7): Amid heavy rains lashing the city, IMD Mumbai has sounded an orange alert in Mumbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar, Raigad and Ratnagiri for today, in its most recent bulletin. The weather bureau has stated the possibility of heavy to very heavy accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in isolated pockets of the districts. Owing to heavy rains and subsequent water logging, Andheri Subway was shut at 1.40 pm on Friday.
In other news, 35 ‘govindas’ were injured during the ‘Dahi Handi’ celebrations in the city, as Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra celebrate Janmashtami on Thursday. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) earlier said that it has kept 125 beds ready at civic hospitals in the city to tackle any untoward incident while people form a human pyramid during the festival.
Activist Manoj Jarange Patil, who is at the forefront of the agitation demanding Maratha reservation, announced on Thursday that hunger strike will continue. Patil has been on hunger strike since August 29 and he welcomed government’s decision. He said that he welcomes the decision of the government to issue the Government Resolution(GR) but there is a need for correction in it and added the strike will continue till then. As the Maratha quota agitation snowballed, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday announced that those in the Maratha community possessing old documents from the Nizam era would receive Kunbi OBC (Other Backward Class) caste certificates.
After nearly a month-long hiatus, rains lashed Mumbai, giving much-needed relief from the rising heat. The island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs recorded average 57.63 mm, 76.94 mm and 90.50 mm rainfall, respectively, between 8 am and 6 pm.
The rains, however, did not dampen the spirits of revellers as Dahi Handi celebrations were witnessed throughout the city. Popular Bollywood songs about the festival blared from speakers at every nook and corner of the city, with the festive spirit particularly high in Marathi-dominated pockets like Parel, Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Bhandup, Mulund, Goregaon and Andheri. On the down side, at least 77 'Govindas' involved in the formation of human pyramids as part of the Dahi Handi celebrations were injured.
Meanwhile, it was an entire festival altogether for fans of Shah Rukh Khan, who gathered as early as 6 am at cinema halls in the city to catch the first day's first show of the film Jawan.
Remains of tram tracks have been found underneath the Electric House depot of the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) in south Mumbai.
Besides corroded iron tracks, a cement concrete structure, possibly a repairing bay, also resurfaced when pits were being dug for setting up charging stations for e-buses earlier this week. The concrete structure consists of a wall on one side and two lines of pillars on the other, resembling a repairing bay for trams or buses.
In 2016, two parallel tram tracks were found when the road was dug up for concretisation near Hutatma Chowk-Flora Fountain.
Tram service was introduced in the island city of Mumbai in 1874, during the British era. Initially the trams were pulled by horses, which were replaced by electric engines in 1907. The tram service finally shut down in 1964 while the local trains became the hallmark of Mumbai's transport system. (PTI)
The police have filed the chargesheet in the murder of a woman whose body parts were boiled in a pressure cooker and roasted by her live-in partner in their rented apartment on the outskirts of Mumbai, sources told PTI.
The court will frame charges against the accused in due course after which the hearing in the case will commence.
The case came to light in the first week of June after neighbours alerted the police about a foul odour coming from a flat where accused Manoj Sane and his live-in partner Saraswati Vaidya (34) lived in Naya Nagar area of Mira Road township in Thane district. After breaking the door open, the police were stunned to discover Vaidya's body parts, some cooked in a pressure cooker and even roasted, inside the flat.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde commitment to provide reservation to Marathas as the state government renewed its appeal to quota activist Manoj Jarange to end his 10-day-old fast launched over the issue in Jalna district.
Sumant Bhange, secretary (services), General Administration Department (GAD), sent a copy of a Government Resolution, dated September 7, on reservation to Jarange, who is on an indefinite fast since August 29 in a village in Jalna seeking quota benefits in education and jobs for Marathas. On behalf of the government, the senior bureaucrat, in a letter, appealed to him to call off his fast.
The GR is on the state cabinet's decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas from the Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis, a move that will allow them to avail quota benefits under the OBC category.
Meanwhile, Jarange said his agitation will continue till the state government relaxes the condition of genealogy while giving Kunbi caste certificate to Maratha community members from Marathwada.
The drought-prone Marathwada region with eight Lok Sabha seats and 46 Assembly seats is crucial for the ruling BJP ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. However, with poor rain in the region coupled with the Maratha quota issue, the region is a cause of serious concern for the ruling coalition led by CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. Read more
Last year, the Nizampura police in Bhiwandi, a city in Mumbai’s neighbouring Thane district, investigated one of their toughest and most challenging cases – one with dramatic twists and turns befitting a crime thriller.
It all began on January 20, 2022, when the Thane police control room received information from a passerby regarding a gunny bag with possible blood stains on it lying under a bridge. A team of Nizampura police officers was dispatched to the location. On opening the gunny bag, the police found the blood-soaked body of a man who seemed to be in his late 40s.
Read the full story here
An NCP MLA from Maharashtra’s Bhandara district has lodged a complaint against a cab driver for giving him death threats during a heated argument over toll payment on the Bandra-Worli sea link. The Vakola police have registered an FIR against the unidentified driver.
Raju Manikraoji Karemore (53), MLA for the Tumsar constituency in the district, arrived at the Mumbai airport from Delhi on Wednesday morning. He booked a cab from the airport’s Terminal 2 to go to Akashwani Amdar Niwas in south Mumbai. Read more
Amid the controversy over 'Santana Dharma' remarks by Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde slammed the opposition alliance INDIA and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray on the matter.
While speaking to the media during Janmashtami celebrations in Tane, CM Eknath Shinde said leader of INDIA bloc have united against Hindus and now their faces against Hinduism have been exposed. The Maha CM alleged that Uddhav Thackeray sold his loyalty and Balasaheb's thoughts for power, and therefore, should not teach loyalty. (ANI)
Nationalist Congress Party working president Supriya Sule on Thursday said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was responsible for the police action on Maratha quota agitators in Jalna on September 1. The Baramati Lok Sabha MP further alleged that the state and Union governments were not serious about reservations for various communities.
Notably, several persons, including 40 police personnel, were injured and 15 state transport buses were set ablaze in violence that started after police sought to shift a person on hunger strike in Antarwali Sarathi in Ambad tehsil in Jalna to hospital. (PTI)
The accused, Rotin Ghosh, allegedly hid himself along with the girl in the bathroom of an outstation train, from where the police arrested him and reunited the girl with her parents on Wednesday. (Read on)
Raigad witnessed a unique 'Dahi Handi' celebration today at Kodoru village in Alibag tehsil. The 'handi' was hanging over a well and required 'govindas' to make a leap to reach it, instead of the customary human pyramid.
A 54-year-old Vile Parle-based doctor lost Rs 7.5 lakh to cyber fraud while he was trying to update his phone number on a mobile application for the stock market. (Find out more)
The Maharashtra government has informed the Bombay High Court that the Vitthal and Rukmini temples in Solapur are open to people of all faiths and that the Pandharpur Temples Act of 1973, under which the government took over their administration, does not impair any devotee’s rights. (Know more)
On the occasion of 'Janmashtami', about 35 'govindas' were injured during the 'Dahi Handi' celebrations in Mumbai. A statement released by the BMC stated that of the total injutred, 22 are currently under treatment in the OPD and are in stable condition, while nine have been discharged. So far, no untoward incident has been reported.
A 15-year-old student in Maharashtra lost his life after he was hit on the head by a javelin thrown by another student during a practice session in Raigad on Wednesday afternoon. (Read further)
Amid heavy rains lashing Mumbai, India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane and Palghar in its latest bulletin. The Met Department forecast the possibility of heavy rainfall in isolated pockets coupled with thunderstorms and lightning. The yellow alert for the Maharashtra capital will remain until tomorrow.
Manoj Jarange Patil, a local Maratha leader who was on hunger strike demanding reservation for Maratha said that he welcomes the decision of the government to issue the Government Resolution(GR) but there is a need of correction in it. Jarange said the strike would continue till then. (Read more)
Dahi Handi celebrations started in Mumbai on Thursday morning with much joy and enthusiasm as thousands of participants and spectators gathered to mark the occasion.
Dahi Handi is part of the Krishna Janmashtami festival, celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna. During the festival, ‘Govindas' or Dahi Handi participants form multi-tiered human pyramids to break 'dahi handis' (earthen pots filled with curd) suspended in the air.
Dahi handis decorated with flowers have been hoisted many feet above the ground at several housing societies, roads, junctions and public grounds across the city. Dressed in colourful attires, Govindas have been visiting these places in trucks, tempos, buses and two-wheelers.
Popular Bollywood songs about the festival are blaring from speakers at every nook and corner of the city, with the festive spirit particularly high in Marathi-dominated pockets like Parel, Lalbaug, Worli, Dadar, Bhandup, Mulund, Goregaon and Andheri.
In recent years, some Dahi Handi events backed by politicians in Mumbai and neighbouring cities have become famous due to hefty prize money, the presence of celebrities and entertainment programmes organised there. These Dahi Handis attract huge crowds and a steady flow of Govindas.
Police officials said they have beefed up the security agreements in the city to avoid any law and order issues during the celebrations. According to a release by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), it has kept 125 beds ready at civic hospitals for the treatment of the Govindas if they get injured after falling while making human pyramids.
The civic body has deputed health officers and staff in three shifts for treatment of the Govinda at the civic hospitals. Besides, these hospitals have been directed to keep injections, medicines and surgery materials ready, the release said. PTI
Last year, the Nizampura police in Bhiwandi, a city in Mumbai’s neighbouring Thane district, investigated one of their toughest and most challenging cases – one with dramatic twists and turns befitting a crime thriller.
It all began on January 20, 2022, when the Thane police control room received information from a passerby regarding a gunny bag with possible blood stains on it lying under a bridge. A team of Nizampura police officers was dispatched to the location. On opening the gunny bag, the police found the blood-soaked body of a man who seemed to be in his late 40s. The body had multiple injuries and was taken to a public hospital for a postmortem.
A murder case was registered against unidentified suspects, and a massive investigation was launched. Read more
Several pockets of Mumbai recorded moderate to heavy spell of rains from early morning on Thursday. The island city recorded 8.11 mm of rains, followed by 15.87 mm in the eastern suburbs and 12.45 mm in the western suburbs. According to the forecast, the city and suburbs will continue to experience rainfall throughout the day and the sky will remain cloudy and overcast.
The IMD in its five day forecast had said yesterday that rains would return in Mumbai along with several districts of the Konkan belt in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, the water stock in all the seven lakes stood at 90.37% on Thursday morning.
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