Mumbai Weather Highlights: The yellow alert will remain in place for the next 24 hours in Mumbai. (Express Photo)Mumbai News Today Highlights (September 21): India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad today. The weather bureau has stated likelihood of a thunderstorm coupled with lightning and gusty winds of 30 – 40 kmph in some parts of the city. The yellow alert will remain in place for the next 24 hours and warning for heavy rainfall has been issued.
Meanwhile, chanting ‘pudhchya varshi lavkar ya‘ (come sooner next year), devotees bid goodbye to over 38,000 Ganesh idols in Mumbai till 9 pm on Wednesday. On the second day of the 10-day festival, 38,415 Ganesh idols, comprising 38,319 household ones and 96 from ‘sarvajanik’ (community) mandals, were immersed till 9 pm across Mumbai. Of these, 17,175 Ganesh idols were immersed in artificial ponds, out of which 17,126 were household idols and 49 were Sarvajanik.
Also Read: Visit oldest to most grand Ganpati pandals, introduce your child to festival through a workshop
In other news, a BJP legislator’s remarks calling Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar a “wolf” have caused unease in the ruling coalition, even though Devendra Fadnavis, the other deputy chief minister, has reprimanded the MLC. BJP MLC and Dhangar leader Gopichand Padalkar made the remarks three days ago, drawing sharp reactions from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction. The party asked the BJP to control its legislator or face protests.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has given permission to more than 2,700 mandals to set up Ganesh pandals across the megapolis — the highest number in the city since 2018. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) on Thursday re-launched luxury train Deccan Odyssey after a gap of nearly four years.
Its inaugural run between CSMT in south Mumbai and Panvel was flagged off by Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar in the presence of state tourism minister Girish Mahajan, principal secretary (tourism) Radhika Rastogi and MTDC managing director Shraddha Joshi.
Joshi said the train will embark for its journey from Mumbai to Delhi for a seven-night-eight day trip with stops at Vadodara, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Agra, Sawai Madhopur.
She said 20 seats have already been booked for this commercial run.
Six itineraries are planned for the train, namely 'Maharashtra Splendor' 'Indian Sojourn', 'Indian Odyssey', 'Maharashtra Wild Trail', 'Heritage Odyssey', and 'Cultural Odyssey', the MTDC said. (PTI)
Adani Group on Thursday bagged two contracts worth Rs 13,888 crore from a state-owned discom to install smart meters.
A total of six tenders were awarded by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to install smart meters, of which two have been bagged by the Adani Group, according to an official communiqué from the discom seen by PTI.
The diversified group, which has a sizeable presence in the power sector and had recently won a Rs 1,000 crore contract to install smart meters in the area serviced by BEST Undertaking in Mumbai, will act as an advanced metering infrastructure service provider for smart prepaid metering in MSEDCL, it said.
The two zones awarded to Adani include Bhandup, Kalyan and Konkan having 63.44 lakh meters, and Baramati and Pune having 52.45 lakh meters, it said. (PTI)
Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday said Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's decision on the disqualification pleas against some Shiv Sena MLAs will be unbiased and will adhere to the law.
Asked whether the BJP had a "plan B" in case the MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, are disqualified and if names like Ajit Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Union minister Nitin Gadkari were being discussed for the top post, he said he had no such information.
"I am confident Narwekar, who is a legal expert, will take a decision in accordance with the law. His decision will not be biased and will be within the rules of the House," the state BJP chief told reporters.
Speaking to reporters on board the luxury Deccan Odyssey train earlier in the day, Narwekar emphasised the decision he will take will be constitutional.
"Regarding the disqualification pleas, I can only say I won't delay it nor will there be any kind of hurry that could result in miscarriage of justice," he said.
The Supreme Court had, on May 11, directed the Assembly speaker to decide on the disqualification pleas within a reasonable time.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) has been claiming Narwekar was deliberately delaying in arriving at a decision on the disqualification pleas. (PTI)
Sourced photos
Several farmers held a protest on Thursday against the Maharashtra government's decision to set up a conservation centre for indigenous cows in Ambejogai in Beed instead of Latur.
The conservation project for the 'Lal Kandhari' and 'Devni' cows was announced on September 16 as part of the state government's package for Marathwada region.
"The Devni Pandharbanda and Lal Kandhari breeds are the pride of Latur. The conservation project should have come up in Deoni here rather than Sakud in Ambejogai. These two breeds are popular in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well," a protesting farmer said. (PTI)
Two persons drowned and two were missing in separate incidents during immersion of Ganesh idols in Palghar in Maharashtra, police and civic officials said on Thursday.
According to the police, Jagat Narayan Mourya (38) and Suraj Prajapati (25) drowned during idol immersion in a lake at Konsai village in Wada taluka on Wednesday night.
Firemen and divers recovered their bodies on Thursday morning, said an official from the police control room.
At Gorhe village in the taluka, one Prakash Thackeray (35) went missing during immersion of Ganpati idols in a lake on Wednesday and a search is underway to trace him, the police said.
In Virar, one Sanjay Patil (40) is missing after entering Tansa river for idol immersion and a search is underway, the official said.
No such incident took place in Thane district, regional disaster management cell official Sudham Pardeshi said. (PTI)
Two persons were sentenced to 10 years in jail in a fake currency case in Mumbai.
In his order of September 16, the details of which were made available on Thursday, Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Katariya said the offence was serious and caused damage to the country's economy.
The complainant in the case was the agent of a cooperative credit society who said he received a fake note from a shopkeeper, who in turn told police a woman who had come to make a purchase in November 2015 had handed over the note.
The watermark of the note and some words differed, while the paper also appeared thicker, as per the prosecution.
A probe by Vakola police station led to the arrest of the woman, identified as Alta Shaikh, and one Jakir Shaikh, from whom 33 such notes were seized. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said his government will study how states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana and Chhattisgarh have handled the Dhangar community's demands for reservation.
He was speaking to reporters after meeting a delegation from the community.
"A committee comprising state bureaucrats and representatives from the Dhangar community will study the methodology of the implementation of quota in these states. A report will be prepared in a month and will be submitted to the attorney general for legal opinion," Shinde said.
Asserting that his government was positive about quota for Dhangars, the CM said there was a suggestion to set up a committee under a retired justice to look into the issue and a decision on this would be taken soon if necessary.
"Police cases against Dhangar protestors will be withdrawn. We will ensure no injustice is done to other communities. Till a decision on quota is taken, all benefits provided to Adivasis will be extended to Dhangars," Shinde informed. (PTI)
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's property unit has formed a joint venture with Mumbai's slum rehabilitation authority to redevelop the Dharavi, a key step towards rebuilding one of Asia's biggest slums that is mired in legal controversy.
A spokesperson from Adani Group confirmed the formation of the entity, Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd, without elaborating further. Redevelopment of Dharavi, where 1 million people live, has been delayed for decades.
The setting up of the JV is a critical step and assumes significance as it comes as Adani faces an ongoing legal challenge from a rival bidder, Dubai-based SecLink Technologies Corporation.
SecLink alleges Mumbai's Maharashtra state improperly cancelled an original 2018 bidding process and restarted it so that Adani could win. The state and Adani deny any wrongdoing, and say SecLink's case should be thrown out. (Reuters)
A Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration team seized 84,537 kilograms of betel nuts worth Rs 3.36 crore in Nagpur, an official said on Thursday.
The raids were held on Wednesday in units in Kalamna and Lihigaon from where 11,727 kg of betel nuts worth Rs 56.19 lakh and 72,810 kg worth Rs 2.60 crore were seized, respectively, he said.
The betel nuts were of inferior quality and were a health hazard, he added. (PTI)
Reflecting an upbeat pulse on nature conservation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) artificial lakes have witnessed a surge in idol immersion numbers this year. The artificial lakes in Mumbai were put in place to prevent pollution in the natural water bodies in the wake of Ganesh Chaturthi festivities.
According to BMC’s data, out of the total immersions this year, 27,290 idols (41 per cent) were immersed in artificial lakes. This is the highest number of immersions that have taken place in artificial lakes so far. Last year 22,582 idols (27%) were immersed in the lakes.
The artificial lakes are makeshift tanks that are created using inflatable tubes which are filled with water. The basic purpose of these tanks is to immerse the Ganesh idols, since a majority of these idols, made of Plaster of Paris (PoP), don’t dissolve when immersed in water, in turn polluting the water body and harming the aquatic life. Read more
Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar
Even as the row over the Maratha reservation is far from being settled, Maharashtra’s Dhangar community, which has been demanding Scheduled Tribe status for the past several decades, is likely to intensify its agitation over the issue.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday has called for a meeting regarding demands made by leaders of the Dhangar or shepherd community.
In the past, Maharashtra has witnessed massive agitations led by Dhangar leaders, including Prakash Shendge, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha president Mahadeo Jankar, and Gopichand Padalkar. Read more
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Thursday said he will not delay the decision on the disqualification pleas of some Shiv Sena MLAs but wouldn't rush into it either as it may result in 'miscarriage of justice'.
Speaking to reporters on board the luxury Deccan Odyssey train, Narwekar emphasised the decision he will take will be constitutional.
'Regarding the disqualification pleas, I can only say I won't delay it nor will there be any kind of hurry that could result in miscarriage of justice,' he said.
The Shiv Sena split in June last year after a rebellion led by Eknath Shinde, who went on to become chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
However, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction filed pleas seeking the disqualification of several MLAs, including Shinde, under anti-defection laws. (PTI)
Read more here: How a Speaker's silence has dragged on the Sena split saga
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Thursday said the threat of drought looms large over the state and wondered if the Eknath Shinde government was aware of the severity of the situation.
He said 13 districts have received below-average rainfall in the last one and a half months.
The Congress leader claimed that several reports have stated that farmer suicides in the state are on the rise because of the drought-like conditions and government apathy.
“How are we concerned? We just need to give assurances and walk away. This is the agenda of this government,” he said.
Wadettiwar shared what he claimed rainfall data of districts that have received scanty showers so far this monsoon. (PTI)
A man in his 40s allegedly jumped from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai early on Thursday, officials said. The police said that a search operation is underway while they are trying to trace his family members.
According to officials, the driver entered the Bandra Worli Sea Link from the Worli side around 3.45 am. Read the full story here
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded a yellow alert for Mumbai and its neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad today. While no warning for heavy rainfall has been issued, the weather bureau has stated the likelihood of a thunderstorm coupled with lightning and gusty winds of 30 - 40 kmph in a couple of pockets of the city. The yellow alert will remain in place for the next 24 hours, following which no warning has been issued.
A total of 66,785 “one-and-a-half-day” Ganapati idols were immersed in the sea and other water bodies, including artificial ponds, till 6 am on Thursday.
Of the immersion figures so far, BMC officials said, 66,435 were household Ganapati idols, while 350 were “sarvajanik”, or community, idols. 27,736 idols were immersed in artificial ponds, set up to avoid pollution of natural water bodies, across the city. Of these, 27,564 were household Ganapati idols and the rest ‘sarvajanik'.
The Bombay High Court granted bail to activist Mahesh Raut, arrested in the Elgar Parishad Maoist links case.
A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Sharmila Deshmukh allowed Raut's plea seeking bail on merits.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) sought the court to stay its order for two weeks so that it could file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The bench then stayed operation of its order for a week. Raut was arrested in June 2018 and is presently in judicial custody.
Ahead of the assembly elections in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray is scheduled to visit Pandhurna in Madhya Pradesh on September 22 to unveil the statue of 17th century Maratha king warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamalnath and his son Lok Sabha MP Nakul Nath will be present at the unveiling event. A Sena functionary said that Aaditya was invited by Kamalnath to attend the statue unveiling event.
Considering the large number of Marathi speaking population in Madhya Pradesh, Aaditya 's visit gains significance in the state which is going for state assembly polls in a few months.
The Sena UBT is in alliance with the Congress in the state and the country. Considering the Marathi speaking population in the state, the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray had fielded it's candidates for the state assembly elections in the past in 2013 and 2018 however failed to win any seats.
Nearly 7,000 Ganesh idols were immersed in Mumbai till 6 pm on Wednesday, the second day of the 10-day festival. Several devotees bid farewell to Lord Ganesh after worshipping the idols placed at homes and in pandals for one-and-a-half days.
A total of 6,960 Ganesh idols, comprising 6,930 household ones and 30 from 'sarvajanik' (community) mandals, were immersed till 6 pm across Mumbai. Of these, 2,833 Ganesh idols were immersed in artificial ponds. While 2,819 of them were the idols installed by people at their houses, 14 belonged to the mandals.
Mumbai's famous Lalbaugcha Raja, which attracts lakhs of people every year, live streams from the pandal to allow devotees from all over the world to seek blessings virtually.
With rain in several parts of the city and surrounding regions, the water stock in lakes supplying water to Mumbai rose to 98.28 percent, as opposed to the 98.59 percent on teh same date last year.
CM Eknath Shinde visited MNS chief Raj Thackeray's residence Shivtirth on the occasion of Ganeshotsav.
Meanwhile, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis shared snippets of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations at his official residence on Malabar Hill.
With so many people heading towards the sea for idol immersion, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday appealed to the citizens for being careful of Blue Button Jelly Fish and Stingray which are found at the coastline at this time.
Earlier on August 13, six persons including three minors were injured after they were stung by jelly fish and stingrays. The victims were admitted to Cooper Hospital, from where they were discharged after treatment. Read more
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's WhatsApp channel has garnered more than 40,000 followers just a day after its launch.
The channel was launched on September 19 on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and it has already got more than 40,000 followers, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO). The statement said the CMO Maharashtra WhatsApp channel is a verified account on the new platform launched by the social media site recently.
The channel will disseminate information about programmes and policies of the government.
The Maharashtra government has allotted space in Mantralaya to the committee set up to determine the SOP for giving caste certificates to members of the Maratha community from Marathwada region referred to as Kunbis in Nizam-era records. The government has also allotted 20-member staff including an official of the rank of the additional secretary, and desk officers, as per a Government Resolution (GR).
The Justice Sandip Shinde (retd) committee has been allotted space on the 7th floor of the state secretariat, Mantralaya, for holding meetings.
The state cabinet had decided to issue Kunbi caste certificates to those Marathas hailing from the Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis, grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Maharashtra.
The BMC has earmarked 69 natural water bodies, including stretches off the coast, and set up 191 artificial ponds for immersion this year.
The 10-day Ganeshotsav began in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday, with the installation of idols of the elephant-headed God in various shapes and sizes at several households and in pandals against the backdrop of decorations based on themes ranging from Chandrayaan-3 to Ayodhya's Ram Mandir.
The police in Thane served a notice on a Ganesh pandal, which faced action last year over its decoration related to the split in the Shiv Sena, to desist from using any display material or audio clips that could trigger law and order problems.
According to a functionary of the Shiv Sena (UBT)-controlled Vijay Tarun Mandal at Kalyan, their theme for this year is “democracy is at peril”. The Mahatma Phule Chowk police sent them a notice on Monday, he said. Referring to last year's action against the mandal, the notice said any attempts to “provoke” or have decoration materials that can potentially lead to a fight between “two groups, communities, and religions and result in law and order problems” will prompt the police to act.
Kalyan chief of Sena (UBT) Vijay Salvi, who heads the mandal, said they depict topical events through decorations and other installations at their Ganesh pandal every year. (PTI)
At one of Mumbai's most famous Ganesh pandal Lalbaugcha Raja, devotees have been pouring in since the Ganeshotsav began on September 19.
The Bombay High Court Wednesday granted two weeks’ time to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file an affidavit in reply to a plea by Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal challenging his arrest in connection with the alleged laundering of a Rs 538.62-crore loan given by Canara Bank.
Goyal has claimed that his arrest was illegal and sought to set aside orders of a special court that had initially remanded him in ED custody and thereafter in judicial custody. Read more
Once the Women’s Reservation Bill comes into force, Maharashtra will have 95 women legislators in the 288-member state legislative Assembly. The current strength of women MLAs in the Assembly adds up to only 24.
After the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP with 105 MLAs has brought the maximum number of women legislators (12) to the House. The demise of Mukta Tilak (Kasbapeth) last year, however, brought down the strength of BJP women legislators to 11.
The Congress has the second-highest number of women legislators in the Maharashtra Assembly. Out of 44 Congress MLAs, five are women. Read more
Total 196 idol immersions have taken place till 12 pm today. Out of this, 195 are Gharguti (residential) idols, while one is Sarvajanik idol. Out of the total idols that have been immersed, 50 were done in artifical ponds set up by the BMC.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), led by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, will hold a rally at Wardha in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region on September 25 to lend support to several Other Backward Classes (OBC) outfits agitating against the proposed Maratha reservation.
The OBC outfits in Maharashtra have been demanding assurance from the state government that the Maratha reservation would not eat into the 27 per cent OBC quota in educational institutions and jobs.
As part of the plan to expand its reach, the BRS has held several rallies in Marathwada, western Maharashtra and Vidarbha regions over the last few months. In February, the BRS held its first rally in district Nanded in Marathwada region. Later, it conducted more rallies in Nanded and Aurangabad. A couple of months later, the BRS turned its attention to Vidarbha. The BRS has also established its independent offices in Nagpur, Pune and Sambhajinagar. Read more
A photograph of Ajit Pawar group’s Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar in the new Parliament building has raised eyebrows yet again even as the two groups are fighting for control over the party.
“An electrifying day at the new Parliament House! The Rajya Sabha Chamber is a marvel, and sharing this moment with Hon’ble Sharad Pawar Saheb makes it even more special. And now, savoring some snacks and camaraderie with friends in the cafeteria – truly a day to remember!” Patel wrote on X as he posted the photo with Pawar.
Patel, a Rajya Sabha MP from the NCP, was one of the key supporters of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar after he chose to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on July 2 along with eight other NCP leaders.
In its detailed order granting bail to alleged bookie Anil Jaisinghani, who was arrested in March for reportedly trying to blackmail and extort Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s wife Amruta, a special court took into consideration that most of the criminal cases pending against him are withdrawn or settled.
Jaisinghani was alleged to have been on the run for many years with as many as 17 cases pending against him. While seeking bail in the case filed by Amruta, Jaisinghani’s lawyers gave the special court a list of the status of the pending cases.
“The advocate of the accused (Jaisinghani) also produced list of entire 17 cases with date of bail / closure report filed by the investigation. Perusal of list, it appears that most of the cases are already compounded/withdrawn,” special judge D D Almale said in his order passed on Monday, which was made available on Wednesday. Read more
Onion traders in Maharashtra’s Nashik Wednesday started an indefinite strike demanding the Centre develop its own supply chain to dispose of onion in retail markets.
Khandubhau Deore, president of the onion traders association in Nashik, told The Indian Express that the traders have a meeting scheduled next Monday with Maharashtra’s Minister of Cooperation Dilip Walse-Patil to discuss the issue.
Unrest among the traders, exporters and commission agents in the onion markets has been simmering since the Centre imposed a 40 per cent duty on exports of the kitchen staple. This was meant to control onion price rise, primarily due to insufficient supply in the markets. Earlier in August, the traders stopped auctions in Nashik markets when the Centre imposed export duty. Read more
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast yet another day of light to moderate showers in Mumbai as well as its neighbouring districts of Thane, Palghar and Raigad on Wednesday. Issuing no alerts for the districts, the weather bureau has stated that the moderate spells will stay till Saturday. In the past 24 hours ending 8.30 am, the IMD's Santacruze weather station recorded 11 mm rain whereas the Colaba coastal observatory registered 15 mm rainfall.
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