Mumbai to get two new Metro lines after nearly 9 years
Mumbai Metro’s two new lines 2A (Dahisar to Andheri West DN Nagar) and 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East) are expected to be fully operational in January 2023, according to Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
In April this year, then Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray flagged off the first phase of these lines, the 20-km stretch from Dhanukarwadi (Kamran Nagar) and Aarey Colony in the western suburbs of Mumbai.
State at liberty to conduct fresh testing of J&J baby powder manufactured at Mulund plant: HC
The Bombay High Court on Friday said that the Maharashtra government was at liberty to carry out fresh testing of samples of baby powder of Johnson & Johnson Private Limited as per new guidelines of the central government and take urgent action in the event the results are adverse.
On January 3, the HC had pulled up the state government asking why there was a delay of over two years in passing an order against the company in connection with the cancellation of the baby powder manufacturing licence for its Mulund plant.
The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) Sunday arrested one person who allegedly called the Mumbai police control room Saturday claiming that a series of bombings will take place in the city in the next two months. The accused was arrested from Malad and handed over to the local Azad Maidan police station. Read More
The Mumbai police Sunday arrested Kalamboli resident Dawood Ansari, 22, for allegedly vandalising several crosses at a cemetery attached to St Michael’s Church in Mahim on Saturday. The police had earlier registered an FIR in the matter and were looking for the accused. Read More
monthly limit of free stories.
with an Express account.
The vicious sabre-rattling between Union minister Narayan Rane and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has taken neither the BJP nor Uddhav Thackeray’s party by surprise, said insiders in both parties. This was not the first time these two leaders have bitterly engaged in a verbal duel. Even in the past, whenever the two locked horns, the tone and tenor of their language and choice of words were harsh. Read More
Several crosses at the cemetery attached to the St Michael’s Church in Mumbai’s Mahim were vandalised Saturday. The Mumbai police said the desecration of the cemetery is being probed and that they have registered an FIR in the matter. The police added they have also identified one of the accused involved in the case.
Several members of the Catholic community and political leaders condemned the incident and urged quick action in the case. Clyde Crasto, Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson, urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, and the Mumbai police to take “immediate cognisance” of the issue. Read More
Artists from Gorakhpur, Kanpur and other parts of Uttar Pradesh congregated as a team along with the painters from the state of Maharashtra to paint the walls in Navi Mumbai as a part of NMMC beautification project under Swachh Bharat Mission on Sunday afternoon. Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty
Artists from Gorakhpur, Kanpur and other parts of Uttar Pradesh congregated as a team along with the painters from the state of Maharashtra to paint the walls in Navi Mumbai as a part of NMMC beautification project under Swachh Bharat Mission on Sunday afternoon. Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MP Sanjay Raut was caught abusing on camera Sunday. Notably, this development comes in the midst of a war of words between Raut and BJP leader Narayan Rane. Read More
Real estate developers foresee good traction as two new Metro lines — 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar) & 7 (Dahisar East to Andheri East) — are set to begin operations this month.
Keval Valambhia, chief operating officer of CREDAI-MCHI Mumbai, a real estate apex body of members from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), expressed hope that these two Metro lines will play a crucial role in decongesting Mumbai’s current public transportation system and foster a new real estate boom in the western suburbs. Read why
NCP president Sharad Pawar said that the announcement of completion date of Ram temple does not come under the Home Ministry but under the temple authorities. "Yet, if Union home minister Amit Shah is issuing the date well it shows he is taking up the role of temple priest", Pawar said.
The Malad police in Mumbai arrested a 20-year-old student Saturday for allegedly stabbing a classmate who is his girlfriend’s former boyfriend. Officers said the victim was allegedly threatening the girl that he would inform her father about their relationship and reveal intimate photos if she did not get back together with him.
According to the police, the 20-year-old victim is a read more here
On Friday, Amruta Fadnavis released a music video Mood Banaleya, her first in Punjabi in collaboration with Meet Bros. The video shows Amruta, a banker and the wife of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, singing and dancing with her co-actors. It clocked over 15 million hits on YouTube within the first 24 hours.
Responding to questions about how she handles different responsibilities—her job as a banker and the role of a politician’s wife and a mother—she shared details of her equation with her husband. Read here
NCP president Sharad Pawar gave a clarion call for all like-minded secular parties to put up a united opposition. He said all political parties should work together. In a veiled attack on the Shinde-Fadnavis government, Pawar said, "Those in power should keep their feet on grounds and work."
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted a drop in temperature in Mumbai around January 14. Meanwhile, Nagpur recorded the lowest temperature this winter at 9.5 degrees on Sunday. Gondia district in Vidarbha was lowest at 7 degree Celsius.
There is a mega block on Metro Line 2A&7 between Aarey and Dhanukarwadi. During the block, metro services will remain closed and no service will be available to the public. The block will remain till 10 pm.
MMRDA is integrating the signaling system between both phases of Metro Line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar ) and 7(Dahisar E to Andheri E). To carry out this integration activity and to avoid inconvenience to the passengers, the first mega block is being operated today.
The signal system integration will help the entire corridor to be commissioned for operation, and that which is scheduled to be open to the public from this month.
A 21-year-old man was killed allegedly by four persons in Maharashtra's Thane district after the main accused was annoyed over a woman breaking-up with him and developing friendship with the victim, police said on Sunday. (PTI)
A 57-year-old police sub-inspector died after falling from a local train at Kalwa station in Maharashtra’s Thane district, railway police said on Sunday. Read more here
Track laying work on the underground Mumbai Metro Line 3 (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ) under Phase 1 is complete by nearly 60 per cent as of date, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC), which is implementing this line, has said. Know more here
Commuters will have to change trains to travel from one line to the other on the 35-km stretch of Mumbai Metro Line 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar) and Line 7 (Dahisar E to Andheri E).
As per the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is the project implementing authority, commuters will have to change trains at Dahisar, the common station for both Metro Lines 2A and 7. Know more here
Maharashtra's Thane district has reported one new case of coronavirus, taking its infection count to 7,47,408, a health official said on Sunday. (PTI)
NCP leader Supriya Sule Saturday urged Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to stop the mindless attack against women in the state by the BJP immediately.
Sule’s remarks have come amid read here
Starting from rescuing road accident victims to supplying blood during medical emergencies, a young group of samaritans is saving hundreds of lives in the remote Gadchiroli district — where hospital accessibility is constrained — with the help of a second-hand ambulance, which they bought with their pocket money and a loan. Read more here
A fire broke out in a two-storey building in Masjid Bunder area of south Mumbai late Saturday evening, though there were no reports of anyone getting injured, a civic official said. The building is located on the busy junction of Abdul Rahman Street and Janjikar Street near Jumma Masjid and four fire engines have been rushed to the spot to douse the blaze that started in a shop at 8:15pm, he said.
"The fire is confined to seven eight shops on the ground floor. There is no report of injury to anyone as of now. More details are awaited as firefighting operations are on. The cause is yet to be ascertained," he added. Purported video clips of the incident circulating on social media showed people trying to throw buckets of water to extinguish the fire. (PTI)
The Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra is on ventilator support and will fall by February, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said here on Saturday. He said if the "judiciary is not pressured, then 16 MLAs (of the Shinde faction, which is also called Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena) will be disqualified".
The case pertaining to the split in the Sena into the Uddhav Thackeray and Shinde factions in June last year and demands for disqualification under anti-defection laws is currently underway in the Supreme Court. On January 10, the apex court will hear a batch of petitions, including one seeking the disqualification of 16 MLAs from the Shinde camp.
"This illegal government is on ventilator support and it will not see February. If the judiciary is not pressured, then 16 MLAs (of the Shinde faction) will be disqualified soon,” said Raut. (PTI)
Three persons, including a woman, were booked by Mumbai police for allegedly duping a 63-year-old businessman to the tune of Rs 30 lakh.
The police said that the three accused told the businessman that they work at a construction site and while excavating they found a bag full of gold and silver and wanted to sell it off at a cheaper price than the market value. The businessman bought the gold and thought of selling it at a high price to make profit but later discovered that the metal was brass. (Read more)
National Minorities Commission member (Union minister status) Kumari Syed Shahzadi will visit Maharashtra from Sunday to January 11. This will be the first visit by a member of the Commission to Maharashtra after the BJP-Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena coalition came to power in the state on June 30 last year.
During her tour the commission member, who enjoys Union minister status, will interact with minorities and review their social, economic and educational status in the state. She is likely to hold interactions with various organisations to understand the challenges and problems faced by minorities in Maharashtra. (Read more)
Mumbai police on Saturday arrested 69 persons following a raid on a bar in Santacruz. According to a police source, those held comprise 44 customers, 21 staffers and four artistes, the official said, news agency PTI reported.
'Fourteen women were rescued from the establishment, and Rs 3.5 lakh cash was seized. The raid was carried out by the police's Social Service Branch after it received a video clip of a dance performance there,' he said. A case was registered under Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotel, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (working herein) Act 2016 as well as the Indian Penal Code, he added.
Mumbai’s overall Air-Quality Index (AQI) continued to linger in the ‘Very Poor’ category for the third time this week. Weather experts have said that the current standard of AQI will continue till the end of January.
On Saturday morning, the city recorded an AQI of 319, which is regarded as ‘Very Poor’. The Safar dashboard also showed that six out of the nine AQI monitoring stations located in several pockets of Mumbai have recorded AQI readings above 300. (Read more)
A man digging into his ‘vada pav’, fisherwomen from the Koliwada community, smiling doctors, nurses, policemen, and coolies! These are some of Mumbai's staple faces that adorn the walls on the busy Annie Besant Road in Mumbai’s Worli to delight the commuters.
Until November 2021, the exposed drains of the Love Grove waste treatment facility had been the source of stench and inconvenience for the daily commuters. The broken pathways weren't pedestrian-friendly, rendering them unusable for the disabled. However, the face of the street has all but changed, post the makeover project by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that was inaugurated by Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray on January 23, 2022. (Read more)
The Central and Western railway zones have registered a total of 12,979 cases of Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) in the year 2022 between January and December. The Central Railway (CR), headquartered in Mumbai, recorded 9,049 such cases and apprehended a total 8,176 people who have misused the alarm chain on trains and collected a fine of Rs 55.86 lakh. The Western Railway (WR), also headquartered in Mumbai, has arrested 3,930 persons with the help of the railway police force for the offence.
The Railways has provided ACP options for passengers in Suburban and Mail and Express trains to be used for emergency purposes. However, officials said that it has been observed that passengers are resorting to pulling the chain for frivolous reasons such as arriving late, alighting or boarding at intermediate stations, etc. (Read more)
The Central and Western railway zones have registered a total of 12,979 cases of Alarm Chain Pulling (ACP) in the year 2022 between January and December. The Central Railway (CR), headquartered in Mumbai, recorded 9,049 such cases and apprehended a total 8,176 people who have misused the alarm chain on trains and collected a fine of Rs 55.86 lakh. The Western Railway (WR), also headquartered in Mumbai, has arrested 3,930 persons with the help of the railway police force for the offence. Read more
Gulabrao Patil, Guardian Minister of Jalgaon also arrived at the Jalgaon rally. Arotest rally is taking place in Jalgaon, North Maharashtra today against rising cases of love Jihad, killing of cows. It is organised by a number of right-wing organisations, such as Hindu Janagagruti Samiti, Sanathan Sanstha, Brahman Samaj, Maheshwari Samaj, Hindu Rashtra Sena, VHP and RSS are also seen participating in it.
The tenders for cleaning nullahs in Mumbai have not been issued as yet. Since this will result in delay of nullah cleaning even this year, Mumbai BJP president MLA Adv. Ashish Shelar demanded that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner Iqbal Chahal looks into the matter and ensures that the work gets done immediately.
MLA Adv. Ashish Shelar pointed out that every year before monsoon, 309 big nullahs, 508 small drains, 5 rivers and drains running parallel to the roads need to be cleaned. It has been observed over the years that if the work of cleaning these drains begin by end of March or early April, it is possible to clean all the nullahs on time.
But this year, tenders have not been floated as yet. If the tenders are not floated on time, the actual work will also not commence on time. Last year, when there was delay in floating the tenders, the work had got delayed. As a result, we had intervened and had regularly monitored the cleaning works. But since the entire process had got delayed, it had affected the execution of the work.
A 27-year-old man faked his robbery to use Rs 5 lakh he had withdrawn on behalf of the firm where he is employed in Thane district of Maharashtra, police said on Saturday.
However, discrepancies in his statements and the investigation exposed the robbery ruse and police registered a case, an officer said.
In his complaint lodged with the police, the man claimed four men stopped him while he was riding his motorcycle from Vartak Nagar to Manpada in Thane city on Friday night, threw chilli powder in his eyes and snatched the bag containing cash, he said.
(PTI)
Protest rally is taking place in Jalgaon, North Maharashtra today. It is against rising cases of Love Jihad, killing of cows. It is organised by a number of right-wing organisations, such as Hindu Janagagruti Samiti, Sanathan Sanstha, Brahman Samaj, Maheshwari Samaj, Hindu Rashtra Sena, VHP and RSS members are also participating in it. They are demanding a law against religious coversion to.
Express Photo
The Anti-Narcotics Cell of Maharashtra police have arrested three peddlers and seized 90 kilograms of marijuana from their possession, officials said on Friday.
Officials said that the accused drug peddlers were caught from the Ambernath area on the basis of a tip-off received through sources.
"A total of 90 kg of Ganja was recovered from them. The estimated worth of seized ganja in the international market is around Rs 17 lakhs," they said.
Mumbai's minimum temperature on Saturday has risen above 20 degrees for the first time in two weeks, as the city has recorded 22 degree Celsius. Till yesterday, Mumbai was recording night temperature below 20 degrees.