Maharashtra Bus Accident Highlights: Expert panel to probe reasons behind accidents on Samruddhi Expressway, says CM Eknath Shinde

The counsel for a man, who has accused Rahul Gandhi of defaming the RSS by linking it to Mahatma Gandhi's assassination, on Saturday sought admission of a few tweets by the Congress leader in the case in a court in Maharashtra's Thane district.

Advocate Nandu Phadke, who represented complainant Rajesh Kunte, said they had filed in the Bhiwandi court documents related to a few tweets by Gandhi as additional proof during the last hearing and sought their admission in the case on Saturday.

Kunte, a local activist of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), has filed a private complaint against Gandhi over his statement at a rally in 2014 accusing the RSS of being involved in Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

Gandhi's counsel advocate Narayan Iyer contended that the data was being filed nine years after the alleged incident which is an afterthought. Opposing the move, he said the tweets should not be taken on record.

Bhiwandi First Class Judicial Magistrate L C Wadikar heard both counsels and fixed the matter for orders for July 15, said advocate Iyer.

The hearing in the case will continue from August 5, said the counsels. (PTI)

"If timely and compassionate steps are not taken to heal the people of Manipur then the repercussions could be disastrous… a feeling of alienation can set in; giving rise to sentiments of factionalising from the country. Will the central government not be responsible for this? A heartfelt appeal to our PM Shri. Narendra Modi ji ( @narendramodi ) and Home Minister, Shri. Amit Shah ( @AmitShah ) to take firm and appropriate steps to resolve the situation in Manipur," MNS chief Raj Thackeray wrote in his letter. 

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday took a jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in connection with a bus accident on the Samruddhi Expressway that killed 25 by claiming people had told him such fatalities become "devendrawasis".

A bus carrying 33 passengers from Nagpur to Pune on the Samruddhi Expressway overturned and caught fire in Sindkhedraja in Buldhana at 1.32 am, killing 25 occupants.

"A number of accidents have taken place on the Samruddhi Expressway. I have once travelled on the route. When people were asked about their experience, they told me the one who dies in an accident on the Samruddhi Expressway becomes a 'devendrawasi'," Pawar told reporters.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said Pawar had hit below the belt with the 'Devendrawasi' jibe.
Bawankule claimed Pawar, as chief minister, did not meet the kin of the deceased and those injured in the stampede in Nagpur on November 23, 1994, in which 114 members of the Gowari community were killed, and returned to Mumbai.

Citing the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and the firing on farmers in Maval on August 9, 2011, Bawankule said these were events which still cause pain to those involved and asked if "those who died in these incidents be called sharadwasis". (PTI)

#WATCH | Maharashtra | Fire breaks out in godowns in Kurla area of Mumbai. Six fire tenders are present at the spot. Firefighting operations are underway. No injuries reported yet. Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/IK05MUvcSF

— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2023

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said there were several scams taking place in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and asserted his party will send civic officials involved in them to jail when it regains power in Maharashtra.

Addressing a well-attended protest rally outside the civic headquarters in south Mumbai, Thackeray alleged irregularities in civic road concretisation works, gravel procurement, purchase of furniture and sanitary pads.

The metropolis was being looted as the Eknath Shinde government was indulging in only scams in the last one year, the former minister alleged. The Shinde government was formed in June last year, while the BMC, where polls are due since early 2022, is under an administrator.

Thackeray said he would meet Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais to demand a Lokayukta probe into the alleged irregularities in the civic body. (PTI)

The onset of the monsoon brings with it a desire to indulge. While some find comfort in devouring a roasted bhutta (corn) or vada pav on their way home, some prefer sipping their tea slowly as their hands reach out for another piece of kanda bhaji (onion pakoda). For others, nothing spells comfort better than a bowl of piping-hot soup or ramen or some dumplings. Thankfully, restaurants in Mumbai are ready in time to cater to these cravings-cum-feelings that a fresh spell of rain brings with it. Read more

A march led by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray to protest against "corruption" in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the last one year began in south Mumbai on Saturday afternoon.

The `morcha', which began from Metro Cinema, will culminate outside the civic body's headquarters.

Top leaders of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party including MLAs and MPs are part of the morcha.

MLA Sunil Prabhu said there has been an "outburst" of corruption in the BMC.

The BMC was controlled by the then undivided Shiv Sena from 1997-2022.

The term of its General Body ended in March 2022. As fresh elections have not taken place, the civic body is now controlled by an administrator appointed by the Maharashtra government headed by Eknath Shinde. (PTI)

Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty

As Indian cities struggle with waterlogged roads with the arrival of monsoon, an AI artist has reimagined a highly futuristic, but also oddly realistic, take on public vehicles that will be able to move across waterlogged or flooded streets. These vehicles, which look like a cross between an autorickshaw and a submarine have been called “Amphibious Autorickshaws’. Read more

 

 

 

 

 

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Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday took a jibe at Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in connection with a bus accident on the Samruddhi Expressway that killed 25 by claiming people had told him such fatalities become "devendrawasis".

The 701-kilometre Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg, which is now operational on a 601 kilometre stretch from Vidarbha's largest city to Bharvir in Nashik, is considered the brainchild of Fadnavis.

A bus carrying 33 passengers from Nagpur to Pune on the Samruddhi Expressway overturned and caught fire in Sindkhedraja in Buldhana at 1.32 am, killing 25 occupants.

"A number of accidents have taken place on the Samruddhi Expressway. I have once travelled on the route. When people were asked about their experience, they told me the one who dies in an accident on the Samruddhi Expressway becomes a 'devendrawasi'," Pawar told reporters here.

"The work on the expressway has not been done scientifically and this may be the reason for so many accidents. Ex-gartia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased is not the solution. A committee of experts must be appointed to avert such accidents," he added. (PTI)

In light of the deadly bus accident on the Samruddhi Expressway that claimed the lives of 25 people, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Saturday suspended its "Aakrosh Andolan" to protest against the alleged corruption in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Taking to Twitter, the BJP's Mumbai unit president Ashish Shelar expressed grief at the loss of lives in the expressway accident.
“We have decided to suspend the BJP-Shiv Sena-RPI protest against those who looted Mumbai for 25 years. However, we will continue to ask them questions,” Shelar tweeted in an apparent reference to the Thackerays.

The BJP-Shiv Sena "Akrsoh Andolan" was being viewed as a counter protest against a march organised by the Shiv Sena (UBT) to protest against corruption in the city civic body.

The Shiv Sena controlled the BMC for 25 consecutive years from 1997-2002. (PTI)

The Maharashtra Police suspect “human error” caused the bus accident on the Samruddhi Expressway in Buldhana district in the early hours of Saturday in which 25 passengers were charred to death, an official said.

Contrary to the driver's claim that the private sleeper coach caught fire after hitting a divider following a tyre burst, police believe that he dozed off and lost control of the vehicle, said the official of the state highway police.
A total of 33 people were on board the bus which was going to Pune from Nagpur. The accident occurred at 1.30 am at Pimpalkhuta village near Sindkhedraja, killing 25. Eight others, including the driver and the cleaner of the bus, survived as they managed to come out of the broken window, according to the police.

“The speed of the vehicle may not be the issue,” the official said, adding that prima facie it seems the result of a human error.

“As the driver might have nodded off, the bus went to the right side and first hit the crash barrier and then the divider,” he said.

Though the bus driver said it was due to a tyre burst, a probe is going on to ascertain whether it was due to a human error as it was dark, he said. The bus caught fire after its diesel tank burst following the accident, he said. (PTI)

CM Eknath Shinde, DyCM Devendra Fadnavis visited hospital at Buldhana to inquire about those injured in Samruddhi Mahamarg accident. At least 25 people died and eight others were injured after the bus they were travelling in caught fire after hitting a pole on the Samruddhi Mahamarg near Buldhana in Maharashtra early Saturday morning. 

The Shiv Sena (UBT) will hold a protest march at BMC headquarters today, against the alleged fund irregularities at BMC since past one year. The march would start from the Metro cinema on DN road and would culminate at BMC's gate number 1. All the senior leaders of the party including elected representatives are taking part in the protest march which would be led by Aaditya Thackeray.

Among the 25 dead in the accident on Samruddhi Expressway were three members of a family from Nirgudsar village in Ambegaon taluka of Pune district, whose bodies were found “in a tight embrace”, according to a close relative.A private bus from Nagpur to Pune had caught fire after hitting a pole on the Samruddhi Mahamarg near Buldhana in Maharashtra early on Saturday.The three have been identified as Kailash Gangawane (52), a teacher with Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru School in Nirgudsar village of Ambegaon taluka; his wife Kanchan Gangawane (41) and their daughter Rutuja Gangawane (21), a medical graduate. They were returning home after dropping off their son Aditya in Nagpur, where he had secured admission for a law course in a city college, said Kailash’s cousin Rupesh Gangawane. Read more

Deeply anguished by the loss of lives in a tragic bus fire incident in Buldhana, Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May they find strength and solace during this difficult time. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured.

— Vice President of India (@VPIndia) July 1, 2023

A local resident said four to five passengers managed to escape by breaking one window of the bus. "But not everyone could do it," he said.

At least 25 people died and eight others were injured in the bus accident in Maharashtra today. The bus they were travelling in caught fire after hitting a pole on the Samruddhi Mahamarg near Buldhana early Saturday morning. The police said the bus was heading from Nagpur to Pune and had 30 passengers, two drivers and another staffer on board.

The people who could come out of the bus later told us that they sought help from other vehicles on the highway, but nobody stopped, he added.

"Many accidents take place on this highway at Pimpalkhuta. We were called for help and when we went there, we saw the horrible situation...The tyres had fallen apart," the local resident said. "People inside were trying to break the windows. We saw people getting burnt alive...The fire was so intense that we could not do anything. We were in tears...," he said. (PTI)

Some of the survivors of the ill-fated bus that caught fire and led to the death of 25 passengers in Maharashtra's Buldhana district on Saturday, said they managed to come out of the burning vehicle by breaking its window.

The private sleeper coach bus, which was travelling from Nagpur to Pune, met with an accident at Pimpalkhuta village near Sindkhedraja on the Samruddhi Expressway as it rammed into a road divider around 1.30 am on Saturday. Of the 33 passengers travelling on the bus, 25 were charred to death, police said.

After hitting the divider, the bus overturned and fell on its right side with the entry/exit door facing the sky, they said.

'A tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle caught fire immediately. The blaze spread in no time,' one of the survivors said.
'The passenger sitting next to me and I managed to escape by breaking the rear window,' he said. The survivor said that after the accident, teams of police and fire brigade reached the site quickly. (PTI)

The heart-wrenching tragedy in Buldhana, Maharashtra claiming many precious lives including children and women is extremely disturbing. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. May they have enough courage to bear this tragic loss. I pray for the speedy recovery of the…

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) July 1, 2023

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis visited the accident site on Samriddhi Highway today and inspected it. 25 people were killed and 8 others were injured in a horrific accident involving a private travel company's bus at Buldhana on Samriddhi Highway. He learned the reasons behind this accident at this time. Also, accidents occurring on Samriddhi Highway will be studied by an expert and concrete measures will be taken to prevent these accidents from happening.  

Express Photo Deepak Joshi

After 25 people were killed in Buldhana's bus accident, AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel hits out at the government saying, "The Samruddhi Mahamarg was hurriedly inaugurated by CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis to walk the credit. But other infrastructures along the expressway like food plaza, washrooms etc are yet to be built. The highway has become accident-prone and every time government shows sympathy and offers ex gratia Rs 5 lakh. Has the lives of individual become so cheap?" 

As the bodies are charred beyond recognition, the police said that they will be conducting DNA tests to identify the victims. Superintendent of Police Sunil Kadasne (Buldhana) said, "So far 25 people have lost their lives. We are in the process of registering a case against the driver and the cleaner of the bus. Besides we are trying to identify the bodies but they are charred beyond recognition. So we have decided that they will be handed over to the families only after DNA identification."

"I was sleeping on seat number 30 which is the last seat in the bus. I woke up when three other passengers fell on me. We realised that there was an accident and we tried to break open the glass window. We managed to shatter the glass and jumped outside the bus. A total of four people jumped out from the broken window. After we got out we realised that the opening has become inaccessible for others as the fire had engulfed the area from where we had managed to escape," Ayush Ghadge one of the survivors of the bus accident said.

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis have reached the accident site on the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway. 

A committee of experts will be formed to study reasons behind accidents on Samruddhi expressway, says Eknath Shinde.

#WATCH | Buldhana bus tragedy | Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis reach the accident site on the Samruddhi Mahamarg expressway.

25 people have lost their lives in the accident. pic.twitter.com/hZoqYfzQXO

— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2023

Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday expressed grief over the loss of lives in a bus tragedy in Maharashtra's Buldhana and targeted the Eknath Shinde-led government for "not doing anything" to stop accidents on the Samruddhi Expressway where it occurred. In a statement, Thackeray said the Buldhana accident should open the government's eyes as more than 300 people have lost their lives on the expressway since it was opened last year.

PTI

Both the driver and the cleaner of the bus have survived the fatal accident and have been taken into custody.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted, "An inquiry has been ordered into the private bus accident at Pimpalkuta in Buldhana district. The police are also recording the driver’s statement. CM Eknath Shinde and I have left to reach the accident site."

The Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Mahamarg, on which a bus met with an accident killing at least 25 on Saturday morning, is a 701 km stretch connecting the cities of Mumbai and Nagpur. A total of 600 km of the stretch has been opened for public use in two phases.

While the project has brought down travel time for commuters, it has also witnessed a spate of accidents. A total of 358 accidents were reported on this stretch  between December 11, 2022 (inauguration) and April 30, 2023 which claimed the lives of 39 people.

Highway Hypnosis -- sleepiness during driving -- has emerged as the biggest cause of accidents on Samruddhi Mahamarg accounting for 98 accidents or 27 per cent of the total 358 accidents between December 11, 2022 (inauguration) and April 30, 2023. According to the data compiled by State Highway Police, hypnosis-related accidents resulted in nine out of 39 deaths over the five-month period.

While speaking to news agency ANI, Sanjay Raut calls Mumbai's BJP a complete drama. He said, "We are continuously putting up a demand to hold elections in Maharashtra but they (BJP) are scared of it. The draft of UCC has not come yet, we will think about UCC once the draft is released."

Uddhav Thackeray faction leader and MP Sanjay Raut, says, "The accident that took place today on Samruddhi highway is extremely disheartening. Several accidents are taking place on this road but the government is paying heed to it."

#WATCH | Uddhav Thackeray faction leader and MP Sanjay Raut, says "The accident that took place today on Samruddhi highway is extremely disheartening. Several accidents are taking place on this road but the government is not paying heed to it" pic.twitter.com/VL1Zhd9Uz3

— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2023

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said, “At this point, it will be difficult to say what caused the accident. Let the probe complete."

He added that from the preliminary information, it seems the bus collided with an electric pole and caught fire. The process of installing CCTV cameras along with SMART apps where one could monitor and regulate speed on Samruddhi Highway is underway. "Often it has been noticed that especially at night vehicles cross the speed limit."

He added that the vehicles are not suitable or fit to cope with it and it results in accidents. "Also, a strict advisory for drivers is also a must. Initially, when Mumbai-Pune Highway was built accidents happened regularly. The loss of human lives in such accidents is very painful. The foremost task is the identification of individuals," Fadnavis stated.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his grief over the tragic bus accident that took place on Saturday in Maharashtra's Buldhana and said quick treatment is being provided to the injured. 'The road accident in Maharashtra's Buldhana district is heartbreaking. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident. 'Quick treatment is being provided to the injured by the administration. I pray to God for the speedy recovery of those injured,' Shah tweeted in Hindi.

?????????? ?? ??????? ???? ??? ??? ???? ????? ?????????? ??? ???? ?? ?? ???? ??? ???? ????????? ?? ???? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ??????? ?? ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ?????? ?? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ?? ??? ??? ????? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ???? ?? ????????? ???? ????

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 1, 2023

Sending condolences to the victims, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, 'Deeply saddened by the devastating bus mishap in Buldhana, Maharashtra. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected. An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the bus mishap in Buldhana and Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured.' 

Deeply saddened by the devastating bus mishap in Buldhana, Maharashtra. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who lost their lives. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is providing all possible assistance to the affected: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 1, 2023

Almost nine years since it has been established, the Maharashtra National Law University (MN-LU) Mumbai was allotted a permanent land to develop its campus. “This is a 35-acre land in Pahadi Goregaon locality, in the western suburbs of Mumbai. Development of the land will begin after budgetary allocation,” said Prof. Anil Variath, registrar of the university adding that a notification dated May 12 has been issued by the state government regarding this.

The island city recorded 10 cases, followed by the eastern suburbs with six incidents. While none of the incidents on Friday turned fatal, three casualties were reported in separate incidents over the past couple of days. Ahead of the monsoon, BMC’s garden department was on a spree to prune more than 85,000 trees in Mumbai.

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As many as 12 autonomous colleges affiliated with Mumbai University have been given the status of Empowered Autonomous College. These colleges can now award joint degrees with Mumbai University. The degrees will have the college’s name and logo along with that of Mumbai University.

Click here to read.

Five women and a boy were killed and 10 more were seriously injured when a passenger vehicle carrying pilgrims returning after a visit to the temple town of Akkalkot in Solapur district was hit by a cement bulker tanker on Friday afternoon. Officials from Solapur rural police said the accident took place around 4.30 pm on Akkalkot to Wagdari road.

Click here to read more.

With short-term challenges due to climatic changes keeping the government on its toes, sweeping long-term agriculture reforms of making farmers self-reliant and the agriculture sector sustainable have been subjected to a long pause in Maharashtra With recurring unseasonal rain and hailstorm, the farmers are burdened with financial losses.

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Former state minister and Congress leader Jay Narayan Vyas has sought to connect Sidhpur in Patan district – a place for Matru Shraddh – with all the states and pilgrimages in the country via Vande Bharat trains. Vyas has written a letter in this regard to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will together visit the site of the accident at Buldana.  The Chief Minister will leave for the airport from his residence in Thane by 9.30 am. Eknath Shinde will first go to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar by plane and from there to Buldhana by train.

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sanjeev Jaiswal was allowed to go home by ED officials after more than 10-hours of questioning. After coming out of the ED office, he spoke to mediapersons and said, 'I cooperated in the investigation. I was not well hence was unable to come last two times. They have not called me again and if they call, I will come,' Jaiswal said. IAS officer Jaiswal was questioned by ED as a part of the agency's probe in connection with the alleged money-laundering into the Covid-19 jumbo field centres scam.

Four persons died on Friday in an accident involving three vehicles in Buldhana in Maharashtra, a police official said.

The incident took place on national highway number 6 in Malkapur in the district at 5:30am, he said.

"The tyre of a bus got punctured and was stranded in the middle of the road. The driver of another bus stopped his vehicle and was moving towards the site to help with repairs. However, a truck coming from behind hit one of the buses, which went on to hit the driver offering help," he said.

"The driver died on the spot. A woman passenger of one of the buses, who was standing on the road, also died. The truck's driver and cleaner were also killed. A case has been registered and a probe is underway," the Malkapur police station official said. (PTI)

The monsoon is likely to be normal in July across the country, barring parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh and south Bihar, with above normal temperatures expected throughout the month, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.

Addressing a virtual press conference here, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the July rains will help wipe out rainfall deficiencies witnessed in June.

As many as 16 states and union territories received deficient rainfall in June, with Bihar and Kerala reporting large deficits at 69 per cent and 60 per cent below normal respectively.

Large states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana also received less rainfall than what is normal for June, the first month of the south-west monsoon season. (PTI)

The NCP on Friday called the Tamil Nadu governor's order to dismiss a minister dangerous for democracy and accused Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of falsely claiming that their party chief Sharad Pawar had refused to call Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Earlier, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) working president Supriya Sule termed the governor's move “dictatorship”.

Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Thursday issued an order dismissing minister V Senthil Balaji, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a cash-for-jobs scam, from the council of ministers, only to keep it in abeyance hours later amid mounting criticism.

NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said in a statement that a governor holds a constitutional post and he must function neutrally as the guardian of a state.

Lately, the governors appointed during this BJP-led government seem to have forgotten this, he said. (PTI)

DRI officials at Mumbai's CSMI airport apprehended one Benin national on 21st June suspecting him of ingesting 43 capsules of NDPS substance. 43 capsules containing heroin were recovered from his body; the man remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. The recovered narcotic… pic.twitter.com/03HTnwRUUD

— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2023

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena ruled in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) "for decades" and now it had planned a protest march against corruption in the same civic body.

The Shiv Sena (led by Thackeray) crossed "all limits of corruption" when it controlled the BMC, he said at a press conference here.

Shinde, then a senior Sena leader and cabinet minister, took oath as chief minister exactly one year ago after rebelling against Uddhav Thackeray's leadership and toppling the Sena-NCP-Congress government.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) looted the citizens of Mumbai for more than two decades and deprived them of basic amenities, he said, adding that it did not spare even COVID-19 victims.

"Now these same people are planning a morcha (protest march) on the civic body tomorrow. This is `ulta chor kotwal ko dante (thief censuring policeman)," the chief minister said. (PTI)

The Maharashtra Congress on Friday met Governor Ramesh Bais and requested him to convey to the President the party's demand that the Manipur government be dismissed in order to end violence there.

The Congress delegation that submitted a memorandum to this effect to Bais was led by the party's state unit working president Naseem Khan, who was accompanied by representatives from minority groups, Christian organisations and tribal leaders.

"Manipur has witnessed great human tragedy for more than two months. The unprecedented violence between the ethnic groups has devastated lives of the people, uprooted their homes and forced them to flee," the memorandum said.

The tradition of Manipur has been to embrace all ethnic groups, religions, the memorandum said, adding it takes tremendous courage to foster brotherhood and just one mistake to fan feelings of hatred and violence.

It said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not speaking on the issue and the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah had failed to bring peace in the northeastern state. (PTI)

Heavy rains pummeled Maharashtra's Konkan division, which recorded an average 72.2 mm shower in 24 hours, an official said on Friday. The division has so far received a total of 460.80 mm of rains since January. 

The weather department has forecast heavy rainfall at isolated places in Konkan on Saturday and moderate rainfall for Thane, Palghar and Mumbai on Sunday.

As per an official release, Thane district recorded 81.9 mm shower in 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Friday. (PTI)

Workers remove debris from the collapsed site in Asalfa Village. A house collapse accident was reported by the BMC, where a part of the wall of a G+1 structure fell in a densely populated area in Asalfa village yesterday late last night. One person was rescued safely. 

Express photo by Amit Chakravarty

The people of Maharashtra are according a grand reception to his BRS, and the sarpanches of some of the villages in the neighbouring state are demanding that their government either merge their villages with Telangana or implement the welfare schemes being provided in the southern state, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Friday.

He was addressing a public meeting at Asifabad after formally launching the Integrated District Collectorate of Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district.

“Sarpanches of some of the bordering Maharashtra villages are demanding their government either merge them with Telangana or implement Telangana schemes,” Rao claimed.

Referring to Congress' stance that it will abolish Dharani, the state government's integrated land management system, Rao said the abolition of Dharani would bring back middlemen into the system. (PTI)

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who completed one year in office on Friday, said increasing insurance cover under a health scheme to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1.5 lakh and providing farmers a financial aid of Rs 6,000 a year were among the key decisions taken by his government.

Participating virtually in a function organised for laying foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 122.59 crore at Patan in western Maharashtra's Satara district, Shinde said a Shiv Sena-BJP government should have been formed after polls in November 2019 itself, but it took 50 MLAs and 13 MPs to make it happen two-and-a-half years later.

As many as 86 development projects covering 126 villages in the home district of Shinde were launched at the function.
The Shiv Sena leader said that his government remains focused on development and welfare of people. (PTI)

Deputy Chairperson of Maharashtra Legislative Council Neelam Gorhe on Friday said she will allocate time in the coming session of the legislature for debate on the new National Education Policy (NEP) and hoped it will be implemented in the state without any hassles.

She was speaking virtually at a conclave on NEP 2020 held in Thane.

Referring to the teachers and graduates constituencies in the state, Gorhe said the Upper House has a big representation of teachers and a debate on NEP was essential for its implementation.

“We always raise issues of justice and economic rights of teachers. However, there has not been much discussion either in the Assembly or Council on the New Education Policy,” she said.

Gorhe said she will allocate time for debate on NEP in the Upper House and hoped that with the support of the government and stakeholders, it would be implemented in the state without any hassles. (PTI)

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) working president Supriya Sule on Friday said the BJP was obsessed with her father Sharad Pawar and cousin Ajit Pawar, comments coming in the backdrop of a war of words between the two parties over formation of a short-lived government in Maharashtra in 2019.

Hitting out at the BJP, which is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati said the saffron party has no vision either for the country or the state.

Talking to reporters here after meeting party workers who came to wish her on her birthday, Sule said, "I am flattered that the Centre's and state politics revolved round my father and brother (NCP leader Ajit Pawar). The BJP is so obsessed with them that they have no time to chart out a vision for the country's and the state's development. How will they reduce inflation and create jobs?" Replying to questions on the ongoing war of words between Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the NCP over the short-lived BJP-Ajit Pawar government in November 2019, Sule said Fadnavis has no time to take measures to reduce inflation or ensure women's security. (PTI)

#WATCH | Maharashtra | Andheri Subway in Mumbai waterlogged as the city continues to receive rainfall. pic.twitter.com/UXrg3AM3pn

— ANI (@ANI) June 30, 2023

Citing an "alarming" rise in harassment of people by those in uniform inside police stations, the state human rights panel has called for sensitisation of cops so that they can develop a sense of responsibility in dealing with citizens who look at them as protectors of law.

The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has recommended to the state Director General of Police (DGP) to hold periodical seminars to sensitize the state police force's officials as part of an order in connection with the harassment of a couple in a police station.

The Commission came down heavily on the Nagpur police commissioner for not initiating criminal action against four city police officials for physically and mentally harassing an advocate and her husband who had gone to a police station to lodge a complaint.

The order directed the four errant police officials to jointly pay a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh to the advocate and her husband within six weeks and said the couple was at liberty to launch prosecution against those cops. (PTI)

Citing an "alarming" rise in harassment of people by those in uniform inside police stations, the state human rights panel has called for sensitisation of cops so that they can develop a sense of responsibility in dealing with citizens who look at them as protectors of law.

The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has recommended to the state Director General of Police (DGP) to hold periodical seminars to sensitize the state police force's officials as part of an order in connection with the harassment of a couple in a police station.(PTI) 

In a setback for the Yuva Sena, its chief Aaditya Thackeray’s close aide Rahul Kanal is likely to join the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday when Aaditya and other Sena (UBT) leaders are set to take out a mega protest march to the BMC headquarters in South Mumbai.

Rahul Kanal is a known face in the Bandra area and is considered to be close to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya since the Yuva Sena was formed over 10 years ago. He had earlier quit the Yuva Sena core committee’s WhatsApp group hinting that he is upset with the functioning of its panel. Read more

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