A health worker takes swab sample of a passenger for Covid-19 test, at a railway station in Mumbai. (PTI)Mumbai News Highlights: Maharashtra on Monday reported 1,485 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily count in more than 17 months, and 27 fresh deaths, taking the infection tally to 65,93,182 and the toll to 1,39,816. No fresh cases were reported in several districts. Over 2,000 patients recovered from the virus, while over 28,000 cases are currently active.
Covid-19 induced restrictions are being gradually eased in Maharashtra as the number of cases is on the decline. Chief Minister’s Office has said that amusement parks, auditoriums, and theaters in the state will be opened from October 22. It also added that the guidelines for extending the hours of restaurants and shops across the state will be out soon.
In another news, a Shiv Sena leader has moved the Supreme Court seeking judicial enquiry into affairs of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at Mumbai and its officials in the wake of the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in a case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship in Mumbai. The petition has urged the apex court to take suo moto cognizance to protect the fundamental rights of Aryan who has been booked under the NDPS Act by NCB, Zonal Office, Mumbai.
On the other hand, there are clear similarities in the two alleged drug busts by the Narcotics Control Bureau in Mumbai over the past year, involving actor Rhea Chakraborty and Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan. In neither case was the central agency able to show any drug seizures on Aryan or Rhea, nor did it carry out blood tests on either of them to determine whether they had consumed drugs. In both cases, the NCB detained the two suspects, got access to their mobile phones, and used material stored in the devices, including deleted WhatsApp chats, to arrest them.
Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty and her businessman-husband Raj Kundra sent a legal notice to actor Sherlyn Chopra, seeking an apology and Rs 50 crore in damages for ruining their reputation by making "false and baseless" allegations against them.
The legal notice, sent through their advocate Prashant Patil, has sought an unconditional public apology from Chopra in leading newspapers and on digital media platforms within seven days, failing which it warned of civil and criminal proceedings against the 37-year-old actor. (PTI)
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has not receded yet in the state but at the same time conditions are not favourable to immediately trigger the third wave.
Tope also said the COVID Task Force has cautioned about a third wave of the pandemic post the Diwali season. "The second wave of the pandemic is not over yet. But there is no favourable condition for a third wave as of now. The state task force has cautioned of a third wave post the Diwali season. We are assessing the situation," he said. (PTI)
After being over one in the first half of October, Mumbai's R-value, which reflects how rapidly the coronavirus pandemic is spreading, has dropped below one, according to researchers of the Chennai-based Institute of Mathematical Sciences.
The R-value for COVID-19 in Mumbai between October 16 and 18 was 0.94, they said. The Reproduction number, or R, refers to how many people a sick person infects on an average. In other words, it can tell how 'efficiently' a virus is spreading.
The smaller R is than 1, the faster the disease is on decline. Conversely, if R is greater than 1, the number of infected people is increasing in each round - technically, this is what is called the epidemic phase. The bigger the number is than 1, the faster the rate of spread of the disease in the population. (PTI)
Case registered against four persons for allegedly gang raping a 26-year old woman in Thane.
Kasarvadavali Police station registered a case under IPC 376, 376 (d), 377, 354, 420, 323, 504, 506 and 34, ANI reported. No accused have been arrested in the case so far.
We may not be able to stop climate change, but we can slow it down, state Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray said on Monday.
He was interacting at National Stock Exchange during a panel discussion on ‘Economic opportunity for India to accelerate management of marine & land waste and pollution’, amid members of UN agencies, government, sustainability heads of corporates and select NGOs.
Asking people to make it a habit to adhere to climate change emergencies, making small changes, Thackeray said, “We may not be able to stop climate change, but what we can do as corporates, citizens, industries is slow down what climate change is doing to us.”
The BMC on Monday issued SOPs for opening of colleges and movie and drama theatres in the city. Cinema halls, single-screen theatres, drama theatres and auditoriums have been allowed to open from October 22 with 50 per cent seating capacity.
In an order issued on Monday, Municipal Commissioner I S Chahal said that the guidelines issued by the state government to allow reopening of cinema halls, drama theatres and auditoriums will be implemented in the city from October 22, until further orders.
The guideline has not mandated that only fully vaccinated people will be allowed entry and has allowed people to show “safe status” on Aarogya Setu for entry.
Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan and Zoo in Byculla is likely to reopen from November 1.
BMC officials said the Byculla Zoo, popularly known as Rani Baug, has submitted a proposal regarding the zoo’s reopening and it is likely to be opened next month as auditoriums and theatres will also open for the public after October 22.
“We are in talks with senior officials of BMC and state government. The zoo is likely to be reopened by November 1. We are doing all necessary preparation for opening up,” said Sanjay Tripathi, zoo director. The zoo was last opened in February 2021, after 11 months of being shut due to the pandemic, since March 2020. However, after a month, the zoo was shut again as the second wave hit the city.
As on Monday, Maharashtra's COVID-19 recovery rate stands at 97.4 per cent, while the fatality rate is 2.12 per cent.
Maharashtra on Monday reported 1,485 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the lowest daily count in more than 17 months, and 27 fresh deaths, taking the infection tally to 65,93,182 and the toll to 1,39,816. No fresh cases were reported in several districts. Over 2,000 patients recovered from the virus, while over 28,000 cases are currently active.
he Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday allowed reopening of cinema halls, drama theatres and auditoriums for organising cultural programmes in the metropolis from October 22 with COVID-19 protocols like use of face masks and social distancing. In a circular, the civic body said the SOPs (standard operating procedures) related to reopening of these establishments, which were issued by the Maharashtra government through three separate orders, will be applicable in areas falling under the BMC's jurisdiction.
Earlier last week, the government had issued SOPs for reopening of cinema halls, drama theatres and auditoriums for cultural events at 50 per cent capacity across the state.
Mumbai has witnessed a 2-degree Celsius average temperature rise across 27 years (1991-2018), while the built-up area of the city has risen by 66 per cent in the same period, a study by Researchers Faculty of Natural Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi, Osmania University in Hyderabad, and Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh has found.
“We observed that the average temperature in 1991 was 34.08 degrees Celsius. It rose to 36.28 degrees Celsius in 2018 (a 2.2-degree Celsius increase) under the heat island zones (vulnerable areas), thus exposing people to higher heat risk,” said Shahfahad, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Geography, Jamia Millia Islamia University, and lead author of the study. Read More
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Monday said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is prepared to launch a Covid-19 vaccination drive for 33 lakh children between 2 and 17 years of age, but it is awaiting guidelines from the central government.
“Vaccination will start after receiving the guidelines from the central government and the required stock of vaccines for this age group,” said Pednekar in a media interaction on Monday. Read More
Twenty inmates of Adharwadi Jail in Kalyan tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday and have been admitted to Thane Civil Hospital. Earlier, in April 2021, 30 inmates were found infected with coronavirus in Aadharwadi jail.
According to jail officials, all other prisoners who came in contact with the infected persons have been quarantined. The official said that accommodation of new inmates was arranged at Don Bosco School in the same area. Currently the centre has been closed as the cases had started going down. Initially, mild symptoms were seen in the infected prisoners and then they were tested for the virus.
"During the RT-PCR test of the inmates, 20 of them were found to be corona positive. Their condition is stable. All these prisoners have been admitted to the hospital where their treatment is going on," said Kailash Pawar, Thane civil hospital surgeon.
Covid-19 induced restrictions are being gradually eased in Maharashtra as the number of cases is on the decline. Chief Minister's Office has said that amusement parks, auditoriums, and theaters in the state will be opened from October 22. It also added that the guidelines for extending the hours of restaurants and shops across the state will be out soon.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to Shiv Sena MP Bhavana Gawali to appear before it on October 20 for questioning in a money laundering case registered against her and others, official sources said on Monday.
The 48-year-old Gawali is a sitting Lok Sabha member from the Yavatmal-Washim constituency in Maharashtra. She was first summoned by the agency to appear on October 4 but she sought adjournment and a new date citing work commitments. Read More
A Shiv Sena leader has moved the Supreme Court seeking judicial enquiry into affairs of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) at Mumbai and its officials in the wake of the arrest of Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan in a case of alleged seizure of drugs from a cruise ship in Mumbai.
The petition has urged the apex court to take suo moto cognizance to protect the fundamental rights of Aryan who has been booked under the NDPS Act by NCB, Zonal Office, Mumbai. Read More
The Suryakiran Aerobatic Team of the Indian Air Force (IAF), as part of ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ celebrations, did a flypast over the Gateway of India in Mumbai today.
BMC Standing Committee Chairman and senior Shiv Sena leader Yashwant Jadhav has claimed that at least 15 to 20 BJP corpprators are likely to join Sena.
"Many corporators from BJP are not happy with the behaviour of senior BJP leaders in BMC. They are in touch with us and likley to join the party by December," said Jadhav in a press conference at BMC Headquarters on Monday. He added that the BJP is raising wild allegations of corruption in 'Ashraya Yojana' (housing for sanitary workers) and targeting Sena after they got to know about their corporators being not happy with the party functioning and readying to join Sena.
On Saturday, BJP corporators Vinod Mishra and Prabhakar Shinde had alleged corruption of Rs 1844 crore in contracts awarded for housing projects of BMC sanitary workers.
Three people were killed and five injured in a pile-up of six vehicles, including three cars, a bus, a tempo and a trailer, on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway in the early hours of Monday, said the police. State highway patrol officials said that the accident took place in the Borghat area around 6 am and caused traffic snarls for some time before the damaged vehicles were taken off the road. Read More
The Shiv Sena on Monday said it can understand the use of central agencies for targeting leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, but claimed the "harassment" of their family members shows the "inhuman face of the BJP". People normally say they have lost faith in a government. But in Maharashtra, it is the opposite. The BJP has become a "butt of jokes" in the state, an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said.
"The BJP uses the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, I-T (Income Tax department) and the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) for its own agenda. Thackeray exposed these attacks being made through the ED and CBI — the attacks are like using Shikhandi as a shield," it said. Bhishma, the patriarch of the Kauravas and Pandavas in the epic 'Mahabharata', was eliminated with the help of Shikhandi. The Shiv Sena further hit out at the BJP and the Centre, claiming they don't face questions and "finish" those who question them. "The BJP and its government at the Centre do not believe in democracy, Constitution, law and order. They don't accept chief ministers of opposition parties. This new phenomenon in politics speaks volumes (about the mindset). Such things come to their mind only due to smoking up of low quality weed," the edit said. (PTI)