According to IMD’s 48-hour forecast, generally cloudy sky and light to moderate rain is likely in Mumbai city and suburbs. (Express file photo by Amit Chakravarty)Mumbai News Live Updates (July 17): After days of heavy rainfall in Mumbai, the intensity of the showers reduced on Saturday, which recorded light rainfall throughout the day. Tulsi lake, the third of the seven lakes that supplies drinking water to Mumbai, started overflowing in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, said BMC Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ajay Rathod.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Cabinet on Saturday gave in-principal approval to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) to raise Rs 60,000 crore as loan to fund the ongoing big-ticket infrastructure projects in and around Mumbai. The government also announced it will stand as guarantor to the first tranche of the loan to be raised – worth Rs 12,000 crore – by waiving duties.
In other news, the state’s textbook bureau, Balbharti, has launched integrated textbooks for Class 1 students of the Maharashtra State Board curriculum from this academic year. The idea is to reduce the weight of school bags as students have to carry a single textbook at a time which will include all subjects.
Responding to the allegation levelled by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led rebel faction and the BJP that the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena, Congress and the NCP was an unnatural alliance, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday asked whether the BJP and NCP’s tie-up after the state Assembly elections in 2019 was a ‘natural alliance’? Raut was referring to the government formed by the current Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis with the NCP leader Ajit Pawar, which had lasted for 80 hours. Read the article
Mumbai on Sunday reported 276 COVID-19 cases at a positivity rate of 2.59 per cent and two fatalities, taking the tally to 11,21,095 and the toll to 19,632, a civic official said.
A day earlier, the metropolis had logged 365 cases and two deaths due to COVID-19, he said.
Of the 376 new cases, only 24 were symptomatic, the official added.
The recovery count rose by 397 to reach 10,99,163, which left the city with an active caseload of 2,300, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said.(PTI)
Maharashtra is the growth engine of the country, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday and called for strengthening the state.
Shinde spoke to Shah in a virtual dialogue meeting regarding the ongoing 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' campaign. Union cultural affairs minister G Kishan Reddy also attended the meeting, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.
"Maharashtra is the country's growth engine. If Maharashtra is strengthened, so will be the country," Shinde told Shah.
He said Maharashtra rural development ministry has won the first rank in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav campaign.
Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is an initiative of the Union government to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence.(PTI)
Tomorrow is the election of the President of India. Gurukul ke Balchinkar give good wishes to Yashwant Sinha and Draupadi Murmu for the presidential elections at Mumbai.
Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has demanded the imposition of President's rule in Maharashtra till the constitution bench of the Supreme Court gives its verdict on the plea seeking disqualification of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.
Raut also took a dig at the newly-formed Eknath Shinde government over the delay in the formation of the new cabinet.
'Barbados has a population of 2.5 lakh and yet has a cabinet of 27. Maharashtra's 12-crore population has a cabinet of 2 members that are taking arbitrary decisions. Where is the regard for the constitution ?' he tweeted.(PTI)
Heavy rains that lashed Mumbai earlier this week not only affected the normal life for people, but it also had an impact on the wildlife, as over 80 displaced animals and birds were rescued from various parts of the city over the last few days.
At least 88 different species of animals, birds and reptiles were rescued from different parts of the city and its adjoining areas in three days, a forest official said.
Majority of the animals and birds were rescued from the suburban areas of the city, which share spaces with forests, and most of them were displaced due to incessant rainfall, he said.(PTI)
With monsoon at its peak, the water storage level in the 3,267 dams across Maharashtra has recorded a 21.52 per cent increase till mid-July as compared to the same period last year. The incessant rain across the state in the last 10 days this month is being attributed to the sharp rise in the water levels of the dams.
At present, it stands at 51.52 per cent compared to only 30 per cent last year and as against the total water storage capacity of 40,779,220 million litre, it has crossed 21,009,610 million litre.
The drought-prone Marathwada region with eight districts—Aurangabad, Beed, Latur, Parbhani, Jalna, Osmanabad, Hingoli, and Nanded—has the highest number of dams at 964. As against its optimum storage capacity of 7,259,000 million litres, the water level here is now at 3,224,400 million litres. As against last year’s 29 per cent, the water storage stands at 44.42 per cent. Read the full report here
Observing that “national interest is above any other interest, including self-interest” for an Indian Army officer, the Bombay High Court has disposed of a writ petition filed by a lieutenant colonel posted in Mumbai challenging an order of the Military Secretary Branch refusing his request for extension of his tenure in Mumbai.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand S Karnik on July 14 passed a judgement on the plea by the officer challenging orders of the Military Secretary Branch (Artillery) and others. The petitioner had sought an extension so that he could provide special treatment to his completely disabled son, which according to him was only available in Mumbai.
The bench said it was “not insensitive towards the child’s need” and was “conscious that he would require the constant presence of his parents”. However, it said that “the sentiments of sympathy” cannot form the basis of granting relief in the matter. The bench noted that the “petitioner was not being reasonable in his approach despite staying in Mumbai for over a decade and ought to have realised that there are over 100 officers waiting in queue for posting in Mumbai on similar grounds”. Read the full report here
Generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain is expected in Mumbai and suburbs today.
Occasional strong wind speed reaching to 44-55 kmph and occasionally gusting to 65 kmph are likely.
Tide Table
High Tide: 14:54hrs : 4.73mtr
Low Tide : 2106 hrs : 1.16 mtr
Daily figures of new coronavirus infections declined in Maharashtra in the first fortnight of July, but the number of fatalities showed an upward trend, data shows.
Between July 1 to 15, Maharashtra reported 38,709 new infections. As many as 90 deaths, more than those reported in entire June, were also recorded during this period. As of July 15, Maharashtra had 16,000 active cases.
According to the state health department, the tally of BA.4 and BA.5 patients in the state stands at 113, and that of BA.2.75 patients at 40. All three are sub-variants of Omicron. (PTI)
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the state government and the police to designate employees who would only cater to filling potholes in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). This work would continue on a 24×7 basis, he added.
Shinde has been facing flak for potholes present on Thane roads, especially on the Bhiwandi bypass near his house.
While highways in Mumbai are maintained by MMRDA, MSRDC looks after the upkeep of some flyovers in the city and the widening of the Mumbra bypass. In a meeting held with officials at Sahyadri, the state guesthouse, Shinde said that the potholes will have to filled with ready mix material. Read more here
After years of abuse, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has finally issued a tender to make a detailed project report to stop the ingress of sewer water and also its detection, interception and diversion in the Powai Lake. The tender was issued by the Sewerage Projects Department
The BMC received several complaints of water from sewers being released into the lake due to which it always appears to be full, but the discharge of unclean water led to an increase in hyacinths and algae content in the water body. Before the pandemic, the then municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta had tried to address the issue.
Kamlesh Sharma, Secretary of Maharashtra State Angling Association, said, “There are 17 outlets, which release sewer water in Powai Lake. BMC claims that these are closed but we feel that sewer water is still let inside. Our boats go in the Powai Lake for angling and we experience sewer water in the lake.” Read more here
Official email ids of 11 officials of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) were compromised by an unknown persons, who used them to send 34 emails in May. Based on a complaint from a SEBI official, an FIR was registered on July 16 and further investigation is on.
The complainant is an assistant manager with the IT department of SEBI, which looks after the cyber-security of the regulatory body. On May 24, a manager in the regulatory body informed the complainant that his official email id was used by some unknown person on May 23 to send an email to a person, who works in a private company. The manager claimed that someone illegally accessed his email account and sent the email following which the IT department conducted an internal investigation. Read the full report here
The Mumbai Crime Branch Unit VI Saturday arrested two members of a gang that buys stolen smartphones from snatchers and thieves in the city. A total of 490 smartphones and equipment used to repair the phones have been seized from the criminals, apart from 9.5 kg ganja, 174 liquor bottles and two swords. The collective value of the seizure is Rs 74.78 lakh, sources said.
“The accused had rented another room next to his residence to keep the stolen valuables. We are investigating further to find out who else is involved in the crime. They have been booked for criminal conspiracy apart from theft, cheating and other sections of the NDPS Act and the Maharashtra Prohibition Act,” said Ravindra Salukhe, acting senior inspector of the Crime Branch unit. Read the full report here
The state’s textbook bureau, Balbharti, has launched integrated textbooks for Class 1 students of the Maharashtra State Board curriculum from this academic year. The idea is to reduce the weight of school bags as students have to carry a single textbook at a time which will include all subjects.
Until now, Class 1 students had to carry 4 textbooks, one for each subject, daily. With integrated textbooks, now they have to carry only a single textbook at a time. The entire Class 1 curriculum is now divided in four parts and made available in four integrated textbooks, two per semester.
“Even as the total cost remains almost the same for parents, this has resulted in reducing the weight of textbooks in a child’s school bag from 850gm to 230gm which is a considerable drop,” said an official from the Balbharti adding that the initiative was first launched in a few schools across Maharashtra last year as a pilot project. However, it has been made a regular practice from this academic year. Read more here
The Maharashtra Cabinet on Saturday gave in-principal approval to the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) to raise Rs 60,000 crore as loan to fund the ongoing big-ticket infrastructure projects in and around Mumbai.
The government also announced it will stand as guarantor to the first tranche of the loan to be raised – worth Rs 12,000 crore – by waiving duties.
Earlier, the MMRDA had appointed SBI Capital Market Limited as an advisor for its resource mobilisation plan and also approved SBI’s appointment to raise Rs 60,000 crore needed to complete projects at a fee of 0.20 per cent of the total funds raised. Read the full report here
After days of heavy rainfall in Mumbai, the intensity of the showers reduced on Saturday, which recorded light rainfall throughout the day.
In the first 16 days of July, the city recorded 1,112.3 mm of rainfall. The rain, which persisted since July 1, also recharged the dams. Tulsi lake, the third of the seven lakes that supplies drinking water to Mumbai, started overflowing in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, said BMC Deputy Municipal Commissioner Ajay Rathod.
Tulsi lake supplies four million gallons of water per day to Mumbai. Earlier, Modaksagar and Tansa lakes had overflowed. The seven lakes are 78.63 per cent of their total water capacity to hold 14.47 lakh million litre. Read more here
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