Amit Shah’s meeting with Raj Thackeray will be about the BMC polls,” a source said. (PTI/Express)Mumbai News Live Updates (September 2): Union Home Minister Amit Shah will likely meet Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray during his two-day Mumbai visit from September 5, according to sources in the BJP and the MNS. The BJP’s state leaders have already been meeting the MNS chief ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
Meanwhile, MNS worker Vinod Argile, who was arrested after a video of him abusing a woman went viral, has been removed as sub-division president of the Kamathipura division by the party. “I apologize on behalf of the party. The party has taken a very strict stand in this regard, and as a part of it, the sub-division president of the Kamathipura division Mr. Vinod Argile is being relieved from the post. A proper decision will be taken in this regard, after gathering the actual information about the matter and conducting a thorough investigation,” MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said in a letter.
In other news, Taking to Twitter on Friday, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s royal seal being the inspiration behind the new naval ensign was a “historical and proud moment”. “Colonial symbolism is actually being removed and replaced by our glorious history’s RajMudra, the royal seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj!” he said. PM Narendra Modi had unveiled the new ensign during the commissioning event of INS Vikran, and dedicated the new ensign to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. “Today India has taken off its chest a load of colonial past and a symbol of servitude,” he said speaking about the new ensign.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the house of Uddhav Thackeray's PA Milind Narvekar for Ganesh Chaturthi festival. (Express Photo)
(Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
Maharashtra on Friday reported 1,258 new COVID-19 cases and six more deaths linked to the infection, which took the tally to 81,02,377 and the toll to 1,48,257, a health official said.
On Thursday, the state had seen 781 cases and four deaths.
Of the new cases, 678 were from the Mumbai administrative circle, followed by the Pune circle (381), Nagpur (56), Kolhapur (49), Nashik (35), Akola (16), Aurangabad (12) and the Latur circle (9).
An administrative circle consists of multiple districts.
All the six deaths related to coronavirus were registered in the Mumbai circle -- three in the metropolis, two in Thane and one in Mira Bhayander, he added. (PTI)
Senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat slammed the reports about possible defection by former CM Ashok Chavan today.
"The reports are absolutely misleading. We both are presently involved in the planning of the Bharat Jodo yatra. We are committed to strengthening the Congress party in Maharashtra and will continue to do so. It is unfair to spread mischievous reports about a senior leader like Ashok Chavan and i appeal to media to be responsible while broadcasting such baselss news reports." he said.
Amid speculations of a meeting between Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Former CM and Congress leader Ashok Chavan, Fadnavis today clarified that he did not meet Chavan.
"He had come for Ganesh darshan at the place where I had also gone. But I was leaving and we did not meet." Fadnavis told reporters in Pune.
In view of the Ganpati festival, the Western Railway has decided to run four extra trains on the intervening night of September 9 and 10 between Churchgate & Virar.
MNS worker Vinod Argile, who was arrested after a video of him abusing a woman went viral, has been removed as sub-division president of the Kamathipura division by the party.
"I apologize on behalf of the party. The party has taken a very strict stand in this regard, and as a part of it, the sub-division president of the Kamathipura division Mr. Vinod Argile is being relieved from the post. A proper decision will be taken in this regard, after gathering the actual information about the matter and conducting a thorough investigation," MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said in a letter.
In view of the Ganpati festival, the central railway informed that there will be no mega block on the CSMT-KYC on main line and the CSMT-PNVL section HB line on Sunday (September 4).
More from Cities
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the new Naval Ensign (flag) at Kochi on Friday (September 2), which bears the seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who laid the foundations of a modern navy.
Shivaji’s navy gave his enemies sleepless nights, the Prime Minister said, and this was the reason that the British colonialists decided to break the back of the Indian naval enterprise.
But now, the Indian Navy’s new flag, inspired by Shivaji, will fly proudly in the sky and on the seas, the Prime Minister said.
How does the Indian Navy identify with Shivaji (reign 1674-80) and the great Maratha admiral Kanhoji Angre (1669-1729), and how did they ensure Maratha supremacy of the seas? Man Aman Singh Chhina explains
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Bala Nandgaonkar said that Vinod Argile, a party worker, who slapped a lady in south Mumbai earlier will be removed from the position.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Nandgaonkar said, "We will take away posts of all person who are involved in this incident. I have already informed our chief Raj Thackeray. We will also call the victim lady and hear her out. Such kind of behavior is totally unacceptable."
Three MNS workers were arrested on Thursday for allegedly assaulting a 57-year-old woman at Nagpada because she allegedly stopped them from putting up a party banner welcoming lord Ganesh outside her shut shop.
Along with Argile, the other two workers were identified as Raju Argile and Sandip Lad.
The police said the MNS workers got into an argument with the woman and Vinod Argile abused and slapped her. He also pushed her, resulting in her falling on the ground.
Mumbai is likely to witness light to moderate rainfall in the island city and suburbs, with the possibility of thundershowers in some areas on Friday, according to information from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
In 24 hours uptil 8 am on Friday, the Island city recorded 0.03 mm of rainfall, the eastern suburbs recorded 0.08mm, and the western suburbs recorded 0.05 mm. No untoward incident has been reported.
Mumbai will get a high-tide of 3.77 meters at 3.21 pm on Friday, and of 3.71 metres at 4.17 am on Saturday.
Tide Timings
High Tide: 1521 hrs: 3.77 mtr
Low Tide: 2126 hrs: 0.94mtr
High Tide: 03.09.2022: 0417hrs: 3.71 mtr
Low Tide: 03.09.2022 : 0955 hrs: 2.12mtr
A total of 34,122 idols were immersed on Thursday till 9 pm, the first day of immersion in the Ganesh festival.
These included 33,962 household Ganesh idols, 108 Ganesh mandal idols and 52 Hartalika idols. Hartalika idols are those of Shiva and Parvati kept by devotees for marital bliss.
Out of the above figures, 13,294 household idols, 54 mandal idols and 14 Hartalika idols were immersed in artifical lakes, amounting to 39% of the total idols.
The Ganesh festival goes on for ten days. This year, it started on Wednesday, August 31. The immersions will take place on September 1 (one and half day Ganpati immersion), September 4 (fifth day Ganpati immersion), September 5 (Gauri Ganpati immersion), September 6 (seven day immersion) and September 9 (Anant Chatudashi).
A special court in a recent order allowed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file additional evidence in the Gadchiroli security personnel attack case, collected during its probe in the Elgaar Parishad case.
The NIA had made an application before the special court stating that some evidence, including statements of protected witnesses, were required to be brought on record as evidence in the case against the accused in the Gadchiroli attack case as it has a bearing on it.
The defence counsel had said the procedure adopted by the NIA to bring on record the case was not proper and it should not be allowed. Sadaf Modak reports
Twenty years after an officer of the customs department was booked in a case of disproportionate assets, a special CBI court this week cleared him of all charges. PN Murlidharan Pillai, now 71, was acquitted on Monday.
“From the investigation carried out by the investigating officer, it appears that he purposefully avoided to take into account the financial transactions of the wife of the accused as well as the status of previous criminal cases registered against the accused and return of foreign currencies to its lawful owner and, thereby, suppressed vital evidence and documents and got the sanction for prosecution by misrepresenting and misleading the Sanctioning Authority,” special judge SH Gwalani said in the order. Read more here
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that the upcoming mega Common Facility Centre (CFC) building at Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) in Mumbai would serve as an example that government and Public Private Partnership projects can also adhere to time-frames and would be completed within the stipulated deadlines.
He was speaking at the virtual Bhoomi Poojan ceremony of the CFC building.
Goyal highlighted that a target to complete work by May 1, 2023, has been set, which coincides with the completion of 50 years of the SEEPZ, the Maharashtra Day and the Labor Day. Read the full report here
A week after the death of two persons, including a minor, at a residential rehabilitation centre for the mentally challenged at Igatpuri in Maharashtra’s Nashik district, lab tests of stool samples of those admitted at the hospital reveal cholera infection. However, the administration awaits the postmortem reports of the deceased to decide on action against the centre’s management.
Igatpuri Taluka Health Officer Dr Mohammed TurabAli Deshmukh said, “The stool samples taken from individuals who were admitted at the Rural Health Centre (RHC) show Vibrio Cholerae O1 strain which causes loose motions. However, a final postmortem report which includes chemical analysis and histopathology report will confirm the cause of death.” The clinical reason reported in the postmortem is dehydration. However, what caused it has to be verified and so, viscera samples were sent to the forensic lab for further investigation. It is this report that is awaited.
“This infection is caused due to murky water. However, a report of the drinking water sample taken from the centre has not shown any issue. This is because the centre uses a water filter for drinking water. We suspect that this may have been caused due to tanker water used for other purposes such as toilet, washing of utensils etc. However, we cannot be certain until all reports are ready for final evaluation,” added Dr Deshmukh. “This could also be the reason different individuals reported different severity of the illness. I have not seen a cholera case in many years. All other reports may provide more clarity.” Meanwhile, all individuals who were admitted have been discharged. Pallavi Smart reports
Senior advocate Rajani Iyer of the Bombay High Court passed away on Thursday due to prolonged illness. She was in her late sixties.
Iyer was one of the few designated women senior advocates of the Bombay High Court. She was designated as a senior advocate by the High Court in 2006, after nearly three decades in the legal profession.
She worked on several high profile cases and also appeared in Public Interest Litigations, such as the Mumbai riots victims’ case, noise pollution matters. Iyer is survived by her brother and his family.
With nine confirmed monkeypox cases in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (ICMR-NIRRCH), in association with Mumbai’s BYL Nair hospital, has made several recommendations to the Union Health Ministry on addressing the disease among pregnant women in India.
The recommendations included pressing accredited social health activists (ASHA) and other frontline healthcare workers to identify monkeypox cases; timely reporting; developing diagnostic laboratories and referral linkages in rural and urban areas; creating facilities for institutional isolation; establishing multidisciplinary team for management of monkeypox among pregnant women and newborns at tertiary care facilities as well as genomic surveillance.
Further, the recommendations spoke of conducting studies on the safety and efficacy of available anti-virals and vaccines for the treatment of monkeypox among pregnant women. Read more here
The Bombay High Court recently gave reprieve to around 8,000 flat and shopowners in Lokhandwala Complex and Oshiwara by setting aside a Maharashtra government order that had allowed the re-opening of a 55-year-old case.
The government had permitted the BMC to file a revision plea in connection to a 1965 order issue by an additional collector, which had vested rights of a 723-acre plot in favour of the person in possession of the land, who had rights over the land as was granted during the British regime in 1885.
The BMC, in 2019, had sought revision of the 1965 order, as it had utilised 65 acre of the plot for constructing a sewage treatment plant and the landowners had sought compensation. In a communication to the government, it had sought permission to revise the 1965 order, claiming that it would have to pay a huge amount as compensation for land acquisition to the owners. Omkar Gokhale reports
The Mumbai city collectorate is constructing a strongroom for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used during elections. The Rs 76.77 crore project is coming up on a 3,846 sq metre plot in the revenue division of Wadala salt pans.
City collector Rajiv Nivatkar said, “We have ten assembly constituencies in the island city district. As per the Centre’s guidelines, each district must have its own godown. Hence, we are constructing one at Wadala.’’
Till now, EVMs were requisitioned from outside and stored at schools in the city after votes were cast. Once the counting process was completed, they would be sent back to the state from where they were procured. The strongroom will also have a training centre and also a counting centre, an official said.