Veteran Bollywood director Ismaeel Shroff passes away
Veteran Bollywood films director Ismaeel Shroff passed away following a brief illness here late on Wednesday, a family friend said.
He was around 65 and breathed his last at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.
Once a leading director, he had wielded the megaphone for several hits, including "Ahista Ahista", "Bulandi", "Thodi Si Bewafai", "Surya", etc.
He hailed from Andhra Pradesh.
My govt is inclusive, committed to Maha's all-round development, says CM Shinde
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said his government was committed to all-round development of the state and after taking charge three months ago, he has taken welfare measures for various sections of the society, including farmers and senior citizens.
In a video message greeting people on the occasion of Diwali, he said agriculture, irrigation, education and infrastructure sectors are being given priority by the state government, which was inclusive in nature.
Maharashtra is the country's growth engine, said Shinde who took oath on June 30 and celebrated his first Diwali as chief minister.
Maha: Man killed over old dispute, his body with slit throat found Thane
A 32-year-old man was killed allegedly by his friend and a few others, at Mumbra in Maharashtra's Thane city over some old dispute, police said on Wednesday.
The body of the victim, Faizan Iqbal Memon, a resident of Kausa, was recovered on Tuesday, they said.
Around 4 pm on October 24, the victim's friend called him out of his house and took him along. Memon did not return home that night. But the next day, he was found dead with his throat slit, an official of Mumbra police station said.
Blast in chemical factory at Maha's Palghar leaves two dead, 5 injured
At least two persons were killed and five others injured in a major blast followed by a fire that occurred in a chemical factory in Tarapur industrial area of Maharashtra's Palghar on Wednesday, police said.
The incident took place in the evening at the Bhageria Industries Ltd at its plant in the Tarapur-Boisar industrial belt, said an official of Palghar police control room.
The fire brigade, police and other rescue teams rushed to the site to render assistance and work is on to retrieve more victims who may be trapped there.
CCTV footage captures dog biting a man in Lodha Amara, Kolshet in Thane
Anil Deshmukh moves Bombay High Court for bail in Rs 100 cr extortion case
Former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday moved the Bombay High Court in connection with the Rs 100 crore extortion case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation case.
This comes days after a special CBI court rejected Deshmukh's bail plea on October 21.
The hearing on the NCP leader's bail plea will take place on November 11.
Earlier, rejecting the bail application of Anil Deshmukh, the CBI court said that in this case, the statement of public witness Sachin Waze has been recorded by the CBI during the hearing of the bail application.
He had been accused of asking policemen to collect Rs 100 crores illegally for him every month from bar owners in Mumbai.
Did CM Shinde celebrate Diwali with police in Gadchiroli for publicity, asks NCP
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde if he celebrated Diwali with police in Naxalite-affected Gadchiroli district for the sake of publicity.
Shinde on Tuesday visited Bhamragad in the eastern Maharashtra district and celebrated Diwali with police personnel.
"Good to know that CM Eknath Shinde ji celebrated Diwali with Police in Gadchiroli. But the question is, why only there? Did he celebrate there because it is a naxal area and it will garner him more publicity?" tweeted NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto.
Civic polls: Fadnavis says he will tour some places in Maha with Shinde
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said he and CM Eknath Shinde will jointly tour some parts of the state ahead of civic elections.
Fadnavis made the comments while speaking to reporters in Nagpur ahead of the elections for 27 municipal corporations, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and 25 zilla parishads due in the next few months.
Their terms are already over and the poll schedule is not yet announced.
Farmers facing crisis due to 'wet drought' in Maha: NCP leader Ajit Pawar
Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said farmers in Maharashtra were facing a crisis after suffering crop losses due to the "wet drought" caused by heavy rains in parts of the state.
Pawar also said he met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis before Diwali and told them that the "situation has gone out of hand".
The former deputy CM was speaking on the occasion of the Pawar family's Diwali celebration at their residence 'Govindbaug' in Baramati town of Pune district.
1.43 lakh cattle affected by lumpy skin disease in Maha so far; more than 90,000 recovered: Official
The lumpy skin disease has affected 1,43,089 cattle in Maharashtra so far and 93,166 of them have recovered after treatment, a senior animal husbandry department official said on Wednesday.
The disease has till now spread to 3,030 villages in 32 out of the total 36 districts of the state, Animal Husbandry Commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh said.
The lumpy skin disease is a contagious viral infection that affects cattle and can also lead to death.
Its symptoms include fever, nodules on the skin, reduced milk production, loss of appetite, and watery eyes, as per experts.
Congress to hold two rallies in Maharashtra as part of Bharat Jodo Yatra
The Congress has planned to organize two rallies in Maharashtra as part of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra which is set to enter the state on November 7.
The rallies will be held at Nanded and at Shegaon in Buldhana district, senior party leader Manikrao Thakre told PTI on Wednesday.
The Yatra will proceed through the Nanded district for four days. Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting in the district on November 10, he said.
Minor rape survivor sexually assaulted again; one accused nabbed, other still at large
The Mumbai police have arrested a taxi driver on October 25 for allegedly raping a minor in southern part of the city. The other accused is still at large, stated reports.
A 15-year-old minor was allegedly assaulted by two men at a lodge in south Mumbai on October 22 under the pretext of giving her a job. Reports stated that the minor had been allegedly sexually assaulted in July as well and was lodged in a children's home.
The survivor was admitted to Nair hospital in city for treatment on October 17 and four days later, on October 21, she fled from there. She was spotted by taxi driver Abhimanyu Saroj (28) and his friend at a station and took her to a lodge and sexually assaulted her, police said.
Basilica of Mount Mary in Bandra to go in for repairs
The Basilica of Mount Mary in Bandra that is visited by thousands across faiths durign the Mother Mary's feast held around September every year will be going in for renovation of the roof of its present structure that came up over 100 years ago.
David Cardoz, one of the supervising architects said that they are carrying out only restoration work. Cardoz noted that the wood work has started to deteriorate over the last few years and they have undertaken comprehensive repair work.
"We had put in a proposal for restoration of roofs of Mount Mary and we have undertaken restoration work of the roof. There is no major damage to anything else and we are trying to get it as waterproof as possible," Cardoz said.
He added, "Every year there is a festival [which sees many flocking] and the deteriorating wood work is a concern. For the last few years they [the Church dignitaries] have not been able to do any comprehensive repair work. They were doing patch work but now there will be a comprehensive work of the entire roof."
Read more about the renovation work in our report here
FPJ Exclusive: A builder and architect booked for cheating and forgery by Mumbai Police in #MHADA redevelopment of Rs 10 crore FSI scam on complaint of MNS leader Manish Dhuri.
NCP Minority Cell's Chandivali Vice President took to Twitter to point out the menace caused by parked vehicles and garbage dumped on the 90 feet Road in the Sakinaka area in Andheri East.
Fire breaks out at Food Corporation of India's rice godown in Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai. "We got a call about the fire at around 7.04 am. 5 fire tenders are present at the spot. The fire has been brought under control," said Saurabh Patil, Chief Fire Officer, Kalamboli.
An FIR has been registered against a person named Pradeep Bhalekar at Samta Nagar PS for using derogatory words on social media against Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis & Union minister Narayan Rane. Search is on to nab the accused: Mumbai Police
Mentally unstable man booked for firing rockets at residential building in Ulhasnagar
The Ulhasnagar police on Tuesday lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against a mentally unstable man and his accomplice after a video showed the former firing rockets at a residential society in Ulhasnagar in the wee hours of Monday. The incident came to light after the video went viral on social media. A manhunt has been launched for the suspects.
According to the Ulhasnagar police, the man came to the spot with a box of rockets and fired one at Heera Panna building (camp number 2) in the Golmaidan area. Even as he was firing rockets, a person accompanying him was shooting the video, which was later uploaded as a Facebook story and on WhatsApp with account name nawab69.
Speaking to the Free Press Journal, the police said that the act could have led to a major disaster.
Post-Diwali, Mumbai witnesses severe health hazards as air quality drastically decreased to 'very poor' category
Mumbai witnessed a severe health hazard as the Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5, which is considered to be an extremely minute pollutant that enters the lungs and bloodstream easily, crossed the 'very poor' mark on Tuesday owing to the Diwali firecrackers, the retreat of the monsoon, and stagnant winds.
The overall AQI (Air Quality Index) of Mumbai was 305 ug/m3 (very poor) on Tuesday. Although, experts advised citizens to avoid activities related to heavy exertion and wear masks while heading outdoors.
According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), on Tuesday, the AQI of PM 2.5 in Mumbai was 126 ug/m3 (very poor) and is predicted to be 119 ug/m3 (poor) on Wednesday.
Soon, heritage tour inside Mumbai's Port
Soon, the Mumbai Port Authority (MPA), erstwhile Mumbai Port Trust, will open its doors for people to familiarise themselves with the rich maritime heritage Mumbai has had for centuries now.
The MPA is scouting for a tour operator who will conduct heritage tourism inside the Mumbai Port area. The maritime heritage tour is to be launched in 2023 when the MPA will also flag off celebrations of its 150 years of its establishment.
“The tour will showcase select places of interest that have historical significance and relevance that have so far been out of the bounds of the general public. We expect the heritage tour guide to conduct tours having limited seats and to be taken in an open deck bus. It is part of the plan to revamp the port and tourism activities,” shared a source.
Presently, heritage tours are conducted in South Mumbai at different locations on the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking's open deck buses. But these heritage tours are run by a private player and outside that the Mumbai Port area.
Due to metro work southbound vehicular movement is slow at Mankhurd Railway Bridge.
Phase one of Thane-Bhiwandi-Kalyan metro 60% ready
In a couple of years, a part of the Thane – Bhiwandi – Kalyan metro line will be operationalised, with work of the first phase getting 60% ready. This has become possible after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) managed to resolve the car depot issue and will now come up at Kasheli.
The planning authorities have split the entire 24.90-km orange line into two phases. The first phase is between Thane and Bhiwandi, while the second is between Bhiwandi and Kalyan.
“With land parcels getting identified at Kasheli for this particular route. It will be possible to operationalise the first phase of the corridor. Had the earlier Kongaon-Govegaon land been utilised for setting up the car depot, it would not have been possible to open the first phase. As of now, 60% of civil works between Thane and Bhiwandi is through,” said a source.
