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1,500 km from Singhu border, celebrations erupt in Maharashtra

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Nearly 1,500 km away from the epicentre of the year-long farmers’ agitation, celebrations erupted in Maharashtra on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi abruptly announced the yanking off of the three contentious farm laws, taking the nation by surprise akin to the demonetisation broadcast-blast.

Farmers and local leaders trooped out in places like Sangli, Palghar, Thane, Nashik, Satara, Kolhapur and other places to cheer the Prime Minister’s declaration — coming barely a week before the upcoming first anniversary of the peasants’ protests — by lighting fireworks, distributing sweets, dancing, hugging each other with joy, playing drums, offering thanksgiving prayers, and general revelry.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, currently convalescing, could not contain his excitement and said the farmers who are the breadwinners of the country deserved “3 Salutes” after their long struggle ended in victory.

“I welcome PM Modi’s announcement on Guru Nanak Jayanti. There was an atmosphere of strong opposition to the 3 laws all over India. But the breadwinners, who were victimised, showed their strength,” Thackeray said.

Chiding the Central government, he said the government should take into confidence all stakeholders including the Opposition before taking such decisions, and this would have prevented the “humiliation” of today.

Thackeray, the Shiv Sena President, also expressed optimism that the technicalities of the repeal process of the laws would be expedited since “the farmers’ agitation has still not ended”.

Maha Vikas Aghadi ally and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)president Sharad Pawar said he “salutes” the spirit of the peasants who braved the heat, cold, rains, labelled as ‘terrorists’ and inflicted other forms of humiliation, with many lives lost, but they finally achieved victory.

“The government rushed through the bills in Parliament without heeding to the Opposition demands for discussion… The government will have to pay the price for its mistakes… Elections are coming to Punjab and Uttar Pradesh and people were bound to question them on the three farm laws,” Pawar pointed out.

“We said in Parliament that agriculture is the soul of this country and economy… to solve the problems of hunger, and it (3 laws) must discuss in details while enacting the laws relating to the famers,” Pawar said.

State Congress president Nana Patole said that it was the fear of defeat in the coming elections that forced the “arrogant and dictatorial” government to bow before the united strength of the farmers.

“Not only the elections, the growing disenchantment among the masses has brought the BJP government to its knees. They are withdrawing the 3 laws. It is a historic victory for the farmers’ struggle. But the BJP will have to face the consequences,” Patole warned.

He said, in Maharashtra, the Congress had collected over six million farmers’ signatures and sent a memorandum to the President, the peasant protested on the border for a year under trying circumstances, but the Prime Minister had no time to meet them though over 700 lost their lives.

Patole said after the recent string of defeats in bypolls, the BJP reduced the petrol-diesel prices, now the farm laws, but the battle ahead will continue for other farmer-centric issues also.

Shiv Sena’s farmer-face and Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavalamban Samiti President Kishore Tiwari — accorded an MoS status — said that after the 12-month long struggle, the farmers and people of the country have understood the “real motives” of the BJP government and how it is working for a handful of big industrialists.

“Hundreds of farmers have been martyred to the cause. The country has lost faith in the Narendra Modi government, they will show the BJP its place in the next elections. The historic agitation has served its purpose, the government has suffered a huge setback,” Tiwari said.

However, he said that the unending farmers suicides will not end — Maharashtra being the highest in the country, as per official data — till the BJP government takes this opportunity to bring about fundamental changes in the existing setup to genuinely benefit the peasantry as a long term solution to the end bloodshed in farmlands.

Top leaders of MVA from Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, All India Kisan Sabha, farm activists and others have hailed Modi’s move, urging that now “it’s time to get back to business” and do something long-lasting for the cause of the country’s ryots.

Incidentally, Maharashtra had contributed by sending several bus-loads of people at various intervals to the farmers protesting outside Delhi borders, and many top leaders visiting and addressing.

Maharashtra

Mumbai Accident: Elderly Woman Hit By Garbage Truck Near Shitladevi Metro Station In Mahim; Suffers Heavy Blood Loss

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Mumbai: An elderly woman was seriously injured after being hit by a garbage dumper truck in Mahim on a busy stretch. Disturbing visuals showed the woman in glaring pain. The incident took place near the Mumbai Metro 3’s Shitladevi Mandir Metro Station in Mahim.

The victim was attempting to cross the road when the garbage dumper truck hit her. The dumper, reportedly moving at speed, struck her, leaving her with severe injuries and heavy blood loss. Visuals also showed locals rushing to help and taking her to the nearest hospital.

Currently, there is no update on her condition. Though visuals showed police and traffic police on the scene, it is yeh not known if any case was registered against the garbage dumper truck.

Meanwhile, in another recent accident case, three students of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay were killed after their car met with an accident on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway near Lonavala on Thursday morning while returning from Khandala, where they had gone to watch the sunrise.

The deceased, identified as Omkumar Borse (23), a resident of Nashik; Lay (20), from Nagpur; and Shreyansh Sharma (22), from Jaipur, were travelling in a Volkswagen Polo when the accident occurred. Police officials said that the exact cause of the accident is yet to be determined, as there were no eyewitnesses at the scene.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Local: 395 Without Tickets Fined At Ghatkopar During Evening Peak Hours, Central Railways Collects Over ₹1 Lakh Fine

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Mumbai: A special ‘fortress’ ticket-checking drive by Central Railway at Ghatkopar station during peak evening hours caught hundreds of ticketless passengers, with authorities collecting a whopping fine of over Rs 1 lakh in a day.

According to the update shared by DRM Central Railway, the drive was held on Tuesday, March 18, during the evening peak hours. During the intensive checking operation, “395 ticketless passengers were caught, and a Rs 1,02,260/- penalty was imposed.”

Notably, Ghatkopar railway station sees heavy passenger footfall as commuters from both Central and Western lines connect here due to its direct Metro Line 1 link between Ghatkopar and Andheri, making it a major boarding hub.

Meanwhile, on the same day, a special drive was also held at Mulund station, where the authorities caught 315 ticketless passengers, and a fine of Rs 74,860 was collected in a day.

There has been a rise in ticketless travel cases across Mumbai, with special checking drives being conducted at multiple railway stations. Hundreds of passengers are being caught every day during these operations.

On March 16 and 17, special ticket-checking drives were carried out at Asangaon, Titvala, Ambernath and Badlapur stations. At Asangaon, 312 ticketless passengers were caught and fined, and Rs 78,290 was collected, while 305 passengers at Titvala were penalised, collecting Rs 75,345 in fine.

On March 16, a separate drive at Ambernath and Badlapur during evening peak hours caught 763 ticketless travellers, with a total fine of Rs 1,88,620 collected. Last week, a similar drive was held at Vashi railway station, resulting in action against 393 passengers, with authorities collecting Rs 1,02,260 in fines in a single day.

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Maharashtra

Bomb threat to blow up Mumbai Bandra BKC Passport Office; no suspicious objects or explosives found during search; alert issued in area

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Mumbai: Bandra BKC has been rocked by a bomb threat. A panic has erupted in the area after an email was received stating that 19 cyanide bombs have been planted in the passport office in Mumbai’s BKC. The police immediately received the information about this email and the bomb disposal and bomb disposal teams reached the spot. A panic has erupted after a bomb threat was received at the passport office in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The threat was given through an email. A threat was made to plant 19 bombs filled with cyanide in the passport office and toilets. There was panic after the email was received. The threatening email said that the bombs would explode at 1.30 pm today. As soon as the information about this threatening email was received, the police and the bomb disposal squad reached the spot. The entire area has been evacuated and the bomb squad searched but nothing was found. Therefore, the police are taking details of the email through which the threat was sent. Mumbai Police is investigating the entire matter in depth.

Threatening mails on three email IDs
On Wednesday, the passport office in BKC received three threatening emails. In which 19 cyanide bombs kept in the passport office and toilets were threatened to explode at 1.30 pm. The threatening mails were received on the email addresses Sourav_biswas21@hotmail.com, rpo.mumbai@mea.gov.in and rpo.mumbai@cpo.gov.in. After this, the security agencies and the Mumbai Police were immediately informed. On receiving the information, the security agencies started immediate action. Senior officers of the BKC police station, an ATS team and officers of Unit 8 immediately reached the spot. They took control of the entire area and started investigation.

Citizens urged to be vigilant
The bomb disposal and bomb disposal team conducted a thorough inspection of the lobby of the passport office, the main entrance, the entrance and exit routes, the trees and bushes in the area and all the surrounding areas as a precautionary measure. Fortunately, they did not find anything suspicious or objectionable in this inspection. Still, the police, taking the matter seriously, have appealed to the citizens to be vigilant. They have also been asked to immediately inform the police if they see anything suspicious anywhere.

Fake threatening emails are also often sent. Such fake emails create an atmosphere of fear. To prevent this, the cyber police have started collecting more information about email IDs. The security personnel of the passport office have also been instructed to be vigilant and follow security standards.

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