Mumbai: Eyeing the upcoming elections to the local and civic bodies, the BJP on Wednesday welcomed Annasaheb Dange back to the party fold. Once known as the senior-most BJP leader, he had quit the party 23 years ago. He was welcomed by Devendra Fadnavis at the state BJP office.

The CM recalled his days as a young party activist, who worked with Dange during the tanker-free campaign in scarcity-hit areas. Dange hails from the Dhangar community, which has a sizable presence in the districts of Solapur, Satara, and Sangli (his native) in western Maharashtra. After Mahadeo Jankar, who heads Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, parted ways with the BJP, the party appears to have been looking for prominent faces from the community.

Dange was the second-in-command among the BJP ministers when the Shiv Sena-led coalition government assumed power in 1995. He was the leader of opposition in the legislative council and later became the rural development minister. Dismayed over the alleged mistreatment by senior leaders, Dange had joined the NCP in early 2002. He hails from Islampur, Sangli, which was recently renamed as Ishwarpur by the state government.

With strong RSS links, he worked zealously for the BJP in a district known as the Congress bastion back then. Dange was closely associated with Gopinath Munde, who was deputy CM between 1995 and 1999. Almost all the important decisions of the BJP were taken by the duo and it was Dange who used to be aggressive for the party cause during the decisionmaking process of the then government.

Mumbai: Following the Supreme Court’s in-principal approval to cut 95 trees in Goregaon East’s Film City for the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road (GMLR) project, the BMC is pressing for prompt tree removal permission to initiate excavation at the tunnel boring machine (TBM) launch site. Civic officials caution that any further delay could drive up project costs and impact timelines.

About The Tunnels

The tunnels will start at Film City in Goregaon East and emerge at Amar Junction in Mulund, currently a dense slum area. Of the total length, 5.30 km will be excavated using TBMs, with the remaining 1.35 km comprising approach roads and the box tunnel. Most components of the first TBM, imported from Japan for the excavation work of twin tunnels, have already arrived and are currently stored along Film City Road, approximately 1 km from the launch shaft site. 

A massive pit—about 200 metres long, 50 metres wide, and 35 metres deep—will be excavated to lower and assemble the TBM for tunnelling work. “To begin digging this launch shaft, we need to clear the ground—hence, the felling of 95 trees is necessary,” said a senior civic official. The preliminary tunnelling phase comprises a 1.3 km box tunnel and ramp, sized 12m by 11.2m, linked to the launch shaft. Officials said that delays in tree clearance may drive up costs, as the contract includes a ‘No Limit’ clause allowing escalation for time overruns. The matter is scheduled for the next hearing in the apex court next week.

The BMC recently secured clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to divert 19.43 hectares of forest land for the Rs. 6,551-crore twin tunnel project. The civic body aims to complete the twin tunnels by October 2028. The 12.2-km GMLR will connect the Western Express Highway at Goregaon with the Eastern Express Highway at Mulund, cutting travel time from 75 to 25 minutes. The project, being executed in four phases, has a total cost of Rs. 14,000 crore Once complete, it will provide seamless east-west connectivity across Mumbai. 

Mumbai: A 19-year-old Dharashiv resident was duped of Rs 1.20 lakh after scammers posed as Dubai police and as his brother-in-law who works in a private company in Dubai.

About The Case

The victim first received a Facebook message from what he believed was his brother-in-law, claiming he had been caught by the Dubai police in a visa violation case and needed money for release. Soon after, he received a WhatsApp call from a person claiming to be a Dubai police officer, demanding Rs 7 lakh. After negotiations, the fraudster agreed to settle the matter for Rs 1.50 lakh.

The complainant informed his sister, who urged him to send the money. He transferred Rs 1.20 lakh through five online transactions to mobile numbers provided by the scammers. Later, the victim received a call from his actual brother-in-law, who said he had never been caught by the police. Realising he had been duped, the complainant lodged a complaint via the cybercrime helpline.

Case Registered

A case has been registered under sections 204 (impersonating a public servant) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation using computer resources) of the Information Technology Act.