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Maharashtra

Maharashtra: Govt assures ‘smooth ride’ on all Konkan roads before Ganeshotsav

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Under severe fire from the Opposition for the bad roads condition, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday assured that repairs are being carried out on “a war footing” on all the important thoroughfares from Mumbai to the coastal Konkan ahead of the 10-day Ganeshotsav festival starting on August 31.

Public Works Department Minister Ravindra Chavan has directed all concerned officials to accord priority attention to the region which witnesses lakhs of commuters from Mumbai travelling to their homes in the Konkan region to celebrate Ganeshotsav.

The officials have been directed to ensure complete repairs like smoothening uneven stretches, potholes, cracks, washed out sections and other obstacles by the weekend to ensure speedy movement of traffic as well as avert accidents on the roads and highways from Mumbai to Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

Senior engineers of the PWD shall be deployed to oversee and monitor the road repairs carried out by the local contractors of the various civic bodies, to ensure quality and durability of the work, an official from Ratnagiri explained.

Additionally, Chavan said the number of traffic wardens manning the roads and the main link, the Mumbai-Goa Highway, shall be increased to control the traffic and prevent road snarls which in the past have held up the commuters – travelling in cars, mini-vans, tempos, state transport of private buses, etc. for many hours.

Lakhs of people who live and work in Mumbai hail mostly from the Konkan districts and they travel to their native towns or villages during the Ganesh festival, with massive traffic movement witnessed for 10 days.

It may be recalled that certain stretches of the highway, major and arterial roads in the Konkan region have been ravaged during the monsoon onslaught, with shocking photos and videos going viral on social media, as the temporary ‘festival migration’ is slated to start from this weekend.

The poor roads in the Konkan have hampered traffic movement, led to breakdown of vehicles, resulted in serious accidents and major vehicular jams that take hours to clear, delaying or stranding thousands of people en route.

For the first time after the 2020-2021 Coronavirus pandemic, the state government has lifted all restrictions on Ganeshotsav celebrations from August 31-September 9, creating euphoria among the people, especially in the Konkan region where the state’s most important public festival is celebrated in a big way.

disaster

Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

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Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.

Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.

More details are awaited.

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Maharashtra

Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

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Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.

Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.

There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.

The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.

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Maharashtra

Haji Ali Dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid due to rising sea level

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Mumbai: Due to rising sea level at Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid. On March 31, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims from 12 noon to 3 pm. During this time, entry of pilgrims to the dargah will be restricted. The dargah will be closed on Tuesday, April 1 from 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm and on Wednesday, April 2 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Therefore, we have appealed to the pilgrims not to gather at the dargah during these hours. This information has been released by Tahir, administrative officer of Haji Ali Dargah. Pilgrims visit Haji Ali Dargah on Eid-Basi and Tiwasi, but due to the rising water level of the sea, water gets accumulated on the way to the Dargah and entry to the Dargah is prohibited and the gate of the Dargah remains closed during these days, due to which there is a lot of crowd there. Therefore, pilgrims have been requested to come to the Dargah only at the scheduled time.

The police also remains vigilant at the Dargah during the rising sea level, as there is a crowd of pilgrims here during Eid and festivals. The Haji Ali Dargah administration has said that on the occasion of Eid, lakhs of pilgrims visit the Dargah of Haji Ali (RahmatullahAlaih). These pilgrims include pilgrims from the country and abroad, so the Dargah administration has also claimed special security arrangements on Eid. Spiritual scenes are also seen at Haji Ali Dargah during Eid prayers.

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