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Allahabad High Court dismisses petition on Taj Mahal, sharply pulls up petitioner

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The Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench on Thursday dismissed the petition seeking opening of 22 rooms in the Taj Mahal premises.

The two-judge bench ripped into the petitioner who sought opening of the 22 locked rooms, stating that the truth about the iconic monument needs to come out, and that he has filed multiple PILs for the same.

“Tomorrow you will ask for permission to see our chambers. Please, don’t make mockery of the PIL system,” the bench said during the hearing.

The writ petition, seeking to “find the truth” behind the 22 locked rooms in the Taj Mahal, was filed last week before the Lucknow bench by Rajneesh Singh, who is the media in-charge of the BJP’s Ayodhya unit.

The petition cited the claims of some historians and Hindu groups about the mausoleum actually being an old Shiva temple. The petition has sought the Archaeological Survey of India form a special committee to examine the locked rooms and release the report to the public.

Singh said that the demand is not to make the Taj Mahal a temple but to bring out the truth of the matter for the sake of social harmony. He said that the only way to end such controversy is by examining closed rooms.

Justices D.K. Upadhyay and Subhash Vidyarthi questioned the petitioner on what his plea is. Pointing out that the petitioner wants the court to issue a writ of mandamus, they stated it can only be issued in case of infringement of rights.

“What judgment do you want us to pronounce? Who built the Taj Mahal? Don’t go into historical facts… Mandamus can only be issued when rights have been infringed. What rights of yours have been infringed?” the bench asked.

The petitioner said he is asking for a fact-finding committee to be constituted to get to the bottom of the issue and reiterated his demand to be allowed access to the 22 rooms as the “truth” needs to emerge about the Taj Mahal. Citizens need to know why multiple rooms in the monument are said to be locked due to “security reasons”, he said.

The bench responded sharply, saying: “Who are you asking the information from? If you are not satisfied that the rooms have been closed for security reasons, use your remedies in law to challenge that. Do some research first — do MA, Ph.D, enroll yourself somewhere. Don’t make a mockery of this.”

Several right-wing organisations claim Taj Mahal to be Tejo Mahalaya, a Hindu temple.

Maharashtra

We will take initiative on the problems of Mumbai University – Ambadas Danve

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Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve said that the government will take initiative regarding the vacant posts of teachers in Mumbai University, enrollment of colleges, and pending development works by MMRDA. Today he visited the Kalina campus and took stock of the problems and current situation of the students.

Delay in development works of the university

An agreement was signed between Mumbai University and MMRDA for the beautification of the Kalina campus and construction of buildings for educational purposes. But this work has not been done till now and concerns were raised about the completion of these works.

Issue of safety of students

Every day five to six thousand students visit the Kalina campus, but incidents of attacks on female students are increasing due to outside elements. Also, the Bit Chowki near the main entrance was demolished in the name of widening the road, which increased the threat to the safety of girl students, this issue was raised by Senate member Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth.

Issue of cancellation of teacher recruitment

Instead of improving the quality of education, the decision to cancel the teacher recruitment is proving to be harmful for the students, Senate member Milind Satam reported.

Challenge to the international recognition of the university

Despite getting international recognition, the students are facing problems due to the problems of Mumbai University, which is unfortunate, said Ambadas Danve. Students from all over the country and abroad come here to study, so it is important to solve these problems, he said.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Ravindra Kulkarni, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Ajay Bhamare, local MLA Vilas Potnis, Senate members Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth, Milind Satam, Kisan Sawant, Param Yadav and other dignitaries were present in this meeting.

Danve resolved to raise voice with the government on the problems of the university and play an active role in the interest of the students.

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Maharashtra

‘Water Grid’ project for Marathwada: Gulabrao Patil

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Mumbai: The ‘Marathwada Water Grid’ scheme is being implemented to permanently solve the water shortage in Marathwada and ensure robust water supply. Under this project, 11 major dams of Marathwada will be connected through pipelines and drinking water will be provided to cities and villages across the region. Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil gave information about the project and said that this project will provide sustainable water supply to Marathwada.

The cooperation of global level banks will be taken to implement this scheme, Patil said. A review meeting was held with representatives of global banks in the ministry regarding this project. Many important officials including Principal Secretary of Water Supply and Sanitation Department Sanjay Khandare, Member Secretary of Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran Abhishek Krishna, Chief Executive Officer of ‘Mitra’ Praveensinh Pardeshi, Director of Jal Jeevan Mission Abhiyan E Ravindran, and Secretary of Water Resources Department Sanjay Belsare were present in this meeting.

Long-term water supply to Marathwada will be ensured through this project. Along with this, as per the advice of the central government, the project will be set up and implemented by taking loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and New Development Bank. The implementation of the project will be coordinated by the ‘Mitra’ institution, as told by Minister Gulabrao Patil.

The ‘Mitra’ institution has taken the initiative to discuss the project further and coordinate with the concerned banks. Patil expressed confidence that the project will significantly help in solving the water problem of Marathwada.

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Maharashtra

The state government is preparing to bring private kindergartens under its control

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Mumbai: The lack of educational facilities, midday meals for children, and proper implementation of government schemes in private schools running in the streets of the state has increased the concern of parents. As a measure against this, the School Education Department has started preparing a new manual to bring private schools under government control.

According to the new National Education Policy, pre-primary education for children between 3 and 6 years of age has been considered important, and it is proposed to include private schools in this policy as well. Currently, many schools running in the streets are running without any manual and are out of the control of the local administration. It has been assured that a suitable educational environment will be created for the children under this new rule of the Education Department.

Under the new regulations, educational curriculum for children will be implemented in the balwadis, along with midday meals and appropriate schemes for the physical and mental development of children. This is expected to provide quality education to the children.

It has not yet been decided which department will control these balwadis – the School Education Department, the Women and Child Welfare Department, and the Integrated Child Development Services Department. However, it is believed that this decision will reduce the anxiety of parents and improve the educational quality of children.

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