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Maharashtra

CM Eknath Shinde’s maiden policy move on Metro car-shed kicks up a row

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The first policy initiative of new Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to revive the contentious Mumbai Metro car-shed in the eco-sensitive Aarey Colony forests kicked off a major controversy here on Friday.

In the first cabinet meeting after their swearing-in on Thursday, Shinde and Fadnavis decided to give a push to various infrastructure projects, including taking measures to bring back the Mumbai Metro-3 car-shed project to the Aarey Colony jungles.

Former CM Uddhav Thackeray and his son and ex-Environment Minister Aditya Thackeray had scrapped the project and shifted it to the Kanjurmarg salt pans site – which the then Opposition BJP had opposed strongly.

Later, following issues pertaining to the Kanjurmarg land ownership raised by the Centre, the car-shed for the crucial 33-km long Metro line remains stuck in litigation.

Raising the issue on Friday, Shiv Sena President Thackeray called upon the new regime “not to vent its anger against him on the people of Mumbai” on the issue.

“With folded hands I request them on behalf of the people of Mumbai not to bring back the Metro car-shed back to Aarey Colony forests. It was in the interest of Mumbai… Please cancel the proposal to save the city’s environment. There is a lot of wildlife there, and I am feeling very sad about this,” Thackeray appealed to Shinde-Fadnavis.

Referring to the Kanjurmarg land given by the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), he said that even that stretch of land belongs to the people and must be put to good use for the masses.

State Congress President Nana Patole warned that shifting the car-shed to Mumbai would be detrimental to the health of the people and the city.

He pointed out how the environmentalists and the people of Mumbai had strongly protested the car-shed at Aarey Colony and even staged demonstrations against the earlier BJP government headed by Fadnavis in October 2019 when over 2,000 trees were chopped down in a single night using the police force.

“Subsequently, the MVA government decided against having the car-shed there and identified the alternative Kanjurmarg site, but there were hurdles created by the Centre and the Opposition BJP,” Patole said, while reiterating that the party is not against against development but it should not be at the cost of the ecology.

Slamming the Shinde-Fadnavis move, the Nationalist Congress Party spokesperson Clyde Crasto said when so many important issues need to be considered in Maharashtra, the new government took the decision to move the car-shed back to Aarey Colony.

“This is recreating a problem solved by the MVA government. The green lung of Mumbai is in danger once again, what will he gain,” Crasto asked.

One of the last surviving green spots in the city, the lush Aarey Colony is spread over more than 3,000 acres with 27 tribal villages, harbours rich flora and fauna, and serves as a buffer between Mumbai and the adjacent Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

Maharashtra

Mumbai Weather Update: City Sees Clear Skies After Heavy Overnight Downpour, Yellow Alert Issued; Overall AQI In Moderate Range At 63

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Mumbai: After heavy rains lashed the city on Friday, bringing brief waterlogging and traffic disruptions, Mumbai woke up to sunny skies on Saturday morning. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) cautioned that the respite may be short-lived, as the city remains under a Yellow Alert with a forecast of partly cloudy skies and a possibility of moderate rain or thunderstorms through the day.

According to the IMD, temperatures are expected to hover around 34°C during the day and dip to about 25°C at night. The brief spell of unseasonal rain not only cooled the weather but also brought a remarkable improvement in the city’s air quality, which had deteriorated sharply post-Diwali due to increased pollution and stagnant winds.

Overall AQI In Moderate Category

Real-time data from AQI.in showed that Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 63 on Saturday morning, placing it in the moderate category, a notable recovery from the unhealthy levels recorded earlier in the week.

Among the city’s monitoring stations, Wadala Truck Terminal reported the highest pollution level with an AQI of 190, followed by BKC (75), Kurla (73), Worli (73) and Chembur (72). While mild traces of smog lingered in some of these areas during the early morning, visibility and air freshness improved significantly across most parts of Mumbai.

On the other hand, several localities recorded remarkably clean air. Thakur Village in Kandivali reported the city’s best air quality with an AQI of 25, while Parel-Bhoiwada (32), Malad West (38), Borivali East (40), and Kandivali East (43) also registered good air quality, offering much-needed relief to residents.

As per AQI.in’s classification, readings between 0–50 indicate “Good” air, 51–100 “Moderate”, 101–150 “Poor”, 151–200 “Unhealthy”, and above 200 “Severe” to “Hazardous.”

Friday’s rain marked the third unseasonal spell after the official monsoon withdrawal and was accompanied by lightning, thunder and gusty winds. The IMD had issued a Nowcast warning late Friday evening, alerting of potential thunderstorms and moderate rainfall over Mumbai and adjoining districts. Meanwhile, most parts of Maharashtra, excluding the Vidarbha region, continue to remain under a Yellow Alert for the next few days.

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Maharashtra

Brave officer risked his life to save injured girl

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Mumbai: Mumbai Police Traffic Officer has shown bravery in saving a young girl from the clutches of a cruel lover, after which this officer is being praised. He took the injured and bleeding girl to the hospital and risked his life to free her from the armed youth, after which the youth committed suicide.
‎Today at 10:17 am, a call was received from the MTP helpline of the Byculla Traffic Department Group that two-wheelers and four-wheelers were parked on the footpath in front of Meoresh Building, Dataram Lad Marg, Kalachowki, causing inconvenience to the passers-by. In response to the said call, Rider Police Constable Karan Suryavanshi of the Byculla Traffic Department reached the spot. When he was taking action at the said place, some people present there told the officer that a boy was attacking a girl with a knife in the cabin of Astha Nursing Home. Seeing the seriousness of the incident, Kiran Suryavanshi immediately went to the spot and tried to free the victim girl from the clutches of the accused boy and took her out of the nursing home. Since she was in an injured condition, he showed haste and without a moment’s delay, put the girl in a taxi and brought her to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, Ranibag. The girl was given first aid there. Officers and personnel from Kalachowki took the injured woman to JJ Hospital for further treatment.

Besides, in this incident, the attacker also stabbed himself and was taken to KEM Hospital with the help of Kalachowki Police Station.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 4, Assistant Commissioner of Police as well as Senior Police Inspector of Kalachowki Police Station visited Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Railway Hospital.

The girl is undergoing treatment at Sir JJ Hospital. Police officers from Kalachowki police station are conducting further investigations. The officer is being praised for protecting the girl without caring for his own life and saving her from the clutches of her heartbroken lover.

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Maharashtra

Samajwadi Party is not part of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Vikas Aghadi: Abu Asim Azmi

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Mumbai: The Samajwadi Party will not enter into an electoral alliance with the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, not will it be part of this alliance. Those who objected to the release of innocent Muslims imprisoned for 19 years but remained silent on the release of the accused in the Malegaon blasts. Those who express pride in the demolition of the Babri Masjid, take the names of Lord Ram and Lord Vishwanath, but call the holy water of the Sangam smelly and make Uttar Bharatiyas and North Indians a target for violence. This is a province where the Pawars go to do their country’s panddan. Those belonging to such provinces insult and subject North Indians and Biharis to violence.

If such people are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Samajwadi Party will never be part of it.

The Samajwadi Party does politics of justice, secularism, constitutional values ​​and Ganga-Jamuni culture. Therefore, we cannot be part of any alliance that includes forces that spread hatred and divide the country. This kind of explanation has been given by Mumbai Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi. Elections are approaching, in such a situation, Mahayoti and Maha Vikas Aghadi are very serious about their allied parties. In such a situation, the Samajwadi Party has clearly refused to enter into an understanding with Maha Vikas Aghadi and has called it biased. Now there is curiosity about the expected entry and entry of MNS in Maha Vikas. In such a situation, the Samajwadi Party has denied it and said that it is unable to participate in the elections with those who incite violence on the basis of regionalism.

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