Mumbai: Maharashtra State Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik on October 13 said that taxi and rickshaw drivers have been given a deadline until November 15 to begin operating meter-based services for commuters.

The decision was taken during a meeting at Mantralaya along with MLA Sneha Dubey, MSRTC Managing Director Dr. Madhav Kusekar, Vasai–Virar Municipal Commissioner Manoj Suryavanshi, Additional Transport Commissioner Bharat Kalaskar, and other officials.

The aim of the meeting was to address the issue of traffic congestion in the Vasai–Virar Municipal Corporation area. According to the transport minister, taxi and rickshaw drivers must charge passengers as per the fares set by the state government.

Additionally, Sarnaik directed the State Transport Corporation to start long-distance bus services from the Vasai–Virar Municipal Corporation area to Thane and Kalyan. This announcement also comes ahead of the upcoming local body polls.

Moreover, instructions were issued to activate the Virar, Vasai, and Nalasopara bus depots within the Vasai–Virar Municipal limits.

Earlier in May 2024, thousands of auto rickshaw drivers across Maharashtra took to the streets to protest the state government’s decision to approve e-bike taxi and bike pooling services.

The demonstrations, spearheaded by the Joint Action Committee of Auto Rickshaw Driver-Owner Associations, Maharashtra, were held outside Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in multiple regions, including Mumbai, Konkan, Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh, and rural districts.

The protestors argued that the introduction of e-bike taxis and bike pooling services would disrupt the existing public transport ecosystem, slash their earnings, and reduce the demand for auto rickshaws.

Kolkata, Oct 14: Two parallel petitions have been filed at Calcutta High Court on Tuesday in the gang-rape case of a tribal medical student in Durgapur of West Bengal’s West Burdwan district.

On one hand, the West Bengal unit of the BJP has filed a petition to carry out its protest demonstration near the private medical college till October 19. On the other hand, the authorities of the said private medical college have approached the Calcutta High Court seeking the removal of gatherings of people in front of the college premises, considering that the examinations are being conducted there.

Both the petitions have been filed at the single-judge bench of Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul). The matter is likely to come up for hearing in the second half in the later part of the day.

Altogether five people have been arrested in connection with the gang-rape of the Dalit medical student. The confidential statement of the victim is scheduled to be recorded in front of a judicial magistrate later in the day.

The victim’s parents have already claimed they will take their daughter back to Odisha soon after her confidential statements are recorded.

On Monday, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi spoke to the victim girl, who is still admitted at the hospital. Even the victim expressed a desire to go back to her native state and continue with her medical studies there.

The Odisha Chief Minister had already claimed that his government will take all the steps to ensure the culprits in the case are given due punishment.

Recently, the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attracted criticisms after she advised women not to go outside at night amid the Durgapur incident. The Chief Minister also created controversy, claiming that the woman stepped out of the college premises at 12.30 a.m.

Her statement was contradicted by the college authorities claiming that they left the premises at around 8 p.m. on October 10 after signing the register and taking permission.

Kolkata, Oct 14: As the Mamata Banerjee government has taken a decision to create a special relief fund seeking public donations for flood and landslide-affected North Bengal, the BJP on Tuesday questioned the motive.

The last time the state government created such a relief fund was during the Covid-19 pandemic period in 2020. Under the fresh relief fund, the state government had kept the option open for utilising the proceeds for spending in the event of a future disaster in any corner of the state and not just for North Bengal.

The decision to create the North Bengal relief fund has prompted questions on the condition of the state exchequer in West Bengal, where the state government is “forced” to seek public donations for even emergency services. Former BJP state president in West Bengal and Union Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, on Tuesday, questioned the justification for creating the fund without being clear on how the Central share in the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) during the last five years was used.

“The Central share in the SDRF during the last five years, from 2020 to 2025, amounts to around Rs 5,000 crore. The Union government funds contribute a 75 per cent share in the SFRF, which amounts to Rs 5,000 crore during the last five years. Where has that money gone?” Majumdar raised the question while speaking to media persons before leaving for New Delhi in the morning.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, last week, while touring the flood and landslide-affected areas in North Bengal, repeatedly claimed that the Union government did not provide support for rescue and rehabilitation efforts after the floods.

Refuting the claims, BJP’s Information Technology Cell Chief and the party’s central observer for West Bengal, Amit Malviya, said that the claims by the Chief Minister were untrue since the Union government has been actively coordinating relief operations, providing financial assistance, and deploying teams for rescue and restoration. The West Bengal administration is missing in action, he said.

“Instead of playing politics over people’s suffering, Mamata Banerjee should focus on governance, not grievance,” Malviya said last week.