Mumbai: Mahanagar Gas Limited’s (MGL) on November 17 informed that the gas supply restoration is expected by noon tomorrow i.e. November 18 as the rectification work is in progress. This statement by the Mahanagar Gas came after the Gas supply across parts of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai on Sunday was disrupted.

The disruption came after third-party damage to GAIL’s main gas pipeline inside the Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF) compound affected the flow of gas to Mahanagar Gas Limited’s (MGL) City Gate Station (CGS) at Wadala.

The MGL also informed that out of the total 389 CNG stations, 225 CNG stations are operating.

After Sunday, the city woke up to severe commute disruption on Monday too due to widespread CNG supply shortage left several fuel pumps across the city non-operational or functioning with limited output.

The unexpected outage resulted in a sharp drop in the availability of autos, kaali-peeli taxis and app-based cabs, pushing commuters into long waits, inflated fares and overcrowded public-transport alternatives like trains and metros during peak office and school hours.  

Mumbai has 130 to 140 CNG pumps, including MGL’s own facilities.

Many CNG pumps in the city have been non-functional since morning due to low gas supply pressure, Petrol Dealers Association (Mumbai) president Chetan Modi told Media. He said when he spoke to MGL officials some time back, he was informed that work for the resumption of normal CNG supply was going on a war footing and might take the whole day for full restoration of the damaged pipeline at RCF.

Anil Garg, leader of a school bus operator’s body, also said their operations were hit due to the CNG shortage. “Many school buses in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are facing problems in getting CNG,” Garg said, adding that they have been forced to combine the school bus routes.

Thane, Nov 17: The garbage from the Kalwa, Mumbra areas has not been picked up for the last four days. As a result, piles of garbage have started accumulating in Kalwa and Mumbra. Residence as well as commuters are suffering due to this issue. Residents have filed written complaints several times, yet TMC is treating Kalwa and Mumbra stepmotherly.

As the municipal administration is not taking any action on it, a garbage dumper was emptied in front of the Thane Municipal Corporation headquarters under the leadership of Abhijit Pawar, District President of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) Youth Congress party. Abhijit Pawar warned at this time that if the garbage problem is not resolved immediately, they will dump garbage in front of the Commissioner’s bungalow in the future.

Stating the reason that there is no dumping ground, the contractors are not picking up the garbage. As a result, garbage has started accumulating in various parts of Kalwa. Garbage is collecting outside many societies.

This raw garbage was brought in a dumper under the leadership of Abhijit Pawar by Pooja Shinde-Vichare, Kailas Hawle, and Raju Shinde and dumped in front of the municipal headquarters. This caused a stir in the municipal area.

Meanwhile, regarding this, Abhijit Pawar gave a warning that the functioning of the municipality, which takes taxes from the public but does not provide them with facilities, has gone to waste. Today, garbage has only been dumped at the municipal gate.

But, if this garbage is not picked up within a day, garbage will be dumped in the office of every officer in the municipality, in front of the houses of the concerned officers, and in front of the commissioner’s bungalow.

Kolkata, Nov 17: The Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police on Monday seized cash amounting to Rs 5 crore from a car near Akanksha Crossing in New Town and arrested two persons, including the vehicle’s owner.

The seizure was made following a tip-off from a confidential source.

Two people, including the owner of the car, have been arrested in connection with the incident, police said, adding that an investigation is underway.

Police said that the money was being brought from the New Town area. Sources said Bengal STF is searching for the source of the money.

The recovery of such a large amount of money while checking the car has raised concerns, especially ahead of next year’s state Assembly polls.

According to police, the recovery of such huge cash has raised eyebrows, especially in the backdrop of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of West Bengal’s electoral rolls by the Election Commission.

The police are investigating where this money came from, where it was being taken, and what the purpose was.

“Cash worth Rs 5 crore has been recovered from a car after conducting a raid. The cash has been seized. Two people have been arrested. An investigation has started to find out the source of the money,” said a police official.

Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recovered large sums from the residence of a businessman in the Taratala area during searches connected to the municipal recruitment scam.

Earlier this month, ED teams carried out raids at around 10 locations across the city, including Salt Lake and Beliaghata. ED sleuths searched the house of a businessman in the Taratala area in connection with the municipal recruitment corruption case.

Investigators recovered a huge amount of money from the house then too.

With the latest STF recovery, investigators are also examining whether any organised syndicate or corruption network is active in the region. Further questioning of the arrested duo is underway.