Mumbai Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi has demanded from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to stop the demolition of religious places, houses and projects in the name of road and footpath expansion in Bhiwandi and protect religious places, temples, mosques and houses. Earlier, the government and MMRDA had spent an additional Rs 1700 crore on projects to protect the victims of the metro project. Abu Asim Azmi demanded from Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde that in the new development project of Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation, a proposal has been made to widen the road by 6-6 meters from Rajiv Gandhi Chowk to Tim Ghar Marg, which is expected to make thousands of people homeless and unemployed, and temples and mosques will also be affected by this project, so this project should be canceled immediately. Azmi alleged that this project is causing a lot of hardship to the people and also endangering the existence of many religious places, so this project and plan should be stopped and a new plan should be prepared. Azmi said that this project and the expansion of roads and footpaths will only benefit the builder lobby, so the government should consider it so that the citizens of Bhiwandi get justice.

Thane: A 22-year-old woman allegedly harassed by her employer thrashed him at his store in Maharashtra’s Thane district, prompting the police to intervene in the matter, police said on Saturday.

The police are probing the incident that occurred in the Kalyan East area on Thursday evening, but no case has been registered, an official said.

In a video that surfaced on social media, the woman can be seen thrashing the 55-year-old shopkeeper with a slipper at his clothing store.

The woman has alleged that her employer harassed her by sending obscene text messages on her mobile phone.

According to eyewitnesses, the woman, accompanied by her mother, reached the shop on Thursday afternoon and confronted her employer about the obscene messages and continued harassment and demanded an apology.

A crowd gathered around the shop, and the woman assaulted him.

Mumbai: The long-awaited demolition of the Elphinstone Bridge at Prabhadevi railway station began in the early hours of Saturday, bringing with it heavy security, traffic diversions and bus route changes. The bridge, which had served as a crucial connector between the eastern and western parts of Parel and Prabhadevi, was officially closed to vehicular traffic at midnight before demolition crews moved in with heavy machinery.

According to viral visuals from the site, a JCB machine was deployed at the Parel signal end to dig up the road, marking the start of dismantling work. A heavy police deployment was seen near the site late at night. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is carrying out the demolition to make way for a new Elphinstone flyover along with the Sewri–Worli elevated connector flyover, a project expected to improve east–west connectivity in central Mumbai.

To manage disruptions, the Mumbai Traffic Police have implemented a series of diversions and one-way rules beginning Thursday night, September 12. For east–west travel, Dadar commuters are being rerouted via Tilak Bridge, while traffic from Parel to Prabhadevi is directed through Currey Road Bridge between 7 am and 3 pm. Chinchpokli Bridge will handle movement towards Worli and the Bandra–Worli Sea Link.

For west–east movement, Tilak Bridge will again cater to Dadar commuters, while Currey Road Bridge will be available from 3 pm to 11 pm for vehicles heading towards Parel and nearby hospitals. Chinchpokli Bridge remains open for access to Worli and the Sea Link.

In addition, strict no-parking zones have been declared on major roads, including N.M. Joshi Road, Senapati Bapat Road, and Mahadev Palav Road to ensure smoother traffic flow during the project.

The demolition has also prompted route realignments for Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses operating from its Parel Depot. According to a directive issued on September 11, all ordinary and semi-luxury services between Parel Depot and Dadar will now take an extended detour through Madke Buwa Chowk, Parel T.T. Junction, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, and several junctions before rejoining N.M. Joshi Marg en route to the depot.

This realignment increases the one-way distance from 6 km to 6.2 km. While seemingly minor, this additional stretch triggers a fare stage jump under MSRTC’s slab system, resulting in a slight fare hike for commuters.

The demolition, marked by repeated delays in the past, is seen as a key step in addressing Mumbai’s growing traffic congestion. Once completed, the new double-decker flyover is expected to ease bottlenecks and provide smoother transit across central Mumbai’s busy corridors.