Maharashtra
Likely pitfalls that could derail the Shinde-Fadnavis combination

After hijacking the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) 3-party �auto-rickshaw, new Chief Minister Eknath Shinde converted it into a �two-wheeler with an over zealous pillion-rider in Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Over 3 weeks after they were sworn-in, instead of zooming off, the government is still �parked’ on the road, but is busy clearing the route ahead by yanking off the MVA’s decisions, policies, schemes and projects.
Relegated to the pavement, the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress looked on gleefully as Fadnavis once snatched the microphone as a startled Shinde cast a brief bewildered stare at the audacity.
Many in the Opposition are wondering aloud �how soon’ before the Bharatiya Janata Party heavyweight Fadnavis grabs the reins of power to jump into the driving seat sidelining the ex-autorickshaw driver Shinde.
The challenges before the new regime are both daring and daunting, starting with the much-awaited Cabinet expansion, amid a storm raised by Shinde’s 40-strong band of restless rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.
Then, the Independents or fringes like the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) to ensure a �Thackeray’ on board and the frightful prospects of humouring the BJP legislators, with many bigwigs ready to draw first blood at the first slight.
All these would test the best of Shinde’s balancing skills and Fadnavis’ claimed �Chanakya-esque’ mastery to ensure a turbulence-free ride for the new regime.
Among the secret worries are whether the Brobdingnagian BJP with 106 MLAs looking down, would try to grab the cake and leave only crumbs for the rebels, with at least 20 prime portfolios up for grabs and coveted by all.
The next concern for the breakaway group would be the Supreme Court verdict which could make or break the new government, with both sides of the Shiv Sena proclaiming they are the �real’ party.
While winning the trust vote in the House was easy, the next formidable challenge for Shinde would be to win the confidence of the masses and establish his own credibility — a dismaying proposition as many in the past, like Raj Thackeray of the MNS, and others who revolted in different parties all over India have experienced.
A major battle – legal and political – waiting to erupt between the Thackeray and Shinde sides, is over who will ‘conquer’ the Shiv Sena Bhavan (the party headquarters), bag its �Tiger’ logo, the iconic Bow and Arrow election symbol, the well oiled 56-year-old party apparatus, and most important, convincingly delink it from the magical Thackeray surname�
Shinde would have to prove his supremacy over the Thackeray side in the upcoming civic body elections but hurdles are already cropping up with a section of his group reportedly against allying with the BJP.
Retaining the CM’s traditional stronghold of Thane may be a cakewalk, but dislodging the MVA hold over many other civic bodies like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded, etc could pose problems, with or without the BJP’s overbearing shadow.
Top MVA leaders like Thackeray, Sanjay Raut (Sena), Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar (NCP), Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat (Congress), have already predicted that the �E.D.’ (Eknath-Devendra) government could fall on its own and the state would be pushed to a mid-term election in a few months.
After Shinde-Fadnavis clear these teething hurdles, they have a table-full of major governance issues like the OBC quotas, handling Covid better than the MVA did, and fast-track or complete several big ticket ongoing projects, estimated to cost over Rs 5 lakh crores.
They are the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway, the Borivali-Thane Tunnel, the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, the Mumbai Coastal Road, the southern and northern extension to the Worli-Bandra Sea Link, the Navi Mumbai International Airport, and more than 375-kms of Metro Rail spanning the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Other mega projects are the Pune Ring Road, Marathwada Water Grid, the Jalna-Nanded corridor linking the Mumbai-Nagpur Super Expressway, augmenting the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, kickstarting the Konkan Expressway, the Sagari (coastal) Highway, Palghar-Raigad Multimodal corridor, and the long pending Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in the Arabian Sea and the Dr B. R. Ambedkar Memorial in Dadar.
General
Mumbai News: ‘Won’t return to JJ hospital,’ say senior doctors who resigned following protest of resident doctors

“We will not resume work at Sir Jamshetji Jeejeebhoy Hospital even if all the issues are resolved,” said Dr Tatayrao Lahane, the former dean of the hospital and Dr Ragini Parekh, head of the ophthalmology department, and the other honorary doctors who resigned on Thursday. Further, they have also demanded an enquiry against the hospital dean and strict action against her.
The hospital dean, Dr Pallavi Saple, has sought an explanation from Dr Parekh, on the appointment of Dr Sumeet Lahane, the son of Dr Lahane, who was allowed to perform surgeries in the department.
This comes after a three-member committee headed by Dr Sanjay Surase, medical superintendent, submitted its investigative report against Dr Sumeet Lahane.
“The report submitted to the dean reveals that the committee has sought an explanation from Dr Ragini Parekh, HoD, on the appointment of Dr Sumeet Lahane and also asked her to clarify three points, based on documents submitted by resident doctors as proof,” said Dr Saple.
Report submitted by the investigative committee is biased: Dr Lahane
“We have been serving J J Hospital and patients for the last 36 years and have done more than lakhs of surgeries and operations. But we did not expect to be humiliated by resident doctors and the hospital dean. All of us have resigned and will not be part of J J Hospital any further. The report submitted by the investigative committee is biased, as they have not asked for our version and we have the right to tell our side of the issue,” Dr Tatyarao Lahane said.
Meanwhile, the deadlock between resident and senior doctors entered the third day on Friday. The Maharashtra State Resident Doctors Association (MARD) is threatening to go on a state-wide indefinite strike if their demands are not met.
According to Dr Shubham Soni, MARD president, J J Hospital, resident doctors have alleged that Dr Lahane and Dr Parekh had been running the ophthalmology department ‘dictatorially’ and in a way that clearly violated the guidelines issued by the National Medical Commission at multiple levels.
Resident doctors’ protest
Resident doctors in the ophthalmology department say that they have been dealing with several issues, such as not getting hands-on experience with surgery, minimal academic and research activity.
The report of the investigative committee said that Dr Sumeet Lahane was performing cataract surgeries and was also looking at routine OPD. If a government letter or order had been issued, asking him to perform surgeries and examine patients, a photocopy of the order had to be submitted. The third point raised by the committee was that a criminal case could be filed against Drs Sumeet Lahane and Ragini Parekh, as it was a legal offence for outsiders to perform patient examinations, surgeries, and other patient care work, without an order.
“We have raised these points with Dr Parekh and sought a detailed explanation and asked why no case should be registered against Dr Sumeet Lahane,” Dr Saple added.
Crime
Mumbai News: Man booked for depositing fake ₹2,000 notes

Mumbai: A private bank has lodged a complaint with the police against a customer who had deposited fake Rs2,000 notes in the bank. At the time of depositing the cash, the accused had told the cashier that the money was given to him by one of his business parties. The paper used for the notes were thick and also had less security features, police said.
According to the DB Marg police, the complainant works as deputy branch manager of the Lamington Road branch of the bank. On Wednesday, during checking of the cash, one of the bank officials got suspicious about some of the notes while checking. The bank staff found 10 notes of Rs2,000 denomination to be fake.
Rs 14 lakh deposited
It was learnt that the man had visited the bank around 1pm and had deposited 700 notes of Rs2,000 denomination (Rs14 lakh) in three bank accounts. At the time of depositing the cash, the cashier had suspected some of the notes to be fake and asked the depositor from where he had got those notes.
The bank then got a complaint lodged in the matter on Wednesday. The police have registered a case under sections 489-B (using as genuine, forged or counterfeit currency-notes or bank-notes) and 489-C (possession of forged or counterfeit currency-notes or bank-notes) of the Indian Penal Code.
Maharashtra
Mumbai Weather: IMD predicts city to witness cloudy sky with possibility of rain until Monday; AQI ‘good’ at 43

Days after clear sky with sunny and humid weather, the IMD has predicted Mumbai to get a major relief from hot conditions. The city is likely to see party cloudy skies for the next 48 hours, i.e. until Monday, with possibility of light rainfall. Mumbaikars who probably ended their summer holidays and were eagerly waiting to enjoy rains might experience them in the coming days of June.
On Saturday, people in Mumbai woke up to a temperature of 31.6oC with humidity at 72%. Some parts of the city saw drizzles in the morning hours of June 3. Meanwhile, the weather report for the next two days of the month suggested the maximum and minimum temperatures to be around 34oC & 28oC respectively.
Mumbai AQI
As per the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the AQI in Mumbai is currently in the ‘good’ category, with a reading of 43.
For context, an AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 to 100 is ‘satisfactory’, 101 to 200 is ‘moderate’, 201 to 300 ‘poor’, 301 to 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 to 500 ‘severe’.
AQI of different areas in Mumbai
Powai: 37 Good
Mulund: 48 Good
Borivali: 74 Satisfactory
Malad: 76 Satisfactory
BKC: 87 Satisfactory
Colaba: 129 Moderate
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