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Maharashtra

Likely pitfalls that could derail the Shinde-Fadnavis combination

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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.

Maharashtra

BMC on alert following a rise in tree-fall incidents due to rain in Mumbai, special arrangements being made to ensure tree safety: Municipal Commissioner

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Better arrangements during rains in Mumbai BMC has been very successful in pumping and drainage on roads and other works and BMC officers and officials were on the road even during the rains. This has been claimed by Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide. Rain in Mumbai From July 1, 2026 to July 7, 2026, Mumbai received more than 300 mm of rain. Mumbai received more rain than the cities of Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru. Rapid drainage of accumulated water with the help of six pumping stations, nine mini pumping stations and 540 submersible pumps. Road and rail traffic continued smoothly in Mumbai even during heavy rains. Water Supply.

Water storage in 7 reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai as on 07 July 2026 = 28.92%Water storage increased by 12% in 24 hours from 6 am on 6 July 2026 to 6 am on 7 July 2026.

Water storage was available at 67.88% as on 07 July 2025. There has been no expected rainfall in the area of ​​7 reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai so far. The available water storage is being reviewed regularly and appropriate decisions will be taken regarding water shortage as per the situation.

Roads and Transport
2,118 km. The road network in Mumbai is maintained by the Municipal Corporation. Cement concreting of 700 km of roads has been started in two phases. Out of which, concreting of 577.46 km of roads has been completed. Work is underway on the remaining roads. 89.81% of the concreting phase-1 and 73.72% of the phase-2 work has been completed. The problem of potholes has been reduced and the cost of filling potholes has been saved by 35%. Eastern Expressway and Western Expressway are not concrete but bituminous roads. Work has already been done on the potholed areas on these highways.
A contractor has been appointed to fill the potholes. The ‘resurfacing’ of these two roads will be done as soon as the monsoon season ends.

7) A separate app is available for redressal of pothole complaints. A complaint registration system like ‘Marg’. Information is also available through newspapers and media. Due to which the speed of attention and response to potholes has increased compared to before.

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Cleaning of drains
Rivers/drains are cleaned regularly. Silt is removed.
When 300 mm of rain falls in a short period and at the same time the sea level rises by four and a half metres, it is natural for water to accumulate in a city like Mumbai, which is surrounded by the sea on three sides and has undergone ‘reclamation’.

3) The Municipal Corporation is trying to get funds from the National Disaster Relief Fund to permanently address these issues. For this, it is preparing a detailed project with the help of IIT Bombay. A major project is being taken up to reduce 300 to 350 ‘flood points’. This includes construction of new pumping stations, increasing the capacity of pumping stations, installation of automatic flood control gates and strengthening the network of sewerage channels.

4) Citizens are requested not to throw solid waste and floating garbage into rivers and drains.
Increase in the number of trees falling due to strong winds in the last two days.

Winds blow every year during the monsoon However, this year, winds have been blowing at a speed of 50 to 70 kmph for the last four to five days. Due to which trees suffered a lot of damage in this monsoon. Every year, trees fall during the monsoon or due to various reasons. This year, 50% of the trees that fell in a year fell in just one day. In 2022, 655 trees fell. In 2023, 687, in 2024, 653 and in 2025, 855 trees fell. While in 2026, 830 trees fell. Out of 830, 480 trees were in the private sector. As many branches as there are, trees fall. This year, 1,238 branches fell. Out of these, 709 were in the private sector.

Steps will be taken to deliver water to the roots of trees on both sides of the road in Mumbai

According to the 2018 tree census, there are 29 lakh 75 thousand trees in Mumbai. Of these, 2 lakh trees are on both sides of the road. Trees along the road are very dangerous. Many trees are on the footpaths along the road. Apart from this, there may be gutters or other channels that carry water under the road. The roads have been concreted, in some places paver blocks have been laid. Therefore, it is necessary to provide water to the roots of such trees. The roots spread far. Therefore, the municipal corporation is also considering whether it is possible to estimate how far the roots of the concerned trees have spread and to that extent, to make holes and put nets over them and pour water. Such an experiment has been done earlier in the Malabar Hill area.

Experts will be sought for tree care

We will learn about this by taking information from some experts from Mumbai University, like Dr. Sanjay Deshmukh and IIT. Efforts are being made to provide water to the roots of trees that go deep into the ground. We will also emphasize on scientific pruning of trees. Out of the 2 lakh trees along the roads, the Municipal Corporation has cut down 1 lakh trees this year. Along with this, a survey of these trees will be done and where necessary, they will be cut down. A sure method will be used for this. Expert opinion will also be taken for this.

Caution will be taken while working on various underground channels
Many trees are 50 to 60 years old. Their roots have gone very deep. Roads were built for this.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Water levels in lakes have risen due to six days of torrential rain; over a thousand trees have been uprooted by strong winds.

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Mumbai: Due to the heavy rains that have been continuing in Mumbai for the past 6 days, the water level of lakes has increased and the water level has increased in 29% of the lakes. This year, better rainfall has been recorded in the month of July compared to last year. After better rainfall, 100% of the lakes are expected to be filled by September, while 300 mm of rainfall has been recorded for 6 days from July 1, due to which Vihar Lake has been filled, Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide claimed today. He said that during the rains, BMC officials and officers were deployed to low-lying areas, including places where complaints of water accumulation were received. Along with this, BMC staff is on alert. There has been a huge increase in the number of tree fall incidents during the rains in Mumbai city, northern suburbs and western suburbs and other places. More than 1,000 tree fall incidents have been reported in the month of July. On June 30, a wall collapsed in Walkeshwar, in which one person was injured. More than 100 complaints of wall collapse and house collapse during rains have been received in 5 to 6 days.
After the collapse of a three-storey building in Mankhurd, Bhide claimed that the building was illegal while more than 5 million people live in slums. Along with this, these slums are also provided with protection till 2011. In such cases, schemes have also been implemented for them and the government also pays attention to it. Along with this, instructions have also been issued to take action against the officers who provide protection to illegal construction works and along with this, special surveillance will also be maintained in such areas. He said that during emergency situations, families trapped in floods were shifted to BMC schools and assistance was provided to them. Two deaths have been registered due to falling trees.

Bhide said that many roads were affected due to the filling of drains, but after heavy rains, many roads were shifted and many were repaired. He said that separate guidelines have been issued for construction companies during the rains, which are mandatory for them to adhere to. If anyone violates them, action will be taken against them. Concrete roads have been made public to make Mumbai free of potholes and the BMC is also active in filling potholes. Along with this, necessary instructions have been issued to BMC officials after the Main Hall tragedy. Mumbai has suffered the most damage due to winds blowing at a speed of 70 to 80 km/h. In such a situation, the BMC is also focusing on the establishment of trees. Most of the trees are on the side of the footpaths and on the roads. In such a situation, along with the cutting of trees, emphasis has also been placed on their stability. Such dangerous trees are also cut down. They are in a dangerous condition. The public is also complaining to the BMC after accidents and the BMC is also on alert mode. Many trees have also been cut down. In this, most of the complaints are found to be valid and most are not.

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Maharashtra

Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar tragedy, Strict action must be taken against the guilty; suspend the responsible ward officers: Abu Asim.

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Mumbai: The tragic incident of building collapse in Mumbai’s Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar constituency led to a heated debate in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly today during the monsoon session. Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi aggressively raised the issue of the loss of innocent lives in the tragedy and corruption within the local administration. Presenting the government’s stand, Minister Ashish Shelar assured the House that a thorough investigation would be conducted and strict action would be taken against all those involved, including the guilty municipal officials. Government corruption leads to the loss of lives of the poor: MLA Abu Asim Azmi

Mumbai; Highlighting the dire situation in his constituency, MLA Abu Asim Azmi said that last night, at 8:30, a three-storey building collapsed, resulting in the death of six innocent people living in two poor families with tin sheet roofs. The police have detained Ghulam Raza, the owner of a poor house, who rented his room for Rs. 1,000. What was his fault in this, who support unauthorized construction, if not even an inch of construction can be done without bribing the municipality officers? Expressing his anger, Azmi further said, “After 1995, during the Manohar Joshi era, it was decided to stop unauthorized constructions and if anything happens, to collect demolition costs from the concerned persons and register an FIR. Yet, even after 36 years, not a single ward officer has been suspended, as the development of Govindi is only on papers. Rainwater is filling people’s houses. Moreover, the vacated transit camp sites are being sold illegally through stamp paper agreements, despite this, the municipality is not taking any action.” He demanded an immediate meeting with the ward officer and the DMC to resolve these issues and stop such illegal activities.

The guilty will not be spared: Minister Ashish Shelar
Responding to questions from MLA Abu Asim Azmi, Minister Ashish Shelar expressed deep grief over the death of six people. He said, “This is really It is a sad incident. The government is taking positive steps regarding the two issues raised by the esteemed MLA. Regarding the first point, orders will be issued regarding the landlord who was detained by the police for simply renting a house, that no action will be taken against him, if he is not guilty in this incident. Otherwise, if he is involved in it, then action will also be taken against him. Clarifying the government’s stand on unauthorized constructions, Minister Shelar assured that a thorough investigation will be conducted against all those responsible or involved in the collapse of this three-storey building and the unauthorized constructions there. Even if the officials who saved these actions belong to the Municipal Corporation, they will not be spared. If anyone is found responsible, strict legal action will be taken against them. After this discussion, Tambhai’s eyes have focused on what steps the government takes regarding unauthorized constructions and corrupt officials in Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar.

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