Kananaskis, June 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung “reaffirmed their commitment” to deepening the strategic partnership between their countries on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister in a post on X said: “President Lee Jae-myung and I had a very good meeting in Canada. India and the Republic of Korea seek to work together in sectors like commerce, investment, technology, green hydrogen, shipbuilding and more. @Jaemyung_Lee.”

The Prime Minister’s Office in a post on X said:” Boosting India-Republic of Korea relations! PM @narendramodi and President @Jaemyung_Lee of the Republic of Korea had a productive meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade and commerce, investment, technology, green hydrogen and more.”

The two leaders discussed regional and global issues, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X.

PM Modi and President Lee “reaffirmed their commitment to deepening India-South Korea Special Strategic Partnership by exploring new avenues for cooperation through partnerships in areas of trade and economy, critical and emerging technologies” including “culture and P2P (people-to-people contacts), among others,” MEA Spokesperson Jaiswal said.

The meeting with President Lee was one of several PM Modi held with leaders at the G7 Summit on Tuesday.

President Lee offered “deep condolences” to the victims of a recent Indian plane crash during his talks with PM Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Tuesday, the South Korea’s Presidential Office said.

President Lee conveyed the message regarding last week’s Air India crash that killed more than 240 people, as he met PM Modi to discuss bilateral cooperation.

Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the two countries’ special strategic partnership, President Lee expressed hope for elevating bilateral relations to a new level “across the board”.

PM Modi thanked President Lee for his condolences and expressed his desire to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries, the office said.

India and South Korea share strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region, facing some common challenges.

Bilateral trade reached nearly $27.5 billion last year.

President Lee highlighted that around 550 Korean companies are operating in India and emphasised the need to boost high-level communication while expanding cooperation in areas, including the economy, advanced technology, defence, the arms industry, and culture.

“The two leaders shared the view that people-to-people and cultural exchanges are crucial and agreed to continue advancing such exchanges,” the presidential office said in a statement.

PM Modi invited President Lee to visit India, and the South Korean President expressed gratitude for the invitation, according to the office.

South Korea is one of the major investors in India, with several companies having manufacturing operations in automobiles, electronics, and other sectors.

“South Korea’s major conglomerates are ramping up efforts to expand into India, positioning the country as a key player in the evolving global supply chain,” according to the Chosun Daily.

“India is emerging as a viable alternative to China, particularly amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing,” it said about the prospects for growing investments.

Asian Legal Business quoted Zunu Lee, partner at South Korean firm Yoon & Yang, as saying, “The alignment between Korea’s ‘Act Southern’ and India’s ‘Act East’ policies has created new momentum for bilateral economic cooperation.”

Mumbai: Despite heavy rains, the threat of water shortage persists in Mumbai. Now only 8.60 percent water is left in the lakes supplying water to Mumbai, so the administration has appealed not to waste water. It has been raining continuously in the city for the last two days. 86 mm of rain has been recorded in Kalabhata, Mumbai and 100 mm in Santacruz. Due to rain, the water level of Madhya Veternah has increased. Due to two days of rain, the water level of the lakes has increased, but there is still a threat of water shortage. Yellow and red alerts were issued due to rain in Palghar and Raigad of Mumbai, but today the rain stopped.

Mumbai: Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now started strict action by registering a case against the factory owners and the concerned person who throw garbage and waste in the drains. Now throwing garbage in the drains is a crime and those who throw company’s garbage or waste in the drains without any reason will not be spared. In this case, BMC has registered the first case in Dharavi and the search for the unknown accused is on. Despite regular cleaning of drains in many areas of Mumbai, garbage is being dumped again. Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started strict action against those who throw industrial waste and garbage in the drains in the backdrop of monsoon season.

Due to which there is a danger of blockage of drains, due to which the problem of waterlogging is increasing in the city. After cleaning the T-junction drain in Dharavi, it was found that a large amount of industrial waste has been dumped in it. Under monsoon works, work is being done to remove garbage from the rivers and drains of Mumbai Metropolitan Area. The work of removing garbage is going on in a planned manner and Artificial Intelligence (AI) system is being used for this work. Artificial Intelligence is helping a lot in increasing the effectiveness and transparency in the garbage removal work. Along with this, senior officials of Mumbai Municipal Corporation are directly visiting and inspecting the work of garbage removal from drains in the city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs. Apart from this, they are giving instructions to do the drain cleaning work properly.

Although the work of removing garbage from big and small drains has been completed, the drains have to be cleaned repeatedly due to the accumulation of floating garbage with the tide. The Solid Waste Management Department, Storm Water Drainage Department of Mumbai Municipal Corporation is working tirelessly. The work of removing garbage from drains and removing garbage is going on regularly. The Municipal Administration is taking many steps to prevent garbage from going into the drains. The Municipal Administration has laid nets at some places on an experimental basis to prevent garbage from going into the drains. However, various types of floating materials like thermocol, plastic bags, furniture, rubber, wrappers are being thrown into the drains by some individuals / establishments. Due to which the movement and drainage of sewage is being obstructed.

The Municipal Corporation recently cleaned the drain leading to the T-junction in Dharavi. Along with removing the garbage, floating objects were also removed. However, on Monday, June 16, 2025, when the officials of the North Zone Solid Waste Management Department inspected the drain, they found that unknown persons had thrown various industrial items like thermocol, rubber, wrappers, parcel boxes etc. into the drain. Taking serious cognizance of this and as per the instructions of the seniors, a complaint has been lodged at the Sahu Nagar Police Station. This act of obstructing the cleaning work of the drain is serious and is creating difficulties in disaster management. In this regard, a case has been registered against the accused under Section 326 (A) of the Indian Penal Code, 2023.

The police is searching for the concerned person / establishment. Citizens should not throw plastic bags, bottles, thermocol and other similar garbage in drains or sewers, so that the garbage does not get stuck and the drains do not get clogged and the water keeps flowing fast. Residents and citizens living near the drain should not throw any garbage directly in the drain with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. Garbage should be thrown only in the garbage dump. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation administration is making a humble appeal to the citizens to cooperate with the Municipal Corporation administration.