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Maharashtra: Congress to probe MLC cross-voting, MLAs absence in trust vote

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Taking serious cognisance of the instance of cross-voting in the June MLC biennial elections and absence of 11 legislators during the July 4 vote of confidence by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Congress ordered a high-level probe, party sources said here on Friday.

The Congress has directed national spokesperson Mohan Prakash to conduct the enquiry into these lapses on an urgent basis.

“The Congress President has deputed Mohan Prakash to Maharashtra to make an enquiry and submit a report in the wake of the recent political developments in the state, with immediate effect,” said an announcement from AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal.

The developments came quick on the heels of meetings between Rahul Gandhi and ex-minister Naseem Khan and Chandrakant Handore — the party’s official nominee who lost the MLC polls on June 20.

Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole had met Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and demanded action while the candidate Chandrakant Handore had met Rahul Gandhi and had complained about the seven MLAs who had cross-voted which was a precursor to the fall of MVA government where Sena rebels also cross voted .

Mumbai Congress president Bhai Jagtap had said: “High Command should take action against the seven MLAS and the party has sent notice to 11 others who were absent during the trust vote.”

Similarly, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole has sought disciplinary action against the errant legislators who may have cross-voted in the MLC polls and also 11 others — including ex-Chief Minister Ashok Chavan — for absenteeism during the Shinde government’s vote of confidence on July 4.

Khan has pointed out to the party top brass how Handore — the Congress official candidate was allotted 29 votes against the 26 quota, but managed to bag only 22, indicating a cross-voting by at least seven party MLAs.

Earlier, ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan had also accused 7 Congress MLAs of alleged cross-voting and demanded action against them.

Last month’s fast-paced developments, starting with the Rajya Sabha (June 10) and MLC (June 20) polls saw the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi nominees suffering major reverses with the Bharatiya Janata Party getting advantage on both occasions.

Later, on June 20, the MVA ally Shiv Sena was beset by a sudden revolt that saw the collapse of the 31-month-old government in just 10 days, with the BJP-supported Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis sworn-in on June 30.

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Thane News: Concerns Raised Over Navratri Pandal Construction At Tembhi Naka Chowk Causing Traffic Delays

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Thane: The construction of a pavilion for the Navratri festival at Tembhinaka Chowk in Thane commenced today, causing significant traffic congestion. Although the Ghatsthapana is scheduled for September 22, the pavilion work will take approximately two weeks. The area, home to Thane Court, District Collector’s Office, and several schools and colleges, is expected to experience disruptions. Congestion is anticipated to peak during nighttime.

The Shri Jai Ambe Mata Public Navratri Festival, initiated by late Shiv Sena leader Anand Dighe, continues to be celebrated at Tembhinaka, which has seen increased urbanisation over time, necessitating the erection of an elaborate pavilion for the event.

Citizens from Thane, Mumbai, suburbs and various districts come to Tembhinaka for this festival to have darshan of the goddess. Due to this, this area takes on the form of a fair. Since Ghatsthapana is on September 22 this year, the work of erecting a pavilion here has been undertaken by the board from today. Therefore, the road open for traffic from Tembhinaka Chowk towards Court Naka has been closed.

A few meters away from Tembhinaka are the Thane Court, Thane District Collector’s Office and other government offices. Therefore, citizens from various parts of Thane district come here for work. Schools and colleges are also a few meters away from this area. Therefore, school buses also ply from here.

This road is also important for passengers and drivers traveling towards Thane Railway Station. But now that Tembhinaka Chowk is closed, the possibility of traffic jams is being expressed at Charai, Court Naka, Anand Ashram Road. Although the festival lasts for 11 days, the time required to erect the pavilion and remove the pavilion after Dussehra means that citizens are likely to be stuck in a jam for at least a month.

When the traffic police was asked about this, they said that temporary traffic changes have been implemented here. They clarified that traffic at Tembhinaka Chowk has been diverted to an alternative route.

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National News

US Open 2025 Prize Money: Carlos Alcaraz Pockets ₹44 Crore After Beating Jannik Sinner In The Final

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Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday defeated Jannik Sinner in the US Open men’s singles final 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York and took home the largest prize money purse ever in tennis. Alcaraz claimed his second career Grand Slam title in the US Open, having earlier won in 2022, and a sixth overall in his career.

By winning the 2025 US Open title, Carlos Alcaraz won 44 crore ($5 million) as prize money a record in the tournament’s history. This year’s prize money went up from $3.6 million compared to last year. The event also upped the overall prize money to $90 million, up 20% from 2024.

Alcaraz claims his sixth major title and is the second youngest male player (22 years and 125 days) to reach six major titles, older only than Bjorn Borg. The Spaniard reached his seventh major final, and is tied with Jim Courier and Mats Wilander for second on the all-time list for major finals reached before turning 23.

The 22 year old has now won two Wimbledon titles on grass (2023 and 2024), two Roland Garros titles on clay (2024 and 2025) and two US Open titles on hard courts (2022 and 2025)

Sinner and Alcaraz have combined to win each of the last eight Grand Slam singles titles, the longest such streak since Federer and Nadal compiled 11 consecutive major titles from 2005-2007.

By reaching the final without dropping a single set, Alcaraz became the fourth men’s singles player to do so in the last 25 years, along with Lleyton Hewitt (2005), Rafael Nadal (2010) and Roger Federer (2015). Alcaraz has dominated the 2025 season with a tour-leading seven titles and the best record in men’s tennis at 61-6.

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Maha Government Set To Launch 10 New Waterways In MMR, Including Four Routes Connecting To Navi Mumbai Airport; Check Out Details

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Mumbai: Numerous waterways in the city and the surrounding metropolitan area have been shut down over the past 30 years. These routes were shut down because of insufficient passengers and high ticket prices. The state government plans to initiate 10 new waterways in the Mumbai metropolitan area. These consist of four pathways linking Navi Mumbai International Airport.

The primary goal of this waterway is to alleviate traffic congestion and boost income from coastal shipping. Officials stated that Kochi Water Metro, which manages internal waterways in the Kochi region, will draft a comprehensive project report for the planned 10 routes.

The consulting company needs to conduct several analyses, including a survey of passenger boarding and alighting, an impact assessment near the suggested jetty, a passenger usage survey for that region, a household and preference survey, an analysis of travel demand, terminal facility planning, and a conceptual design of the terminals.

At present, waterways are functioning on 21 routes within the Mumbai metropolitan area. According to officials, these routes have been in operation for many years and primarily cater to the local residents near the jetty. In 1992-93, Damani Shipping Company was tasked with launching hovercraft services from Gateway of India-Navi Mumbai to Juhu and Girgaum Chowpatty along the west coast. Nonetheless, both routes were shut down because of elevated fares.

Over the next few decades, tenders for water transport services were issued repeatedly, but in most cases, the services never commenced. In 2003, Satyagiri Shipping was awarded the contract by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation to initiate water transport services along the city’s west coast.

In 2010, Pratibha Industries was awarded the contract to commence water transport services from Nariman Point to Borivali. In 2015, a bid was announced for ferry services connecting Belapur and Nerul. All contracts were terminated since the ferry services did not commence under any circumstances

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