Maharashtra
Maratha Reservation Protest Sees Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis At Helm Of Affairs, Deputy Chief Ministers At Bay
Mumbai: The agonising tension between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil dates back to September 1, 2023, when the police resorted to a lathi charge on protestors gathered at Antarwali Sarati (Jalna). The flashpoint came during the Lok Sabha and the state assembly elections last year.
Jarange was acerbic and bitter against the perceived casteist bias harboured by the CM. With Eknath Shinde at the helm between June 2022 and December 5, 2024, the Maratha quota leader was more pliable. This was witnessed when the Shinde-led government succeeded in convincing the protestors to return from Navi Mumbai in January last year.
The past four days were unprecedented. The Maratha agitation had reached the heart of Mumbai, and Fadnavis was at the receiving end for alleged mismanagement by allowing the protestors at Azad Maidan. Everything seemed out of control, until Sunday, that is, when Fadnavis took charge. When the protestors reached Mumbai, Maratha sub-committee head Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil was in Shirdi.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde was mostly in Thane, speaking only on a couple of occasions, raising suspicions about his posturing. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was in Pune, telling the media that he would go to Mumbai if required. It was Union Home Minister Amit Shah who, after visiting Lalbaugcha Raja, held a closed-door meeting with both Fadnavis and Shinde.
The next day, on Monday, a petition came before the Bombay High Court, and the government put up its views opposing the agitation. Fadnavis chaired a few meetings of the ministers’ committee where neither Shinde nor Pawar was present. No cabinet meeting was held to discuss the assurances to be given to Jarange Patil and the government resolutions (GRs) that were to be issued. The drafting of the GRs was also a careful process undertaken on Monday.
That their effectiveness only time will reveal is another matter, though. On Monday, when the CM was asked during his visit to Pune as to why no efforts were made to approach the activist, he said no one approached them for talks. On Tuesday, the state government swiftly deputed a group of ministers led by Vikhe Patil to meet Jarange Patil. Although the High Court was critical of the activist and the behaviour of the agitators, the state changed its stand. This could have been the result of a political fallout over ignoring Jarange Patil, who has a huge mass base, probably bigger than any political leader, a bureaucrat quipped.
Maharashtra
Mumbai Weather Update: City Sees Clear Skies After Heavy Overnight Downpour, Yellow Alert Issued; Overall AQI In Moderate Range At 63

Mumbai: After heavy rains lashed the city on Friday, bringing brief waterlogging and traffic disruptions, Mumbai woke up to sunny skies on Saturday morning. However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) cautioned that the respite may be short-lived, as the city remains under a Yellow Alert with a forecast of partly cloudy skies and a possibility of moderate rain or thunderstorms through the day.
According to the IMD, temperatures are expected to hover around 34°C during the day and dip to about 25°C at night. The brief spell of unseasonal rain not only cooled the weather but also brought a remarkable improvement in the city’s air quality, which had deteriorated sharply post-Diwali due to increased pollution and stagnant winds.
Overall AQI In Moderate Category
Real-time data from AQI.in showed that Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 63 on Saturday morning, placing it in the moderate category, a notable recovery from the unhealthy levels recorded earlier in the week.
Among the city’s monitoring stations, Wadala Truck Terminal reported the highest pollution level with an AQI of 190, followed by BKC (75), Kurla (73), Worli (73) and Chembur (72). While mild traces of smog lingered in some of these areas during the early morning, visibility and air freshness improved significantly across most parts of Mumbai.
On the other hand, several localities recorded remarkably clean air. Thakur Village in Kandivali reported the city’s best air quality with an AQI of 25, while Parel-Bhoiwada (32), Malad West (38), Borivali East (40), and Kandivali East (43) also registered good air quality, offering much-needed relief to residents.
As per AQI.in’s classification, readings between 0–50 indicate “Good” air, 51–100 “Moderate”, 101–150 “Poor”, 151–200 “Unhealthy”, and above 200 “Severe” to “Hazardous.”
Friday’s rain marked the third unseasonal spell after the official monsoon withdrawal and was accompanied by lightning, thunder and gusty winds. The IMD had issued a Nowcast warning late Friday evening, alerting of potential thunderstorms and moderate rainfall over Mumbai and adjoining districts. Meanwhile, most parts of Maharashtra, excluding the Vidarbha region, continue to remain under a Yellow Alert for the next few days.
Maharashtra
Brave officer risked his life to save injured girl

Mumbai: Mumbai Police Traffic Officer has shown bravery in saving a young girl from the clutches of a cruel lover, after which this officer is being praised. He took the injured and bleeding girl to the hospital and risked his life to free her from the armed youth, after which the youth committed suicide.
Today at 10:17 am, a call was received from the MTP helpline of the Byculla Traffic Department Group that two-wheelers and four-wheelers were parked on the footpath in front of Meoresh Building, Dataram Lad Marg, Kalachowki, causing inconvenience to the passers-by. In response to the said call, Rider Police Constable Karan Suryavanshi of the Byculla Traffic Department reached the spot. When he was taking action at the said place, some people present there told the officer that a boy was attacking a girl with a knife in the cabin of Astha Nursing Home. Seeing the seriousness of the incident, Kiran Suryavanshi immediately went to the spot and tried to free the victim girl from the clutches of the accused boy and took her out of the nursing home. Since she was in an injured condition, he showed haste and without a moment’s delay, put the girl in a taxi and brought her to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, Ranibag. The girl was given first aid there. Officers and personnel from Kalachowki took the injured woman to JJ Hospital for further treatment.
Besides, in this incident, the attacker also stabbed himself and was taken to KEM Hospital with the help of Kalachowki Police Station.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 4, Assistant Commissioner of Police as well as Senior Police Inspector of Kalachowki Police Station visited Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Railway Hospital.
The girl is undergoing treatment at Sir JJ Hospital. Police officers from Kalachowki police station are conducting further investigations. The officer is being praised for protecting the girl without caring for his own life and saving her from the clutches of her heartbroken lover.
Maharashtra
Samajwadi Party is not part of Mumbai Municipal Corporation Vikas Aghadi: Abu Asim Azmi

Mumbai: The Samajwadi Party will not enter into an electoral alliance with the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, not will it be part of this alliance. Those who objected to the release of innocent Muslims imprisoned for 19 years but remained silent on the release of the accused in the Malegaon blasts. Those who express pride in the demolition of the Babri Masjid, take the names of Lord Ram and Lord Vishwanath, but call the holy water of the Sangam smelly and make Uttar Bharatiyas and North Indians a target for violence. This is a province where the Pawars go to do their country’s panddan. Those belonging to such provinces insult and subject North Indians and Biharis to violence.
If such people are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, the Samajwadi Party will never be part of it.
The Samajwadi Party does politics of justice, secularism, constitutional values and Ganga-Jamuni culture. Therefore, we cannot be part of any alliance that includes forces that spread hatred and divide the country. This kind of explanation has been given by Mumbai Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Abu Asim Azmi. Elections are approaching, in such a situation, Mahayoti and Maha Vikas Aghadi are very serious about their allied parties. In such a situation, the Samajwadi Party has clearly refused to enter into an understanding with Maha Vikas Aghadi and has called it biased. Now there is curiosity about the expected entry and entry of MNS in Maha Vikas. In such a situation, the Samajwadi Party has denied it and said that it is unable to participate in the elections with those who incite violence on the basis of regionalism.
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