Mumbai: The Maharashtra government introduced a new policy in its 2025-26 budget to provide financial assistance for the purchase of modern ferry boats on the Gateway of India-Mandwa-Elephanta Island ferry route. This move is intended to enhance passenger safety, particularly as ferry traffic to these popular tourist destinations surges on weekends. The initiative addresses long-standing demands from ferry operators to replace aging wooden boats, which are costly to maintain and pose significant safety risks.

State Govt’s Decision Comes After Gateway Tragedy

Currently, numerous passenger ferries operate on this route, many of which are aging wooden vessels. Ferry boat associations have repeatedly called for financial aid to modernise the fleet, citing safety concerns and high operational costs.

The government’s decision follows the tragic ferry accident near Gateway of India on December 18, 2024, where 15 people lost their lives after a speedboat operated by Navy personnel collided with a wooden ferry. The incident shed light on the vulnerabilities of older boats and fueled demands for a safer fleet.

Using Wooden Boats For Water Travel Poses High Risk

Reports citing experts have highlighted that wooden boats are more susceptible to structural damage in accidents compared to modern vessels. Unlike road transport, where the Motor Vehicles Act imposes a 15-year operational limit on vehicles, the Inland Vessels Act does not specify an age cap for boats. Instead, wooden boat licences are renewed annually after retrofitting, which involves replacing old parts and wood to keep them functional. However, safety concerns remain, prompting the push for modern vessels.

Despite the introduction of catamarans on the route, the transition to a fully modern fleet has been slow due to high costs. According to report, Sardar Mirza Jamalundin Mahdakar, President of the Gateway Elephanta Jal Vahatuk Sahakari Sanstha stated that the cost of a single catamaran is approximately Rs 7-8 crore, making it difficult for operators to afford without government support. Unlike road transport, water transport in Maharashtra has historically lacked subsidies, further delaying the adoption of safer, more advanced boats.

Massive Funding For Improving Maharashtra’s Coastline Region

In addition to this new policy, the state budget has also allocated funds for key maritime infrastructure projects. A floating jetty will be constructed at Kashid in Raigad district to facilitate better coastal connectivity. Additionally, the government has announced a large-scale infrastructure initiative worth Rs 8,400 crore, backed by external funding, to improve facilities in Maharashtra’s coastal districts.

Mumbai: City-based advocate Gregory D’Souza, who notarised the Will of Peter Mukerjea and Indrani Mukerjea related to a flat in New Delhi, could not identify the documents in the court on Monday.

Trial Resumes

The trial in the Sheena Bora murder case has resumed on a daily basis and Indrani, the deceased’s mother, is a key accused. As per the said Will, Peter had transferred his half-share to Indrani, who had bequeathed the entire flat in the name of Sheena in September 2004.

The prosecution, on Monday, examined D’Souza, a notary advocate, as its 97th witness. As per the prosecution’s case, Peter and Indrani owned a three bedroomkitchen flat in New Delhi. On September 15, 2004, Peter bequeathed half of his share to Indrani. On the same day, Indrani bequeathed her own share and the share given to her by Peter to Sheena, mentioning her daughter as her “sister”.

These two documents were notarised by D’Souza. The CBI had also claimed that in the register that they had to maintain, there was no signature of Peter Mukerjea and the document only had Indrani’s signature. When questioned about the said discrepancies in 2016, when the case was being investigated, D’Souza could not respond.

On Monday, when he was shown the copies of the Will, he was unable to identify them and claimed that the documents were not the original ones and were just photocopies. It is alleged that after Sheena got engaged to Peter’s son Rahul, Indrani decided to remove her name from the Will. It is also alleged that Sheena had been blackmailing Indrani to give her the flat, threatening to expose their actual relationship.

Indrani’s driver Shyamwar Rai, also an accused, had in his confession claimed that at the time of allegedly killing Sheena, Indrani had allegedly said, “Sheena got her 3BHK flat”. As per the prosecution’s case, Indrani, her ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna, and driver Shyamwar Rai strangled Sheena in a car on April 24, 2012.

It is alleged that the body was later stuffed in a bag, and kept overnight in the garage and set on fire in Pen Village the next day. The case came to light after the arrest of Rai for carrying an illegal weapon in 2015. During interrogation, Rai revealed the murder plot.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, while addressing a press conference organized in the press room of Vidhan Bhavan here after the budget meeting, has described the budget as stable and the most balanced budget. He said that the Maharashtra government has presented a budget of Rs 7 lakh thousand crores.

It is rich and all sections from employment have been taken care of in it and the Finance Minister has maintained the balance of the budget, Maharashtra’s pace in economy and industry has increased. Number one is that development work and road construction work have been done as per the plan by preparing a roadmap, in which repair and construction work of roads is going on from villages to highways, for which funds have been allocated. The central government had provided 13 lakh houses from 2016 to 2022 and now 20,000 houses have been provided. The price of the house is Rs 80 lakh. A subsidy of Rs 50,000 has been given for this. Under the Prime Minister’s Pradhan Mantri Solar Yojana, free electricity from solar energy will be provided to those who use electricity within 300 MW.

Attention has also been given to reducing the cost of agriculture by using AI, drones and biotech and a scheme has also been presented for this. Attention has also been given to providing employment opportunities. The establishment of a society is also underway to make better use of dear sister’s money. Ajit Pawar has presented a wonderful budget. The 11th budget has been presented by Ajit Pawar.

Finance Minister Ajit Pawar said that special attention has been given to all sections in the budget and the budget has been presented on the basis of development. Nagpur has become a steel hub. Rs 500 crore has been allocated for the construction of roads here. Funds have also been allocated for other facilities and infrastructure including airport, railway, metro, sea route and GT. Along with this, Maharashtra is within the debt limit and Maharashtra’s debt is 18.71% while its limit is 25%. Production in agriculture is disappointing. There has also been progress towards increasing it to 8.8%. Efforts have also been made to increase the income of farmers. The government has also allocated funds for other schemes including irrigation.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the government has continued the Ladli Behan scheme. The opposition was only criticizing Ladli Behan, but these three brothers will continue Ladli Behan. Eknath Shinde responded to the opposition’s criticism in his own way and said that there is unity among the three of us and it will remain. He said that in the budget presented by our government today, the chair has definitely changed, but we are united. He said that this budget will take the state towards development and the state will benefit from this budget.(Edited)Restore original