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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Aaditya Thackeray raises concerns about irregularities in BMC’s ₹263 crore street furniture tender

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Aaditya Thackeray, the former Maharashtra Minister, has written a letter to Iqbal Singh Chahal, the Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai, raising concerns about irregularities in financial transactions and processes within the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Thackeray has specifically raised questions about the street furniture mess in Mumbai, which has reportedly been created to benefit one contractor friend of the BMC and those in government.

Aaditya: Questions regarding the tender remain unanswered

The former Minister has alleged that the BMC has issued a ₹263 crore tender for street furniture to this particular contractor, but many key questions regarding the tender have gone unanswered.

In the letter, Thackeray has sought clarity on the process followed by the BMC for issuing the tender, as well as the itemized market cost of the items required to be supplied by the contractor.

He has also asked why it is necessary for the contractor to buy all the 13 items required by the BMC and what items have been called for through the purchase and in what quantities.

Demand for access to report of three-member fact-finding committee

Moreover, Thackeray has requested access to the report of the three-member fact-finding committee formed after the allegations were made by VITI’s quality testing report of all bidders, remarks of the roads and traffic department of the BMC, and remarks of the urban planners/consultants on the requirements of the same, and whether the urban planners were picked through an Expression of Interest or arbitrarily.

Thackeray has further alleged that the entire process seems to be rigged in favor of a particular contractor friend of the BMC and has called for a demonstration of each item and quality testing again by all bidders.

This letter comes amid rising concerns about corruption and irregularities in the BMC.

disaster

Mumbai’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sudhakar Pathare, who was posted in the Port Zone, passed away in a road accident on Saturday.

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Pathare had visited Hyderabad for training. He was on his way to visit a temple with a relative when the accident occurred. Both Pathare and his relative lost their lives in the crash.

Mumbai Police have been informed about the incident.

More details are awaited.

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Maharashtra

Order to demolish the tomb of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Baba in Mira Bhayander

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Mumbai: The state government has issued an order to demolish the four hundred year old dargah of Hazrat Syed Bale Shah Peer Rahmatullah Alaih located in Mira Bhayander. Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation has sent a letter to the collector declaring this dargah illegal and ordered action against it. As the dargah is located on forest land, communalists had started demanding the demolition of the dargah. In the House, Darranjan Daukhre had also demanded action against the dargah, after which now the state government has ordered to run a bulldozer on the dargah. An order has also been issued to remove and demolish the dargah by May.

Dargah trustee Amjad Sheikh said that this dargah is ancient and this order is illegal in itself. In this case, communal forces had launched a campaign against the dargah, after which this order was issued.

There is a dargah on the beach and citing the threat of terrorist and illegal activities and the presence of terrorists here, there was a demand to demolish the dargah. The dargah is close to the sea and in such a situation, the threat of a terrorist attack on Mumbai from the sea has been expressed, while the dargah administration has clearly denied this and said that communal organizations are running their agenda against the dargah and there is no such threat. Muslims have opposed this decision of the government and Muslims have also expressed their displeasure and anger over it.

The trustee says that this dargah is ancient and earlier the collector and the municipal corporation had given a notice, after which the illegal shed and other premises were demolished here and the dargah administration has taken this action at its own level. Now an order has been issued to demolish the dargah itself.

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Maharashtra

Haji Ali Dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid due to rising sea level

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Mumbai: Due to rising sea level at Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims for a few hours on Eid. On March 31, the dargah will be closed for pilgrims from 12 noon to 3 pm. During this time, entry of pilgrims to the dargah will be restricted. The dargah will be closed on Tuesday, April 1 from 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm and on Wednesday, April 2 from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm.

Therefore, we have appealed to the pilgrims not to gather at the dargah during these hours. This information has been released by Tahir, administrative officer of Haji Ali Dargah. Pilgrims visit Haji Ali Dargah on Eid-Basi and Tiwasi, but due to the rising water level of the sea, water gets accumulated on the way to the Dargah and entry to the Dargah is prohibited and the gate of the Dargah remains closed during these days, due to which there is a lot of crowd there. Therefore, pilgrims have been requested to come to the Dargah only at the scheduled time.

The police also remains vigilant at the Dargah during the rising sea level, as there is a crowd of pilgrims here during Eid and festivals. The Haji Ali Dargah administration has said that on the occasion of Eid, lakhs of pilgrims visit the Dargah of Haji Ali (RahmatullahAlaih). These pilgrims include pilgrims from the country and abroad, so the Dargah administration has also claimed special security arrangements on Eid. Spiritual scenes are also seen at Haji Ali Dargah during Eid prayers.

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