Maharashtra
Mumbai: Andheri by-election pits Uddhav-led Sena against Shinde Gut and BJP
It will be the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena versus the BJP in the Andheri East Assembly by-election on November 3. The BJP will field Murji Patel, who had garnered 31.14 per cent votes as an independent to finish second to the Sena’s winner, the late Ramesh Latke, in 2019. It is learnt that the Eknath Shinde faction is not interested in contesting the by-poll because it does not have a candidate with good electoral prospects.The Shiv Sena factions’ petitions for the party’s official symbol of bow and arrow are pending before the Election Commission of India for the hearing which has been cleared by the Supreme Court.
The first big election to be held after June’s power shift will be watched for the EC’s decision, if any, before the by-poll nomination process ends on October 14. People in the know said they did not expect Thackeray’s candidate to get the official symbol. They said in similar cases in the past, the symbol was frozen and the warring factions told to pick new symbols. The Thackeray faction could be the one to forego the bow and arrow against the BJP’s established lotus.
Sources said the Sena was prepared to meet the challenge and has asked party workers to ensure victory even if they fight with a new symbol. Thackeray has decided to nominate Rujuta Latke, the former local MLA’ s widow who could get sympathy votes. Her husband had gained 42.67% votes against Patel’s 31.14%. The Congress’ Amin Kutty had finished third with 19% share.
The BJP expects to breach the gap, but the Sena sees its prospect better, not just because of sympathy votes, but also because the Congress has decided to not field its candidate expecting to shift its valuable share to the Sena nominee.State Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe told mid-day that it was the MVA’s policy to keep the seat with the respective winner. “We wonder why the Shinde group, which according to the BJP is the real Sena, has not been given the seat?” he asked, saying the Congress will be with the Sena. The Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) boss Sharad Pawar declared his party’s support to the Thackeray Sena on MondayThe unified Sena and BJP were in a pre-poll alliance in 2019 and yet Patel contested as an independent to prove his worth with tacit support from the party. His great finish landed him the official responsibility. He was asked to prepare much ahead of the by-poll announcement on Monday. The polling will be on a working day, Thursday, November 3, followed by the counting on November 6.
In 2019, the BJP had marched ahead of the Sena by winning 16 of 36 seats in Mumbai which was its best ever show in the metro that had voted it to win 82 seats in a close fight against the Sena (84) in the BMC polls two years before. The Sena won two short of the BJP’s Assembly tally in the city. The Congress was reduced to four seats. The NCP and Samajwadi Party got one each.
The by-poll comes ahead of the BMC election slated to be held this year end or early next year. It is expected to be a pilot in terms of the collaboration between the BJP and the Shinde group, which would also like to take credit if the rival group is defeated.
Maharashtra
Reconstruction work of Sion Railway Flyover should be completed by July 15, 2026, directs Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide

Mumbai: Sewage Treatment Plant is very important in terms of environmental protection in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and care should be taken to ensure that the sewage treatment plant in Dharavi is functional by July 2027. The reconstruction of the Sine Railway Flyover connecting the eastern and western parts of Sine should be completed by July 15, 2026, while the road construction should be done as per the standard or standard. No new excavation should be done after April 30, 2026. The work of pouring concrete should be completed by May 15, 2026. In addition, Municipal Commissioner Smt. Ashwini Bhide has given various instructions that all road works should be completed by May 31, 2026 and the roads should be opened for traffic.
Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide personally visited and inspected various development works in the city division today (April 16, 2026). These include a 418 million litres per day capacity sewage treatment plant in Dharavi, a flyover on the railway line in Shiv (Seon), cement concreting of roads in Shiv, protective measures taken by the Prajaniya Water Works Department to prevent rainwater from accumulating in the area of Chuna Bhatti Railway Station, etc. During this, he gave various instructions. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar was present.
Dharavi Sewage Treatment Plant
The work of setting up a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) with a capacity of 418 million litres per day in Dharavi by the Mumbai Sewage Project Department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is in full swing. Mrs. Bhide inspected the project. The physical progress of the Dharavi Sewage Treatment Plant project has reached 65%. The project is expected to be operational in July 2027. The project is based on Sequential Batching Reactor (SBR) technology. The project will be implemented in a multi-storey building on a very small footprint. A total of 7 sewage treatment plants are being built in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the sewage treatment plant in Dharavi is being built on the smallest footprint. Bhide inspected all the components of the project including the influent pumping station, sludge room, sequential batching reactor process tank, tertiary treatment building, sludge digester tank, shaft connected to the tunnel carrying sewage and shaft carrying treated water. The local difficulties faced in the completion of the project were reviewed and resolved. Mrs. Bhide directed to ensure that the Dharavi sewage treatment plant is operational by July 2027 in any case.
Sine Flyover
Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide inspected the project site for the reconstruction of Sine Railway Flyover connecting the eastern and western parts of Shiv. During this inspection visit, the current status of the project work, remaining phases of the work and their timeframe were determined.
The work of installation of steel girders (girder launching) by the Railway Department is delayed by 15 days. As per the earlier plan, the girders were expected to be installed by April 30, 2026. Now this work has been postponed to May 15, 2026. Although the installation of the first beam has been postponed, Mrs. Bhide directed that this delay should be made up for in other ancillary works and the installation of both the beams should be ensured by May 20. Bhide also said that the Municipal Corporation Bridge Department and the Railway Department should coordinate with each other and ensure that all bridge works are completed by July 15, 2026.
Sign Road Cement Concreting Work
A total of 1,736 roads have been concretized till April 13, 2026 under Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s major road cement concreting project, with a total length of 496.83 km. Under this, Mrs. Bhide inspected the road cement concreting works in Shiv of the city division. She inspected the main traffic section of Road No. 27 in Shiv East and the footpath work in Road No. 25 (C). Quality should be given priority while carrying out the concreting work. No excavation should be done after April 30, 2026. The concrete pouring work should be completed by May 15, 2026. At the same time, Bhide directed that all road work be completed and the roads be opened to traffic by May 31, 2026.
Crime
Domino’s Pizza Outlet In Thane Raided; 140 LPG Gas Cylinders Worth ₹4.59 Lakh Seized In Major Crackdown

Thane: In a massive crackdown, a Domino’s Pizza outlet in the Wonder Mall area of Thane was raided, leading to the seizure of 140 LPG gas cylinders worth Rs 4.59 lakh. The raid was reportedly conducted by the Rationing Department’s flying squad.
The seized LPG stock included cylinders from major oil marketing companies, including HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited), BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited), IOC (Indian Oil Corporation), and Go Gas. The report further added that of the 140 seized cylinders, 45 are filled, while the remaining 85 are empty.
This comes at a time of the ongoing West Asia conflict, when frequent cases of long queues have been seen across the city, along with a rise in the black marketing of cylinders amid the situation.
Meanwhile, in another similar case, last week, the Rationing Department in Mumbai had carried out a major action against illegal storage and transportation of LPG cylinders, seizing goods worth over Rs 40 lakh in the Wadi Bunder–Dongri area. The operation was conducted based on confidential inputs received by Chandrakant Dange, Controller of Rationing and Director of Civil Supplies in Mumbai, who also issued special directives for immediate enforcement action.
During the raid near Wadi Bunder Bridge in Dongri, officials had intercepted eight vehicles involved in illegal transportation and seized a total of 451 gas cylinders, and the value of the total confiscated material was estimated at Rs 40.61 lakh.
Maharashtra
Last rites of small animals and birds begin at Deonar Slaughterhouse and Mahalakshmi, availability of facilities will help local people: Additional Municipal Commissioner

Mumbai: The Veterinary Health Department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has started cremation grounds for small animals and birds at Deonar Abattoir and Mahalaxmi. The High Court had directed the start of cremation grounds for small animals. Following these directions, both the facilities have been completed and made available for use from April 1, 2026. Due to this, separate incinerator crematorium facilities have been made available in the city, eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai, which will help the local people, said Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi. According to the instructions of Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide. Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, various steps are being taken by the Mumbai Municipal Administration regarding stray and domestic dogs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. In this context, crematoriums have been arranged for the scientific and eco-friendly cremation of small dead animals.
Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwani Joshi said that from April 1, 2026, cremation work has been started in the premises of Deonar Animal Hospital in Mahalaxmi and Animal Hospital managed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Tata Trust. Of these, animals or birds weighing up to 500 kg can be cremated in the crematorium in Deonar. This crematorium runs on clean and eco-friendly PNG fuel. Animals or birds weighing up to 50 kg can be cremated in the crematorium in Mahalaxmi. This crematorium is completely electricity-based. Meanwhile, the crematorium in Malad has been functioning since 2023. Due to this, a separate cremation system has now been created in all three parts of the Mumbai region, namely the city, eastern and western suburbs. The Veterinary Health Department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has made online facilities available through the crematorium and animal related website https://vhd.mcgm.gov.in. However, by registering at the link https://vhd.mcgm.gov.in/incineration-booking, the last rites of the deceased animal can be performed at the selected crematorium at the selected time. Dr. Kalimpasha Pathan, Head of the Veterinary Health Department on behalf of the Municipal Corporation administration, said that for more information or assistance, contact the helpline number 7564976649.
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