Mumbai: Mayor Ritu Tawde on Monday reviewed the ongoing drain-cleaning and desilting works across the city and said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is working to ensure the city is prepared before the arrival of the monsoon.

Speaking to mediapersons during the inspection, Tawde said the civic body had started the drain-cleaning exercise a month earlier than usual to strengthen flood-preparedness measures.

“We started the cleaning of Mumbai’s drains one month in advance ahead of monsoon. If we look at the overall drain-cleaning work, more than 80 per cent of the drains across Mumbai have been cleaned so far. If there are any minor gaps or delays, efforts are currently underway to address them. Overall, both minor and major drains in Mumbai have been cleaned beyond 80 per cent,” the Mayor said.

The inspection comes at a crucial time as weather agencies have predicted increasing rainfall activity across Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in the coming days, raising concerns over waterlogging and flooding in vulnerable areas.

According to the latest BMC data as of May 31, desilting work on major drains has crossed its target, with overall progress reaching 101.47 per cent. The City Division recorded 110 per cent completion, while the Western Suburbs reached 106.85 per cent. The Eastern Suburbs reported 89.69 per cent progress.

Minor drain desilting has also surpassed targets in several wards, with overall citywide progress touching 101.35 per cent. Among the best-performing wards were G/S Ward at 135.05 per cent, D Ward at 133.35 per cent, P/S Ward at 121.81 per cent and K/W Ward at 111.10 per cent.

However, civic records show that a few areas are still lagging behind. S Ward reported only 15.73 per cent completion, while M/E Ward stood at 89.83 per cent. Efforts are underway to bridge the remaining gaps before heavy rains begin.

The Mithi River desilting project, one of Mumbai’s key flood-mitigation measures, has achieved 68.48 per cent progress so far. Among its three divisions, ES-526 recorded the highest completion level at 77.27 per cent, followed by ES-527 at 69.71 per cent and ES-525 at 57.83 per cent.

Mumbai has witnessed several instances of severe waterlogging during previous monsoons, leading the BMC to intensify pre-monsoon preparations this year. Apart from drain cleaning, civic authorities are also monitoring pumping stations, flood-prone locations and stormwater drainage infrastructure. Regular inspections and progress reviews will likely continue in the coming weeks to ensure that all critical works are completed before the full-fledged monsoon reaches the city.

Mumbai: In a chilling tale of deception that preyed on the kindness of hurried travellers, Mumbai Airport Police have cracked a sophisticated nationwide scam. The mastermind? A 25- year-old BBA graduate who transformed airport terminals into his personal hunting ground.

Modela Vyankta, a resident of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, was arrested on May 28 after allegedly posing as a distressed engineering student from VNIT Nagpur. His modus operandi was deceptively simple yet emotionally manipulative: approaching passengers at arrival gates, spinning a heartbreaking story of a lost flight ticket and empty pockets, then requesting urgent financial help.

In one documented case from March, a passenger at Terminal 1’s arrival gate was moved by Vyankta’s emotional plea and transferred ₹16,000 via QR code. When the victim later tried to recover the money, he was promptly blocked. Realizing he had been scammed, the complainant approached the Airport Police.

What followed was a meticulous investigation led by Senior Police Inspector Suhas Chavan, with Assistant Police Inspectors Vaibhav Patil and Sunil Khaire. Police analyzed CCTV footage, traced the linked mobile number (registered in someone else’s name), and used technical surveillance to track the accused across states. Despite his evasive tactics—frequently changing locations and switching off his phones—investigators discovered he had recently visited Nagpur, Bhopal, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Hyderabad.

Acting on precise intelligence that he would return to Mumbai, officers laid a trap at Terminals 1 and 2. Vyankta was finally detained at Terminal 2.

A search of the accused yielded damning evidence: three mobile phones, six SIM cards, three fake Aadhaar cards, a counterfeit college ID, and ₹19,600 in cash. Further probes revealed at least nine similar cases registered against him since 2020 across cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Jaipur, Coonoor, and Mumbai. Authorities suspect many more victims never reported the fraud, often too rushed to pursue complaints.

Khopoli: A major accident on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway in the wee hours of Monday claimed two lives and left an 80-year-old woman seriously injured after a container truck overturned and was then hit by another truck, triggering hours of traffic disruption on one of Maharashtra’s busiest highways.

According to preliminary information, the accident occurred around 4:30 am near Khopoli when a container vehicle lost control and overturned on the expressway. Moments later, another truck rammed into the overturned vehicle, resulting in a devastating collision that killed two occupants of the truck on the spot.

The driver of the rice-laden truck, which was travelling from Pune towards Mumbai, lost control of the vehicle and rammed into a container truck ahead of it. The truck driver and cleaner died on the spot. The container driver and two travellers from Ertiga received serious injuries. Traffic of all four lanes was affected due to the spillage of rice and oil for around an hour after which one by one lanes were cleared.

An elderly woman, aged around 80, travelling in a passing car, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was rushed for medical treatment. Her condition is reported to be critical.

Videos and drone footage from the accident site, now widely circulating online, show the scale of the destruction. One of the trucks was completely mangled due to the impact and was later moved to the side of the road by rescue teams. The visuals also captured a massive traffic jam stretching for kilometres behind the accident spot, with vehicles crawling through the affected stretch.

The accident led to a major oil spill after hundreds of oil canisters being transported in the container were scattered across the roadway. Several litres of oil leaked onto the expressway, creating hazardous driving conditions and complicating rescue and clearance operations.

Traffic police, highway authorities and emergency response teams rushed to the scene and launched a large-scale operation to remove the damaged vehicles, clear the spilled oil and restore normal traffic movement. Personnel could be seen removing debris from the road while police monitored the area and began an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Despite efforts to manage the situation, traffic movement remained slow for several hours, causing inconvenience to motorists travelling between Mumbai and Pune. Authorities diverted vehicles and regulated traffic flow to prevent further accidents near the affected stretch. Police have launched a probe to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the collision.

The Mumbai-Pune Expressway, one of the country’s busiest corridors, has witnessed several major accidents in recent times, prompting repeated calls for stricter safety measures and enhanced monitoring of heavy vehicles operating on the route. Further details are awaited as the investigation continues.