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Maharashtra

Mumbai : BMC continues to repair drains on a war scale before the rainy season, increasing the speed of rainwater

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Mumbai: Municipal Corporation is strengthening 100-year-old underground arch storm drains in Mumbai City Division with geopolymer lining (Stormwater Arch Drains by Geopolymer Lining Trenchless Technology). This will add at least 50 years to the life of these British-era storm drains. Also, the speed of water flow will increase and rainwater will drain faster during heavy rains. The lining work was inspected by Deputy Commissioner (Infrastructure). Girish Nikam, Chief Engineer (Rainwater Channels) Kalpana Rawal, Deputy Chief Engineer Sunil Dutt Russell, Executive Engineer Milind Witkar, Prashant Ranswar, Madhusudan Sonavane etc. Shantiniketan Rainwater Outfall near Shamildas Gandhi Marg (Princess Street) Flyover. Mumbai is west of the Arabian Sea and Mumbai also has a bay area. The tidal bore is an important part from the point of view of discharging sea water into the sea through arched/confined storm water channel system. There are 495 km long storm water drains in the city division. In addition, there are a total of 621 km of arched/confined storm water channels in the eastern suburbs and western suburbs, 63 km each. Out of these, the repair work of arched/confined storm water channels is in progress in the city division. Currently, lining of water channels is being done for a distance of 14 km. There are underground arched storm water channels in the Mumbai city area. Its cleaning/desalination is done regularly. The CCTV survey conducted by the Circulation and Conservation Department found several cracks in some parts of the old arched storm water channels, displacement of bricks, damage to the joint between two bricks, collapse of roof sections and some other defects. In this, 56 arched storm water channels with a length of 23,548 meters were found to be in poor condition. Out of these, 27 arched storm water channels (in Phase No. 1) with a length of 14,285 meters require urgent rehabilitation. The Operation and Conservation Department of the Municipal Corporation interacted with both the Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai) (I.I.T. Mumbai) and the Veermata Jijabai Institute of Technology (V. J.T. I.) to suggest the best technology for rehabilitation of the old arched storm water channels. After seeking advice from both the institutions, a Technical Advisory Committee meeting was held in November 2022. As decided in the committee meeting, out of all the technologies available at present, geopolymer lining is being used for the rehabilitation of arched storm water channels using trenchless technology. The Storm Water Channel Department has started the geopolymer lining of arched storm water channels in the city area using trenchless technology in Phase 1. The geopolymer lining trenchless technology being used by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is being used for the first time in India. Such work is done in other countries mainly in the US.

  • Increasing the capacity of storm water channels
    In the last few years, due to climate change, Mumbai has recorded about 1000 mm of rainfall in just a few days during the monsoon season. Due to this heavy rainfall, low-lying areas of Mumbai sometimes get flooded. In this backdrop, efforts are being made to double the capacity of storm water channels.
    The technology is environment-friendly
    27 underground arch storm water channels (14,285 meters long) which are about 100 years old are being renovated. This will increase the life of these channels by at least 50 years. This will help in increasing the speed of water flow. It is worth mentioning that Chief Engineer (Storm Water Channels) Mrs. Kalpana Rawal, Deputy Chief Engineer Mr. Sunil Dutt Russell said that this technology is environment-friendly.

Maharashtra

Kasturba Marg Police recover 100 stolen mobile phones, return them to their original owners

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Acting on complaints regarding stolen and lost mobile phones within the jurisdiction of the Kasturba Marg Police Station in Mumbai, police analyzed data from the CEIR portal and conducted technical investigations. By verifying device details, IMEI numbers, and user information, officers from the Kasturba Marg Police Station tracked down and recovered a total of 100 mobile phones from locations across Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra.

The total estimated value of the 100 recovered mobile phones is ₹2,270,658. Of these, 18 phones have already been returned to their respective owners/complainants, including: 1) Rajendra Puri, 2) Khush Saw, 3) Kripa Lodhiya, 4) Shreya Satam, 5) Atul Sathe, 6) Priyanka Mistri, 7) Banu Tarang, 8) Prem Gupta, 9) Adya Shaikh, 10) Shweta Shah, 11) Sandhya Pandit, 12) Deepak Sawdekar, 13) Saurabh Jhangar, 14) Ketan Shete, 15) Onkar Raut, 16) Jayalal Yadav, 17) Lakshmi Appa Kripagiri, and 18) Praveen Dubey. The process of returning the remaining phones to their owners is currently underway.

This operation was carried out under the supervision of the DCP (North, Zone 3), Mumbai, by the team at Kasturba Marg Police Station, led by Balasaheb Bunkar.

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Crime

CBI books Mumbai firm, officials in Rs 93.44 crore loan fraud case

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Mumbai, Oct 3: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at multiple premises in Mumbai and registered a Rs 93.44 crore bank fraud case against officials of Hanjer Biotech Energies on the complaint of Punjab National Bank, an official said on Saturday.

The CBI conducted searches on Friday at multiple premises linked to the directors of Hanjer Biotech Energies in Mumbai, the CBI said in a statement.

The CBI registered the instant case on September 30, 2026, on the complaint of Punjab National Bank, SAM Branch, Mumbai, against Hanjer Biotech Energies, its directors and guarantors, unknown public servants and unknown private persons.

The accused were booked for offences of criminal conspiracy for cheating and offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, resulting in alleged wrongful loss of approximately Rs 93.44 Crore to the bank.

It was alleged that the accused entered into a criminal conspiracy, obtained term loan of Rs 135 crore on the invoices of its related party and diverted/siphoned off the funds for other purposes for which it was not sanctioned, causing loss to the bank, the CBI said.

During the searches on Friday, incriminating bank documents and property documents relevant to the investigation were recovered and seized.

Investigation is continuing to ascertain the full extent of the conspiracy, identify the role of all involved persons, including public servants and private individuals, and trace the end-use of the loan funds, the CBI said.

In a separate case on Friday, the CBI arrested an Executive Engineer of the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Mumbai, his relative and three officials of a Mumbai-based real estate group, in a Rs 50 lakh bribery case related to the issuance of a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) for a land parcel.

Vikrant Verma, Executive Engineer, CPWD Mumbai; Saurav Gupta, Verma’s relative based in Pune; and Arvind Semwal, Vice President, Baya Company, were among those named in the FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday, an official said.

The arrested accused were produced before the Special CBI Judge in Mumbai on Friday, the official said in a statement.

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Maharashtra

Monsoon Withdraws Further from Maharashtra; Hot and Humid Weather Alert Issued for Konkan Region

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MUMBAI PRESS — The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Saturday, October 3, 2026, that the Southwest Monsoon has withdrawn from parts of Maharashtra, as well as the remaining regions of North India, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

The current withdrawal line of the Southwest Monsoon passes through Harnai, Baramati, Parbhani, and Brahmapuri in Maharashtra, extending northeastward through Raipur, Ranchi, and Supaul. Weather officials stated that conditions are favorable for further retreat from most parts of Marathwada, Vidarbha, and additional areas of Madhya Maharashtra over the next 2 to 3 days.

Hot and Humid Stretch for Coastal Maharashtra
Residents in the coastal belt should prepare for elevated discomfort over the weekend. The IMD has issued a hot and humid weather warning for Konkan & Goa prevailing from October 3 through October 5.
Following this dry and muggy stretch, mild weather activity is expected to return to the region. Isolated to scattered rainfall is forecast across Konkan & Goa and Madhya Maharashtra between October 6 and October 9.

Southern and Northeastern Forecast
While monsoon forces retreat from central and northern parts of India, southern states are bracing for heavy downpours. Isolated heavy rainfall is predicted over Kerala, Mahe, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal from October 4 to October 6, with South Interior Karnataka expected to receive heavy spells on October 5 and 6.

In the northeast, isolated heavy rainfall is expected to continue over Assam, Meghalaya, and Arunachal Pradesh through October 3.

Advisory for Fishermen
Due to lower-tropospheric cyclonic circulations over the Arabian Sea, the IMD has urged fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the Kerala coast, Lakshadweep, Maldives, and the Comorin area on October 3. Farmers in heavy rainfall zones have also been advised to ensure proper field drainage and move harvested crops to covered storage to prevent crop damage.

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