Mumbai: The Borivali police have booked the heirs of a developer for allegedly submitting forged documents to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in an attempt to reclaim around 2.5 acres of land previously surrendered to the BMC for additional Floor Space Index (FSI).

The case, registered on August 4 following a BMC complaint, is under investigation by the crime branch. According to the FIR, BMC records from 1967 show that 67,932.75 sq. m of land in Kandivali West belonged to Nanubhai Bhat. Of this, 29,696.34 sq. m was reserved by the BMC for civic amenities like schools, hospitals, and parks. In 1973, Bhat formed M/s Indian Plabango with his five children.

On March 23, 1978, the company informed the BMC it would surrender the reserved land for additional FSI. On May 15, 1978, the land was transferred to the BMC, which issued a receipt granting 50% FSI on reservation plots and 100% FSI on the DP Road to Bhat’s company. Bhat’s company built 18 residential buildings on the unreserved five acres for G.B.J.J. Cooperative Housing Society.

The BMC mandated transferring ownership of the surrendered land and constructing a boundary wall, but the company failed to comply. In 2002, Bhat’s five children— Jagdish Bhat, Sureshchandar Bhat, Girish Bhat, Vatsla Joshi, and Malini Dave—allegedly added their names as heirs to the disputed land without BMC’s knowledge, despite its prior surrender.

The FIR alleges that on February 19, 2004, the heirs fraudulently executed the BMC-acquired land to third parties via a power of attorney given to M/s Shah and Sons partners Vadilal Shah and Vijay Seth. In October 2024, Vadilal Shah transferred this power of attorney to his wife, Bhavana Shah, who, with her son Rinkesh Shah, conducted sale and purchase transactions on the land, which was already in BMC’s possession for public amenities.

Sunil Shete, a 41-year-old Assistant Engineer from RCentral Ward, filed the complaint on behalf of BMC. The accused face charges under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security), and other relevant sections.

Mumbai: In yet another disruption, the Mumbai Monorail came to a halt midway on Monday morning due to a technical glitch, raising questions about emergency preparedness after the fire brigade allegedly arrived late for the rescue operation.

The incident occurred around 7 am near Mukundrao Ambedkar Road junction when a train travelling from Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk to Chembur stopped with 17 passengers onboard. 

According to fire brigade officials present at the site, the monorail’s technical team had already evacuated all passengers safely by the time the rescue team arrived. The halted rake was later moved to Wadala through coupling.

Sources, however, claimed that the fire brigade reached the spot by over half an hour late. In a similar incident earlier, the Mumbai Fire Brigade rescue team reached by nearly an hour late, leaving most of the evacuation work to the monorail staff. Two monorail were stuck the then wherein hundreds of passengers were rescued.

The repeated delays by fire brigade team have raised concerns over in case of a serious accident.

During such disruptions, emergency batteries keep air-conditioning and lights running inside the monorail coaches. But prolonged evacuation efforts risk exhausting the backup system, causing passengers to face breathing discomfort and lack of ventilation, same was complained by commuters in Monday’s (today) and earlier incident.

Officials said that newly procured monorail rakes equipped with advanced technology are still undergoing safety tests so to integrate with the existing system. 

The monorail, spanning 17 km between Chembur and Sant Gadge Maharaj Chowk, currently runs 118 trips daily at 18-minute intervals. However, its ridership remains modest—about 16,000 on weekdays and just 10,000 on weekends.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has ordered 10 new rakes from Medha Servo Rail Pvt. Ltd. at a cost of Rs 58.9 crore each, with some already under trial runs.

Mumbai: Mumbai woke up to a rain-soaked Monday as heavy showers lashed the city since Sunday night, leading to waterlogging, traffic snarls and disruptions in local train services. The downpour continued through the night across several pockets, including South Mumbai, setting the stage for a slow and wet start to the week.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) placed Mumbai, Thane, and Palghar under a yellow alert for heavy rainfall, while Raigad was kept on an orange alert, warning of very heavy showers.

By the early hours, several areas were inundated. Waterlogging was reported from Kings Circle, Sion, Byculla, Mahalaxmi and even the upscale Peddar Road. At Kurla, rainwater accumulated on railway tracks, hampering the smooth functioning of local services. Motorists and two-wheelers were seen wading through knee-deep water in many parts of the city as the rain showed no sign of easing.

The city’s lifeline, local trains, faced delays due to the downpour. The Central and Harbour lines witnessed disruptions with delays of 10–15 minutes. The Harbour line was particularly affected as multiple early morning services were cancelled, inconveniencing office-goers.

While the Western line managed to run relatively smoothly, even it recorded minor delays of up to five minutes. Neither the Western nor Central Railway issued an official statement regarding the impact of the rains on services, leaving commuters to rely on social media and ground updates.

Vehicular movement across the city was also hit. One of the major trouble spots was the Andheri Subway, which had to be closed for traffic as one to one-and-a-half feet of water had accumulated there. The Mumbai Traffic Police issued an advisory, diverting vehicles through the Gokhale Bridge as an alternative route. Traffic was also sluggish on the Eastern Express Highway owing to waterlogging at Sion and Kings Circle.

The impact of the monsoon activity was not confined to Mumbai alone. The IMD extended alerts across Maharashtra, warning of widespread heavy rainfall. Ratnagiri, along with the ghat regions of Pune and Satara, was placed under an orange alert. Meanwhile, Marathwada, North Maharashtra, and Vidarbha regions were kept under a yellow alert for the next four days, signalling persistent showers across the state.