Maharashtra
Mumbai: Hindu Activists Demand Swift Enforcement Of High Court’s Loudspeaker Order, Muslim Scholars Decry Targeting
Mumbai: After Bombay High Court’s judgement stressing that public interest prevails over religious use of loudspeakers, all communities have welcomed the judgement. However, Muslim scholars and activists have argued that only the Muslim community will be targeted against through this order, whereas the judgement speaks for all the communities.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court passed a judgement saying that use of loudspeakers is not an essential part of any religion. The High Court was hearing a petition filed by Jaago Nehru Nagar Residents Welfare Association and Shivsrushti Co-op. Housing Societies Association Ltd. alleging police inaction against noise pollution caused by loudspeakers installed on masjids in the area.
While the HC bench reminded the authorities that cumulative ambient noise levels must not exceed 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night in residential areas, the court also noted that the police are bound to act on the complaints of noise pollution. The judgement brought two major changes in the existing procedures including the level of volume while using loudspeakers during the day and the responsibility of police to act against the religious pleas flouting the norms.
Advocate Kaushik Mhatre, who appeared for this matter, said, “According to Mahesh Bedekar vs The State of Maharashtra, the court has set a benchmark of sound levels to be below 55 decibels against the earlier practice of using the speakers on high volumes. It has also asked the police to take action against noise pollution instances under the Maharashtra Police Act.”
While the judgement has been welcomed by all communities upholding the convenience of human beings and the wrath caused by noise pollution, Muslim scholars and activists argued that it should not be turned.
Mufti Manzur Ziyaee, chairman of International Sufi Carvan, said, “Just like the entire planet, pollution is a major concern in India and everyone should contribute to curb it. Whether it is a religious, social or a personal event, the guidelines should be followed by all. There will be narratives targeting one particular community as the facilitator of this issue. Rather than religious perspective, both the communities should look at the issue as a national an environmental concern.”
Religious scholars said that apart from implementing the guidelines on religious places and events, they should also be implemented on social and personal events to win the fight against noise pollution.
Ashfaq Qazi, Mufti of Jumma Masjid at Kalbadevi, said, “Sharia does not say that we need to disturb someone through azaan. We support this order by the High Court as we also believe that nobody should be affected due to noise pollution. Azaan is held only for three to five minutes whereas there are events which use loudspeakers till late in the night. There should not be a dual policy and the rules should be same for all kind of events.”
Saleem Sarang, president of Muslim Welfare Association, suggested that only one mosque should use loudspeaker in the localities with multiple mosques as the objective of alerting people is being fulfilled by one mosque also. However, he alleged that Maharashtra’s member of legislative council Chitra Wagh has already given the judgement a communal angle through her social media post.
“Since the court’s judgement is for all the religions, it should be followed by everyone. However, the Muslim community is being specifically targeted by politicians like Wagh, who are portraying that the judgement is only for Muslims. She should not paint this issue with communal colours,” Sarang added.
Hindu organisations, on the other hand, alleged that the judgement is specifically meant for Muslim community which uses loudspeakers for religious purposes multiple times everyday, whereas the Hindus use it occasionally during festivals. They also demanded that the new guidelines should be implemented urgently.
Shriraj Nair, national spokesperson of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, said, “We support the High Court’s observation since loudspeakers being played five times a day is a big nuisance. Hindus use these loudspeakers for religious use only during festivals and does not harass people everyday. However, the law of the land is above every organisation and individual and should be followed by everyone irrespective of their religion.”
Sunil Ghanwat, national convenor of Mandir Mahasangh, said, “We welcome the Bombay High Court’s judgement. However such similar orders have been passed by multiple high courts and the supreme court as well but the government fails to implement them strictly. This is the reason mosques have been flouting these orders five times a day. We urge the government to implement the court’s judgement on immediate basis.”
Maharashtra
Goregaon-Miland Link Road Project: Excavation work of 5.30 km long tunnel under Sanjay Gandhi National Park to begin from Monday, August 17, 2026

The Mumbai-Milan-Goregaon Link is a major infrastructure project covering 12.20 km connecting the eastern and western suburbs in the area of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. It is being implemented in four phases. Under the project Phase 3 (B), twin tunnels are being constructed under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park with three lanes each and a length of 5.30 km, connecting Dadasaheb Phalke Film City in Goregaon (East) to Amar Nagar in Milind (West), using the latest tunnel (MachTB) technology. The tunnel excavation work for the GMLR project officially began on Monday, 17 August 2026, with the commissioning of the first tunnel boring unit. The large ‘tunnel boring machine’ deployed for this excavation has been named ‘Tulshi’.
Goregaon-Miland Link Road Project (Phase 3B)
The Milind Goregaon Link Road is a major infrastructure project, measuring 12.20 km in length, connecting the eastern and western suburbs in the Mumbai Municipal Corporation area. The project is being completed in four phases. Under the project Phase 3 (B), twin tunnels, each consisting of three lanes and covering a distance of 5.30 km, are being constructed under the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, connecting Dadasaheb Phalke Chittarnagari in Goregaon (East) to Amar Nagar in Milind (West). The latest Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) technology is being used for this purpose, with special care being taken to ensure that there is no adverse impact on the environment or biodiversity during construction.
The project has 17 cross passages, twin box tunnels spanning 720 metres, and approach roads (600 metres long) in both Goregaon and Mulund, taking the total length of the project to 6.62 km. The contractor is responsible for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of the project for 10 years after completion. Necessary environmental clearances have been obtained from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for Phase 1 and 2, and permission for felling of necessary trees has been granted by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Around 906 project affected persons are being rehabilitated in six buildings in Kanjarmarg, each comprising 23 upper floors in addition to the ground floor. The project incorporates state-of-the-art features, including tunnelling using EPB (Earth Pressure Balance) TBMs, construction of cross passage using NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling Method), mechanical ventilation system, fog-based fire fighting system, CCTV surveillance, LCA DA and modern control system, LCA. Furthermore, utility ducts have been provided under the road inside the twin tunnels. A 1800 mm diameter water pipeline will be laid through each tunnel. M/s Tipsya India Private Limited has been appointed as the Project Management Consultant (PMC), IIT Bombay as the Proof Checking Consultant, and VJTI, Mumbai as the Third Party Quality Auditor for the quality control and monitoring of the project.
Currently, the project has achieved about 21% physical progress. The assembly of TBM-1 has been completed, and the site acceptance test has also been successfully conducted.
The assembly of TBM-2 is underway, with excavation scheduled to begin in October 2026. The target for completion of the entire project is set for February 2029.
Upon completion, the Gurgaon-Miland Link Road project will provide a direct connection between the Western Express Highway and the Eastern Express Highway. This will significantly reduce traffic congestion in the eastern and western suburbs, reducing travel time from about 90 minutes to just 20 minutes. As a result, there will be substantial savings in both time and fuel for commuters. Furthermore, connectivity between the eastern and western suburbs will become more efficient, and response times for emergency services will improve. Commercial and industrial transportation will be accelerated, and by reducing traffic pressure on Mumbai’s existing road network, the project will help significantly increase the overall efficiency of the metropolis’s transport system.
Maharashtra
Strict action should be taken against hawkers working outside the location specified in the license: Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide

Authorized hawkers on Mumbai sidewalks should operate only within the area specified in their license and should not encroach beyond the prescribed limits. Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide directed the licensing department to inspect the areas occupied by all licensed hawkers. He directed that strict action should be taken against any hawker found operating outside the authorized area. Meanwhile, Bhide expressed satisfaction over the growing public response and cooperation for the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign currently underway in the Mumbai area. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation is implementing the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign with an aim to remove obstructions from sidewalks and make them easily accessible for pedestrians. To review the ongoing operations, Ashwini Bhide personally visited and inspected various locations in Mumbai City Division for three hours this morning (17th August 2026). The locations inspected include: Nana Chowk, Grant Road Railway Station, Nausher Bharucha Road, Nana Shankar Shet Marg (Bhaji Gali), and Tardeo Marg in ‘D’ Ward; Dr. Anand Rao Nair Marg, Nair Hospital premises, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marg, Nath Pai Marg, and Sant Savta Marg in ‘E’ Ward; and Lokmanya Tilak Marg, Sindhur Bridge area, Juna Bengalipur Gali, Raghunath Maharaj Street, and Qazi Syed Marg in ‘B’ Ward. The inspection covered the condition and repair status of footpaths in the areas of Jagannath Shankar Shet Marg, Dhubitalav Lane, Maharshi Karve Marg, Marine Lines, and Chandanwadi (all in ‘C’ Ward) as well as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai (Crawford Market) and Mahapalika Marg. The officials present on the occasion included Deputy Commissioner (Zone-1) Chandra Jadhav, Deputy Commissioner (Commissioner’s Office) Prashant Gaikwad, and Assistant Commissioners Santosh Salunkhe (‘D’ Ward), Anand Kankal (‘E’ Ward), Jitendra Ghorade (‘B’ Ward), Ujjwal Angule (‘A’ Ward), and Sunil Mane (‘C’ Ward).
Ensuring protection of tree roots on footpaths; Proper cutting of branches
The ongoing efforts of the administration to create obstacle-free footpaths are satisfactory. However, continuity should be maintained. Necessary measures should be taken for the improvement, beautification and safety of footpaths. All obstacles should be removed to make footpaths easily navigable for pedestrians, and this change should be clearly visible to the citizens while travelling. Care should be taken to protect the roots of trees on footpaths, and branches should be cut properly. Trees considered unsafe should be removed as per rules and scientific methods. Licensed hawkers working on footpaths should not occupy space outside their designated area. Strict action should be taken against those violating this law. Municipal Commissioner Ms. Ashwini Bhide issued these instructions during an inspection.
No obstacles for pedestrians on footpaths
Meanwhile, during an inspection of the ‘Pedestrian First’ campaign, Ashwini Bhide personally checked the license certificates of some hawkers. Instructions were also issued to the concerned hawkers and representatives of their associations. Authorised hawkers are allowed to do business on the footpath. However, their operations should not obstruct the movement of pedestrians. They should ensure cleanliness in the surrounding areas. Grant Road Railway Station, Jagannath Shankar Shet Metro Station and BYL vicinity were visited. Nair Hospital, Necessary steps were taken with instructions to implement measures to ensure smooth passage of pedestrians
Install CCTV cameras at Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVPs)
Ashwini Bhide visited the dry waste collection centre in ‘E’ ward, the Solid Waste Management Department post on Ray Road, the pumping station on Sant Savta Marg, and various Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVPs) to review the operations.
He directed that signboards giving the message “Do not litter” should be prominently displayed at the GVPs. CCTV cameras should be installed immediately to check the activities of habitual litterers and the surrounding areas should be beautified. He also directed that the dry waste segregation centres should be properly organised and the respective waste bags should be clearly marked with the different types of waste.
Cooperate with the civic administration
The administration is taking necessary steps to clean the footpaths and remove garbage vulnerable points (GVPs). However, citizens should also try to avoid creating obstacles on the footpaths. Material should not be kept on the footpaths and vehicles should not be parked there. Moreover, garbage should not be thrown on the footpaths, roads or any other place. Ashwini Bhide also appealed for cooperation in the efforts being made by the administration.
Maharashtra
Mumbai Police conducts major operation at two call centers in Pune, 10 accused arrested, victims cheated of crores in the name of admission on social media

Mumbai Police unmasked a group of fraudsters in the name of admission who were seeking admission in colleges in Mumbai. A complaint was lodged at the police station in which the victim said that he was cheated in the name of admission. He contacted for admission only on Instagram and Facebook, then he was also taken to a college in Hyder Abad, this way he got admission from 16 Lakhs of rupees were collected in the name of different fees. The accused used to collect money worth Rs 2 lakhs and 4 lakhs in the name of advance fee and guarantee. Apart from this, whenever money or money was transferred to the accused, they used to switch off their mobile phones. Similar incidents happened to the victims. After this happened, the police came to know that the accused were running a call center here in Pune and they raided it and took away Rs 1 crore 25 lakh. The goods have been seized. The accused who have been arrested are highly educated, out of which five are engineering and five are B.Tech. DCP Dathu Nlaode said that the accused in this case mostly used to communicate on social media only and used to switch off their mobiles after the work was done. Mobile phone and other documents and admission forms have also been recovered from the possession of the accused. At present the police is investigating them further. He said that The accused is highly educated, hence the police is also investigating more accused in this case, along with this, these accused are only in Maharashtra. He used to cheat by giving the promise of admission in Hyderabad, Delhi and other famous and famous colleges. In this case, Mumbai Police got a tip-off. It was a big success and it exposed two call centers of the accused and completely destroyed them. This group ran this racket from the same call center. used to do The deceased player told that he used to run this racket since 2024. Mumbai Police has exposed it, a big success has been achieved by the police.
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