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Mumbai Local Trains To Have Hawkers Inside Soon? Central Railway Approves 100 Vendors Amid Safety, Overcrowding Concerns: Report

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Mumbai: A controversial decision by Central Railway to reintroduce hawkers inside Mumbai’s suburban local trains has triggered fresh concerns among daily commuters, particularly over safety and overcrowding. According to reports, authorities have approved around 100 licensed vendors to operate across the Main and Harbour lines, despite strong opposition to a similar proposal in 2023.

Official documents accessed by media outlets indicate that a private agency has been awarded a three-year contract to run vending services on trains operating between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kalyan, as well as on the Harbour line. The plan includes deploying 50 vendors on each corridor, who will be permitted to sell both consumable and non-consumable goods inside train compartments.

The documentation outlines a structured selection process, including Aadhaar verification, police clearance, medical certification and issuance of official identity cards. The detailed framework suggests that the scheme is already in an advanced stage of implementation.

The move has reignited debate as a similar initiative proposed in 2023 had faced intense backlash from commuter groups and activists. At the time, concerns over overcrowding and passenger safety forced railway authorities to withdraw the plan. Critics now allege that the latest rollout has been carried out quietly, without adequate consultation with passenger associations.

Mumbai’s suburban rail network, often referred to as the city’s lifeline, is already grappling with extreme congestion. During peak hours, trains operate far beyond capacity, with passengers frequently seen hanging from doors due to a lack of space. Meanwhile, the introduction of hawkers inside coaches is being viewed as a potential safety hazard that could worsen an already critical situation.

Data from railway records highlights the risks associated with overcrowding. More than 2,000 people reportedly lose their lives annually in railway-related incidents, while nearly 2,500 others sustain injuries.

Defending the initiative, Central Railway officials reportedly stated that the move aims to curb illegal hawking and introduce a regulated system that ensures better services for passengers. Chief Public Relations Officer Dr Swapnil Nila said the scheme is designed to provide convenience while maintaining order within train compartments. As the plan moves forward, it is likely to remain a contentious issue, with commuter safety at the centre of the debate.

Maharashtra

Body of minor girl recovered from Kandivali Santa nagar forest in Mumbai; police investigation concludes that lover killed lover

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Mumbai: After the mutilated body of a minor girl aged 16 to 17 was found in the Kandivali Samta Nagar area, the police have claimed to have arrested her lover. The body was found in the forest on July 10. The police identified the body and after technical investigation and panchnama, the police traced the accused. An FSL was conducted on the body of the deceased. After the identification of the victim, when her heirs and relatives were questioned, it was found that she was having an affair with Suraj Maruti Waghmare, 21. After that, the police searched for the suspected accused and solved the mystery. This operation was carried out on the instructions of Mumbai Gajanan Raj Mane.

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Maharashtra

The Election Commission assured necessary steps for the important demands including two-month extension in SIR, protection of existing voters, complete facilitation to BLOs and grievance redressal.

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Mumbai, July 10: A high-level delegation of the Federation of Maharashtra Muslims (FMM) today met the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra and submitted a detailed memorandum on the issues faced by the public during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state and to make the electoral process more transparent, fair and people-friendly.

The delegation said that since the inception of SIR, the Federation has set up awareness campaigns and facilitation centres across the state, where volunteers are guiding citizens in the enumeration process and promoting cooperation with Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The memorandum was prepared based on public complaints and suggestions received from these centres and various districts.

The memorandum firstly termed the duration of the current registration phase as inadequate and demanded an extension of at least two months in view of the displacement due to heavy rains, agricultural sowing, reconstruction and demolition operations and other practical difficulties, as no immediate elections are expected in the state at present.

The delegation demanded that in order to reduce the burden of additional responsibilities on the booth level officers, they be temporarily exempted from non-electoral official duties, assistant BLOs be appointed wherever necessary, refresher training be given to all BLOs, their contact numbers, offices and latest information on their scope of work be made available to the public, and clear instructions be given to them to provide practical cooperation in resolving the anamnesis and other issues of the citizens.

The memorandum also emphasized that a large number of citizens are still unaware of the SIR procedure, deadlines and required documents, especially senior citizens, women, migrant workers, economically weaker sections and rural population. Therefore, a widespread multilingual awareness campaign through print, electronic and social media, strengthening of facilitation centres and establishment of mobile verification units were requested.

The delegation, while pointing out the confusion in the documentation and mapping process, demanded that comprehensive public guidelines be issued on different types of analyses and the documents required for them, that documentary requirements be eased where old records are not available, that legal changes in EPIC number and name be given due weight in mapping, that the list of acceptable documents be expanded and that uniform written instructions regarding duplicate entries be issued to all field officers.

The Federation also expressed concern that some citizens who had voted in the 2024 elections were unable to find their names or EPIC records in the current process. The delegation demanded that such voters should not be unnecessarily forced to re-enrol and that if an eligible voter’s name has been deleted by mistake, his/her name should be restored through a simple and prompt rectification process after proper verification.

The memorandum also called for issuing notices to strengthen transparency and accountability, publishing detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on documentation requirements and principles for deletion of names, establishing an effective, transparent and time-bound grievance redressal system, implementing a robust audit and supervisory system to monitor the data entry and verification process, and independent monitoring of the entire SIR process.

The delegation stressed that the main objective of SIR should be to include every eligible voter in the electoral process and not to deprive any citizen of his/her constitutional right to vote due to administrative, technical or procedural shortcomings. Therefore, all election officers should be directed to adopt a citizen-friendly approach.

On this occasion, along with Bhiwandi MLA Raees Sheikh, the delegation included Maulana Hafiz Iqbal Chunawala (Member of Shura, Darul Uloom Deoband Waqf), Maulana Zaheer Abbas Rizvi (Vice President, Shia Personal Law Board), Farid Sheikh (President, Aman Committee Mumbai), Shakir Sheikh and Abdul Mujeeb Sheikh.

According to the delegation, the Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra listened to all the points presented in the memorandum very seriously, termed these suggestions as constructive and assured that necessary steps would be taken after due consideration of all these demands keeping in mind the public interest and transparency of the electoral process.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai ATS appeals to parents and youth: Do not interact with unknown Pakistani individuals or suspicious contacts on social media.

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Mumbai: Pakistani gangster and ISI agent Shahzad Bhatti has started instigating youth in India by spreading hateful agenda and religious hatred to create unrest and sabotage in the country, after which the ATS has interrogated such youths whom this gang had targeted and tried to prepare the youth for sabotage in the country.


Maharashtra ATS had conducted raids since 7 am and 58 teams have interrogated about 102 youths. The gangster used to lure the youth through false propaganda online and on social media and also gave orders to carry out the conspiracy of unrest in the country. The method of luring the youth is such that first on social media, Shahzad Bhatti and his associates Abid Jat alias Abid Chhal, Hameed Memon, Rana Haneen, Ashraf Bashir Alam targeted such youth in India, saying that they are unemployed and can easily fall prey to false propaganda. Along with this, they used to mislead the youth by sharing religious and political propaganda and misleading information on social media and after that they used to offer money to the youth by making attractive offers. After that, they would select such youth, they would fall under the trap of misleading propaganda and then form a group and he had prepared such a group of such youth but the ATS exposed him and foiled his conspiracy.

ATS appeals to parents of youth Maharashtra ATS has appealed to such parents to keep an eye on their youth and if there is any change in their use of social media, then keep an eye on it and if any suspicious activity is noticed, then inform the police and ATS. ATS has made an important appeal to the youth regarding social media, saying that they should not contact any unknown person whom they are not familiar with, along with not believing misleading propaganda and false information on social media, along with controversial and objectionable content and not keep in touch with suspicious and unknown persons on social media, Facebook and other sources. Often, youth are offered many jobs on social media and are lured with money without doing any work. Similarly, the Shahzad Bhatti gang also targets youth. It first selects youth and then involves them in illegal activities, drug smuggling, and buying and selling weapons, involves them in anti-national activities, and involves them in sleeper cells to prepare its agents. Therefore, the youth have been appealed not to fall prey to financial greed because if out of greed they do any small work that falls under the category of involvement in terrorism, their future will be dark. Do not fall prey to false propaganda on social media. It is the responsibility of ATS to ensure the establishment of patriotism and communal harmony in the country. Therefore, ATS takes action against such elements and has also intensified Operation Shahzad Bhatti.

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