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Thursday,16-April-2026
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Maharashtra

‘No Lata memorial’ at Shivaji Park: Congress backs Mangeshkar family

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A day after music director Hridaynath Mangeshkar said that he was against constructing a memorial for his sister, the late Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar at Shivaji Park, the Maharashtra Congress came out in support of the family, here on Saturday.

Simultaneously, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activist has moved the Bombay High Court in a PIL challenging the use of the 28-acre ground – known as the ‘Cradle of Indian Cricket’ for public funerals or memorials.

State Congress General Secretary Sachin Sawant said that the sprawling park was established during the British Rule by the erstwhile Bombay Municipal Corporation in 1925 and named as ‘Shivaji Park’ ahead of the great Maratha warrior’s 300th birth anniversary.

“Taking into consideration the sentiments of the Marathi people, the then British Government had allowed the name and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s equestrian statue was also installed there,” Sawant said.

He pointed out that since the park is already a monument dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, then how can another memorial in the name of Lata Didi be erected there.

“On one hand, the BJP is playing dirty politics in the name of a memorial for Lata Mangeshkara on the other, their own party activist is filing a PIL in the court demanding there should not be a memorial there. The BJP had resorted to similar dual-politics during the issue of reservations for Marathas and OBCs,” Sawant said.

On Friday, Hridaynath Mangeshkar made it clear the family was not supportive of the memorial at Shivaji Park, while Dadar resident Prakash Belwade-Patil moved the court saying the ground is for sports, a memorial for the late Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray was built there and now there is a demand for even for one dedicated to Lata Mangeshkar.

Considering their stature, both Balasaheb Thackeray and Lata Mangeshkar were accorded rare public funerals at Shivaji Park on November 18, 2012, and February 6, 2022, respectively, to accommodate the massive crowds of mourners and VVIPs attending.

Earlier, BJP MLA Ram Kadam and others like Congress President Nana Patole had demanded a memorial for Lata Mangeshkar at the site, but the ruling ally Shiv Sena urged that the issue should not be politicised but assured a grand memorial for the late melody queen.

Maharashtra

Reconstruction work of Sion Railway Flyover should be completed by July 15, 2026, directs Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide

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Mumbai: Sewage Treatment Plant is very important in terms of environmental protection in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and care should be taken to ensure that the sewage treatment plant in Dharavi is functional by July 2027. The reconstruction of the Sine Railway Flyover connecting the eastern and western parts of Sine should be completed by July 15, 2026, while the road construction should be done as per the standard or standard. No new excavation should be done after April 30, 2026. The work of pouring concrete should be completed by May 15, 2026. In addition, Municipal Commissioner Smt. Ashwini Bhide has given various instructions that all road works should be completed by May 31, 2026 and the roads should be opened for traffic.

Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide personally visited and inspected various development works in the city division today (April 16, 2026). These include a 418 million litres per day capacity sewage treatment plant in Dharavi, a flyover on the railway line in Shiv (Seon), cement concreting of roads in Shiv, protective measures taken by the Prajaniya Water Works Department to prevent rainwater from accumulating in the area of ​​Chuna Bhatti Railway Station, etc. During this, he gave various instructions. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar was present.

Dharavi Sewage Treatment Plant

The work of setting up a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) with a capacity of 418 million litres per day in Dharavi by the Mumbai Sewage Project Department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is in full swing. Mrs. Bhide inspected the project. The physical progress of the Dharavi Sewage Treatment Plant project has reached 65%. The project is expected to be operational in July 2027. The project is based on Sequential Batching Reactor (SBR) technology. The project will be implemented in a multi-storey building on a very small footprint. A total of 7 sewage treatment plants are being built in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the sewage treatment plant in Dharavi is being built on the smallest footprint. Bhide inspected all the components of the project including the influent pumping station, sludge room, sequential batching reactor process tank, tertiary treatment building, sludge digester tank, shaft connected to the tunnel carrying sewage and shaft carrying treated water. The local difficulties faced in the completion of the project were reviewed and resolved. Mrs. Bhide directed to ensure that the Dharavi sewage treatment plant is operational by July 2027 in any case.

Sine Flyover
Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide inspected the project site for the reconstruction of Sine Railway Flyover connecting the eastern and western parts of Shiv. During this inspection visit, the current status of the project work, remaining phases of the work and their timeframe were determined.
The work of installation of steel girders (girder launching) by the Railway Department is delayed by 15 days. As per the earlier plan, the girders were expected to be installed by April 30, 2026. Now this work has been postponed to May 15, 2026. Although the installation of the first beam has been postponed, Mrs. Bhide directed that this delay should be made up for in other ancillary works and the installation of both the beams should be ensured by May 20. Bhide also said that the Municipal Corporation Bridge Department and the Railway Department should coordinate with each other and ensure that all bridge works are completed by July 15, 2026.

Sign Road Cement Concreting Work

A total of 1,736 roads have been concretized till April 13, 2026 under Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s major road cement concreting project, with a total length of 496.83 km. Under this, Mrs. Bhide inspected the road cement concreting works in Shiv of the city division. She inspected the main traffic section of Road No. 27 in Shiv East and the footpath work in Road No. 25 (C). Quality should be given priority while carrying out the concreting work. No excavation should be done after April 30, 2026. The concrete pouring work should be completed by May 15, 2026. At the same time, Bhide directed that all road work be completed and the roads be opened to traffic by May 31, 2026.

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Crime

Domino’s Pizza Outlet In Thane Raided; 140 LPG Gas Cylinders Worth ₹4.59 Lakh Seized In Major Crackdown

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Thane: In a massive crackdown, a Domino’s Pizza outlet in the Wonder Mall area of Thane was raided, leading to the seizure of 140 LPG gas cylinders worth Rs 4.59 lakh. The raid was reportedly conducted by the Rationing Department’s flying squad.

The seized LPG stock included cylinders from major oil marketing companies, including HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited), BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited), IOC (Indian Oil Corporation), and Go Gas. The report further added that of the 140 seized cylinders, 45 are filled, while the remaining 85 are empty.

This comes at a time of the ongoing West Asia conflict, when frequent cases of long queues have been seen across the city, along with a rise in the black marketing of cylinders amid the situation.

Meanwhile, in another similar case, last week, the Rationing Department in Mumbai had carried out a major action against illegal storage and transportation of LPG cylinders, seizing goods worth over Rs 40 lakh in the Wadi Bunder–Dongri area. The operation was conducted based on confidential inputs received by Chandrakant Dange, Controller of Rationing and Director of Civil Supplies in Mumbai, who also issued special directives for immediate enforcement action.

During the raid near Wadi Bunder Bridge in Dongri, officials had intercepted eight vehicles involved in illegal transportation and seized a total of 451 gas cylinders, and the value of the total confiscated material was estimated at Rs 40.61 lakh.

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Maharashtra

Last rites of small animals and birds begin at Deonar Slaughterhouse and Mahalakshmi, availability of facilities will help local people: Additional Municipal Commissioner

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Mumbai: The Veterinary Health Department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has started cremation grounds for small animals and birds at Deonar Abattoir and Mahalaxmi. The High Court had directed the start of cremation grounds for small animals. Following these directions, both the facilities have been completed and made available for use from April 1, 2026. Due to this, separate incinerator crematorium facilities have been made available in the city, eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai, which will help the local people, said Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi. According to the instructions of Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide. Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwini Joshi, various steps are being taken by the Mumbai Municipal Administration regarding stray and domestic dogs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. In this context, crematoriums have been arranged for the scientific and eco-friendly cremation of small dead animals.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr. Ashwani Joshi said that from April 1, 2026, cremation work has been started in the premises of Deonar Animal Hospital in Mahalaxmi and Animal Hospital managed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Tata Trust. Of these, animals or birds weighing up to 500 kg can be cremated in the crematorium in Deonar. This crematorium runs on clean and eco-friendly PNG fuel. Animals or birds weighing up to 50 kg can be cremated in the crematorium in Mahalaxmi. This crematorium is completely electricity-based. Meanwhile, the crematorium in Malad has been functioning since 2023. Due to this, a separate cremation system has now been created in all three parts of the Mumbai region, namely the city, eastern and western suburbs. The Veterinary Health Department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation has made online facilities available through the crematorium and animal related website https://vhd.mcgm.gov.in. However, by registering at the link https://vhd.mcgm.gov.in/incineration-booking, the last rites of the deceased animal can be performed at the selected crematorium at the selected time. Dr. Kalimpasha Pathan, Head of the Veterinary Health Department on behalf of the Municipal Corporation administration, said that for more information or assistance, contact the helpline number 7564976649.

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