Mumbai: A video showing a demolition drive against alleged illegal hawkers in Bhiwandi has surfaced online, triggering strong reactions on social media after visuals showed vegetables strewn across the road and vendor carts being damaged during the operation.

According to a video shared by the Instagram handle ‘chal_mumbai’, a JCB machine, reportedly deployed by the civic authorities, was seen razing roadside vegetable carts lined along a street in Bhiwandi. The visuals showed vegetables being crushed and scattered across the road as the machine continued the demolition drive.

In one of the clips, a woman vendor was seen pleading with the operator while attempting to pull her cart away to prevent further damage. Despite her efforts, the demolition continued as nearby vendors hurriedly cleared the area and moved their carts to avoid similar action. The operation soon turned chaotic, with damaged carts, broken containers and vegetables spread across the stretch.

The incident comes at a time when the civic administration has intensified its crackdown on unauthorised hawkers and encroachments across Mumbai and surrounding areas. On Friday, Ashwini Bhide confirmed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had launched a special drive targeting illegal hawkers operating around railway station areas.

Speaking to Dainik Navshakti, Bhide said the campaign was aimed at clearing encroachments and improving pedestrian movement in congested areas. She also spoke about the BMC’s ongoing efforts to tackle environmental concerns and infrastructure development in the city.

According to Bhide, Mumbai’s air quality has shown improvement due to regular inspections at construction sites carried out by the civic body. She stated that nearly 3,000 construction projects are currently underway across the city and guidelines have already been issued to control dust pollution.

She further said sensor machines have been ordered to monitor pollution levels at construction sites. “A dashboard is used to monitor whether the air quality index at construction sites is within permissible limits. If any site fails to follow the regulations, municipal officials visit and issue stop-work notices,” Bhide said.

The Municipal Commissioner also highlighted several major infrastructure projects being undertaken by the BMC, including sewage treatment plants, desalination initiatives and the Versova-Dahisar-Bhayandar elevated corridor project. She added that the civic body is planning to issue green bonds and seek funding support from the Centre and the Urban Challenge Fund for these projects.

Thane: A 26-year-old engineer from Mumbra was allegedly beaten to death by his married lover, her husband and two accomplices before his body was stuffed inside a drum and dumped in a secluded drain in Vasai, police said on Friday.

The Mumbra Police Station arrested the 25-year-old woman and her brother in connection with the murder, while her husband and another accused remain absconding. The deceased was identified as Arbaz Maqsood Ali Khan, a resident of Mumbra who worked as an engineer with a real estate developer in Dombivli.

According to police, Khan had been in a relationship since 2021 with Mehajabeen Khatun Ekran Sheikh, a resident of Vasai. Investigators said the two frequently communicated and exchanged romantic messages, but over time Mehajabeen allegedly began demanding money from Khan, who regularly transferred funds to her account.

Police said the relationship deteriorated after Khan allegedly stopped sending her monthly payments, following which Mehajabeen allegedly conspired with her husband Hasan Sheikh, her brother Tariq Sheikh and Tariq’s friend Mojjam Pathan to murder him.

Cops stated Khan had gone to Dadar on April 3 to collect cash related to his company’s work but never returned home. After his father filed a missing complaint, police analysed his call detail records and mobile location data, which allegedly matched Mehajabeen’s location in Vasai on the day he disappeared.

Police also found that Khan had transferred Rs 50,000 to Mehajabeen a day before he went missing. During interrogation, Mehajabeen initially denied involvement but later allegedly confessed to the crime, police said. Cops claimed she had called Khan to her residence in the Bhoidapada area of Vasai, where an argument allegedly broke out over money.

According to police, the accused found no valuables on Khan and later tied his hands and legs before assaulting him with a plastic pipe, causing fatal head injuries. The accused allegedly stuffed Khan’s body into a drum and dumped it in a drain in an isolated area falling under the jurisdiction of Valiv Police Station.

Police arrested Mehajabeen and Tariq on May 7, while efforts are underway to trace Hasan and Pathan. A case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence.

Mumbai: Suburban train services on the Central Railway and the Western Railway will be affected on Sunday, May 17, due to scheduled maintenance work and infrastructure work.  Passengers have been advised to check updated train schedules and plan their journeys accordingly to avoid inconvenience during the block period.

Western Railways will operate on a major night block during the intervening period of May 16th and 17th to launch two spans of foot overbridge girders at Naigaon station using a road crane. The block will be in force on the Up and Down Slow lines from 1 am to 4 am, and on the Up and Down Fast lines from 2.30 am to 3.30 am.

During the block, all fast line trains will run on slow lines between Mumbai Central and Santacruz. DOWN line trains will be operated on the Down fast line between Bhayandar and Vasai Road. Some suburban services will remain cancelled, with details available at suburban station masters’ offices. Western Railway has clarified that there will be no daytime block on Sunday, May 17.

Central Railway will operate a mega block on Sunday on the Main line between Thane and Kalyan and on the Harbour line between Panvel and Vashi for engineering and maintenance works.

On the Main line, the Up and Down fast lines between Thane and Kalyan will remain blocked from 10.40 am to 3.40 pm. Down fast and semi-fast services leaving CSMT from 9.34 am to 3.03 pm will be diverted on the Down slow line between Thane and Kalyan, halting at Kalva, Mumbra and Diva, and will arrive around 10 minutes late.

Up fast and semi-fast services leaving Kalyan from 10.28 am to 3.40 pm will be diverted on the Up slow line between Kalyan and Thane, halting at Diva, Mumbra and Kalva.

On the Harbour line, services between Panvel and Vashi will remain suspended from 11.05 am to 4.05 pm. CSMT-Panvel/Belapur services and Panvel-CSMT services during the block period will remain cancelled. Trans-Harbour services between Thane and Panvel will also be affected, while services between Thane and Vashi/Nerul will remain available.

Railway officials said the blocks are essential for infrastructure upkeep and passenger safety.