Mumbai: After years of anticipation and multiple setbacks, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Shri Harilal Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali is finally nearing completion. The ₹500-crore super specialty hospital will be ready by November 15 and is expected to open its doors to patients by December, bringing long-awaited relief to residents of the city’s western suburbs.

The hospital’s redevelopment has been a prolonged process marked by repeated delays. The project was planned in two phases. The first phase, launched in 2009, became partially operational in 2016 with 110 beds, though it missed its original deadline by two years. The second phase, which began in August 2019, was scheduled for completion by October 2022. However, the deadline stretched nearly three years, pushing the project’s completion to November 2025.

Officials have cited several factors for the delay, including lapses by contractors, administrative hurdles, and rising costs. The COVID-19 pandemic further slowed progress as manpower and resources had to be diverted toward emergency healthcare. Additionally, project costs escalated due to design changes aimed at transforming Bhagwati into a modern super specialty hospital, equipped with facilities such as a Cath Lab, modular operation theatres, and advanced diagnostic units.

Once fully functional, the hospital will have 373 beds, with plans to eventually expand to 490 beds. It is expected to significantly reduce the patient burden on major civic hospitals such as Cooper, KEM, and Nair, while also serving patients from Palghar and Dahanu.

“The full-scale operation of Bhagwati Hospital will help decentralize healthcare in Mumbai and ease pressure on central civic hospitals,” said BMC Additional Commissioner (Health) Sharad Ughade.

Departments including Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedics, Pediatrics, and Ophthalmology have already been revived and reopened. In the coming months, super specialty services in Nephrology, Cardiology, and Neurology will also be introduced, alongside a state-of-the-art Cath Lab.

For the rapidly growing western suburbs, the opening of Bhagwati Hospital marks a vital step in improving access to advanced healthcare closer to home, ending years of dependence on distant hospitals for specialized treatment.

The Bombay High Court on Friday refused to quash the order passed by the State Bank of India (SBI), which had classified the loan account of Reliance Communications and its chairman, Anil Ambani, as ‘fraud’.

The classification was made on June 13, 2025, under the Reserve Bank of India’s Master Directions on Fraud Risk Management and SBI’s internal policies.

Ambani had challenged the move, arguing that the bank had not followed principles of natural justice. He claimed that he was not given an opportunity to be heard before the account was flagged as fraudulent. He also stated that some crucial material used in the classification was initially withheld and only provided to him after a delay of six months.

The High Court, however, upheld SBI’s decision, noting that the classification was in line with regulatory guidelines.

Srinagar, Oct 3: Police in J&K’s Sopore sub-division said on Friday that it has booked two drug peddlers under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT NDPS) Act.

“Two habitual drug peddlers were booked under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (PIT NDPS Act), as part of their intensified campaign against narcotics in the region,” said a police statement.

The police official stated that the offenders have been identified as Umar Farooq Sheikh, son of Farooq Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Seeloo Sopore, currently incarcerated in Kot Bhalwal Jail, Jammu, and Abdul Hamid Mir, son of Abdul Rashid Mir, a resident of Janwara Sopore, who is presently incarcerated in District Jail Poonch.

“Both accused are repeat offenders with multiple NDPS cases against them. Despite previous arrests and preventive measures, they continued their involvement in drug trafficking,” the official said.

Police stated that in the last four days alone, six repeat offenders have been booked under the PIT NDPS Act, while six others were arrested in three separate FIRs under the NDPS Act, with the recovery of contraband.

Sopore Police reiterated their zero-tolerance approach against narcotics and urged locals to report drug-related activities to help build a drug-free Sopore.

Security forces in J&K are carrying out aggressive operations against terrorists, their Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and sympathisers to dismantle the entire ecosystem of terror.

Drug peddlers and drug smugglers are under the scanner of the security forces, as it is believed that the funds generated by drug smuggling and hawala money rackets are finally used to sustain terrorism in J&K.

The duties of anti-terrorist operations are manned by the security forces and police in J&K, while the army and the Border Security Force (BSF) guard the line of control (LoC) and the international border, respectively.