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Pongal 2024: Mumbai Celebrates Harvest Festival Reflecting Rich Tamil Culture

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Nearly 2000 people participated in Pongal festivities in and around Antop Hill on Monday. Mass Pongal celebration was carried out across various locations of the Sion Koliwada constituency and was facilitated by MLA Captain R Tamil Selvan who continues to organise these events embracing the harvest season and Tamil culture for more than a decade now.

In a beautiful display of cultural richness, locals dressed in traditional attires prepared Pongal reciting folk songs, raising the festival mood. The event saw them setting up their Pongal pots in the midst of sugarcane, flowers, and rangolis. The celebration was notably marked at the Antop Hill Cement Ground with about a thousand people lifting the festival spirit on the auspicious day. Other areas that observed Pongal on a grand scale included New 90 Feet Road, Kamaraj Nagar, Vijay Nagar, and the Malai Mariamman temple in Naik Nagar among a few others.

Captain Selvan was seen visiting the spots and joining the public in the celebration. “Pongal is associated with agriculture. Tamilians of various religious beliefs celebrate this festival together without any discrimination. This is the significance of Pongal,” he said while extending Pongal greetings.

The event was not confined to only the Tamil-speaking people celebrating the occasion as it saw women from diverse cultural backgrounds mark the festival. While Tamilians gathered there to celebrate Pongal, others enjoyed the Makar Sankranti festivities in the region with similar rituals involving boiling water and preparing food in their pots.

Pongalo Pongal” chants were heard during the celebration as women prayed to seek prosperity for their families while boiling and expecting their pots to overflow with the Pongal preparation.

Throwing more light on the harvest festival, the MLA acknowledged that the first dam built in the world was built by Karikala, a Tamilian. “Tamilians introduced the concept of building dams to stop running (river) water and distribute it for agricultural usage. Karikala from the Chola Dynasty constructed the Kallanai Dam over the Kaveri River running in Trichy.”

Several people admire the Tamil language and its treasurable culture, including PM Narendra Modi who recently inaugurated the Kashi Tamil Sangamam at Namo Ghat in Varanasi and mentioned about Pongal and remembered prominent Tamil personalities like Subramania Bharathiyar, Bharathidasan, and Thiruvalluvar.

Mumbai Press Exclusive News

On the 33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, Mumbai’s streets reverberated with chants of “Allahu Akbar.”Peaceful protests and prayers for recovery were offered, with police on alert.

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On the 33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition in Mumbai, mosques, streets, and intersections in the city and suburbs echoed with the call to prayer of Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, when the miscreants had demolished the Babri Masjid at 3:45 pm. Muslims believe that the Babri Masjid is a mosque from the throne to the floor and will remain a mosque until the Day of Judgment. Therefore, Muslims observed a black day of protest on December 6. Prayers were also offered for the recovery of the Babri Masjid on this occasion. Raza Academy had announced to observe a black day on the martyrdom of the Babri Masjid and to give collective azans in mosques. On this occasion, Raza Academy organized azan at the intersections of Muslim-majority areas, especially Minaret Masjid and other mosques. On this occasion, the police had made strict security arrangements. Muslim organizations also observed a black day by giving azan and protesting on the martyrdom of the Babri Masjid. Muslims also remembered the grief of the martyrdom of the Babri Masjid by posting statuses related to the Babri Masjid on social media and every Muslim looked sad.

33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition; Azans were given in the city on the appeal of Raza Academy. On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, Raza Academy gave azan in different areas of the city at 3:45 pm. The aim of this initiative is to keep the memory of this historical event fresh and pay tribute to the martyrs of Babri Masjid. Raza Academy gave azan in particular at Khatri Masjid, Bunyan Road, Minare Masjid, Muhammad Ali Road Corner, Bhandi Bazaar, Neer Mandvi Post Office. On this occasion, scholars prayed for the recovery of Babri Masjid and made it clear that Babri Masjid was taken by fraud. Babri Masjid will remain a mosque until the Day of Judgment. The miscreants have tarnished the constitution of the country by demolishing this mosque, which will always remain a fresh wound like injustice. Raza Academy head Saeed Noori said that Black Day is observed on the martyrdom of Babri Masjid. On this day, Raza Academy organizes Azan and peaceful protests are held against this injustice. He said that miscreants targeted the mosque and martyred it while it was protected, but even today its perpetrators are free. The Supreme Court has also accepted that Babri Masjid was not built by demolishing a temple, while miscreants have put a stigma of oppression and injustice on the chest of the country. Every year on the anniversary of Babri Masjid, Raza Academy refreshes its memory by giving Azan. There is a sorrow that will always remain. Mumbai Police had made strict security arrangements on the anniversary of Babri Masjid and an alert was issued in the city.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Additional Municipal Commissioner Amit Saini has been transferred and replaced by IAS officer Avinash Dhakne following allegations of a “cash-for-transfer” scam.

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The transfer comes after an exposé revealed alleged corruption involving the reshuffling of over 160 engineers in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which was subsequently stayed by the government.

A complaint was filed by activist Sanjay Satam to Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, alleging that Saini was charging between ₹5 lakh and ₹40 lakh to transfer engineers.

Saini, a 2007-batch IAS officer, had been posted in the BMC since March 2024.
Avinash Dhakne, a 2017-batch IAS officer, previously served as the member secretary of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and has taken charge.

The transfers followed demands from activists for action, with Galgali thanking Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the decision.

Activist Satam stated that the transfer is insufficient and called for a departmental and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation into the matter.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra Waqf Board approached the Tribunal regarding extension of date, don’t worry, 100% registration is assured: Chairman Sameer Qazi

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Aurangabad: (F.A.) The last date for registration on the UMID portal for all registered waqf organisations in Maharashtra, including mosques, dargahs and graveyards, was today, December 5, 2025, which has now expired. Although most of the waqf organisations in Maharashtra have been registered on the portal, some organisations are still missing out due to unavailability of records or other paper errors. In view of this situation, Maharashtra State Waqf Board President Sameer Qazi has appealed to the concerned trustees, trustees and the Muslim community not to panic or believe in any rumours. He has confidently said that: The Waqf Board will complete the registration of every institution. Although the Supreme Court has refused to extend the date, it has allowed the Waqf Tribunal (Waqf Court). The State Waqf Board has approached the tribunal and we are confident that justice will be done there and the deadline for registration on the UMID portal will definitely be extended. Chairman Qazi expressed his firm resolve and further said that the board will not sit in a hurry without the registration of every Waqf institution in the state being completed.

Maharashtra ranks second in the country: 80 percent registration completed.

The registration of all organizations related to the Waqf Board has been completed at a fast pace on the UMID portal. The state of Maharashtra ranks second in the country in terms of registration of Waqf institutions. There are a total of 36 thousand registered Waqf properties in Maharashtra, out of which about 30 thousand (80 percent) properties of organizations have been successfully registered on the UMID portal. All the officers and staff of the Waqf Board have made additional arrangements and completed the registration process. Not only this, but 300 young technicians were hired at the Hajj House in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar to expedite registration on the Omid portal, which is a commendable effort by the board.

Waqf Tribunal issues urgent notice to the central government, seeks response by December 10
Immediately after the Supreme Court’s direction, the Maharashtra Waqf Board approached the Waqf Tribunal. The tribunal has issued a notice to the central government while hearing the matter urgently. The notice asks the centre: “Why should the deadline not be extended?” and has directed it to file its reply by December 10. Due to this urgent action and notice by the tribunal, there is a strong possibility of an extension in the deadline, which has brought a big relief to the waqf institutions.

Don’t pay attention to rumors, time has not been extended.

A statement by Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju was circulating on TV and social media throughout the day today, in which he said that although the trustees have not received any relief, there is hope of getting an extension in time from the tribunal. He also said that no penalty will be imposed on the institutions that approach the tribunal. President Sameer Qazi, while explaining this statement, said: The Minister has not extended the time for uploading on the portal, but has only set a time of three months for checker and approval for those institutions that have already been registered. He explained that false news about the extension in time is being spread on social media, so do not be fooled by any kind of hesitation and until the official extension is done, the institutions must complete the uploading process.

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