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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.

Maharashtra

Mumbai Fake police fraud gang busted, four FIRs registered so far, and four individuals—including mastermind Raj Khatib—arrested: DCP.

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has claimed to have busted a gang of fraudsters posing as police officers who used to intimidate people by giving them police badges and fake identity cards. Earlier, the Crime Branch had claimed to have arrested three fake police officers in this case. The search for their accomplices was also on. These absconding accused were arrested today. The accused had told the complainant that the blood money would be returned with interest. After that, the Crime Branch took action on the complainant’s complaint and arrested Mohammad Ghaus Ibrahim Khatib and Rajesh Bade Singh. The search for the absconding accused in this case was on. In this case, Raj Bade Singh was arrested by the Crime Branch from Jaipur, Rajasthan. The accused had cheated the complainant of about Rs 15 lakh and taken money from his several bank accounts. Not only that, Raj Khatib used to tell the police that he would get the complainant’s money back. So far, the Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested four accused in the fraud case, in which the mastermind is Muhammad Ghaus alias Raj Khatib. In this case, three accused were arrested in the first complaint. At that time, the accused had promised the complainant a loan of Rs 1 crore from the bank and then cheated him. In this, Raj Khatib, his son Musab Khatib were arrested. Raj Khatib used to call himself a DCP and cheated the complainant of Rs 16 lakh on the pretext of getting money from a builder along with interest. This complainant was confronted after the news was broadcast. After that, another complainant came forward who said that he had received Rs 12 lakh from three candidates in the name of police recruitment. After that, four FIRs have been registered against these accused so far, this information was given by the Mumbai DCP. Raj Tilak Roshan has said that the number of his victims is likely to increase, so he appeals to the citizens that if they have been cheated by this gang, they can file a complaint with the Crime Branch.

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra ATS Operation : Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti and two associates of Lawrence Bishnoi questioned, released after interrogation.

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has intensified its crackdown on anti-social elements including gangsters like underworld, Pakistani don Shahzad Bhatti and Lawrence Bishnoi. The ATS in Osmanabad Dharashio carried out Operation Lawrence Bishnoi and detained two suspects and released them after questioning them. Mumbai On July 10, 2026, ATS officers in Dharashio detained and questioned two persons on suspicion of interacting (liking/commenting) on ​​WhatsApp links associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. They have been identified as Vishal Bankat Kamble (age 35, resident of Tarna Colony, near Chhaya Deep Lawn, Dharashio) and Jirabi Bandiwan Sheikh (age 22, resident of Jalkot, Taluka Tuljapur, District Dharashio). During the inquiry, it was found that they were following the links of three groups associated with this controversial gang. However, no data was found posted by them on these groups. Their mobile phones have been seized, further investigation is underway. Vishal Bankat Kamble’s (late Bankat Kamble) father served as a police constable in the Dharashiv police department. He passed away after retirement. Jirabi Sheikh had followed the controversial link using his father’s mobile phone. As soon as this came to light, his father switched off the phone. However, the old SIM card was reactivated and checked, which confirmed that the controversial link was indeed followed.
To retrieve the old data, both the mobile phones and the SIM card have been sent to the ATS office in Chhatrapati Sambhaj Nagar and the electronic gazette has been sent to the Forensic Examination Laboratory. The ATS is conducting further investigation. Both have been released, however, the ATS has not given them a clean chit so far.

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Maharashtra

BMC sets up helpline for manhole-related issues following the SakiNaka incident; dedicated WhatsApp chatbot launched for complaints.

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Mumbai: After the death of Aslam Sheikh in a manhole at Mumbai’s Sakinaka, the BMC has now gone on alert mode and has set up a helpline and a WhatsApp chatbot for grievance redressal to avoid such incidents. The Municipal Corporation (BMC) has provided a more robust and transparent grievance redressal system to facilitate quick registration and prompt resolution of grievances. Citizens can easily register complaints regarding open, broken or missing manhole covers, drain cover issues and other civic grievances through various digital channels.

To ensure quick resolution of complaints related to open, broken or missing manhole covers, the corporation has introduced a dedicated WhatsApp chatbot (9324500600). To use this facility, citizens need to initiate a conversation by sending a message to the designated WhatsApp number. After that, they need to select the “Submit Complaint” option, share the location of the incident, and upload a picture of the issue. On successful registration, the citizen will receive a complaint registration number for future follow-up.

Register complaints through ‘My BMC Marg’
Citizens should first open the ‘My BMC Marg’ app and log in using their mobile number and OTP. After that, they should select the ‘New Registration’ option and select the complaint type. If required, a brief description of the issue should be provided. Users should upload a current photo of the location or take a geo-tagged photo and upload it. After submitting the complaint, the citizen receives a complaint registration number for future follow-up. *Complaint registration through other channels
Apart from the ‘MyBMC Marg’ app and the dedicated manhole chatbot, citizens can also register complaints through the municipal corporation’s WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999), official website, and 1916 helpline. Complaints can be registered by sending the location and a photo of the issue to the WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999). To report potholes, one can send a message with the keyword “Do it” (or “Said”) and for complaints related to manhole covers, the keyword “Manhole” (or “Manhole”) (or “Manhole”) (or “Manhole”).

Citizens can also file complaints through the municipal corporation’s website (portal.mcgm.gov.in) by visiting the options: ‘Citizens File Complaints All’.

Additionally, complaints can be filed by calling the 1916 helpline and providing the necessary details.
In cases where a photo is required, citizens are sent a link to upload or capture a geo-tagged photo. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) appeals to citizens to report incidents of open, broken, or missing manholes, as well as other dangerous civic issues, using the available complaint channels. Citizens are encouraged to use the ‘MyBMC Marg’ mobile application or WhatsApp chatbot (8999228999) for quick registration and effective follow-up of complaints. The corporation has also specifically appealed to citizens to use the dedicated WhatsApp chatbot (9324500600) for complaints of open, broken, or missing manholes.

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