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Maharashtra

Prayers on lips, devotion in hearts, Maharashtra soaks in Ganeshotsav spirit!

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After two years of the Coronavirus pandemic restrictions, Ganeshotsav 2022 started with a big bang, gigantic idols, lavish colourful thematic decorations and piety all over Maharashtra, with celebs, corporates and commoners immersing in the spirit of the 10-day festival, here on Wednesday.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, various state and central cabinet ministers like Narayan Rane, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar, Bharatiya Janata Party city and state chiefs Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Ashish Shelar and other prominent leaders welcomed the elephant-headed Lord Ganesh for the fest amid music, dance, pomp and pageantry.

Several ex-CMs or union ministers like Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Congress state President Nana Patole, city chief Bhai Jagtap, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray, ex-Mayor Kishori Pednekar, and other well-known leaders also installed big and small idols of Lord Ganesh for worship.

Other celebs like the Ambanis, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Urmila Matondkar, Nana Patekar, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh, Vidya Balan, Shilpa Shetty, Shreyas Talpade, Vivek Oberoi, Govinda, Sonali Bendre and many more are celebrating Ganeshotsav with idols at their homes.

Many other celebs like Sachin Tendulkar, Rani Mukherjee and others started their day with the customary visit to pray at one of the Ganesh Temples in their vicinity.

A festive atmosphere prevailed at the 8 top Ganpati Temples – Ashtavinayak – all ‘swayambhu’ (self-manifested) in Raigad, Pune and Ahmednagar districts, with thousands thronging for ‘darshan’ and ‘pujas’ since early morning.

After two years, idols of 2-feet (household) and 4-feet (public marquees), the familiar large and gigantic idols of Lord Ganesha returned to the celebrations, awing the masses.

The state’s tallest – 38-feet Lord Ganesha – in a Parashuram ‘avatar’ is installed at 11th Khetwadi Lane in south Mumbai, while the all-time favourite, Lalbaugcha Raja in Laulbaug has mesmerising form of over 18 feet enthralling devotees who throng here 24 hours daily for ‘darshan’, and the richest, GSB Seva Mandal Matunga’s Lord Ganesh idol of gold, silver and precious stones, with an insurance cover of a staggering Rs 316.50 crore this year.

As in the past, there are several regular or innovative themes, mostly around the 75th Independence Year, Lord Ganesha in various forms/avatars, in some marquees sitting with his parents Lord Shiv and Parvati, in different colours, moods and sitting, standing, aggressive or benign poses, wowing the beholders.

An estimated around 300 large or gigantic idols adorn the city landscape this year, besides other medium or small idols in mandals and households, companies, factories, or certain railway stations, all over, with official estimates of nearly a million idols to be worshipped this year in Maharashtra.

With so many choices, thousands of people, some celebs, domestic and foreign tourists have chalked out elaborate plans for ‘pandal-hopping’, trooping to various marquees, for ‘darshan’, joining ‘puja’ and partaking of ‘prasad and blessings’.

Several big and small Ganeshotsav organisers admit that with the massive inflation this year, all budgets have gone haywire with prices of all stuff for decoration, the costs of erecting the big and small pandals, security, prasad and other eatables shooting up between 25-40 per cent.

“Since we are coming in a big way after two years of subdued celebrations, there’s no way to cut corners, so we somehow trying to pull on hoping for some recovery through donations, offerings or sponsors,a said an office-bearer of the BrihanMumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanway Samiti, the apex body of all public celebrations in the city.

Another organiser said that they are counting on the turnout after the two-year hiatus to fill up their offering boxes which will help balance their budgets, though they would be barely left with anything for other welfare or charitable activities.

Elsewhere, Pune is also witnessing pompous celebrations, while the traditional celebrations are seen in the coastal Konkan belt where thousands of villages and homes have come alive in the Ganeshotsav fest, twinkling fairy lights beckoning the visitors from afar in the remote hilly or coastal or tribal villages.

Lakhs of people from Konkan, living or working in Mumbai, Thane, Pune and other major cities have gone to their native villages for full-fledged Ganeshotsav celebrations, braving delays, massive traffic snarls, bad roads, the sudden downpour, high ticket rates, etc.

“Barring these ‘vighnas’ (obstacles), the ordinary people are revelling in the festive atmosphere, and make the most of the Lord Ganesha’ blessings,” said a bank official Kishore Gowale who is celebrating in Mumbai while his wife Priyanka and their three tiny tots are enjoying the festival in Ratnagiri.

Maharashtra

Waqf Act is a discriminatory law, an attack on democracy… Along with the fight in court, democratic protests will also continue until the law is withdrawn: All India Muslim Personal Labor Board

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Waqf Act is unfair to minorities and has many flaws. The Waqf Act has been introduced on the basis of bias to deprive Muslims of their rights and it is a law that destroys democracy. Protests against this law will continue until it is withdrawn. The problem of law and order has also arisen due to this law. Under this law, the powers of the state governments have also been taken away. These are the views expressed here today by Jamaat-e-Islami chief Saadatullah Hussaini. He said that the Waqf Act is unfair to Muslims and it is unacceptable.

All India Muslim Personal Law Board spokesperson Qasim Rasool Ilyas said that the law implemented in the Waqf Act was objected to in the JPC. Now this matter is under hearing in the Supreme Court. The court has definitely given temporary relief, but until it is returned, we will continue our legal and democratic fight on it. This is a biased law. There is a separate law for other religions and the Constitution allows us to have religious institutions and worship according to our customs and traditions. An attempt has been made in this act to deprive us of this right. The application of the Waqf Act under the guise of the poor and other backward classes is a fraud and deception. The suspicions that the government has created regarding Waqf are based on complete lies. If the government wants to work to provide rights to the poor and other classes through the Waqf Act, why was the Waqf Development Corporation taken away? Under the guise of the Waqf Act, the government has attacked Indian democracy and the constitution of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and hooliganism is being done. It is being said that this law will have to be accepted. This law will not only affect Muslims but is an attack on the spirit of the constitution. If the Prime Minister is so sympathetic to the poor widows, why did he not give justice to Bilqis Bano? In the Gujarat riots, Ehsan Jafri’s widow Zakia Jafri, a victim seeking justice, reached the grave. What atrocities were committed on Muslims in Gujarat in 11 years, everyone knows that this government does not want to nurture Muslims, but wants to destroy them. The opposition has strongly opposed this bill, but despite this, it was passed. The Waqf Act was passed unanimously in 2013. What was the need to bring this law at that time? When this law was passed, the BJP was also in favor of it. There was no opposition to it. They said that this law is a clear violation of Articles 24, 25, 11, which protect our rights.

Muslim Personal Law Board General Secretary Fazlur Rehman Mujaddidi said that now under the Waqf Act, the waqf will have to prove that he is a Muslim. In this, the JPC has made it a condition to be a practicing Muslim. This is against the law. Earlier it was said that being a Muslim for five years is a condition, but now it will have to be proven that you are a Muslim and practice Islam. Along with this, in case of a dispute, this land will be declared as government land. Misconceptions have been created regarding the Waqf Act and Waqf and these misconceptions have been fueled in social media. It was also spread in the media that the ownership of the waqf is so high and in the Allahabad High Court case, it was said that now the High Court has to go to the Supreme Court for justice in the matter of waqf. This is completely wrong. This was a dispute over a mosque on the road outside the High Court, which Kazmi Sahib had built for worshippers, thus spreading suspicions.

Munsa Bushra Abidi said that Muslim women will be at the forefront of any protest announced by the Muslim Personal Law Board. The government cannot give lollipops to Muslim women because they know the government’s intentions and the drugs. She said that women are involved in all kinds of protests, from bati gul to salaam, and we will continue to protest against this law. Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi, Peace Committee Head Farid Sheikh, and representatives of other religions also participated in this press conference:

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Maharashtra

Mumbai human trafficking racket busted, West Bengal and Hyderabad arrested

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Mumbai: Mumbai Wadala TT Police has claimed to have arrested child human traffickers from Hyderabad, West Bengal in a human trafficking case. According to the details, the complainant Amar Dhirne, 65, a sweeper from Wadala TT Police Station, had filed a missing complaint of his grandson on August 5, 2024. After that, it was found that Anil Purnia, Asma Sheikh, Sharif Sheikh, Asha Pawar had sold the child for Rs 1.60 lakh. After that, a case of human trafficking was registered against the accused Anil Purnia, Asma Sheikh, Sharif Sheikh. The accused Anil Purnia, Asma Sheikh were deported from Mumbai. The accused Asha Pawar was also involved in this. After that, the police started searching for Asha Pawar and arrested her from Hyderabad.

During the police investigation, the accused said that the victim was taken to Bhubaneswar station, Odisha. A woman named Reshma sold it. After technical investigation, it was found that the accused is employed in a dental hospital in Bhubaneswar and works in a high-tech hospital here. But when the police team reached Bhubaneswar, she had quit her job and then it was found that the wanted accused is in West Bengal. After that, the police started searching for her and the police recovered the kidnapped child and three other children. At the same time, Reshma Santosh Kumar Banerjee, 43, was arrested and presented in court. Along with this, the three-year-old child was presented in court and the child was handed over to the police. After completing all the steps, the police got the child medically examined and found signs of injuries on his body. The accused had tortured the child, so a case of cruelty was also registered against the child. This action was taken on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Pansalkar and Special Commissioner Devin Bharti, Additional Commissioner Anil Paraskar and DCP Ragasudha.

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Maharashtra

Mira Bhayander: Drugs worth Rs 32 crore seized Two Nigerians including an Indian woman arrested, used to sell drugs by creating groups on social media

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Mumbai: Mira Bhayander police have claimed to have arrested two foreign drug peddlers including an Indian woman. The Mira Bhayander Crime Branch had received information that Shabina Sheikh’s house in Kashi Mira had a stash of drugs and that she was also involved in drug trafficking. The police raided it and recovered 11 kg 830 grams of cocaine. A case has been registered against her in the Nowghar police under the NDPS. The arrested accused told the police during interrogation that she used to buy these drugs from a foreign national named Ende and lives in Inder Mira Road. She was also arrested and drugs were seized from her possession and a Nigerian note of 1000 was recovered and 14 notes of 100 US dollars were also found in this case.

After investigation, two Nigerians and an Indian woman were arrested. Drugs worth Rs 23 million have been seized from their possession, in addition to 14 US dollar notes, four mobile phones, and drugs worth Rs 223 million have also been claimed to have been seized. This operation was carried out by a team of the Crime Branch including Mira Bhayandar Police Commissioner Madhu Karpande, Additional Commissioner Dattatreya Shinde, Avinash Ambore. The Crime Branch said that this cocaine was brought here by Nigerians hiding it in their stomachs. This cocaine is manufactured in South America. This cocaine is brought by plane by hiding it in human bodies. First, it is delivered to the Mumbai airport and then sold in various areas through the roads in Mumbai. The accused sell drugs by creating several groups on social media.

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