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Maharashtra

Rave party: NCP claims non-NCB personnel involved in ship raid

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In a series of shocking revelations, a senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader on Wednesday alleged that two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists, including a ‘vice-president’, were involved in the raid conducted by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on the luxury ship Cordelia Cruise on October 2.

NCP national spokesperson and state Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik slammed the NCB operations, terming it as a ‘fraud’ in which BJP leader Manish Bhanushali and a so-called ‘private detective’ Kiran P. Gosavi were seen hauling out some of the accused, including Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and Arbaaz Merchant.

Simultaneously, Shiv Sena leader Kishore Tiwari, who has been accorded MoS rank, demanded the arrest of NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede, while Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant urged the Maha Vikas Aghadi government to order a high-level independent probe into Malik’s allegations, which are of ‘extremely serious’ nature.

On its part, the NCB’s Deputy Director Gyaneshwar Singh admitted on Wednesday that the duo – Bhanushali and Gosavi – was among more than half-a-dozen of its ‘independent witnesses’ during the agency’s swoop on the deluxe vessel berthed at the International Cruise Terminal.

Malik had earlier said that Bhanushali had posted his photos with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, state Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Devendra Fadnavis, plus current and former Central and state ministers, as well as other senior BJP leaders.

He said that Bhanushali was in New Delhi and Gandhinagar in the last week of September, especially on September 21-22 when a huge drug haul was made from the Mundhra Port in Gujarat.

“The BJP should tell the people who is this person and how does he have access to such top people? The NCB must clarify in what capacity these two persons (Gosavi and Bhanushali) were seen during the so-called raid and arrests. Gosavi also has a criminal record in Pune. Is the NCB taking help of people with a criminal background to nab other accused,” Malik asked.

Reacting sharply, BJP’s Leaders of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis (Assembly) and Pravin Darekar (Council) promptly dismissed Malik’s contentions and said that he was levelling the allegations out of ‘frustration’ as his son-in-law Sameer Khan was nabbed by the NCB in January 2021.

Attacking the NCB, Malik contended that the entire (raid) operation was fraudulent, which was carried out with the sole purpose of hogging publicity, as no drugs were found from the arrested persons, neither was any panchnama done.

“In the past few days, rumours are being circulated that Shah Rukh Khan will be the next target. You know the relations between him and the BJP,” Malik said, supporting his claims with a audio-video presentation.

“The BJP and the NCB must come clear. Who are these two persons and why were they seen in the so-called ship raid? Both these persons are fake, and the NCB raid was a fraud intended only for grabbing publicity. What are the BJP’s connections with both of them,” Malik asked.

A bearded and bespectacled Bhanushali, sporting a maroon shirt, was seen dragging out Merchant and the bald Gosavi was seen pulling Aryan Khan out of the International Cruise Terminal late on Saturday, shocking the country and rattling the entertainment industry.

Speaking to a private Marathi TV channel, Bhanushali said that he had given the tip-off about the rave party to the NCB and was accompanying them as a ‘witness’ to affix his signature on the relevant case papers. He also warned of filing defamation proceedings against Malik.

Malik reiterated that since the past one year after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, the NCB is only targeting high-profile film personalities, and raids are carried out with an eye on hogging publicity, defaming the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and instilling fear in the minds of Bollywood people.

Accusing the NCB of not adhering to its mandate of busting inter-state or international narcotics rackets, he said the agency only guns for high-profile celebrities to get publicity.

Maharashtra

We will take initiative on the problems of Mumbai University – Ambadas Danve

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Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Ambadas Danve said that the government will take initiative regarding the vacant posts of teachers in Mumbai University, enrollment of colleges, and pending development works by MMRDA. Today he visited the Kalina campus and took stock of the problems and current situation of the students.

Delay in development works of the university

An agreement was signed between Mumbai University and MMRDA for the beautification of the Kalina campus and construction of buildings for educational purposes. But this work has not been done till now and concerns were raised about the completion of these works.

Issue of safety of students

Every day five to six thousand students visit the Kalina campus, but incidents of attacks on female students are increasing due to outside elements. Also, the Bit Chowki near the main entrance was demolished in the name of widening the road, which increased the threat to the safety of girl students, this issue was raised by Senate member Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth.

Issue of cancellation of teacher recruitment

Instead of improving the quality of education, the decision to cancel the teacher recruitment is proving to be harmful for the students, Senate member Milind Satam reported.

Challenge to the international recognition of the university

Despite getting international recognition, the students are facing problems due to the problems of Mumbai University, which is unfortunate, said Ambadas Danve. Students from all over the country and abroad come here to study, so it is important to solve these problems, he said.

Vice Chancellor Dr. Ravindra Kulkarni, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dr. Ajay Bhamare, local MLA Vilas Potnis, Senate members Sheetal Devrukhkar-Sheth, Milind Satam, Kisan Sawant, Param Yadav and other dignitaries were present in this meeting.

Danve resolved to raise voice with the government on the problems of the university and play an active role in the interest of the students.

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Maharashtra

‘Water Grid’ project for Marathwada: Gulabrao Patil

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Mumbai: The ‘Marathwada Water Grid’ scheme is being implemented to permanently solve the water shortage in Marathwada and ensure robust water supply. Under this project, 11 major dams of Marathwada will be connected through pipelines and drinking water will be provided to cities and villages across the region. Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil gave information about the project and said that this project will provide sustainable water supply to Marathwada.

The cooperation of global level banks will be taken to implement this scheme, Patil said. A review meeting was held with representatives of global banks in the ministry regarding this project. Many important officials including Principal Secretary of Water Supply and Sanitation Department Sanjay Khandare, Member Secretary of Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran Abhishek Krishna, Chief Executive Officer of ‘Mitra’ Praveensinh Pardeshi, Director of Jal Jeevan Mission Abhiyan E Ravindran, and Secretary of Water Resources Department Sanjay Belsare were present in this meeting.

Long-term water supply to Marathwada will be ensured through this project. Along with this, as per the advice of the central government, the project will be set up and implemented by taking loans from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and New Development Bank. The implementation of the project will be coordinated by the ‘Mitra’ institution, as told by Minister Gulabrao Patil.

The ‘Mitra’ institution has taken the initiative to discuss the project further and coordinate with the concerned banks. Patil expressed confidence that the project will significantly help in solving the water problem of Marathwada.

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Maharashtra

The state government is preparing to bring private kindergartens under its control

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Mumbai: The lack of educational facilities, midday meals for children, and proper implementation of government schemes in private schools running in the streets of the state has increased the concern of parents. As a measure against this, the School Education Department has started preparing a new manual to bring private schools under government control.

According to the new National Education Policy, pre-primary education for children between 3 and 6 years of age has been considered important, and it is proposed to include private schools in this policy as well. Currently, many schools running in the streets are running without any manual and are out of the control of the local administration. It has been assured that a suitable educational environment will be created for the children under this new rule of the Education Department.

Under the new regulations, educational curriculum for children will be implemented in the balwadis, along with midday meals and appropriate schemes for the physical and mental development of children. This is expected to provide quality education to the children.

It has not yet been decided which department will control these balwadis – the School Education Department, the Women and Child Welfare Department, and the Integrated Child Development Services Department. However, it is believed that this decision will reduce the anxiety of parents and improve the educational quality of children.

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