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Maharashtra

Saamana editorial targets Maha govt over response to Marathwada tremors

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Mumbai, July 11: Amid a series of earthquakes in the Marathwada region, Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Maharashtra government, accusing it of prioritising publicity exercises in Mumbai while ignoring growing seismic concerns in parts of the state.

The criticism came through an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana, which alleged administrative apathy towards repeated tremors reported in Hingoli, Parbhani and Nanded districts.

The Thackeray camp contrasted the government’s high-decibel public relations exercise during the Mumbai rains with its complete silence on the seismic threats looming over rural Maharashtra. “Mr. Show-Off, do you even understand? An earthquake has hit Marathwada!” the editorial taunted, aiming squarely at the Chief Minister and his Disaster Management Minister.

The editorial heavily criticised the ruling dispensation for prioritizing media spotlight over genuine crisis management. It claimed that while heavy rains lashed Mumbai, the Disaster Management Minister and the Chief Minister rushed to the emergency war room solely for a “photo-op” and a “public relations show”.

In stark contrast, the administration remains “completely unfazed and indifferent” to the tremors gripping Marathwada, where four consecutive tremors rattled Hingoli, Parbhani, and Nanded districts in the early hours of Thursday, July 9, it said.

The editorial noted that the tremors were powerful enough to be felt across a massive geographic expanse stretching 200 to 300 km — reaching as far as Bidar in Karnataka, and Adilabad and Nizamabad in Telangana. For the people of Marathwada, the ground shaking is not a minor event — it is a deeply traumatizing trigger.

The Thackeray camp pointed out that the region has still not healed from the horrific wounds of the catastrophic September 30, 1993, Latur-Killari earthquake, which wiped out an entire generation and stands as one of the worst seismic disasters in independent India’s history.

The editorial also highlighted a grim, symbolic collapse following the latest tremors. Shortly after the ground shook on July 9, a bridge on the National Highway in Nanded’s Vishnupuri area collapsed. It noted that the bridge had been built on a “foundation of sheer corruption,” exposing how the “ruthless human hand” of the current administration is compounding the wrath of nature.

Drawing a sharp line between political theater and real-world disaster, the editorial delivered a scathing commentary on the state’s political climate. “The public wasn’t shocked at all when Shiv Sena MPs from Parbhani, Hingoli, and Dharashiv allegedly sold themselves out for Rs 50 crore each — political betrayal has ceased to surprise anyone. However, the shock of subterranean lava fracturing the earth, destroying homes, and bulldozing human lives is entirely different. While the July 9 tremors may seem mild today, they are a stark warning of tomorrow’s catastrophe,’’ it remarked.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena warned that the geographical and geological reality of Maharashtra is shifting dangerously. Regions that were once classified as stable, non-seismic zones have now transitioned into highly earthquake-prone areas. Tectonic activity is rapidly escalating not just in Marathwada and Vidarbha, but also in Western Maharashtra’s Koyna region, and across a 300 km radius, covering Thane, Shahapur, and Palghar.

Blaming the “Fadnavis-led government” for letting the state’s disaster management system lie completely dormant, the editorial concluded with a fierce warning, ‘’No one knows what lies hidden in the womb of the earth or what the future holds. However, the continuous chain of earthquakes in Marathwada should serve as a massive wake-up call for the government and the administration to shake off their complacency before the destruction occurs.”

Maharashtra

Mumbai: Gang of snatching mobile phones of passengers in BEST buses within MIDC limits exposed, 7 arrested: DCP Dutta Nalawade

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Mumbai: Police has busted a gang of BEST bus passengers stealing mobile phones. Jagat Jyoti Mahant, 49, a resident of MIDC police station limits in Andhra, boarded bus route number 415 from SPZ bus stop MIDC to Andhra on June 6 afternoon. During this, his mobile phone went missing. The complainant said that he had kept his mobile phone in his pants pocket and an unknown person stole it. In this matter, the police have registered a case of theft and started investigation. During the investigation, the MID police examined 40 to 45 CCTV footage and arrested 7 accused while busting the gang of BEST bus passengers traveling in Shivaji Nagar. They seized more than Rs 12 lakh worth of goods and 135 mobile phones from their possession. This operation was carried out by DCP Datta Nalawade on the instructions of Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti. Done.

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Maharashtra

Allegations of fraud of crores of rupees, preparation of fake letters including official documents in the name of getting a flat under the SRA scheme

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Mumbai: The Mumbai Police has claimed to have registered a case against senior Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad and UBT Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Putnis’ personal assistant PA and four others under various sections, including cheating, for allegedly defrauding them of crores of rupees in the name of getting houses in the name of SRA at Mumbai’s Nirmal Nagar police station. The accused include Varsha Gaikwad’s PA Vishwanath Jadhav, Rupesh Balikar, Abhishek Gujjar, Shailesh Kokne. A case has been registered against them under sections 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Act. The complainant, Akash Radhe Shyam Shoni, a 42-year-old resident of Vakola, has filed this complaint. Since 2017, more than 50 people have been cheated in the name of getting houses in the SRA rehabilitation project. The matter came to light when in 2023, the complainant went to the SRA office and gave details about the rehabilitation project and showed the allotment letter, subordination letter and even the house key there, after which he came to know that he had been cheated on trust. A case has been registered in this matter later in Andheri, Santa Cruz, Vakola, Bandra. In the name of getting a house in the rehabilitation project in Matunga, the accused had cheated and told that they had good relations with the officers in the SRA. The price of the house in several areas was fixed at 20 lakhs to 28 lakhs and Shailesh Kokne also used to collect a token advance of Rs 5 lakh. So far, these accused have collected about Rs 5 crore 57 lakh. An FIR has been registered in this matter, but no arrest has been made so far. The police are investigating further.

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Business

RBI’s 3-day MPC meeting begins today; all eyes on repo rate decision

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Mumbai, Aug 3: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) three-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting — led by Governor Sanjay Malhotra — begins on Monday with investors and economists closely tracking the central bank’s assessment of inflation, economic growth and the future interest rate trajectory ahead of the policy decision due on August 5.

The policy announcement is expected to provide cues on the outlook for interest rates, liquidity conditions and the broader economy amid an uncertain global environment.

Many analysts expect the six-member MPC to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent after maintaining the status quo in its June meeting.

According to SBI Research, the RBI is likely to leave policy rates unchanged as consumer price inflation is expected to remain above 5 per cent over the next two quarters, while domestic economic activity has shown signs of strengthening.

The report said Q1 FY27 GDP growth could exceed 7 per cent, higher than earlier estimates.

It further stated that an explicitly dovish message from the central bank appears unlikely in view of oil price volatility, pressure on the rupee and caution over external capital flows.

However, the report noted that domestic fundamentals have improved helped by strong capital inflows in July, a recovery in foreign exchange buffers, better monsoon conditions and near-normal reservoir levels.

Additionally, at its previous policy review in June, the RBI had unanimously retained the repo rate at 5.25 per cent and kept its policy stance neutral.

The central bank also revised its FY27 GDP growth forecast to 6.6 per cent amid geopolitical tensions.

Markets will also closely watch the RBI’s commentary on inflation risks, growth prospects and global developments for signals on the future course of monetary policy.

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