Mumbai: Maintaining cleanliness and adopting hygienic habits is very important. If there is cleanliness, then all other developmental issues are important. Therefore, a central control room (war room) should be set up to ensure that the cleanliness work is done effectively in the Mumbai area. Apart from this, Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide has directed that Assistant Commissioners of the concerned administrative departments should make regular field visits to ensure that cleanliness is done properly at the local level.
The meeting held at the Municipal Corporation Headquarters today reviewed various projects, initiatives and activities of the Solid Waste Management Department. Deputy Commissioner (Municipal Commissioner’s Office) Prashant Gaikwad, Deputy Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) Kiran Dighavkar, concerned officers were present on the occasion.
Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide further said that cleanliness is a regular process. The reason is that it needs to be done regularly and effectively. The coastal roads and highways of Mumbai should be cleaned carefully. There is a lot of traffic on the roads. Therefore, separate vehicles are required to clean these places mechanically. Help should be taken from good organizations to develop special vehicles (custom vehicles) which have various features required for cleaning these roads. He also said that some busy places should be improved in terms of cleanliness and then the same cleanliness should be maintained there too, so that the citizens are aware.
Meanwhile, ten percent of the modern vehicles brought for garbage collection under the solid waste department of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation are electronic (e-vehicles). Ashwini Bhide said that the Mumbai Municipal Corporation is the first municipal corporation in the country to use such a large number of large-capacity electronic vehicles for solid waste collection. He also appealed to the citizens and institutions to participate in large numbers in the ‘Mumbai Clean League’ competition organized by the Municipal Corporation to ensure citizen participation in cleanliness.
On this occasion, Deputy Commissioner Kiran Dighavkar gave a detailed presentation about various projects, equipment, operations etc. of the Solid Waste Management Department. On this occasion, he said that currently about 7200 metric tonnes of solid waste is collected from Mumbai by the Municipal Corporation and it is disposed of scientifically. A service-based contract system has been adopted to maintain cleanliness across Mumbai. In addition, new vehicles have been brought in terms of solid waste collection and transportation. Earlier, 1,196 vehicles were working for this. However, with the increase in the capacity of the new vehicles, the number of these vehicles has now reached 988. In addition, their colors have also been changed. There are 46 dry waste segregation centers in Mumbai. While 94 vehicles are working full-time for this. A special service has been started by the Municipal Corporation for the collection of domestic sanitary waste. Dighavkar also said that many institutions are effectively utilizing this service.

Quetta, April 9: At least one young man was killed, and several women were injured in a drone strike carried out by Pakistani forces in the Mastung district of Balochistan, local media reported on Thursday.

Citing reports, The Balochistan Post stated that Pakistani forces targeted a house in the Kurdgap area of Mastung with a drone, fatally injuring Abdul Samad, while women in the house were also wounded.

Abdul was transferred to Quetta for medical treatment when he succumbed to his injuries on the way.

Additionally, the women injured in the attack were shifted to Quetta for further medical care, following initial treatment at a local hospital.

In recent days, several Pakistani forces and Special Service Groups personnel were reportedly killed in attacks by Baloch armed groups in the area, prompting the forces to launch a large-scale operation, which is underway.

Reports suggest that this is not the first time that civilians were impacted by drone attacks by Pakistani forces in Balochistan, and underscores a recurring concern.

Several human rights organisations, including the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, as well as Baloch political parties, have voiced grave concern over the targeting of civilians in these attacks, calling on the government to act immediately to prevent further incidents in Balochistan.

Last week, at least three members of a Baloch family, including a child, were killed in mortar fire by Pakistani forces in Balochistan, according to leading human rights organisations.

Paank, the Baloch National Movement’s Human Rights Department, mentioned that the tragic incident occurred on the evening of March 31 in the Bungul Bazar area of Awaran district.

It added that Pakistani security forces deployed heavy weaponry, including mortar shelling, in areas close to civilian populations following an attack on a nearby military camp carried out by Baloch armed groups.

During this exchange, one mortar shell struck a residential house in Bungul Bazar, killing three members of the same family on the spot.

The deceased were identified as 60-year-old Muhammad Umar, 57-year-old Faiza, and their daughter, Mahzaib Baloch, a fifth-grade student.

Condemning the incident, the Baloch Voice for Justice (BVJ) said, “The incident highlights potential violations of international humanitarian law, particularly the principles of distinction and proportionality, which obligate all parties to protect civilians and civilian objects.”

Kolkata, April 9: A striking visual emerged during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally in Asansol on Thursday, as a person in the crowd held up a poster appealing directly to the Prime Minister with the message, “Respected Modi ji, please save West Bengal.”

The moment came as the election campaign in West Bengal gathered momentum ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls.

The state is set to vote in two phases, scheduled for April 23 and April 29.

In the first phase, polling will take place across 152 Assembly constituencies, while the remaining 142 seats will go to the polls in the second phase.

The counting of votes is slated for May 4.

Amid loud cheers and slogans, the Prime Minister addressed a large and enthusiastic gathering in Asansol.

During his speech, attention briefly shifted to a person in the audience, who was seen holding up a poster featuring PM Modi’s portrait along with a map of West Bengal.

The poster prominently displayed the message, “Respected Modi ji, Please save West Bengal”, and also highlighted several issues faced by the public, including “Corruption, law and order, infiltration, women safety and unemployment”.

These concerns mirror the key themes on which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been targeting the ruling Trinamool Congress government in the state.

The visual quickly stood out amid the rally, reflecting the charged political atmosphere as political parties intensify their campaigns in the run-up to the state elections.

Meanwhile, PM Modi launched a blistering attack on the Trinamool Congress government, claiming that the ruling-party-linked syndicate and mafia were looting the state’s resources and also warned that all those goons will be held accountable and answerable after the election results on May 4.

PM Modi, addressing his second election rally in Asansol, pinned the blame on previous dispensations from the Congress to Trinamool Congress for West Bengal’s “disgraceful decline from prosperity to deprivation” and said that the BJP’s good governance is the only solution for West Bengal’s burgeoning woes.

Accusing the Mamata Banerjee government of taking the state back to ‘dark ages’, the Prime Minister said that it is essential for West Bengal’s progress that the state is freed from Trinamool’s clutches.

“For Bengal’s progress, freedom from Trinamool is necessary, because while the entire country is moving ahead at a rapid pace, Trinamool is pushing Bengal backwards,” he added.

“Trinamool’s time is over. The next government will be a double-engine government of the BJP. After May 4, Bengal will enter a new era of development,” he said.

Making a fervent call to the electorate to choose their options wisely in the upcoming state polls, Prime Minister Modi said that the people of West Bengal won’t get fooled this time, as they want a “performing” government with a proven track record.