A major tragedy was averted after an LPG cylinder caught fire in a ground-plus-two-storey structure in Mumbai’s Dharavi area, officials said on Sunday.

Four people, including two minors, suffered injuries in the fire, which occurred early on Saturday, and are currently undergoing treatment.

The incident was reported from Sion-Dharavi Link Road, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, near Rajiv Gandhi Sports Club in Dharavi.

According to the update shared by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB), the public gathered in the area after the cylinder caught fire and extinguished the blaze before the fire brigade reached the spot.

Four persons who suffered injuries in the incident were shifted to a hospital in a police van before the arrival of the fire brigade.

Mumbai Fire Brigade, Police, and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) were mobilised following the blaze.

The fire was extinguished by 12.10 a.m., MFB officials said.

According to hospital authorities, the injured include two minor boys, aged five and four years old, respectively.

While the four-year-old suffered eight per cent burn injuries, the five-year-old had five per cent burns.

The other two injured people suffered 15 per cent and 30 per cent burns, respectively.

A Level-I fire broke out in a commercial building on Kandiwali Station Road in Mumbai’s Kandivali West last month.

Following the incident, 11 people were safely rescued from a lodging house on the second floor, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Mumbai Fire Brigade.

The incident was reported to the Mumbai Fire Brigade Control at around 4.14 a.m. The fire broke out at Abhirai Hotel on Kandiwali Station Road.

According to the fire brigade’s update, the blaze was confined to electrical wiring, electrical installations, wooden furniture, tarpaulin, bamboo and plastic materials at an adjacent temporary fruit stall.

The fire also affected clothes, wooden furniture and a false ceiling over an area of approximately 50 square feet on the fourth floor. Aluminium and plastic decorative sheets on the exterior side of the building were also affected.

The building is a commercial structure comprising a basement, ground floor and four upper floors. The entire building was smoke-logged during the incident.

The number of those injured in the traditional ‘Dahi Handi’ celebration across Mumbai has risen to 376, officials said on Sunday.

Out of the 376 ‘govindas’ who suffered injuries in separate incidents, 90 have been admitted to various hospitals for treatment, while 286 have been discharged.

The annual ‘Dahi Handi’ celebration is organised a day after the Janmashtami festival, which marks the birth of Lord Krishna.

The hospital-wise data showed that CT hospitals reported 183 injured ‘govindas’, with 29 admitted, 23 under treatment, and 131 discharged.

WS hospitals reported 126 injuries, with nine people admitted, 14 under treatment, and 103 discharged.

Several other injured people are currently undergoing treatment in other hospitals of the city.

The latest figures mark a significant increase from the earlier BMC update on Saturday, when 118 ‘govindas’ were reported injured across Mumbai.

A day earlier, a seven-year-old boy lost his life after a brick structure collapsed during the festivities. The incident occurred at the Ekta Welfare Society in Chikuwadi at Malvani, in Mumbai’s Malad West area.

According to reports, the event organisers had tied the safety and support ropes for the Dahi Handi to a nearby tree and a ground-floor brick column of a building under construction.

Under the tension during the attempts to break the Handi, the brick column suddenly gave way. ​The collapsing structure hit young Rudra Kadam, 7, inflicting severe head injuries. He was immediately rushed to the Malvani General Hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead.

Local police and BMC ward officials arrived at the spot shortly after receiving the news to investigate.

​In a separate incident in Old Sangvi, at Pune’s Pimpri-Chinchwad area, a 45-year-old woman, identified as Salma Salauddin Pathan, died after an iron frame set up for the celebrations collapsed on her.

The accident took place late on Saturday night following the conclusion of the event organised by the Vighnaharta Mandal. As workers were dismantling the iron arch and sound setup, a heavy metal section collapsed, striking Salma on the head. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. ​

Salma had attended the event with her husband, Salauddin, to support their son, Rahim Pathan, who is a volunteer for the Vighnaharta Mandal.

Demonstrating extraordinary restraint, the grieving family declined to lodge a formal complaint against the organisers, saying that the youth involved were like family and they did not wish to jeopardise their futures. ​Despite the family’s refusal to file a complaint, Senior Police Inspector Jitendra Koli of the Sangvi Police Station confirmed that a case of accidental death has been officially registered.

Mumbai, Sep 5: In a major step to improve transparency, security and public confidence in recruitment examinations, the Maharashtra government has constituted a high-level committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the state’s recruitment examination system.

The decision follows a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on August 12, during which the state leadership called for a complete review of recruitment examination procedures. The General Administration Department (GAD) issued the Government Resolution (GR) constituting the committee on September 4. The move comes amid controversies surrounding question paper leaks in several competitive examinations conducted for government recruitment.

The newly formed committee is chaired by V. Radha, Additional Chief Secretary (Services), General Administration Department. The seven-member panel comprises key administrative, security, technology, and academic leaders Sadanand Date — Director General of Police (DGP), Maharashtra State — Member, Virendra Singh — Secretary, Department of Information Technology & Artificial Intelligence — Member, Dr N Ramaswami — Secretary, Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries Department — Member Secretary, Pravin Gedam — Divisional Commissioner, Nashik Division — Member, Air Marshal Ajit Shankarrao Bhosale (Retd.), AVSM, VSM — Former Member, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) — Member and Prof Shyamprasad Karagadde — Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Bombay — Member.

The committee has been tasked with conducting an end-to-end evaluation of how state recruitment examinations are conducted across various government departments, authorities, and testing agencies.

The committee will review existing mechanisms and proposing preventive, supervisory, and accountability measures to curb paper leaks, impersonation, collusion, and the use of unauthorised electronic devices, recommend robust measures for question paper creation, moderation, printing, digital distribution, transport custody, evaluation, and result declaration and suggest action plan to integrate advanced Information Technology, digital systems, authentication protocols, access controls, audit trails, and surveillance technology into the examination lifecycle.

In addition, the committee will define minimum standards for examination centres, including physical infrastructure, surveillance, security readiness, and staff management, visit every revenue division across Maharashtra to directly engage with candidates, students, educational institutions, and stakeholders and recommend institutional mechanisms for seamless coordination among District Collectors, Police Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, educational authorities, and testing agencies, alongside establishing effective grievance redressal systems.

According to the GR, the committee will also study successfully implemented examination models in other Indian states and foreign jurisdictions. The committee will submit its comprehensive final report and recommendations to the state government after completing direct and online consultations with stakeholders.