Thane: In a shocking incident, a daylight stabbing took place in Thane’s Ulhasnagar area, where a youth was allegedly stabbed by his brother-in-law over a family dispute linked to an inter-caste marriage. The incident occurred near the Ulhasnagar petrol pump near the Camp 5 area.

the victim, identified as Nagesh Chavan, was attacked at the petrol pump while returning home from work. The brother-in-law, identified as Shakil Khan, along with another person, confronted Nagesh at the spot. During the argument, Shakil allegedly stabbed Nagesh in the stomach, leaving him seriously injured.

The report added that Nagesh was initially taken to Central Hospital and later shifted to a Mumbai Hospital for further treatment. Visuals showed police present at the spot, and an investigation has been launched in the case. However, currently it is not known if Khan was arrested in the stabbing case.

According to the report, the incident was triggered by tensions within the family after Nagesh’s sister reportedly married outside the community.

Meanwhile, in another stabbing incident from Thane, a 20-year-old youth, Vishal Patekar, was fatally stabbed near Thane Railway Station while trying to save his 16-year-old friend during an attack linked to an old grudge. The injured teenager escaped, while the juvenile accused has been detained by Thane Railway Police on murder and attempted murder charges.

Just earlier this week, a 24-year-old man was allegedly stabbed to death over a suspected affair in Mulund. The attack was allegedly triggered by the accused’s suspicion of an illicit relationship between the wife and the victim. Police added that remarks made earlier in the day may have provoked the accused, leading to the fatal assault.

Mumbai: After securing a key milestone with Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for its proposed 400 Million Litres per day (MLD) seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant at Manori village in the west, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has advanced to the next stage of regulatory approvals.

The civic body has now initiated the process of obtaining permissions from the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), which are crucial to move the project forward.

Earlier, the BMC secured approval from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) in 2023 through an offline process, followed by online clearance in April after procedural revisions.

The mandatory CRZ clearance from the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) was obtained by the end of April.

Approvals from the MMB and the MPCB are also required for desalination projects, given their environmental implications — particularly seawater intake and the discharge of concentrated brine — ensuring full compliance with state environmental regulations and the CRZ Notification.

“We are in the process of obtaining two key approvals — MMB and MPCB — after which groundwork can begin. A drone survey has been completed, and land at Manori has been handed over by the state, with formalities underway.

Desalinated water will be conveyed from Manori to Charkop and onward to the tunnel shaft at Mahavir Nagar in Kandivali. A tender for the conveyance tunnel has also been floated,” a senior official said.

Amid concerns that El Niño conditions could lead to below-normal monsoon rainfall in Mumbai and across Maharashtra, the proposed desalination plant — the state’s first large-scale potable water project — is being positioned as a key measure to strengthen the city’s long-term water security.

The BMC awarded the contract to GVPR Engineers Limited in December 2025.

The project will be implemented in phases, beginning with a 200 MLD facility that is scalable up to 400 MLD.

It is estimated to cost Rs 11,166.17 crore, including around Rs 4,077 crore for construction, along with 20 years of operations and maintenance, power costs, taxes and full lifecycle expenses.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has identified 162 recurring garbage hotspots across Mumbai, where waste continues to return despite repeated clean-ups. Flagged through inspections and citizen complaints, these sites expose weak enforcement on the ground. Ward offices have been directed to clear them immediately and ensure stricter measures to prevent further illegal dumping.

It has been observed that many of these hotspots lack basic community bin facilities, pushing some residents to dump waste openly instead of using designated collection points. The BMC has now directed ward offices to act decisively—ensure regular waste lifting, close service gaps, and actively sensitise residents to stop indiscriminate dumping in Mumbai. “The intent is to break the cycle of neglect that repeatedly turns these locations into garbage eyesores, and to push visible improvements in ground-level cleanliness,” said a senior civic official.

The BMC ward-wise assessment across Mumbai reveals uneven pressure points—some wards report as many as 28 garbage vulnerable locations, while others have relatively fewer. In comparison, the areas such as Bandra West, Khar West, and Santacruz West, has identified five such spots. The civic administration has now fixed ward-level targets, with performance set for strict review by the Municipal Commissioner.