In the last of a six-part series Sanjay Jog discovers that if the government and beedi employers don't act now, there could be social unrest soon.
Water samples from different parts of Pune have been sent to the public health laboratory for chemical and biological analysis.
Among the BJP rebels, a notable figure is Gopal Shetty, a two-time MLA and former Lok Sabha member from Mumbai. He has filed his nomination as an independent candidate against the party's official nominee, Sanjay Upadhyay, in Mumbai's Borivali assembly constituency.
A woman is suspected to have died of Guillain-Barr syndrome (GBS) in Maharashtra on Wednesday, while 16 new cases of the rare nerve disorder were reported in the state, health officials said.
'When you are taking on something which is this big in India, there are so many pressures about wanting to do justice to them, so I am still scared.'
Pankaja Munde of the BJP -- Dhananjay Munde's cousin -- has been made the guardian minister of Jalna district.
Maharashtra Health Minister Prakash Abitkar has linked 80% of suspected Guillain-Barr Syndrome (GBS) cases in Pune to water contamination around a well in Nanded village. The state health department and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) are taking measures to address the issue. The well is a source of water for surrounding villages, and officials suspect contamination is leading to the spike in GBS cases. The minister emphasized that GBS affects individuals with weak immunity, and campylobacter jejuni bacteria, usually causing stomach infection, can trigger the disease. The PMC has conducted water sample tests, with some showing evidence of norovirus and campylobacter jejuni. Clean drinking water is being provided through tankers to affected areas.
Kolewadi gram sabha in Maharashtra's Satara district has resolved to conduct future elections on ballot papers, becoming the second village in the state to pass a resolution against EVMs.
According to the woman, as she was waiting for a bus for Phaltan in Satara district at one of the platforms around 5.45 am on Tuesday, a man approached her and engaged her in conversation, calling her 'Didi' (sister), and said the bus for Satara had arrived at another platform.
With several cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) being detected in Sinhgad Road area in Pune, local residents on Tuesday claimed that contaminated water of a well on private land could have led to the outbreak.
Hailing from a small village in the district of Solapur in Maharashtra, Yashwant Patil had just one dream: to watch Sachin Tendulkar bat one last time.
The 83-year-old former Union minister emphasised his status as an undefeated politician since he became an MLA in 1967 at the age of 27 and said, "I have my own experiences."
At the state level, Pawar appealed to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the quota dispute.
Taking an aggressive stand on the incidents of heckling at functions attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Congress-ruled states, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said he would not attend Thursday's function in Nagpur.
A group of villagers in Maharashtra's Malshiras assembly segment, who had insisted on a "re-election" with ballot papers, have relented after police intervention. The villagers, who claimed the NCP (SP) candidate, Uttam Jankar, had polled less votes in their village than the BJP candidate, Ram Satpute, had planned to hold their own "repoll" on December 3. However, police warned them of legal action, and Jankar, along with police officials, had a meeting with the villagers, who ultimately decided to drop their plan. Despite this, they plan to continue their protest by other means.
'The BJP has killed public anger. They have killed people's self-respect.'
Friendly fights, however, are more complicated for the MVA, especially since smaller parties who are part of the INDIA bloc are also in the mix.
A summary of Friday's action in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Two persons were charred to death and seven others suffered severe burns when a bogie of Solapur-bound passenger train from Hyderabad caught fire during its halt at the station in Gulbarga on Tuesday, the police said.
Two days after being sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as an MLA along with deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi boycotted the ceremony alleging EVM misuse.
Even before the first votes are counted in Maharashtra, fissures have emerged within the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on who will head the next government. Both camps are claiming the chief minister's post, with constituents in both camps laying claim over the chief minister's post. The MVA, consisting of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), and the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, have expressed confidence that their respective alliance will form the next government after votes are counted on Saturday. While a majority of exit polls have predicted that Mahayuti will retain power, a few have favored the MVA.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party alliance and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi are facing multiple problems in Lok Sabha seats like Sangli, Madha and Satara in western Maharashtra due to political dynasties, old rivalries and one-upmanship, prompting a flurry of meetings before five phase polls begin in the state on April 19.
'I wonder if they will keep it up after the elections.' 'I fear they'll start questioning eligibility -- income, age, bank accounts -- and eventually stop the scheme altogether.'
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
The senior diplomat on Thursday visited the Indian Coast Guard Headquarters (West) to express gratitude to the maritime security agency for saving Chinese mariners over the past two years, an official statement said.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra is heavily banking upon a six to 10 per cent shift in voters -- mostly women -- in its favour to return to power with anywhere between 160 and 170 assembly seats, say four MLAs belonging to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena.
Surekha Yadav piloted the semi-high speed train between Solapur station and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai on Monday.
'I want to ask the Congress only one question: What is more important than election management in politics?'
"During the Congress regime, the news headlines were of India handing over another dossier to Pakistan about terror activities. Some of our friends in media used to clap after such any such dossier was sent," Modi said at an election rally in Maharashtra's Latur.
Pawar also said it is the moral responsibility of the major Opposition parties in Maharashtra to protect in the state assembly polls the interests of smaller allies, which were part of the coalition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday said his party will not go with the Bharatiya Janata Party though some 'well-wishers' are trying to persuade him.
'The other panelists (Praniti Shinde and Priyanka Chaturvedi) were misbehaving with me.' 'Despite that I kept quiet because I have witnessed many such scenes in the 25 years of my public life and debates.' 'Amid all the ruckus, when I heard Praniti calling me out for 'cheap behaviour' I couldn't take such misbehaviour anymore.'
He said the onion farmers need to get a good price for the crop and the affected farmers get compensation.
Eleven villages in Akkalkot tehsil of Maharashtra's Solapur district have asked the district administration to provide them basic facilities or grant them permission to merge with adjoining Karnataka.
Mohit Avasthi ran through the Bengal batting lineup, grabbing seven wickets for 52 runs as Mumbai stormed to an innings and four-run win with a bonus point in their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Kolkata on Sunday.
With the strain and anxiety of the longest Lok Sabha polls now behind the leaders, governance, with consensus, is the next step.
'If a Brahmin child by birth is poor then he must get reservation benefits rather than an OBC child who is rich and born in a rich family.'
There is a view that heavyweight portfolios like home, finance, defence and external affairs besides education and culture, two ministries with strong ideological hues, will be kept by the BJP, while its allies can get anywhere between five to eight cabinet berths.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was on Wednesday named as the guardian minister of his home district Pune in place of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil.
The opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition in Maharashtra on Tuesday announced its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray securing a substantial portion with 21 seats, while the Congress will contest 17 seats, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar 10 seats.
