Incessant rains and water-logging slowed down traffic in Mumbai, with the IMD issuing a 'red alert', predicting very heavy showers in the city and neighbouring areas. Commuters faced water accumulation on tracks and delays in local train services.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'red alert', warning of extremely heavy rainfall in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts on Sunday, extending the wet patch in the region.
The opposition Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) conceded defeat in the elections to municipal councils and nagar panchayats, accusing the election commission of 'facilitating' the victory of the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
Thousands of Maratha community members have turned the area surrounding Azad Maidan in Mumbai into a camp during their agitation for quota, disrupting traffic and daily life.
Quota activist Manoj Jarange demands the Maharashtra government implement a GR for issuing Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas before September 17, threatening further action if the deadline is missed.
The Maharashtra government has formed a committee to facilitate the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas who can provide documentary evidence recognizing them as Kunbis in the past, potentially opening the door for reservation benefits.
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
Police have arrested sub-inspector Gopal Badane in connection with the alleged suicide of a woman government doctor in Maharashtra's Satara district, officials said.
Relatives of a woman doctor who committed suicide in Maharashtra are demanding capital punishment for the men she accused of rape and harassment in a note. The case involves a police officer and allegations of political pressure to alter medical reports.
Manoj Jarange's protest for Maratha quota at Mumbai's Azad Maidan enters its third day. Jarange is demanding 10% quota for Marathas and recognition as Kunbis. Maharashtra ministers suggest the community avail the existing EWS quota.
Jarange Patil on Tuesday called off his five-day old agitation after the Maharashtra government issued a resolution on the Hyderabad gazetteer and announced the formation of a committees to facilitate the issuance of Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas who are able to produce documentary evidence recognising them as Kunbis in the past.
The Opposition in Maharashtra boycotted the government's customary tea party on the eve of the Winter session, citing its failure to appoint leaders of the opposition (LoPs) in both houses of the state legislature.
Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the ongoing hunger strike by activist Manoj Jarange, who is demanding a 10 per cent quota for Marathas under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.
Heavy rains in Nanded, Maharashtra, have caused severe flooding, leading to the evacuation of hundreds of residents as the Godavari and Asna rivers overflow. The Vishnupuri dam released a large amount of water, exacerbating the situation.
The doctor, hailing from Beed district and posted at a government hospital, was found hanging in a hotel room in Phaltan of Satara district on Thursday night.
He also said four of the eight constituencies had been contested by the Shiv Sena in 2019 and staked claim to those constituencies.
'Raj Thackeray is working at the behest of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.'
Maharashtra reported 479 farmer suicides in March and April, with financial aid eligibility being assessed for the affected families.
Heavy rains in Maharashtra have caused floods, road blockages, and widespread damage, resulting in casualties and displacement. The state government is monitoring the situation and coordinating rescue efforts.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
Political tensions rise in Maharashtra as OBC, SC, and ST groups express concerns over a government resolution on the Maratha quota. Chief Minister Fadnavis cautions against divisive politics, while Sharad Pawar accuses the government of weakening the social fabric.
Maratha quota movement leader Manoj Jarange is heading to Mumbai to launch a fresh hunger strike, demanding reservation for the Maratha community under the OBC category. He has agreed to meet a government delegation near Pune en route.
Jarange's hunger strike at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai over the demand for Maratha quota entered the fifth day on Tuesday.
'All commercial and banking transactions happen in South Mumbai.'
'Life in India is better only for those who have reservations.'
Talks between Maratha quota agitation leader Manoj Jarange and a government delegation ended without a resolution in Mumbai. Jarange criticized the Chief Minister and vowed to continue his hunger strike, demanding a 10% quota for Marathas under the OBC category.
NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has praised the RSS for its dedicated cadre and urged his party to create a similar base committed to progressive ideas. He attributed the NCP's recent electoral setbacks to complacency and a failure to communicate its work for the OBC community. Pawar also emphasized the need for social engineering to address caste tensions and announced that 50% of the tickets for upcoming local body elections will be given to new faces.
'There is no food to eat and water to drink and people are migrating in hordes.' 'Chief Minister Fadnavis must shift his base to Marathwada in such times.' 'If you do not help during a drought, then when will you help?'
Marathwada region, from where arrested Lashkar-e-Tayiba handler of 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack Abu Jundal hails, is fast becoming the "new Pakistan", Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said on Wednesday.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and PepsiCo will jointly help Maharashtra government tackle the drought in Marathwada.
The early onset of the southwest monsoon brought continuous rainfall across southern and eastern India, contributing to this record.
The administration and people in draught-hit Marathwada are pinning their hopes on monsoon as only one per cent water is left in the dams of the parched region.
'Like me there are crores of Marathi people in the state hoping for this miracle to work.'
'The government's priority is not farmers.'
'You've got to understand it is not easy to die by suicide.' 'People commit suicide only when they lose everything and find no other way to live.'
This is the fourth year of drought in Marathwada in the past five years. Each of its 8,522 villages have been affected for two consecutive years.
'I don't know whether the top Gujarati leaders of Indian politics (Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah) in Delhi realise that the narrative of HindiHinduHindustan will eventually destroy their own language too.'
"Shreehari Aney has submitted his resignation to the governor. Whether to accept it or not, is his (governor's) prerogative," an official from the governor's office said.
The poll aspirants who feel threatened are seeking to garner sympathy from their voters by meeting influential leaders like Jarange in the Marathwada region
A class 5 girl student died of heat stroke on Tuesday after repeated trips to nearest hand pump in drought-hit Beed district of Maharashtra.
