As we brace for unprecedented rates of urbanisation, it is crucial to ensure that illegal constructions and unauthorised land use are curbed, asserts Amit Kapoor.
A two-storey building collapsed in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra on early Sunday morning.
They were present in the pub when the blaze occurred, but fled without helping the guests, the official said.
After spending 10 days with his devotees, Lord Ganesha returns to his abode on Thursday marking the last day of Ganesha visarjan. Rediff.com captures the joy and processions on the last day of the Ganesha festival.
Some residents also wondered if this was a bid to "divert people to private hospitals" for paid jabs rather than getting free vaccine doses at government centres.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided multiple locations in Maharashtra as part of a money laundering probe against state transport minister Anil Parab and others linked to alleged irregularities in a land deal in coastal Dapoli area of Ratnagiri district and other charges, officials said.
The house located in Tandel Mohalla of the town came crashing down at around 5 am when its occupants, all members of one family, were asleep, the police said.
The petitioners argued that the civic body's policy violated the environmental and animal welfare laws.
How many more do you (MCGM) want to eliminate (kill) before next monsoon? asks the court.
Photographs from the spot show a deep, long crack running along the divider.
The apex court has directed that status quo be maintained till its next hearing on October 21.
Local train services came to a halt between Badlapur and Ambarnath section in Maharashtra's Thane district adjoining Mumbai due to water-logging on railway tracks after heavy rains, officials said.
Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu on Wednesday rejected reports claiming that civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had spent taxpayers' money on the funeral of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in November last year."The Shiv Sena had borne all the expenses made during Thackeray's final rites," Prabhu, who belongs to the Sena, said, but conceded that the BMC had spent money on installing CCTV cameras at the venue.
Voluntary use of masks must be promoted in the country in view of Covid-19's new XE variant, healthcare experts said, calling it the single-most effective intervention against all variants of the coronavirus.
"It is our aim that in the near future streets of Mumbai witnesses minimum or zero flooding during the rains," said Aseem Gupta, additional commissioner for BMC.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday said that a lockdown may have to be imposed in Mumbai in view of the rise in Covid-19 cases "if people don't follow rules", news agency ANI reported.
Team Anna appeared to be divided on Raj Thackeray on Thursday with Anna Hazare praising the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray saying his work "appeals" to him and its key member Prashant Bhushan disapproving his politics.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday asserted his rebellion was not an act of "betrayal", but a "revolt" and asked Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to kneel down at party founder Bal Thackeray's memorial and apologise for going against his ideals and aligning with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
'If you want to keep a cow and do business you can keep it in your compound or your home, but not tie them up at public places.' Taking up this problem by its horns, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is planning to take action against all those who illegally tie cows to the footpaths and turn it into a business. The civic body has proposed to increase the penalty for tethering cows, bulls and horses to poles on roads and footpaths to Rs 10,000 from Rs 2,500. The proposal follows a request by Matunga corporator Nehal Shah, who said that at various places -- temples, footpaths and roadside corners -- cows are tied up to poles and passers-by pay owners to feed the animal. Speaking to Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com, she says that tying up animals on the streets is tantamount to cruelty and that the steep fines will act as a deterrent.
Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has been in the news for its aggressive stance against 'outsiders,' who the MNS says, deny employment opportunities to Maharashtrians. "We are not opposed to other communities, this is a wrong perception about us," MNS leader Nitin Sardesai insists in an exclusive interview with Rediff.com
The Congress won three seats, Shiv Sena won two, while the Nationalist Congress Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and an Independent bagged one seat each.
Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its suburbs on Wednesday, causing flooding on roads and rail tracks and disrupting suburban train services as the south-west monsoon arrived in the city with a bang, while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an alert for more downpour.
Apparently frustrated over not being able to get a job in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, a 25-year-old woman on Monday allegedly tried to commit suicide by immolating herself outside the civic body's headquarters in south Mumbai.
The blaze erupted around 7 am in the gas processing plant of the ONGC located in Uran area of neighbouring Navi Mumbai, an official said.
The state government has allowed the reopening of amusement parks, theatres and drama theatres from October 22.
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Monday said he has conveyed to the party high command about recent political moves of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party to allegedly weaken the Congress in the state.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan appointed Subodh Kumar, a 1977 batch IAS officer, as the commissioner of India's richest civic body - the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Kumar replaces Swadhin Kshtriya who has been appointed as the revenue secretary.
Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 25,833 new coronavirus cases, the highest one-day spike since last March when the first coronavirus infection was detected.
Schools across the state were closed in the first week of January due to a spike in the coronavirus cases and in the wake of the emergence of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
The total number of coronavirus positive cases in Mumbai now stands at 642 with 40 deaths so far, including six new victims, a BMC release said.
After 10 days of joy and celebrations, amidst much security Mumbaikars said goodbye to its favourite Lord Ganesha.
It will be the first assembly byelection after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra in June, making it a litmus test of his faction's hold over the Sena's vote bank in Mumbai.
Singling out trade unionist Sharad Rao whose Mumbai Auto-rickshawmen's Union has threatened to go on indefinite strike next month, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday said his party would step in to counter the inconvenience caused to commuters due to their "arrogant" behaviour.
The Congress which has set its eyes on wresting the Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Asia's largest civic body, from the Shiv Sena-BJP in the 2012, is alarmed by the possible Muslim support to Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
The municipal body has directed its officials to form teams to ensure that all the restaurants are fire safety compliant in view of the New Year celebrations.
'The Shiv Sena and the Ambedkarites are two powerful social forces in Maharashtra with a presence in the toiling classes. However, they were made to fight each other by the powers that be. Now, they are joining hands while overcoming this contentious past.'
According to MCGM, the monthly advertisement and hoarding charges are likely to be increased by at least 50 per cent.
Narrow lanes and bylanes, small houses, unhygienic living conditions, common toilets and several other factors are responsible for the easy spread of COVID-19 in Dharavi, apart from non-adherence to social distancing norms.
According to disaster management control room of the civic body, no injury or casualty has been reported so far.
