Heavy rainfall in Maharashtra's Raigad district caused severe waterlogging on the Mumbai-Goa highway, leading to traffic standstills, diversions, and thousands of commuters being stranded. A 'red' alert has been issued for the district, and inadequate drainage infrastructure is being blamed for the recurring flooding.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced that the long-delayed Mumbai-Goa highway will be completed by June this year. He also revealed that a new toll policy will be announced within the next 15 days, which will eliminate physical toll booths across the country. Gadkari attributed the delay in the highway project to legal disputes and land acquisition issues. He expressed confidence in India's infrastructural future, stating that the country's road infrastructure will be better than that of the United States in the next two years.
The accident took place at 4.45 am near Repoli village in Raigad, located more than 130 km from Mumbai. The victims, all relatives, were going in the van to Guhagar town in Ratnagiri district, Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge said.
According to a three-year-old article published in Lokmat, the bridge was in a terrible condition and the National Highways Authority who were aware of the condition did nothing to fix it.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has warned of a possible cloudburst-like spell in Nashik on Tuesday and stated that the state machinery is on high alert, with heavy rains expected to continue until July 8. Citizens are urged to avoid unnecessary travel as authorities manage landslides, swollen rivers, and rescue operations.
Mumbai Police have arrested two men within hours of them allegedly stealing over Rs 63 lakh from an ATM cash van in Kandivali. A significant portion of the stolen cash has been recovered.
A court in Sindhudurg convicted Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane in a 2019 case of pouring mud on an NHAI engineer, sentencing him to one-month imprisonment. The court suspended the sentence, allowing Rane time to appeal.
A court in Sindhudurg has sentenced Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane to one month's imprisonment in a 2019 case of pouring mud on an NHAI engineer, noting that lawmakers are not supposed to take the law into their hands.
The Coast Guard has deployed a Chetak Helicopter to carry out search operation for missing vehicles.
'The Mumbai-Goa highway touches 66 tourism spots in Maharashtra's Konkan. It will give development a high boost. It will also ensure quick transportation of fruits and other produce the region is famous for.'
The minister said his target is to complete Mumbai-Goa highway by 2018
At least twenty people were feared killed when a Mumbai-bound private luxury bus plunged into a river in Ratnagiri district of coastal Konkan area early on Tuesday. The bus fell into the Jagbudi River near Khed in Ratnagiri district at around 3.30 am.
A fresh search operation involving multiple agencies and local divers was launched on Saturday morning.
33 per cent of all road accidents and 35 per cent of fatal accidents took place on national highways and expressways.
"After a long search and working 12-14 hours a day for the last 8 days, the Naval teams have located two bus wreckage submerged in water at Mahad," said Defence spokesperson, Rahul Sinha, in a statement.
Thackeray also condemned the collapse of a girder of an overbridge which was being constructed on a section of the Mumbai-Goa highway in Chiplun city on Monday.
Raj Thackeray listed out his expectations from the PM in his third term in office.
With this, the death count in the August 2 night tragedy has gone up to 28, while 12 people are still missing.
Z-BAC Adventures, an ISO 9001:2000-certified organisation, conducts adventure outings, expeditions, programmes for kids and 'wilderness conferences' designed to re-connect with nature and challenge oneself.
The National Disaster Response Force, Navy and Coast Guard officials have so far been able to locate only a signboard of one of the missing ST buses .
Bird watchers and conservationists can heave a sigh of relief as the Centre has shot down a road-widening proposal that would have caused death of the Karnala Bird Sanctuary, some 60 km South-west of Mumbai. The standing committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) of the environment ministry in a recent meeting rejected the state government's plan for diverting a chunk of land from the sanctuary for widening of Mumbai-Goa highway.
They were found dumped in the Nawande nullah on the Mumbai-Goa highway, a few kilometres from Karjat town in Raigad district.
The British-era bridge across Savitri river, whose collapse claimed 26 lives, was to be dismantled in December this year as part of Mumbai-Goa highway expansion project.
26 bodies have been recovered while nearly 14 are still missing following the bridge collapse on Mumbai-Goa Highway on August 2.
The assault on the engineer came days after a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator assaulted an official with a cricket bat in Madhya Pradesh.
The MNS chief started his speech with the name of Nehru, then paused. After a few tense seconds, he resumed: "After Nehru, here is the only politician who will be PM for the third term."
The government has identified eight corridors to raise speed of existing trains.
The wreckage is 400 meters from the bridge in an area where strong currents are observed.
In the video clip that has gone viral on the social media, Rane and Kankavli Municipal Council president Samir Nalawade are purportedly seen tying Deputy Engineer Prakash Khedekar of the National Highways Authority of India to the railing of a bridge and pouring buckets of mud on him.
A recap of events that occurred in India in the past 24 hours.
The death toll in the Mahad bridge collapse incident has reached 28 after navy divers on August 14 found the wreckage of a washed away SUV and recovered two bodies trapped inside it on August 14.
A team of BJP leaders visited over 15 families of the deceased in Raigad and Ratnagiri districts and offered jobs to the kin of the victims.
Two more bodies were on Sunday found in the search and rescue operations which continued for fourth day following the collapse of a bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway near Mahad in Raigad district, taking the death toll to 26.
The operator, Kishore Bhagwat Lokhande, 24, who stays with his parents and two siblings near the bus stand in Mahad, said he got a call on Monday evening from his office, asking him to rush to Kajalpura area as a five-storey building has collapsed.
A fresh search operation, involving multiple agencies and local divers, will be launched on Saturday morning
Earlier on Thursday morning, a 300 kg magnet was lowered with the help of a crane in the river to trace the missing buses.
Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, have been demanding 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education.
Little attention is being paid to keep roads, bridges and flyovers in good shape
Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force and three of the State Disaster Response Force were deployed in vulnerable districts of the state, a disaster management department report said.
Vehicles going from Mumbai towards Goa and Konkan were diverted from Panvel via Khopoli and Pali as the stretch near Pen at Vashi naka was blocked by farmers protesting against the Maharashtra government's decision to approve the rehabilitation and resettlement package announced by Mumbai SEZ Pvt Ltd, a Reliance Industries company.
