With the opening of the 10.99-km 'Phase 2B', the city's first fully underground metro corridor covering a distance of 33.5 km between Cuffe Parade in south Mumbai and Aarey JVLR in the western suburbs, became completely operational from Thursday.
A Worli-bound underground metro train was evacuated at Santacruz station in Mumbai after developing a technical issue. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) stated that the train was safely evacuated as a precautionary measure, and services continued to operate on time.
After being pummelled by heavy downpours at the start of the week, Mumbai witnessed a brief respite on Tuesday morning, with the island city recording an average rainfall of 106 mm in 24 hours, civic officials said.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRC) was forced to suspend the operation after flooding was reported at the underground Acharya Atre Chowk station.
The IMD issued a "Nowcast" warning, forecasting thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and intense spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 50-60 kmph at isolated places in Mumbai in the next three to four hours.
The Supreme Court of India has directed the tree authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to halt any further tree felling in Mumbai's Aarey colony without its permission. The order comes after the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) informed the court that there were no pending proposals to cut more trees in the area. The court has previously permitted the felling of a limited number of trees for a metro rail project, but has also imposed penalties on the MMRCL for exceeding its permitted limits.
No injuries were reported in the blaze that erupted around 1.10 pm. It was confined to wooden sheets, furniture and construction material at a depth of 40-50 feet of the station located in Bandra East, causing heavy smoke in the area, they said.
A fire broke out in the basement of the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) underground metro station in Mumbai on Friday afternoon, leading to suspension of rail services there for more than two hours as a precautionary measure, officials said.
Mumbai, home to 1 crore voters and 420 candidates vying for 36 assembly seats, is gearing up for the Maharashtra Assembly elections on November 20. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has completed all preparations for smooth conduct of the polls, ensuring a robust security arrangement and dedicated facilities for senior citizens and differently-abled voters. The BMC has also urged citizens to exercise their franchise, emphasizing the importance of active participation in strengthening democracy.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the Supreme Court order which restrained the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation authorities from cutting any more trees in Mumbai's Aarey forest.
Protestors urge President Droupadi Murmu to save the Aarey forest in Mumbai.
The Bombay high court on Monday directed the Mumbai civic body to clarify how it has issued a public notice seeking to cut 177 trees at the Aarey Colony area for a Metro car shed project when the Supreme Court in 2022 permitted felling of only 84 trees.
The fight for Mumbai's green lung continues through the Ganesh Utsav festival.
Praveen Pardeshi was replaced by Iqbal Chahal in a major shake-up in the agency that is in charge of the city's COVID-19 response.
The apex court on Sunday set up a special bench on the basis of a letter addressed to the Chief Justice of India by one Rishav Ranjan against the cutting of the trees.
Observing that the Mumbai Metro has made an attempt to overreach the court's jurisdiction, the Supreme Court on Monday directed it to pay Rs 10 lakh fine within two weeks for felling of trees in Aarey forest beyond permission.
Chopping of trees started on Friday night, hours after the Bombay High Court dismissed petitions challenging Tree Authority's decision to axe trees in Aarey to make way for the rake depot.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) on Tuesday launched the trial run of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro line-3 at Sariput Nagar in Aarey Colony in Mumbai.
After taking charge as the chief minister on November 29, Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress government, had announced stay on construction of the metro car shed project in the colony, a prime green lung of the city
The 102-acre government land at Kanjurmarg was handed over to the MMRDA on October 6.
Uddhav said the protesters were citizens standing up for future of the planet.
CM Uddhav Thackeray stripped Ashwini Bhide off the post. Last week, Bhide was elevated to the post of principal secretary. However, during the reshuffle, she has not been given any other charge.
MMRC Managing Director Ashwini Bhide, in a series of tweets, said the activists should accept their defeat in the court "honorably".
Thackeray said the government had earlier declared 600 acre of Aarey land as forest but now it has been revised to 800 acre.
Mehta said some bushes were there on the ground which have been cleared and some branches were trimmed so that vehicles could pass on an approach road there.
A court on Sunday ordered the release of protesters on certain conditions, including production of personal surety of Rs 7,000 and assurance that they would not take part in protests.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday permitted the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd to pursue its plea with the relevant authority for felling 84 trees at Mumbai's Aarey Colony for constructing train ramps at its car shed project, saying it cannot be "oblivious of serious dislocation" which may be caused in projects involving "large public funds".
The MMRCL informed that only clearing of already felled trees will continue at the site.
From being someone who feared travelling by Mumbai's suburban trains to heading the project that may change the way the city commutes, Ashwini Bhide has come a long way.
Professor Avkash Jadhav, head of the history department at St Xavier's College and trustee of the city-based KAASH Foundation, said a Special Investigation Team should be set up to inspect the site where trees were cut and ascertain the actual damage done.
The activists argued that an appeal would be filed in the apex court on Monday but by then the MMRCL would have completed cutting all the trees in the colony.
Activists and leaders of the opposition -- Congress and Nationalist Congress Party on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's order restraining authorities from cutting anymore trees in Aarey Colony in Mumbai to make way for a Metro car shed.
Shiv Sena has so far expressed concerns over car shed for the city's planned metro network, the bullet train and the West Coast refinery projects.
Activist Zoru Bathena has filed a petition challenging the civic tree authority's approval on August 29 for felling trees for the car shed.
As we wave goodbye to 2019, we look back at the highlights of the year, in the numbers that made it memorable.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd started hacking trees from Friday night to make way for a car shed, hours after the Bombay high court dismissed four petitions filed by NGOs and activists challenging the decision to allow felling of trees in the prime green lung of the city.
The airport operator currently levies a development fee of Rs 600 from an international passenger and Rs 100 from a domestic traveller.
On Tuesday, the state-run Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the planning body, indicated that it expected to award the contract before December, which would pave the way to kick start construction in the same month.
The apex court has directed that status quo be maintained till its next hearing on October 21.
On September 20, the Maharashtra government had told the court that Aarey cannot be declared a forest just because of its greenery.
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