14 of 20 died due to drowning in different incidents that occurred during the immersion of Ganesh idols in parts of Maharashtra.
Cyclone 'Nisarga' has made landfall near Alibaug on Maharashtra coast with the wind speed of more than 110 km per hour and heavy rainfall, leading to falling of many trees and electricity poles, a Raigad district official said.
The India meteorological department has issued an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and other coastal districts in Maharashtra, stating it is very likely that 'heavy to very heavy' rainfall will occur in isolated places in this region.
Mumbai and its adjoining areas were lashed by heavy showers on Tuesday, causing water-logging at a number of places, including railway tracks, which slowed the movement of trains and vehicles on roads.
A special court in Mumbai has said that Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut dealt with some "unaccounted money" for purchasing plots at Kihim near Alibag in Raigad district, but the same cannot be "thrown in the stock of proceeds of crime (POC) under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)".
Union minister Narayan Rane approached the Bombay high court on Tuesday, challenging the FIRs registered against him in parts of Maharashtra over his remarks against state Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, and sought protection from arrest.
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.
The Bombay high court had on Monday refused to grant interim relief to Arnab Goswami and two others in connection with the case and directed him to approach a lower court to seek bail.
'To essay Chhatrapati Shivaji is a huge responsibility. I can't tell you how great and proud I feel.'
Mustafa Chaphekar said he was at home when he suddenly felt "tremors", following which he ran out into the balcony of his flat and asked others what was happening.
The orange alert implies that authorities should be ready to handle situations arising out of severe weather.
Cyclone Nisarga slammed Maharashtra coast with wind speeds of up to 120 kmph, making landfall at 12.30 pm at Alibaug near Mumbai. The process was completed by 2.30 pm, a senior India Meteorological Department official said. Alibaug witnessed wind speeds of up to 120 kilometres per hour. It weakened into a 'deep depression' late on Wednesday evening, the IMD said.
The depression will intensify into a deep depression --- the third and fourth stage of any cyclone formation --- by this evening. It will intensify into a cyclonic storm by June 2, the Cyclone Warning Division of the IMD said.
On Monday, Maharashtra reported 15,140 new coronavirus cases, 7,304 less than the day before, and 39 fatalities due to the infection, according to the state health department.
'The worst affected is the electricity supply. A huge number of poles, some 6,000 to 8,000 poles have been damaged completely. That will take a lot of time for restoration.'
A foreign cargo ship, which collided with another vessel about 10 km off Mumbai harbour, tilted further spilling oil for the third day as Navy and Coast Guard made hectic efforts to contain the leak.
Six years and nine months after she was arrested for allegedly murdering her daughter Sheena Bora, former media executive Indrani Mukerjea walked out of the prison.
The court allowed Raut's plea for home food and medicines, but refused to pass an order on his prayer for bedding.
Speaking at a video conference to take a stock of damage caused by the cyclone in the coastal district which is adjacent to Mubai, Thackeray also directed that electricity supply be restored quickly.
The police sought the sessions court to quash the CJM order and grant them custody of the three accused.
Speaking to reporters, Naik's daughter Adnya and wife Akshata claimed they had sent applications seeking justice to the Prime Minister's Office and Raigad superintendent of police.
"Cyclone Nisarga is likely to become a severe cyclone in the next 12 hours. It will continue to move for the next six hours in a northerly direction along the coast, after that it will re-curve as a cyclone and cross Raigad and Daman-Raigad," Aanand Sharma, deputy director, IMD told ANI.
The Union minister was arrested on Tuesday afternoon from Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district following his remarks made during his 'Jan Ashirwad Yatra' in Raigad on Monday that he would have slapped Chief Minister Thackeray for what he claimed as the latter's ignorance of the year of India's independence.
Death toll in the collapse reached 10 with recovery of nine bodies from the rubble on Tuesday, police said. A man died of cardiac arrest on Monday night after he was hit by a stone from the falling building, police said.
As per IMD classification, "heavy to very heavy rainfall" means precipitation ranging from 64.5 mm to 204.4 mm in a period of 24 hours.
'There was a slight change of direction towards north-eastwards which meant the impact of the cyclone on Mumbai was less severe than originally expected,' the IMD said in a statement.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut routed his unaccounted money through various shell companies opened in the name of his family members and associates, his former aide and prime witness in the money laundering case linked to the redevelopment of Patra 'chawl' project told the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Cyclone 'Nisarga' is very likely to intensify into a 'severe cyclonic storm' over the next 12 hours and cross Maharashtra and South Gujarat coast on Wednesday, an India Meteorological Department official said on Tuesday.
Gale-force winds, heavy rainfall and high tidal waves swept the coastal belts of Maharashtra and Goa as Cyclone Tauktae hurtled northwards towards Gujarat.
A court at Mahad in Maharashtra, while granting bail to Union Minister Narayan Rane, said his arrest over his controversial remarks against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was "justified", but his custodial interrogation was not necessary.
Over the weekend, many companies stepped in to ease the bottleneck in supply and transportation of oxygen, as demand ran high with the surge in cases.
The government is also considering if those who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus can be allowed to travel by local trains in Mumbai, he said.
So far, 50 people have also been injured in these incidents, the government said in a statement.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Mumbai to record his statement in connection with a money laundering probe.
With the cyclone set to make landfall on Wednesday, Maharashtra and Gujarat activated their disaster response mechanism, deploying NDRF teams and evacuating people from areas likely to be hit.
The Maratha community should get reservation, but it should be done without disturbing the existing quota of other communities, the senior Nationalist Congress Party leader said.
The Sena said Uddhav's comparison with Indira Gandhi was a matter of pride.
On Wednesday night, Goswami was taken for medical examination at a state-run hospital in the coastal town, the official said. After the medical exam, he was taken to Alibaug Nagar Parishad School, which is designated as a COVID-19 centre of the Alibaug prison, and he spent the night there, the official said.
Town planning authority MMRDA on Tuesday said that nearly 150 patients at its COVID facility in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) have been shifted to another location as a precaution in the wake of the Nisarga Cyclone which is expected to make a landfall close to the city on Wednesday.
Indrani said that one of her inmates in Byculla prison has told her that she had spotted Sheena in Kashmir some time ago.