Page 2 - Maharashtra News

Maharashtra FDA enforces junk food ban within 50 metres of schools

Maharashtra FDA has banned the sale of processed and packaged foods and drinks high in fat, sugar and salt within 50 metres of school compounds, and the order will be implemented strictly, FDA commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said on Wednesday. He said every school kitchen operator and food supplier to schools should have licenses under food safety regulations. He said the sale, advertisement and free distribution of high-fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food items are prohibited in and around all schools in the state as part of efforts to promote healthy eating habits among children. "Within school premises and up to 50 metres from the school compound, the sale, advertisement and free distribution of high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food items is completely banned by the FDA. It will be implemented strictly," Mundhe told reporters here. He said the state government had issued a compliance order on July 27 to enforce food safety and nutritional standards across educational institutions, adding

MHT CET 2026 final merit list to be out today on official CAP portal

The MHT CET 2026 Final Merit List will be released today. The exams were conducted in April- May 2026. Candidates can check their Maharashtra State and All India ranks on the official CAP portal

Maharashtra FDA chief widens crackdown on food adulteration, fake drugs

A civil servant, who has been reportedly been transferred over 25 times in his career, Mundhe is regarded as unyielding administrator whose frequent moves reflect his insistence on strict enforcement

Tata Power wins LoA from SECI to supply 324 MW from Maharashtra project

Tata Power on Monday said it has received a Letter of Award (LoA) from the Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) to supply 324 MW of power from its 1,000 MW Pumped Hydro Storage Project (PSP) at Bhivpuri in Maharashtra. The project was awarded under SECI's tariff-based global competitive bidding for the supply of 1,500 MW / 12,000 MWh of power from pumped hydro storage projects being set up in the country, a company statement said. The project was secured through an e-reverse auction. It has a 40-year Pumped Storage Purchase (PSP) agreement and is scheduled for commissioning by 2029. The project will be developed under the Build, Own, Operate (BOO) model and will provide 8 hours of energy storage, enabling reliable supply of electricity during peak demand periods. It will be connected to the 765/400 kV South Kalamb Central Transmission Utility (CTU) Substation through the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS). The SECI's award further strengthens Tata Power's position in .

Pune tops Maharashtra in complaints over unhygienic food, says FDA

Pune district has reported the highest number of complaints about unhygienic food in Maharashtra since the state Food and Drug Administration launched a complaint-reporting portal, FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has said. The senior IAS officer was in the city on Saturday to attend a food safety conference organised by the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture. Speaking to reporters, he said the FDA recently launched the portal "complaints.mahafda.in" to allow people to register their complaints concerning food items. "Thousands of complaints poured in after the portal went live and 10 lakh hits were recorded within 24 hours," he said. Asked about the distribution of complaints across the state, he said, "The highest number of complaints has been registered in Pune district, and most of them concern unhygienic food." The new system will bring in accountability and transparency, the official said. The FDA joint commissioner of the region concerned will take ...

Maharashtra rains: 3,000 LPG cylinders swept into river in Raigad floods

The Raigad administration has warned people not to touch or collect cylinders washed away from an HPCL bottling plant, as heavy rain continues across Maharashtra

Monsoon fury continues across India; buildings collapse in Delhi and Pune

Delhi woke up to heavy rainfall for the second consecutive day as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for the city

Monsoon continues to wreak havoc across India, Delhi witnesses heavy rain

On Tuesday, Delhi recorded its wettest day of the year so far as incessant rain waterlogged roads, uprooted trees, and triggered traffic snarls across the city.

Maharashtra to mandate domicile certificate for driving licence from Aug 1

The Maharashtra government will make the domicile certificate mandatory for obtaining a driving licence from August 1, 2026, as part of a new policy aimed at streamlining the licensing process, Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik told the legislative assembly on Tuesday. He said the proposal for the new driving licence rules had been sent to the Law and Judiciary Department for approval and would be implemented after receiving the necessary clearance. Replying to a question raised by MLA Dilip Lande during the Question Hour, the minister also said that the government was taking action against unauthorised bike taxi services while working on a regulatory framework to legalise and regulate the sector, generate state revenue, and create employment opportunities for young people.

Monsoon mayhem: Heavy rains disrupt transport, trigger floods, landslides

Incessant rains have disrupted rail, road, and air services, and caused flash floods and landslides in Jammu and Kashmir, and have inundated towns in Odisha

600mm rain in Lonavala sparks multiple landslides in Pune, rail traffic hit

A whopping 600 mm of rainfall in just 24 hours triggered multiple landslides in the Karjat-Lonavala Ghat section on the Mumbai-Pune line, severely disrupting rail traffic over the last two days, officials said. Lonavala, a popular hill station located in Pune district, recorded 670 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ending at 7 am on Monday, as per official data. Pune district witnessed landslides at 22 places over the last two days, according to officials. The ghat section had also received around 300 mm of rainfall on Sunday, Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer Swapnil Nila said on Monday. "About 160 mm of rain fell in the first four hours on Sunday, leading to landslides at multiple vulnerable locations. The first landslide occurred near Thakurwadi, impacting all three lines in Bhor Ghat, followed by another between Monkey Hill and Khandala," he pointed out. A tree also fell on the down main line near Khandala station later in the day, he said. "Tracks have suffered .

Mumbai-Pune Expressway 'Missing Link' reopens after debris cleared

Traffic on the Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway's 'Missing Link' bypass section resumed on Monday night after remaining shut for more than 18 hours following a landslide triggered by overnight heavy rains, officials said. A senior official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) told PTI that traffic resumed at 10.10pm after safety inspections were completed at the landslide-hit site. The Mumbai-bound carriageway had been closed after a landslide near the exit of Tunnel 2, the longest tunnel on the Missing Link -- that cuts through the Sahyadri mountains -- at around 4 am. "Two left side lanes of the connecting (missing) link on Pune to Mumbai corridor reopened to traffic from 10.10 pm. The right lane remains blocked as water from mountain above is coming on the road after water channel collapsed," according to the official. Another MSRDC official said the landslide caused the collapse of a portion of the protective wall built to channel

Traffic on Mumbai-Pune Expressway, old highway suspended after heavy rains

Traffic on both the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and the old Pune-Mumbai highway was suspended on Monday following heavy rainfall, flooding and landslide, police said. The authorities appealed to citizens to avoid travelling between Pune and Mumbai until further orders, citing safety concerns. In a public advisory, police said traffic in both directions on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and the old highway had been stopped until further notice. "Citizens are requested not to undertake any journey between Pune and Mumbai until further directions are issued. Those planning to travel are advised to postpone their journey and follow traffic advisories and updates issued by government agencies," the advisory said. Police said flood-like conditions had developed in parts of Maval and Tamhini Ghat, affecting alternate routes connecting Pune and Mumbai. According to the police, the Pune-Mumbai Expressway has been closed between the Connecting Link and Missing Link sections after a concrete pillar f

Schools, colleges in Mumbai, Pune to remain shut today amid heavy rain

The authorities have declared a holiday for all government, private and civic-run schools and colleges in Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Palghar on Monday as heavy downpours continue to lash the regions, officials said. In Mumbai, where the India Meteorological Department has issued an 'orange alert', the decision was taken keeping students' safety in mind, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said in a release on Sunday evening. Besides heavy rainfall, the IMD has also forecast gusty winds in the metropolis. Government and private offices will function as usual, the release said, urging citizens to step out of their homes only if necessary. Mumbai and its surrounding areas have witnessed very heavy rains for the past few days, resulting in waterlogged streets and incidents of treefall, which have killed at least three persons, including a schoolboy, since June 30. Similar advisories have been issued for educational institutes in Pune, Thane and Palghar districts, said officials. The

IMD issues red alerts in four states as heavy rains disrupt normal life

Heavy rains threw life out of gear in several states on Saturday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing red alerts in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala, and stating that conditions were favourable for the advance of southwest monsoon into the remaining parts of Haryana and Punjab and Rajasthan in the next four days. Two days after monsoon arrived in national capital Delhi, parts of the city witnessed light to moderate rainfall. The weather office has forecast that light rain and gusts would prevail at least till Friday. After the late arrival of monsoon in Maharashtra, incessant heavy rains lashed Mumbai and its metropolitan region, triggering incidents of road cave-in, tree fall and house collapse, and disrupting road and rail traffic. Continuous downpour forced the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to declare a holiday for schools and colleges in the afternoon. The showers led to waterlogging in several low-lying areas of the metropolis, cripplin

Maharashtra bans sale of energy drinks within a 500-m radius of schools

Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration Minister Narhari Zirwal said that the sale of 'Sting' has been banned amid concerns over the impact of energy drinks on schoolchildren

Less than 7% water stock left in reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai

Mumbai is staring at a severe water crisis as the combined live storage in its seven supply reservoirs has dropped to less than 7 per cent, significantly lower than last year, due to delayed monsoon and insufficient rainfall so far this year. In the corresponding period last year, the water stock in these seven dams was 39.5 per cent. As per the data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Hydraulic Engineer's Department, the seven reservoirs together held 1,00,279 million litres of water, or 6.93 per cent of their total live storage capacity, at 6 am (on Monday), compared with 5,71,670 million litres (39.5 per cent) on the corresponding day last year. Seven reservoirs -- Bhatsa, Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Middle Vaitarna, Tulsi, and Vihar -- make up the entire seven-lake system that supplies drinking water to the financial capital of the country and its metropolitan areas. They have a combined useful storage capacity of 14.47 lakh million litres and supply around 4,0

Maharashtra extends monsoon fishing ban till August 15 amid delayed onset

Maharashtra Minister Nitesh Rane on Monday said that the annual monsoon fishing ban on mechanised and motorised boats in the state has been extended till August 15 in view of the delayed onset of the southwest monsoon. Rane informed the state assembly that the Centre had initially imposed the ban from June 1 to July 31 along the western coast, but a government order has now extended the same. The extension aims to conserve fish stocks, provide adequate breeding time for marine species and ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries, he said. The state fisheries minister said that the decision would also help safeguard fishermen from risks posed by rough weather conditions, including strong winds, cyclones, unseasonal rainfall and turbulent seas during the early monsoon period.

Fadnavis knows how dangerous a 'scheming friend' can be, says Shinde

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is a clever person who knows very well how dangerous a scheming friend could be, a reference to Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde was responding to questions about Fadnavis and Thackeray taking the same flight while going to Nagpur on Friday. He said the BJP and undivided Shiv Sena had taken the same flight in 2019, but then "he took a different flight and aligned with the Congress", referring to the two allies breaking ties. "Fadnavis is a very clever person. He knows very well how dangerous a scheming friend could be," Shinde said. When asked about his flight journey with his political rival Fadnavis, Thackeray had said they had a "very high-level discussion". Probed further about the outcome of the meeting, Thackeray said the result will be known in the coming days. Fadnavis and Thackeray travelled together on a flight from Mumbai to Nagpur on Friday, triggering ..

Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test postponed amid 'paper leak' concerns

The Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 2026, scheduled for Sunday in Maharashtra, has been postponed after a raid in Bhiwandi of Thane district found that some individuals possessed several questions similar to the actual question paper, officials said. "The Council remains firmly committed to conducting the examination with complete transparency. Given the gravity of the situation and the necessity for an in-depth probe, the exam scheduled for June 28, 2026, has been postponed," according to a release issued by the Maharashtra State Council of Examination. According to the Thane district administration, the breach came to light in the early hours of Saturday, when Bhiwandi Police acted on confidential intelligence regarding individuals possessing unauthorised information about the examination papers. "A raid was promptly conducted at the suspected location. Senior officials from the Maharashtra State Council of Examination were immediately summoned by the police to verify the seized ..