Page 122 - Maharashtra

Defying police notice, Maha farmers start 52-km 'long march' in Ahmednagar

The agitation, coming exactly a month after the Nashik-Mumbai 'long march', has been organised by the All India Kisan Sabha and other organisations

Sena says no need to take Maha BJP chief seriously on Fadnavis as 2024 CM

"BJP's high command is in regular communication with Fadnavis and he himself has asserted that Eknath Shinde will be the chief ministerial face (of BJP-Shiv Sena alliance) in next year's elections"

One dead, 22 injured as MSRTC bus overturns in Maharashtra's Raigad

One passenger was killed and 22 were injured when a state-owned MSRTC bus overturned after hitting a road divider in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Tuesday, police said. The incident took place at 3.30 pm near Karnala Bird Sanctuary, nearly 60 km from Mumbai, when the Shivshahi' bus operated by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) was going from Panvel to Mahad, an official said. There were 38 passengers on the bus, he said. The driver of the bus lost control due to which the vehicle hit the road divider, resulting in one of its tyres getting burst, the official said. The bus overturned after the driver tried to swerve to the left, he said. After learning about the accident, police rushed to the spot and rescued the injured passengers, he said. Doctors declared one of the injured passengers dead, he said. A total of 22 passengers are undergoing treatment, said the official. A case has been registered at Panvel Taluka police station in Navi Mumbai, he said, a

As oil refinery fuels protests, Maha minister says site suggested by Uddhav

Amid protests against a proposed oil refinery in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, state Industries Minister Uday Samant on Tuesday said the current site for the mega project was suggested by then-CM Uddhav Thackeray, while the Opposition urged the government to stop soil survey work and be sensitive in handling the situation arising out of the agitation. Samant's statement came in the backdrop of protests by local people in the coastal district against the soil survey work for the multi-billion dollar project over environmental damage concerns. In a fresh agitation, more than 30 women were detained by the police after they protested by lying on the road to stop government vehicles from entering the project site at Barsu village, around 400km from Mumbai, while the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) demanded an immediate end to atrocities on protesters. Samant alleged "misunderstandings" are being deliberately created about the project for political mileage and slammed the "politics of doub

Elections can happen any time, we are prepared, says Uddhav Thackeray

With the Uddhav Thackeray faction's plea, challenging last year's change of guard in Maharashtra, pending arbitration in the Supreme Court, the former Maharashtra chief minister on Sunday said

State scan: White-knuckle runoff set to go down to the wire in Maharashtra

As 2024 elections draw closer, parties in the state are reviewing their options

AI-based machine improves nourishment level of Gadchiroli's tribal children

"To tackle this, there was a need to distribute quality nutritious food to the students, with the help of equipment developed by modern technology," they said

Why 2024, I am even now prepared for CM's post: NCP's Ajit Pawar

Pawar said that if the CM post was with NCP in 2004, RR Patil would have been chosen for the Chief Minister post

Not everyone can be CM: Fadnavis on Ajit Pawar's aspiration for the post

Fadnavis further added, "I don't know what is going on within the Maha Vikas Aghadi. I have repeatedly said that they are calling Vajra Muth but that Muth has many cracks, it can never be Vajra Muth"

Maharashtra reports 850 new Covid cases, four deaths in last 24 hours

Maharashtra on Saturday recorded 850 fresh coronavirus cases and four fatalities, the health department said. With new additions, the state's COVID-19 tally rose to 81,61,349 and the death toll to 1,48,502, as per a health department bulletin. The state had recorded 993 cases and five fatalities on Friday. Of the four fresh COVID-19 fatalities in the state, two were recorded in Mumbai and the rest two in Kalyan-Dombivaliy city. The current case fatality rate in Maharashtra is 1.81 per cent. Mumbai logged 177 COVID-19 cases on Saturday. At present, the dominant variant of COVID is Omicron XBB.1.16. A total of 681 cases were found to be infected with this variant in the state so far. There were five deaths reported among the cases of this variant, the bulletin said. Since January 1, a total of 84 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in Maharashtra. While 72.62 per cent of these deaths have occurred in individuals above 60 years of age, 81 per cent of the deceased had comorbidities a

Death toll in Kharghar tragedy between 50 and 75, but govt hiding figures

Even as the death toll due to sunstroke at an award function in Navi Mumbai stood at 14 so far as per the official figures, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday claimed that 50 to 75 people have died in the tragedy, and accused the Maharashtra government of hiding the real number of the deceased. Talking to reporters, Raut said he interacted with the workers of his party from Uran, Shrivardhan, Roha and Mangaon talukas in Raigad district, who told him that the actual number of the people who died at Kharghar is bigger than what the government has announced. Officials have said that 14 people died after suffering from sunstroke during the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony held in Kharghar area of Raigad district neighbouring Mumbai on Sunday. The function was held in an open ground and was attended by several lakh people, most of them followers of social worker Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, who was conferred with the Maharashtra Bhushan award by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at

25 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals activated in Maharashtra amid rising cases

Amid an increase in COVID-19 cases in the state, the Maharashtra government has activated 25 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals. Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan made the announcement on Wednesday. Amid rising cases, the state has activated 25 COVID-19 dedicated hospitals under the Medical Education and Research department. There are 5,000 beds for COVID-19 patients, more than 2,000 ventilators, 62 liquid medical oxygen and 37 PSA plants. Some 2,000 jumbo and 6,000 small oxygen cylinders have been kept ready by the department in case of emergency, he added. The hospitals conducted mock drills on April 10 and 11, the minister said. They can conduct 30,000 tests in a day if required, Mahajan said. One of the useful measures for restricting COVID-19 spread is wearing a mask during duty hours. I have asked doctors, nurses and paramedical staff to use masks in hospitals, he said. Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 949 new coronavirus cases, while six more patients succumbed to the ...

Maharashtra approves 4% quota in promotions for divyang employees

The Maharashtra government on Wednesday approved a four per cent quota in promotion for divyang (differently-abled) employees in service. In December 2022, Maharashtra became the first state in the country to set up a Divyang department for the welfare of differently-abled people. A statement from the Chief Minister's Office said the decision for the divyang reservation in promotion was taken at the Cabinet meeting. This decision is on the lines of the similar one taken by the Central government. The Cabinet also decided that women belonging to the Open and the backward categories need not produce the non-creamy layer certificate for posts reserved for them under the Open category. The Cabinet approved a proposal to bring 30 per cent of agriculture feeders under solar energy as part of the 'Chief Minister Solar Agriculture Feeder Scheme' to ensure uninterrupted and sustainable power supply for agriculture pumps.

HC raps SFIO for not completing probe against Naresh Goyal even after 4 yrs

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday rebuked the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) for not completing its probe against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and his wife in a case of an alleged Rs 7,000 crore fraud. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh expressed displeasure about the tardy pace of probe while allowing Goyal's wife Anita to travel to the United Arab Emirates for a month on April 20. Naresh Goyal, however, failed to get a similar permission as the court said it could not hear his application in detail due to paucity of time. The couple had moved the court seeking permission to travel abroad. The SFIO, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Corporate Affairs Ministry, said it was opposed to the couple traveling together, but had no objection if Anita Goyal were to travel alone. Advocate Hiten Venegaonkar, appearing for the central agency, told the court that the investigation against the Goyals, initiated in 2019, was still under

Pimpri-Chinchwad crash: Maharashtra govt to pay Rs 3 lakh to kin

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday announced a Rs 3 lakh compensation each to the kin of persons who were killed when a huge advertising hoarding collapsed on them in Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune district, while a case of culpable homicide was lodged by the police in connection with the incident. Five persons, including four women, were killed and three others injured on Monday evening when an iron hoarding crashed on them due to strong winds on a service road in Pimpri-Chinchwad, an industrial town. Shinde announced a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, said an official statement here. Meanwhile, the Pimpri-Chinchwad police have registered an offence against three people -- the owner of the land where the hoarding was erected, its manufacturer and the person who hired the structure -- and also the firm whose advertisement was displayed on the board. The offence was registered under section 304 (punishment culpable homicide not amounting to murd

Congress raises questions over Maharashtra govt's Dharavi project rebidding

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that the Maharashtra government's Dharavi project rebidding "deliberately excluded" the previous winner, and asked if the tender conditions were changed to help Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "favourite business group" Adani. The opposition led by the Congress has been seeking a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe after the Hindenburg Research made a litany of allegations against the Adani Group, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation. The Gautam Adani-led group has dismissed the charges as lies, and said they comply with all laws and disclosure requirements. In a statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that as part of the party's 'Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK)' series in February it had asked Modi to explain the change in bid conditions that excluded the previous winner of a tender to redevelop Mumbai's Dharavi area and "allowed the Adani Group to win a fresh tender with a much lower bid". Citing news reports

Maharashtra records 505 Covid-19 cases, 131 in Mumbai; no death reported

Maharashtra on Monday reported 505 COVID-19 cases, which took the tally to 81,56,344, while the death toll stood unchanged at 1,48,479, a health department official said. On Sunday, Maharashtra had reported 650 COVID-19 cases and two fatalities, he pointed out. Mumbai circle led with 262 cases, followed by 90 in Pune circle, 86 in Aurangabad circle, 39 in Akola circle, 12 in Nashik circle, seven in Kolhapur circle, six in Latur circle and three in Aurangabad circle, he said. The addition to the state's tally included 131 cases in Mumbai, which took the infection count in the country's financial capital to 11,59,759, while the toll stood at 19,754. The recovery count increased by 334 in the state to touch 80,01,778, leaving Maharashtra with an active caseload of 6,087, he said. So far, 8,68,01,628 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the state, including 9,616 in the last 24 hours, comprising 7,276 at government labs, 2,185 at private labs and 155 by self-testing kits. As per

5 killed as iron hoarding collapses on people in Pimpri Chinchwad township

At least five persons were killed and two others injured on Monday evening when an iron hoarding collapsed on them due to strong winds on a service road in Pimpri Chinchwad township in Pune district of Maharashtra, police said. The incident occurred on a service road along the Mumbai-Pune highway in Ravet Kivale area. "Some people had taken shelter under the iron hoarding due to strong winds. Suddenly, the structure came crashing down on them, killing five persons and injuring two others," a police officer said. He said five bodies have been recovered and a search operation is underway to find out if anybody is trapped under the hoarding. The injured persons have been rushed to a hospital.

Aaditya Thackeray, Sanjay Raut oppose defamation plea filed by MP in HC

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leaders Aaditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut on Monday opposed before the Delhi High Court a defamation plea filed against them by Maharastra MP Rahul Ramesh Shewale for allegedly levelling frivolous corruption charges against him and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction. While Raut's counsel submitted that they have a right to criticise in a democratic space, former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said there was nothing slanderous about the political statements made by him. Pursuant to an earlier high court order, former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aaditya Thackeray and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut made their appearances in the court through their respective lawyers. The three defendants filed their replies to the plaintiff's application seeking an interim relief to remove the alleged defamatory content from social media platforms. Justice Prateek Jalan listed the suit for the completion of the pleadings befo

Sunstroke deaths: MNS chief slams Maha govt for 'political selfishness'

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Monday slammed the Eknath Shinde government over the deaths at the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in Kharghar in Navi Mumbai a day earlier. Thirteen people died and several others are hospitalised due to sunstroke and other health complications after several lakh people, mostly followers of awardee Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, attended the event under the scorching summer sun in the sprawling International Corporate Park on Sunday. Speaking to reporters after visiting patients from the event at a hospital in Navi Mumbai, Thackeray said the event was held in such an elaborate manner with a massive crowd due to "political selfishness". The award could have been given to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari at Raj Bhavan considering the oppressive summer heat, he said. The state government could have averted the deaths by not holding the event in such a manner, he said. "The incident is unfortunate but who do you hold responsible for it? It was no