Page 145 - Maharashtra

Maharashtra records 319 new Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths in a single day

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 319 new COVID-19 cases and two pandemic-related deaths, the state health department said. It took the tally of cases in the state to 81,31,458 and death toll to 1,48,385. On Friday, the state had reported 273 new cases and a single fatality. Among new cases, the highest 216 were reported from Mumbai circle, followed by Pune (62 cases), Nagpur (10), Akola(9), Nashik (8), Kolhapur (7), Latur (4) and Aurangabad (3). Both the fatalities were reported from the Mumbai circle. One took place in Thane city while another in Vasai-Virar area. The number of COVID-19 patients who have recovered in the state so far rose to 79,81,541 with 406 patients recovering since previous evening. Maharashtra has now 1,532 active COVID-19 cases including the highest 561 in Mumbai, followed by 307 and 294 active cases in Pune and Thane districts, respectively. Recovery rate in the state is 98.16 per cent and case fatality rate is 1.82 per cent. With 14,162 new coronavirus

Maharashtra: Fire breaks out at soap factory in Palghar; no casualties

A blaze broke out at a soap factory in Boisar area of Maharashtra's Palghar district on Saturday and no casualties were reported in the incident, police said. The fire erupted in the factory around 3.30 pm, following which the fire brigade and local police were alerted, an official said. A firefighting operation was initiated and the blaze was doused in an hour, he said. No casualties were reported in the incident, as the factory was closed at the time, the official said, adding that a probe has been launched to ascertain the cause of the blaze.

MVA cries foul as Shinde-Fadnavis govt slashes security of 25 oppn leaders

Amid stinging criticism over the state losing out mega-projects to Gujarat, the ruling govt of CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis has slashed the protection accorded to 25 MVA leaders

Ajit Pawar flays Maharashtra government for losing major projects

Maharashtra's former Deputy Chief Minister and currently the leader of opposition Ajit Pawar criticised the Shinde-Fadnavis government after the state lost the Tata Airbus project to Gujarat

Maharashtra govt scales down security of several opposition leaders

The Shinde-Fadnavis government has removed the security personnel deployed for the security of several senior leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party, Congress Party and the Uddhav Thackeray faction

Thane peon dismissed for demanding Rs 500 bribe to issue birth certificate

A peon with a ward office of the Thane Municipal Corporation has been dismissed for taking a bribe of Rs 500 to issue a birth certificate, an official said on Friday. The complainant in the case had applied to the Majiwada-Manpada ward office of the TMC for a birth certificate after his wife gave birth to a daughter. The peon demanded a bribe of Rs 500. The man paid him but later tweeted about his experience. Taking a serious note of the issue, commissioner Abhijit Banger dismissed the peon, the civic official said.

Pact to set up Tata-Airbus project in Guj inked under MVA rule: Maha min

Maharashtra minister Uday Samant on Friday claimed that the deal to set up the Tata-Airbus C-295 transport aircraft project in Gujarat had been signed by the Centre in September last year when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power in the state. The state Industries Minister also slammed the opposition for creating "confusion" over the project. Samant said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up the aircraft unit in Gujarat was signed by the Centre in September 2021. "Be it the Vedanta-Foxconn project or the Tata-Airbus project, the decision about where to set up these projects was taken before this (Eknath Shinde-led) government came to power in the state late June this year. The opposition is doing nothing except to criticise and create confusion among people," Samant said. "The central government had signed an MoU on September 2021 and the company had decided to take the project to Gujarat," he added. The defence ministry on Thursday said a consortium of Ai

Aaditya Thackeray flays Shinde govt on shifting of Tata Project to Gujarat

Aaditya Thackeray took a dig at the Shinde-Fadnavis government after the 'Tata Airbus Project' moved to Gujarat from Maharastra and said that the industry has no faith in the "Khoke government"

Aaditya slams Shinde govt over Tata-Airbus aircraft facility in Gujarat

With the announcement about Tata-Airbus C-295 transport aircraft project coming up in Gujarat, former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray on Thursday slammed the Eknath Shinde-led government and asked it why the project that was supposed to come up in Maharashtra went to the neighbouring state. He accused the Shinde government of not being serious about the state's progress and criticised it for "failing to protect the state's interests". The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra, however, countered him saying that the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government did not do anything to follow up on the proposed project. A consortium of Airbus and the Tata group will manufacture C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Vadodara in Gujarat, the Defence ministry said on Thursday, announcing the Rs 22,000 crore project where a military plane will be produced in India for the first time by a private company. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Sunday lay

Declare wet drought in Maharashtra, give assistance to farmers: NCP's Sule

Nationalist Congress Party Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule on Thursday demanded that the Maharashtra government declare a 'wet drought' in the state to give relief to farmers facing losses due to heavy rains. "The excess rainfall in various parts of Maharashtra damaged the crops and turned farms into lakes. It is my request to Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to declare wet drought in the state," the Baramati MP tweeted. Diwali was a "dark period" for farmers as produce could not harvested in time and rotted, she further said. "The state should positively consider making direct financial assistance to farmers along with announcing wet drought, Sule added. Heavy rains in several parts of western and central Maharashtra last week damaged Kharif crops, which were stored in the open after cutting or were ready for harvesting.

Maha BJP's Danve junks speculation of defections from Shinde faction

Union Minister Raosaheb Danve on Thursday brushed aside speculation that some legislators belonging to the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde may form a group with the intention of merging with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The senior BJP leader said there was no need for such a move as the Shinde group and his party were in alliance and were running the state government smoothly and efficiently. Queried on the issue further, Danve went on to claim MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress were on the verge of defecting, though he did not elaborate. "The opposition is spreading rumours about some MLAs of Shinde group wanting to defect. Actually, legislators from these opposition parties are seeking to defect," Danve claimed.

My govt is inclusive, committed to Maharashtra's development: Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said his government was committed to all-round development of the state and after taking charge three months ago, he has taken welfare measures for various sections of the society, including farmers and senior citizens. In a video message greeting people on the occasion of Diwali, he said agriculture, irrigation, education and infrastructure sectors are being given priority by the state government, which was inclusive in nature. Maharashtra is the country's growth engine, said Shinde who took oath on June 30 and celebrated his first Diwali as chief minister. Maintaining that his "government is the government of people", Shinde said in the last three months, the state administration has taken various decisions for welfare of common citizens. He said more than one crore senior citizens above the age of 75 have benefited from the government's scheme of free travel in state transport buses targeted at them. Speaking about ...

3 killed, 12 injured in chemical factory blast-cum-blaze at Maha's Palghar

At least three persons were killed and 12 others injured in a major blast followed by a fire at a chemical factory in Tarapur industrial area of Maharashtra's Palghar on Wednesday, police said

Farmers facing crisis due to 'wet drought' in Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar

Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said farmers in Maharashtra were facing a crisis after suffering crop losses due to the "wet drought" caused by heavy rains in parts of the state. Pawar also said he met Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis before Diwali and told them that the "situation has gone out of hand". The former deputy CM was speaking on the occasion of the Pawar family's Diwali celebration at their residence 'Govindbaug' in Baramati town of Pune district. A number of people and party workers came there to greet NCP chief Sharad Pawar, his daughter and Lok Sabha member from Baramati Supriya Sule and other family members on Diwali. Asked about 'wet drought', Ajit Pawar said, "Everything is messed up due to the wet drought. Before Diwali, I met the chief minister and deputy chief minister and informed them that the situation has gone out of hand and the farmers are in trouble." The kharif and rabi crops were damaged and farmers w

143k cattle affected by lumpy skin disease in Maharashtra so far: Official

The lumpy skin disease has affected 1,43,089 cattle in Maharashtra so far and 93,166 of them have recovered after treatment, a senior animal husbandry department official said on Wednesday. The disease has till now spread to 3,030 villages in 32 out of the total 36 districts of the state, Animal Husbandry Commissioner Sachindra Pratap Singh said. The lumpy skin disease is a contagious viral infection that affects cattle and can also lead to death. Its symptoms include fever, nodules on the skin, reduced milk production, loss of appetite, and watery eyes, as per experts. "The affected cattle are being treated in the state and as on date, 140.97 lakh vaccines have been made available in various districts," Singh said. So far, 135.58 lakh cattle have been given free vaccination in the state, he said. The vaccination process has been completed in Jalgaon, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Akola, Aurangabad, Beed, Kolhapur, Sangli, Washim, Jalna, Nandurbar and Mumbai suburbs, the official said. "As

Karnataka govt issues advisory after detection of new Covid sub-variant

The Karnataka government has issued an advisory urging people to adhere to COVID-19 appropriate behaviour in view of newer sub-variants of Coronavirus being reported in neighbouring Maharashtra. The health department has also advised people with symptoms such as cough, cold and fever to get tested at nearest hospitals and isolate themselves till the results are out. "In view of reporting newer sub-variants of Omicron BQ.1 (US variant) BA.2.3.20 apart from XBB, which is a recombinant of BA.2.75 and BJ.1 in Maharashtra and in the context of the ensuing festival season of Deepavali and Kannada Rajyothsava the following advisory is issued to General public, the Commissionerate of Health and Family Welfare said. "Those with fever, cough, cold, sore throat, breathing difficulty should compulsorily get tested immediately at the nearest hospital or health centres (preferably Rapid Antigen Test, if negative then RT-PCR, and get self-isolated till the results are received," the department sai

Maharashtra farmers will get compensation for crop losses: CM Shinde

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde described farmers as "anna data" and said cultivators who have suffered crop losses due to excessive and unseasonal rains will be adequately compensated

Cabinet expansion soon in Maharashtra, most of entrants will be MoS: Dy CM

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state cabinet would be expanded soon. Talking to reporters at his official residence here, he also said that most of the new members will be Ministers of State. ''The expansion would be carried out soon," he said. The state Council of Ministers at present has 18 cabinet ministers including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. There are nine ministers each from the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena and his ally Bharatiya Janata Party. The present government took over on June 30 this year after the Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress collapsed following Shinde's rebellion. While on June 30 only Shinde and Fadnavis took oath, the first cabinet expansion took place on August 9. The Council of Ministers can have up to 43 members in Maharashtra. Asked when the long-awaited elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation would take place, Fadnavis said it was for the courts

Uddhav Thackeray likely to join Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra: Report

Shiv Sena-UBT President and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is likely to join Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Bharat Jodo Yatra when it reaches the state

Railways to set up 'Restaurant on Wheels' at 4 more stations in Maharashtra

The Central Railway will soon set up 'Restaurant on Wheels' at four more stations in Maharashtra apart from two such existing facilities, to offer a unique experience to diners inside a modified coach mounted on rails, officials said on Tuesday. The CR opened one such restaurant at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) in Mumbai last year and another one at Nagpur station earlier this year under the Non Fare Revenue Scheme. Similar restaurants will soon come up at Akurdi, Chinchwad, Baramati (all in Pune district) and Miraj (Sangli) stations under the scheme, the Central Railway (CR) said in a release. "The 'Restaurant on Wheel' is a modified coach mounted on rails, a fine-dining place offering a unique experience to diners and accommodates more than 40 patrons inside the coach with tables," the release said. Its interiors have been decorated in such a way that people can enjoy the experience of dining in a rail-themed setting, it said. "The 'Restaurant on Wheels' theme