Page 151 - Maharashtra

Saffron flag has to be in one's heart, not just hands: Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party and the faction headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde by stating the saffron flag needs to be in one's heart and not just in one's hands. The BJP and Shinde faction have often accused Thackeray of compromising on the ideals of Hindutva by joining hands with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party for the sake of power. Speaking to his party workers at his residence, Thackeray said, "This is an opportunity given to us by God to save democracy in the country and preserve Hindutva. The saffron flag does not have to be just in one's hands, it has to be in one's heart. It is in my heart." Thackeray asked his party workers to come in a disciplined way to the Dussehra rally, which he will address at Shivaji Park on October 5. On the ongoing case in the Supreme Court and the Election Commission on which faction of the Sena is the original one, Thackeray said "we need to win this battle

SC to hear pleas against TN, Maha's bull-taming sport Jallikattu on Nov 22

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would hear on November 22 a batch of pleas challenging Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra laws allowing bull-taming sport 'Jallikattu' and bullock cart races. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph was told by senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for the petitioners, that the amendments with respect to Jallikattu are unconstitutional. The bench, also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, said it would take up the matter in November. The top court had earlier said that the petitions challenging the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment) Act, 2017, needed to be decided by a larger bench since they involved substantial questions relating to interpretation of the Constitution. The bench framed five questions to be adjudicated upon by the larger bench. The petitions, including one filed by animal rights body PETA, have challenged the state law that allowed the bull-tami

Malegaon blast case trial yet to examine 100 witnesses after 14 years

Fourteen years after a blast in Maharashtra's Malegaon town claimed six lives and injured more than 100 people, the trial in the case is still going on before a special NIA court here and more than witnesses are yet to be examined while 26 have turned hostile. Seven persons, including BJP MP Prgaya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, are facing trial in the case, which is being probed by the National Investigation Agency, and have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). All the accused are currently out on bail. As per the NIA, there were nearly 450 witnesses sought to be examined in the case. The special court has examined 272 witnesses of whom 26 have turned hostile. As per information available, more than 100 witnesses are yet to be examined. In 2015, the Supreme Court had directed for the trial to be concluded expeditiously. Later, one of the accused the case, Sameer Kulkarni, filed a petition in the Bombay High Court claiming that d

Thane records 55 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours; active tally at 364

As many as 55 new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Maharashtra's Thane district, taking its tally of infections to 7,44,961, a health official said on Thursday. With the addition of the latest numbers on Wednesday, the district currently has 364 active COVID-19 cases, he said. The death toll in Thane remained unchanged at 11,962. The recovery count has reached 7,33,347, the official said.

Maharashtra govt to install 200,000 solar agriculture pumps: Dy CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the government has fixed the target of installing two lakh solar agricultural pumps in the state. Fadnavis, who also holds the charge of Energy Department, held a review meeting at its headquarters in Mumbai. Speaking to reporters later, he said, "The state government has set the target of installing two lakh agri solar pumps in the coming months. While one lakh will be set up by the Maharashtra Energy Development Authority (MEDA), the remaining ones will come from the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL)." The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) will cover necessary parts of this programme of installing the solar agri pumps, he said, without giving details of how many pumps have been installed so far in the state. "The state government is also taking steps towards agri feeders to be converted on solar energy to benefit farmers. I have asked the officials

Krsnaa Diagnostics enters B2C segment with chain of 600 diagnostic centres

Mainly a PPP and B2B player, the Pune-based chain offers disruptive pricing

PFI was planning 'something serious' in Maharashtra, says CM Eknath Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday welcomed the Union government's decision to ban the Popular Front of India, which has allegedly been involved in a series of violence, and said it has come to light that the organisation was planning "something serious" in the state. The organisation members had also tried to disturb peace in Pune, but swift police action foiled their bid, Shinde told reporters in Nashik and thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the step to ban PFI and its several associates for five years. "The PFI and its allied organisations were found to be involved in serious crimes. The organisation recently became active in terror funding, murders, insulting the Constitution, disturbing the social harmony and unity of the country. It has also surfaced that the organisation was planning something serious in Maharashtra as well," the CM said. "The plans of anti-social elements to undertake anti-national activities and divide the society will never ...

Victory of democracy: Eknath Shinde faction of Shiv Sena on SC ruling

The Shiv Sena rebel faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's order as the "victory of democracy". Welcoming the SC's ruling that the Election Commission will continue to hear the plea of the Shinde faction seeking the poll symbol of Shiv Sena, its spokesperson Naresh Mhaske said, "the rights of the EC and its powers have remained intact due to the decision of the apex court". Kalyan MP and CM Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde hailed the ruling as the victory of democracy. "I hope they (Uddhav Thackeray camp) will learn a lesson. They will also realise which is the real Shiv Sena of Bal Thackeray," he added. Mhaske said 40 MLAs of Shiv Sena and 12 of the 18 MPs are with the Shinde group, besides more than 80% of the district chiefs, corporators and councillors in Maharashtra.

Birla Corp to invest $1 bn over eight yrs, raise capacity to 30 mn tonnes

Current consolidated capacity is about 20 mn tonnes; mix of greenfield and brownfield projects, de-bottlenecking existing operations to help add another 10 mn tonnes

SC allows EC to go ahead with hearing Shinde group's claim on 'real' Sena

The Supreme Court Tuesday allowed the Election Commission to go ahead with the hearing of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde group's plea seeking recognition as the real Shiv Sena and allocation of the party's bow-and-arrow poll symbol to it. Justice D Y Chandrachud, heading a constitution bench, rejected the plea of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction seeking to restrain the EC from deciding the Shinde group's claim over the original" Shiv Sena. We direct that there would be no stay of the proceedings before the Election Commission, the bench also comprising Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha said. PTI PKS http://ptinews.com/images/pti.jpg We bring the World to you" Disclaimer : This e-mail message may contain proprietary, confidential or legally privileged information for the sole use of the person or entity to whom this message was originally addressed. Please delete this e-mail, if it is not meant for you.

Police arrest 4 PFI activists from Thane over anti-national activities

Police have arrested four activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) from different locations in Maharashtra's Thane district for alleged anti-national activities, an official said on Tuesday. The arrests were made on Monday night in a joint operation carried out in the district by local police and crime branch officials, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Laxmikant Patil said. Two of the activists were nabbed from Mumbra and one each from Kalyan and Bhiwandi towns, he said without elaborating. The PFI, formed in 2006, claims to strive for a neo-social movement ostensibly for the empowerment of marginalised sections of India, and is often accused by law enforcement agencies of promoting radical Islam In near-simultaneous raids across the length and breadth of the country on September 22, a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) led to the arrest of 106 PFI activists in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.

Maharashtra to recruit 20,000 personnel in police force: Deputy CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said 20,000 personnel will be recruited in the state's police force, with advertisements for the first round of 8,000 posts already issued. The process for the remaining 12,000 posts will be out soon, he told reporters here. The state government is keen on strengthening and developing a robust infrastructure for cyber security as per changing times and technology. Fadnavis also pointed out his government was taking special efforts for 1,641 prisoners in various prisons who have received bail but have not been released because they do not have money to pay the bond. "There are some technical issues as well as they do not have money to pay for their bail bond. We have intimated some non-governmental organisations in this field to come forward and help these prisoners. Prisons are already crowded," he said.

Voting for gram panchayats rescheduled from Oct 13 to 16 in Maharashtra

The State Election Commission on Monday rescheduled the voting for gram panchayats in Maharashtra to October 16. The voting was earlier scheduled on October 13. The counting of votes will be taken up on October 17 instead of October 14, the SEC said in a statement. The polling will be held for the 1,166 Gram Panchayats or village-level elected governing bodies, which also include the election of sarpanches directly by voters. The voting will begin at 7.30 am and end at 5.30 pm. In the villages where Naxalites could affect the votingthe polling will be concluded by 3 PM, the statement said.

Maharashtra sees 541 Covid-19 cases, two deaths; active tally at 3,702

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 541 COVID-19 cases, including 108 in Mumbai, and two fatalities, taking the tally to 81,19,345 and the toll to 1,48,329, the state health department said. With 546 patients discharged during the day, the cumulative count of recoveries in the state rose to 79,67,314, leaving the state with 3,702 active cases, the department said in a statement. The two COVID-19 fatalities were reported from Navi Mumbai and Nagpur divisions. The case recovery rate in Maharashtra stands at 98.13 per cent and the fatality rate at 1.82 per cent. Mumbai's tally of infections rose to 11,48,859 and the death toll to 19,729. Mumbai region recorded 191 fresh cases, which raised the number of cases to 23,78,847 and the toll to 40,099. Nashik division reported 40 cases, Pune region 231, Kolhapur division 19, Aurangabad division 13, Latur division 14, Akola division 15, and Nagpur division 18. Maharashtra's COVID-19 figures are as follows: Total cases 81,19,345, fatalities 1,4

No decision taken on oil refinery plant location in Maharashtra, says Puri

Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said the Centre has not taken any decision to set up an oil refinery project in any specific area in Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters in Chandrapur, he said the state government will have to discuss the project's location with the Central government. He alleged the erstwhile government (in Maharashtra) had allocated land for the project but later refused under the pretext of changing the location, which derailed the project. "Following this, the state (Maharashtra) and the country faced huge economic losses in the last two-and-a-half years," Puri alleged. Puri was apparently referring to the Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemical project, proposed to be built at Nanar village in Ratnagiri district in coastal Konkan, but it was scrapped before the 2019 polls at the insistence of Shiv Sena, the then alliance partner of BJP. Establishing a 60-million metric tonne per annum oil refinery will be the biggest plant in the world, Puri ...

Maharashtra sees 619 fresh Covid-19 cases, 3 fatalities in a single day

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 619 COVID-19 cases and three fatalities, taking the tally to 81,18,804 and the toll to 1,48,327, the health department said. A day before, the state had logged 611 infections and two deaths. Of the three fatalities, Kolhapur circle reported two and Mumbai circle one. Of the 619 cases, the highest 260 were reported from the Pune circle, and 219 from the Mumbai circle which includes the metropolitan region (MMR). Nashik (42), Nagpur (36), Kolhapur (24), Aurangabad (13), Akola (12), and Latur (11) circles reported less than 100 new cases. With 686 people discharged in the last 24 hours, the count of recoveries in Maharashtra went up to 79,66,768. Of the 3,709 active cases in the state, the highest 1,172 cases are in Pune, followed by 752 in Mumbai and 457 in Thane districts, the health department report stated. Maharashtra's recovery rate stands at 98.13 per cent and the fatality rate 1.82 per cent. With 22,872 tests conducted in the last 24 hours,

Wanted home ministry, but NCP 'seniors' said no: Ajit Pawar says in 'jest'

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Friday in a lighter vein said twice he became deputy chief minister of Maharashtra and on both occasions, wanted the home portfolio, but "seniors" in his party thought if he gets the key ministry, he would not listen to them. The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly made the comments during a meeting of the NCP's Pune unit where a functionary remarked that when the party becomes part of a government in the future, he (Pawar) should become home minister. "Last time, when I was made deputy chief minister, that time 'I told that make me home minister'. But seniors thought if the home minister's position was given to me, I would not listen to them," he said jokingly. Pawar said after Anil Deshmukh resigned as home minister in April last year, he once again asked the party to give him the home ministry, but he did not get the portfolio. Speaking to reporters later, the senior NCP leader clarified he had made the remarks about eyeing

Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train: NHSRCL floats tender for underground tunnel

National High Speed Railway Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) has invited bids for the construction of a 21-km-long tunnel, seven km of which will be under the sea, for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor. The work on the corridor has gained momentum after the change in government in Maharashtra, with tenders, which were previously floated and withdrawn, being renewed again, sources said. Considered the highlight of the project, the tunnel will be built between the underground station at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in Thane district of Maharashtra. The tunnel will be built using tunnel boring machine and the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), according to the tender document. The seven-km undersea tunnel at Thane Creek will be the first undersea tunnel to come up in the country. In November last year, NHSRCL had invited bids for underground tunnelling works for the project. But it was cancelled this year with officials citing "administrative reasons". In 2019, NHSR

Confident that BJP won't oppose draft policy on wine sale: Maha minister

The Maharashtra government has received people's feedback on a draft policy allowing sale of wines in supermarkets and he was sure that the ruling ally BJP would not oppose it, excise minister Shambhuraj Desai said on Thursday. The previous MVA government had allowed wine sale in supermarkets but the BJP, then in opposition, had opposed it. "We had put the draft policy in the public domain to seek people's suggestions and objections. By July-end, we received suggestions and objections, however, due to the political developments I could not focus on it," Desai told reporters here. "Once I receive the details, I will further study it region-wise and check the opinions of people from rural as well as urban areas and then brief chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and then the draft will go to the cabinet," said Desai. He was confident that his colleagues in the BJP will not oppose the policy if it was in the interest of the state and benefited ...

Maharashtra records 550 new Covid-19 cases, 3 deaths; active tally 3,857

Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 550 fresh coronavirus positive cases and three fatalities, which took its overall caseload to 81,17,574 and toll to 1,48,322, the state health department said. On Wednesday, the state had recorded 640 cases and five fatalities. State capital Mumbai logged 98 new cases and two deaths, while Chandrapur district recorded one fatality. Maharashtra's COVID-19 fatality rate stands at 1.82 per cent. The number of active infection cases stands at 3,857, the state health department said, adding that 740 patients recuperated during the day, taking the cumulative recovery count to 79,65,395. The state's recovery rate stands at 98.13 per cent. A total of 24,105 tests were conducted in the state in the last 24 hours, which pushed the state's overall recovery count to 8,46,18,216. The coronavirus figures of Maharashtra are as follows: Positive cases: 81,17,574; new cases: 550; death toll 1,48,322; active cases: 3,857; tests so far: 8,46,18,216.