Page 90 - Maharashtra

Uddhav targets CM Shinde over T'gana poll campaign amid crop losses in Maha

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over his visit to neighbouring Telangana for poll campaigning amid losses faced by farmers in his home state due to unseasonal rains. Addressing a news conference, Thackeray demanded that a cabinet meeting be held immediately to discuss the issue and farmers be given assistance at the earliest. He said six people have lost their lives due to unseasonal rains in the state, while 100 cattle have also perished. Grape and onion cultivators in Maharashtra have also been affected by the unseasonal rains, the former chief minister said. When the MeT department had alerted about unseasonal rains in advance, what did the state cabinet do? he asked. Thackeray said a preliminary information he has received suggests that nearly 1 lakh hectare of land under cultivation in Marathwada, Vidarbha and north Maharashtra was affected due to unseasonal rains since last three-four days. "There is no

Man raises slogans near Bhujbal's car to not oppose Maratha quota agitation

A Maratha outfit member on Monday sneaked into a government guest house in Pune where Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal was staying and raised slogans near the minister's car saying he should not oppose the community's agitation for reservation. The police later whisked away the man, identified as Dhananjay Jadhav, who told reporters that if Bhujbal does not stop opposing the agitation by Marathas for the quota demand, "we will make his movement difficult in the state". State cabinet minister Bhujbal has said the existing reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) should not be curtailed while giving reservation to Marathas. Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, has also criticised Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange over some of his recent statements. Jadhav, who is a member of the Swarajya Sanghatana, reached near Bhujbal's car parked at the Circuit House in Bund Garden area on Monday morning. He said it would not take much time to damage the car but he would not do ...

IMD issues rainfall alert for Maharashtra, MP; thunderstorms predicted

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a rainfall alert for various regions in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and southwest Madhya Pradesh for the early hours of Monday.The Met Department also anticipated light to moderate rainfall in isolated areas of Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh."Orange and red colour regions (south Rajasthan, Maharashtra and southwest Madhya Pradesh) are likely to experience light to moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms, gusty winds and hailstorms during next 2-3 hours. Nowcasts are regularly being updated," IMD said in a post on 'X' late on Sunday night."Light to moderate rainfall also likely over adjoining areas of Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh during night time," it said."It continues ongoing activity of light to moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms, gusty winds, hailstorm activity over #Maharsthra, #Rajasthan, and ...

Govt sanctions Rs 172.87 cr for Maratha students' hostel in Latur

The Maharashtra government has sanctioned Rs 172.87 crore for the construction of a hostel and other educational facilities for students belonging to the Maratha community in Latur, an official said on Sunday. As per an official release, a well-equipped hostel with all the facilities for students of the Maratha community will be set up in the city by the ' SAARTHI' institute. Funds to the tune of Rs 172.87 crore have been sanctioned to the divisional office of 'SAARTHI' for the construction of a reading room, library, training institute and hostel, it stated. The tender process for the project is underway and the actual work will begin soon, the official said. The hostel, library and reading room facilities will help Maratha students from Latur and other districts of Marathwada, the release quoting state Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Sanjay Bansode said.

Had no intention to hurt Israel: Sanjay Raut on his social media post

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has said a post on his X handle in connection with Israel had a reference to German dictator Adolf Hitler, but he did not intend to hurt the sentiments of people of Israel. Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Raut said the Israel embassy has sent a letter following his old post as someone might have told them to oppose him. The post has since been deleted from his handle on X, formerly known as Twitter. Referring to the post, the Rajya Sabha member on Saturday said, My tweet about Israel was an old one. It had a reference to Hitler, but I had no intention of hurting the sentiments of Israel. I have even deleted that tweet. "I had even criticised the kind of attack Hamas initiated against Israel," he said. Further referring to the attack initiated on Gaza-based hospitals where some children lost their lives, Raut said children should be kept out of war. I had said this is inhuman. You are not showing humanity, so may be in the past a leader might have

Maha CM Shinde, Guv pay tributes to martyrs on 26/11 attacks' anniversary

The Governor and CM laid floral tributes at the martyrs' memorial on the premises of the Police Commissioner's Office in south Mumbai

Clash between two groups in south Mumbai over 'loud music', 50 booked

More than 50 persons were booked for a clash between two groups in Bhendi Bazar area of south Mumbai, a police official said on Saturday. The incident took place on Friday evening near Gol Deval Temple junction on Maulana Azad road during a procession, he said. Some persons attached a truck to the generator van and started playing loud music with sound amplifying equipment, popularly called DJ, and indulged in shouting slogans while one person also pelted a stone, the official said. "This led to a clash between two groups, after which a sizable number of police personnel had to be deployed at the site to restore normalcy," the official said. A case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 141, 143, 145, 147, 149, 160, 427, Maharashtra Police Act sections 37(1)(3) and 135 as well as provisions connected to noise pollution, the JJ police station official said. The accused have been charged with offences like showing criminal force to overawe, unlawful assembly, rioting, affra

Ex-health official booked for misappropriating Covid testing kits in Pune

The Pune police have registered an offence against a former chief health officer and two others for allegedly misappropriating COVID-19 testing kits, medicines, and sanitisers intended for a civic-run hospital during the pandemic in 2021 and selling them to private laboratories for personal gains, an official said on Friday. The Warje Malwadi police on Thursday registered a case against Dr Ashish Bharti, the former chief health officer of the Pune Municipal Corporation, Dr Aruna Tarde and Dr Rushikesh Gardi under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 465 (forgery) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the official said. The case was registered based on a complaint lodged by Dr Satish Kolsure, who took the matter to court, following which a local court directed the police to register a case, he said. According to the police, the accused allegedly created fake records at Arvind Bartakke Hospital in the Warje Malwadi area between January and Decembe

Money laundering charges are not ground to deny passport renewal: Court

Merely being prosecuted on money laundering charges is not a sufficient ground to deny permission for passport renewal, a special court here has said while granting nod to former Maharashtra minister Anil Deshmukh's son to apply for renewal of his passport. Special Judge R N Rokade on Wednesday allowed the application filed by Salil Deshmukh, seeking a direction to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to return his seized passport so that he can apply for renewal. The ED has accused Salil Deshmukh along with his father - former state home minister Anil Deshmukh - and some others of money laundering. Salil Deshmukh was not formally arrested in the case by the ED. After the agency named him as an accused in its chargesheet, he appeared before the special court which granted him bail in November 2022. In his application, Salil Deshmukh said his passport expired in January 2022. He sought permission to apply for renewal of the passport for a period of 10 years. The agency opposed the ple

Govt positive towards demands for Maratha reservation: Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the government is positive towards addressing demands raised by Marathas and efforts are underway to give reservation to the community. A delegation of the Maratha community met Fadnavis in Pandharpur town of Solapur district where the deputy CM and his wife performed puja at the temple of Lord Vitthal and Goddess Rukmini on the occasion of Kartiki Ekadashi on Thursday. The community has been demanding reservation in government jobs and education. In a post on X, Fadnavis said, I have assured the Maratha community that the state government is positive towards their demands. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has assured to give reservation to the community. We are standing behind him with full support. The issue will be solved for sure. Efforts are underway to give reservation to the Maratha community, he said. The delegation also demanded that the state government provide a piece of land for the construction of Marath

Pharma firm asked to stop production after death of 11 in fire at its plant

Pharmaceutical firm Blue Jet Healthcare has been ordered to stop production and remove inflammable chemical goods from its premises after a fire in its factory in Maharashtra's Raigad district killed 11 labourers early this month, said the local administration on Wednesday. The action has been taken by the district administration on recommendation of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB)'s Raigad unit. Eleven workers were killed and seven others injured when a fire broke out at the company's plant in the Mahad MIDC area on November 3. The company has been ordered to stop production and remove inflammable chemical goods from its premises within a period of 72 hours, according to a notice issued by Deputy Collector (Mahad) J S Hajare. In a separate action, the Deputy Collector has asked two companies -- Sanika Chemical and V N Creative -- to stop production for causing water pollution, leading to large-scale death of fish in a drain. On November 9, thousands of fish ...

Ex-Maha min Anil Deshmukh's aide 'tried to track location of CBI officers'

A close associate of Anil Deshmukh allegedly attempted to track the location of CBI officers investigating a bribery case against the former Maharashtra minister, the agency has alleged in its charge sheet in a case linked to the leak of its confidential report giving him a purported clean chit. The draft report of the agency giving a purported clean chit to Anil Deshmukh, who was facing large-scale bribery allegations, was leaked to the media on August 29, 2021. Following this, the CBI arrested Anil Deshmukh's lawyer Anand Daga and the agency's Sub-Inspector Abhishek Tiwari. The two were charge-sheeted later that year. In its supplementary charge sheet filed in August this year, the CBI has alleged that Daga had shared mobile numbers of the CBI investigating officer and supervisory officers probing the bribery case against Anil Deshmukh with his distant relative Vikrant Deshmukh on June 7, 2021. According to the CBI, Vikrant Deshmukh managed the ex-minister's "financial accounts ..

Staples prices soar across Maharashtra as scanty rain impacts supply chain

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), while overall rain in Maharashtra during the monsoon was typical, it was deficient in numerous locations

Maharashtra CM Shinde inspects air, dust pollution control measures

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday morning visited parts of Mumbai to review steps taken to control dust and air pollution and said the city civic body has been directed to do cloud seeding if required. The civic body has already approached a Dubai-based company, which has 100 per cent accuracy in cloud seeding and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed with it, Shinde said. "The government and the civic corporation will do whatever they can to reduce Mumbai's pollution. The civic body has been directed to do cloud seeding if required," he said. The CM was replying to queries by mediapersons at the Jogger's Park in suburban Bandra during his early morning inspection of various works undertaken in the city as a part of the dust and air pollution control measures. Cloud seeding is an artificial technique aimed at enhancing the probability of rains. Shinde reviewed various road and footpath cleaning and washing works undertaken as a part of dust control .

Clash between 2 groups leads to stone pelting in Maha's Akola; 14 booked

A dispute between two groups over some issue triggered a clash and led to stone pelting in Maharashtra's Akola city, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday night in Bhimnagar and neighbouring Kadri Pura Chowk under Akot Fail police station limits following which security has been stepped up in the area, they said. Fourteen people from the two sides have been booked for rioting, the police said. A drunk person abused some people in Bhimnagar, leading to tension in the area, an official from Akot Fail police station said. The two groups then threw stones on some houses in the area, he said. After receiving information, personnel from the Akot Fail police station reached the spot and brought the situation under control, the official said. A case on charges of rioting and other provisions has been registered against 14 people - seven each from the two sides, he said. A large police force has been deployed in the area. The situation is currently under control, he .

Raut accuses Bawankule of spending Rs 3.5 cr at Macao casino; BJP hits back

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Bharatiya Janata Party tussled on Monday after Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut accused the ruling party's Maharashtra unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule of spending Rs 3.5 crore while gambling at a Macao casino. The BJP responded by uploading on social media a photograph of Raut's colleague Aaditya Thackeray with a glass in his hand and queried "what brand of whiskey" the former state minister was drinking. Raut had posted a picture of Bawankule that he claimed was from a casino in Macao, a special administrative region of China. The Shiv Sena (UBT) leader alleged Bawankule had spent Rs 3.5 crore in just three hours while gambling there. Hitting back, the BJP said on its X account that "our state unit president Bawankule had never played gambling in his life" and that "he was staying there with his family". Attacking Raut, the BJP further said "those whose entire life had become a gamble cannot see anything else". Uploading a photograph, the BJP said, "We

Bonus for paddy to be announced in Winter session: Maharashtra CM

Bonus for paddy will be announced in the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature to be held in Nagpur next month, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Monday. Speaking at a 'shaasan aplya dari' programme in Bhandara, some 60 kilometres from here, Shinde said his government believed in replying to the criticism by opponents through its work. The issue of bonus for paddy farmers was also raised by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis in his address at the 'government at your doorstep' event. "The Mahayuti government will announce bonus for paddy crop in the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature to be held in Nagpur in December," Shinde said. The state government is planning to bring about 8000 to 10,000 hectares of land under irrigation very soon, the CM added. He said the ruling alliance, comprising the Shiv Sena, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, had won two-third of the seats in the recently held gram panchayat polls and

Report leak: CBI chargesheets Anil Deshmukh's daughter, daughter-in-law

In a fresh jolt to former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh, the CBI has chargesheeted his daughter Pooja and daughter-in-law Rahat in connection with alleged leakage of the agency's internal draft report in 2021 giving clean chit to the leader in an extortion case against him, officials said. In its supplementary charge sheet filed before a special CBI court here, the agency has termed Pooja a "co-conspirator" who allegedly planned, directed and provided logistical support to Deshmukh's lawyer Anand Dilip Daga to bribe agency's sub-inspector Abhishek Tiwari in order to get the draft report, they said. The report was leaked to the media on August 29, 2021 "to subvert" the Bombay High Court-directed probe against him, the agency has alleged. The Bombay High Court had directed the CBI to probe allegations of extortion worth crores from Restaurants and Bars owners in Mumbai levelled by former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh against Anil Deshmukh. The CBI report leaked

18 people rescued, 2 missing after tug boat capsizes in Maharashtra river

At least two persons were missing after a tug boat carrying 20 workers capsized in the Vaitarna river in Maharashtra's Palghar district on Monday morning, police said. Eighteen workers have been rescued so far, an official said. The incident took place at around 6 am when the workers were travelling in the tug boat of a company which is engaged in the construction of the JNPT-Vadodara Expressway, he said. A bridge is being constructed on the river as part of the project. While the boat was in the middle of the river, it capsized following which all the workers fell into the water body, the official said. Police, fire brigade and district administration were informed about the incident following which they rushed the spot. The official said 18 workers have been rescued so far and search was on for the remaining two persons. Rescue operation was going on with the help of locals and fishing community members, he added.

Marathwada requests CM Eknath Shinde for water release into Jayakwadi dam

A request letter was written to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde regarding the release of water from the reservoir of the upper Godavari valley dam into the Jayakwadi dam said former Minister Rajesh Tope