Page 97 - Maharashtra

Amid heavy waterlogging, Maha govt asks people to move to higher grounds

Heavy rainfall lashed several parts of Nagpur for the last two days. The weather agency has already announced an alert for rainfall for Saturday as well

Heavy rains flood several areas in Nagpur; 180 rescued: Dy CM Fadnavi

Heavy rains flooded many parts of Nagpur city, following which 180 people, including 40 students from a school for the hearing and speech-impaired, were rescued, said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavi on Saturday. The National Disaster Response (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are rescuing people from flooded homes and streets. Two Army units are reaching the Ambazari area, where a lake overflowed, said Fadnavis. The city received torrential downpours from Friday midnight. According to the weather department, Nagpur airport reported 106 mm of rainfall till 5.30 am. Several roads and residential areas have been inundated due to heavy rains, said officials. The administration has declared a holiday for schools and colleges as a precautionary measure. Fadnavis, who is an MLA from Nagpur, took to X in the morning to share that he was continuously monitoring the rain situation in the city. There has been incessant rainfall due to which the Ambazari lake

Women empowerment scheme on hold within hrs of announcement in Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government has put on hold a women empowerment scheme within 24 hours of issuing an order regarding its implementation. The scheme Mukhymantri Mahila Sashaktikaran Abhiyan' was to be implemented in the state from October 2, 2023, to October 1 2024. The programme was to be monitored by the woman and child development minister, who would submit monthly reports to the chief minister and deputy chief minister, said the order issued on September 20. The department secretary was to be the nodal officer. A special officer was to be appointed at the state level, while the woman and child development commissioner, Pune, was to head the programme. As per the order, the programme was a unified platform to implement all programmes and policies of the state and central governments related to women for their socio-economic development. However, a fresh notification on September 21 said the order issued the previous day had been stayed until further orders. The women and child

Ambani's Viacom18 to strike deal with Blackstone for new Mumbai HQ

Viacom, which runs TV channels and digital streaming platform JioCinema, competes with the likes of Walt Disney in India

Adani Group bags Rs 13,888 cr worth contracts for smart meter installation

Adani Group on Thursday bagged two contracts worth Rs 13,888 crore from a state-owned discom to install smart meters. A total of six tenders were awarded by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) to install smart meters, of which two have been bagged by the Adani Group, according to an official communiqu from the discom seen by PTI. The diversified group, which has a sizeable presence in the power sector and had recently won a Rs 1,000 crore contract to install smart meters in the area serviced by BEST Undertaking in Mumbai, will act as an advanced metering infrastructure service provider for smart prepaid metering in MSEDCL, it said. The two zones awarded to Adani include Bhandup, Kalyan and Konkan having 63.44 lakh meters, and Baramati and Pune having 52.45 lakh meters, it said. Letter of Awards have been issued to the successful firms, as per the communiqu. Officials from Adani Group were not immediately available for comment. The group's transmiss

Over 66,700 Ganesh idols immersed till Thursday; no untoward incident: BMC

More than 66,700 Ganesh idols were immersed in various water bodies in Mumbai till Thursday morning, civic officials said. The immersion of idols has gone smoothly so far without any untoward incident, they said. As part of the 10-day-long Ganeshotsav, dedicated to the elephant-headed god, idols of the deity are usually immersed after one and a half days, five days, seven days and ten days or as per family traditions. According to officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a total of 66,785 one-and-a-half-day Ganapati idols were immersed in the sea and other water bodies, including artificial ponds, till 6 am on Thursday. The idols were taken out and immersed amid chants of Ganapati Bappa Morya, the beating of drums, music and dance. Of the immersion figures so far, BMC officials said, 66,435 were household Ganapati idols, while 350 were sarvajanik, or community, idols. They said 27,736 idols were immersed in artificial ponds, set up to avoid pollution of natural

AmpIn Energy to set up 33 MW solar plant in Maha, signs pact with Varroc

AmpIn Energy Transition will set up a 33 megawatt solar power plant in Maharashtra to supply green energy to auto-components maker Varroc. A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed between the two companies in this regard, AmpIn said on Wednesday. "AmpIn Energy Transition and Varroc announce a partnership to harness 33.1 MWp of solar power for Varroc's manufacturing facilities in Maharashtra. The collaboration leverages AmpIn's solar portfolio in Maharashtra, inclusive of its state-of-the-art 105 Megawatt peak (MWp) solar park situated in Parbhani," the statement said. The company did not disclose the value of the project. The initiative is expected to fulfill 65-75 per cent of the power needed across seven manufacturing units of Varroc. The plant is anticipated to help reduce 43,296 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, Pinaki Bhattacharyya, CEO and MD of AmpIn, said. Tarang Jain, MD of Varroc, said, "through this alliance, we envisage a significant reduction in our carbon ...

Immersion of Ganapati idols begins in Mumbai; 196 till noon, say officials

On the second day of the 10-day Ganesh festival, several devotees in Mumbai bid farewell to the idols of their favourite deity after worshipping them for one and a half days. People took out processions of idols with devotion and enthusiasm, with many devotees dancing their way to the sites of immersion. According to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 195 household Ganapati idols and one sarvajanik (community) Ganapati idols were immersed in the sea and other water bodies, including artificial ponds. As many as 50 Ganpati idols were immersed in artificial ponds that have been created specifically to reduce water pollution, the BMC said. No untoward incident was reported anywhere during immersion so far on Wednesday, officials said. The BMC has earmarked 69 natural water bodies, including stretches off the coast, and set up 191 artificial ponds for immersion this year. The 10-day Ganeshotsav began in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra on Tuesday, with the installation of

Set timeline to decide disqualification of Shinde MLAs: SC to Maha Speaker

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra assembly speaker to spell out the timeline within a week for adjudication of the disqualification petitions filed against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs loyal to him who had tied up with the BJP to form a new government in June 2022. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra referred to the May 11 verdict of the apex court on the Maharashtra political crisis and the direction issued by it to the speaker to decide the disqualification petitions within a reasonable time. The speaker has to honour the dignity of the Supreme Court and abide by its verdict, the bench said. It asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the speaker, to inform it about the time frame being set by the House chair for disposal of the disqualification petitions. We expect deference and dignity to the directions issued by the Supreme Court, the bench said and listed the plea by Shiv

Maharashtra govt issues order for implementation 'adopt a school' scheme

The Maharashtra government on Monday issued an order for the implementation of its 'Adopt a School' scheme. Any individual, organisation or private enterprise having SEBI registered Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) certificate can adopt a school currently run by the state government, Zilla Parishad or municipal councils irrespective of its medium of instruction, the order from the state's school education said. Those adopting schools can also add a name of its choice to the existing name of the school for the given period, the government resolution said, adding that period of adoption could be for five or ten years only. "For schools located in A and B category municipal corporations such as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or Pune Municipal Corporation, those seeking to adopt will have to pay Rs 2 crore for five years or Rs 3 crore for 10 years," an official said. The money will be utilised for physical infrastructure, including repair works of school building, colouring, .

1 dead, 28 injured after ST bus hits container truck on Mumbai-Goa highway

A man died and 28 persons were injured after a state transport (ST) bus collided with a container truck on Mumbai-Goa highway in the early hours of Sunday, a police official said. The incident took place near Mangaon in Talegaon village when the bus and container truck were moving side by side, the Raigad police official said. "The bus dashed against the truck. Passenger Vinod Tarale (38), a resident of Dombivali, died, while his wife Vaishnavi and 15-year-old son Atharva are seriously injured. In all 28 passengers, including nine women, three girls and five boys, were injured," he said. MSRTC authorities arranged a bus to ferry the passengers to their destinations after the incident, he added.

Maharashtra govt won't disturb OBC quota in any way: Dy CM Fadnavis

The Maharashtra government is clear about not disturbing the OBC quota in any way, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday amid protests to oppose the inclusion of the Maratha community in the Other Backward Class category for reservation purposes. Fadnavis appealed to OBC members to end their protest in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur and Chandrapur. Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, Fadnavis said, The state government has taken a clear stand about not touching, reducing or sharing the OBC quota. Hence, we request the OBC community to withdraw their agitation. The deputy CM said he personally requested the agitators in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where he attended a special cabinet meeting earlier in the day. I believe that those (protesters) in Sambhajinagar will end their hunger strike, he said. Fadnavis said those agitating in Chandrapur and Nagpur should also withdraw their protest. I will be meeting those in Nagpur and request them to withdraw their .

Maha CM announces Rs 45,000 cr package for development of Marathwada

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday announced a package of Rs 45,000 crore for the development of Marathwada region in the state. Apart from this, he also announced revised administrative sanctions for irrigation projects worth Rs 14,000 crore. He made the announcements at a press conference here after a special meeting of the state cabinet. The state government held the cabinet meeting in the city on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Marathwada Liberation Day, also known as Marathwada Mukti Sangram Din, celebrated on September 17 annually. Marathwada was once a part of the Nizam-ruled Hyderabad kingdom. It was after a gap of seven years that a meeting of the state cabinet was held in Marathwada. The last such meeting was organised in the region in 2016. The Marathwada region comprises eight districts - Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (previously known as Aurangabad), Dharashiv (previously known as Osmanabad), Jalna, Beed, Latur, Nanded, Hingoli and Parbhani.

CM Eknath Shinde reiterates his ambition for $1 trn Maharashtra economy

Shinde also hailed the success of the G20 summit headed by India and the soft landing of the Chandrayaan 3 mission on the South Pole

Aurangabad to be called Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Osmanabad as Dharashiv

The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government has issued a notification on the change of names of Aurangabad and Osmanabad districts as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv respectively. The suggestions and objections sought a few months ago have been considered and the decision to change the names at the sub-division, village, taluka and district levels has been taken, the notification issued by the Revenue Department on Friday night said. The decision to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad was taken in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government's last cabinet meeting chaired by the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on June 29, 2022 just before he resigned. However, Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who were sworn in a day later, had said the Thackeray-led dispensation's decision to rename these places was illegal as it was taken by it after the governor had asked it to prove majority in the state assembly. In July last year, the Shinde government gave a ..

Fire in 12-storey building in Mumbai; around 60 residents rescued

A fire broke out in a 12-storey residential building in Kurla area of Mumbai shortly after midnight on Saturday, following which the fire brigade rescued around 60 people living there, an official said. The incident occurred around 12.10 am in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) building number 7 located opposite Kohinoor Hospital, he said, adding that 39 of the rescued persons were admitted to hospitals after they complained of suffocation. "The blaze erupted soon after midnight. On being alerted about it, a team of fire brigade personnel along with four water engines, as many jumbo tankers and other equipment reached the spot and started the firefighting operation," a fire brigade official said. The fire started from the ground floor of the 12-storey building and was confined to the electric wiring and scrap material kept there. It was a 'level one' (minor) fire. As the flames moved upwards and the building was engulfed in smoke, it triggered panic among the residents, the ..

Mumbai's double-decker buses ride into the sunset amid Bollywood memories

As BEST's double-decker retires from the road, a look at how it will remain immortalised in celluloid

The last ride: Mumbai bids farewell to iconic double-decker buses today

The double-decker buses will forever go off roads from September 15, while the open-deck buses will be pulled out on October 5

MahaRERA to introduce an act to monitor quality of homes in the state

It is being done with a view to safeguard the interests of homebuyers to get homes of good quality as promised by the developers

PM to inaugurate biggest housing project for EWS in Maharashtra next month

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the largest housing project for economically weaker sections at Solapur, in Maharashtra, next month, a senior government official said on Friday. The project at Raynagar in Solapur is spread over 100 acres and comprises 30,000 homes, of which 15,000 have already been built, Maharashtra's additional chief secretary Valsa Nair Singh said. "The biggest economically weaker section housing scheme is now in the final stages of being built at a place called Raynagar in Solapur. PM Modi is coming next month to inaugurate it," the bureaucrat said, addressing a summit organised by industry lobby Naredco. Every house is 300 sq ft and will be costing Rs 6 lakh for the beneficiaries, she said, adding that to be eligible, a family has to have an earning of less than Rs 3 lakh per year. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) is executing the project, which also has assistance from the central government's PMAY. According t