Page 42 - Mumbai

Hawkers have taken over Mumbai streets, no place left for pedestrians: HC

Unauthorised hawkers have virtually taken over every street in the city leaving no place for pedestrians, the Bombay High Court has observed, asking why ordinary citizens should not get the treatment that only "VVIPs" seem to get. A division bench of Justices M S Sonak and Kamal Khata, in an order on June 25, said the problem has reached "alarming proportions", and the government and civic body cannot take their own "sweet time" to deal with it. A copy of the order became available on Tuesday. The high court last year took suo motu (on its own) note of the issue of illegal and unauthorised hawkers and vendors in Mumbai and initiated this petition. The court has issued several directions to the Maharashtra government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation but their implementation continues to be a casualty, the judges said. "The hawkers and street vendors have virtually taken over the street lanes and bylanes. There is no place for people to walk on the footpaths," the HC ...

Mumbai terror accused extraditable to India under treaty: US attorney

Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana, who is sought in India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, is extraditable under the plain provisions of the US-India extradition treaty, a US attorney has told a federal court. Assistant US Attorney, Criminal Appeals Chief Bram Alden was making a closing argument before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, where Rana has appealed against the order by a US District Court in California that denied the writ of habeas corpus. In May, Rana, 63, had filed a writ of habeas corpus challenging the court order, which acceded with the request of the US government that the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks accused be extradited to India. Rana is extraditable to India under the plain provisions of the treaty, and India has established probable cause to prosecute him for his role in terrorist attacks that resulted in 166 deaths and 239 injuries, Alden said. In his deposition before the court on June 5, Alden, who left the

T-shirts, torn jeans also not allowed in Mumbai college after hijab ban

A city-based college, which has been in news for imposing a ban on hijab, has now also barred students from wearing torn jeans, T-shirts, "revealing" dresses and jerseys, or a dress that reveals religion or shows "cultural disparity". The Chembur Trombay Education Society's N G Acharya and D K Marathe College, in the notice issued on June 27, also said students should wear a formal and decent dress while on campus. Students can wear a half or full shirt and trousers. Girls can wear any Indian or western outfit, it said. The directive came after the Bombay High Court on June 26 refused to interfere in a decision taken by the college to impose a ban on hijab, burka and naqab on its premises, observing that such rules do not violate students' fundamental rights. "Students shall not wear any dress which reveals religion or shows cultural disparity. Nakab, hijab, burka, stole, cap, etc shall be removed by going to the common rooms on the ground floor and then only (students) can move ..

Maha govt to unveil new policy for hoardings in Mumbai Metropolitan Region

The Maharashtra government will soon unveil a policy regarding hoardings in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), state Minister Uday Samant told the legislative assembly on Monday. Samant made the statement during a discussion about hoardings erected in the city by violating rules and the hoarding collapse incident in which 17 people lost their lives last month. "A policy will be unveiled once the code of conduct for the legislative council polls ends after the results are declared for the graduates and teachers constituencies," the minister said. He said the committee headed by former Allahabad High Court chief justice Dilip Bhosle is probing the May 13 hoarding collapse in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area. BJP legislator Ram Kadam alleged that Bhavesh Bhinde, whose firm erected the hoarding that collapsed, was photographed with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, and his role should also be probed. Samant further said that permissions are not taken from the civic authorities when ..

Mumbai clocks 12% growth in property registrations in June: Knight Frank

The registration of properties in the Mumbai municipal region rose 12 per cent annually in June to 11,575 units on better demand for housing assets, according to Knight Frank. Mumbai city (area under Bombay Municipal Corporation jurisdiction) saw registration of 11,575 units in June against 10,319 units in the same month last year, as per the data compiled by real estate consultant Knight Frank from the Maharashtra government portal. However, the number of registrations in June was lower than in May, when 12,000 units were registered. The bulk of the registration is for housing properties. Strong buyer confidence has kept property registrations in Mumbai above the 10,000 mark for the first six months of the 2024 calendar year. In June 2024, Mumbai experienced the highest number of property registrations for any June month in the past 12 years, the consultant said. Knight Frank attributed this surge to rising economic prosperity and a favourable sentiment towards homeownership. K

Nazara subsidiary to fully acquire Freaks 4U Gaming in deal worth Rs 271 cr

E-sports and gaming company NODWIN will enhance its stake to 100 per cent in its European peer Freaks 4U in a share swap deal valued at around Rs 271 crore, the company said on Friday. Singapore-based NODWIN is a material subsidiary of Nazara Technologies, a company headquartered in Mumbai. "NODWIN Gaming International Pte has signed definitive agreements to increase its existing 13.51 per cent stake in Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH to 100 per cent in tranches through a share swap valued at up to Rs 271 crore (Euro 30.3 million)," the company said in a statement. NODWIN will initially increase its existing stake in Freaks 4U to 57 per cent. "The remaining 43 per cent held by the founders Michael Haenisch, Matthias Remmert and Jens Enders will be swapped at a later time at its option. Existing investors of Freaks 4U Gaming will become shareholders of NODWIN Pte," the statement said. Freaks 4U generated Rs 223 crore (Euro 26.9 million) revenue in 2023. NODWIN acquired a minority stake in F

Leasing for flexible offices records best quarter in April-June: Report

Mumbai leads trend; India's office market to see 'sustained growth': Colliers

Bombay HC refuses to interfere in hijab ban decision of Mumbai college

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere in a decision taken by a city-based college to impose a ban on hijab, burka and naqab in its premises. A division bench of Justices A S Chandurkar and Rajesh Patil said it was not inclined to interfere in the decision taken by the college and dismissed a petition filed against it by nine girl students, who are in the second and third year of a science degree course. The students moved the HC earlier this month, challenging a directive issued by the Chembur Trombay Education Society's NG Acharya and DK Marathe College imposing a dress code under which students cannot wear a hijab, naqab, burka, stoles, caps and badges inside the premises. The petitioners claimed such a directive was against their fundamental rights to practice their religion, right to privacy and right to choice. The plea termed the college action as "arbitrary, unreasonable, bad-in-law and perverse". The petitioner's advocate, Altaf Khan, last week submitted

Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: Maha govt suspends IPS officer Quaiser Khalid

Mumbai Crime Branch has so far arrested Bhavesh Bhide, director of Ego Media, which had erected the structure

Sattva Group to invest Rs 12-14K cr in next 3 yrs to build infra projects

Realty firm Sattva Group will invest Rs 12,000-14,000 crore over the next three years to build housing, office and hotel projects and is in talks with PE major Blackstone to launch REIT for monetisation of commercial assets. Bengaluru-based Sattva Group is one of the leading real estate developers in India. It has completed 140 projects comprising 80 million square feet area in the last 30 years. Around 23 million square feet of area is under construction and 65 million square feet is in the pipeline. Addressing a press conference here, Sattva Group Managing Director Bijay Agarwal said, "We are very bullish on the real estate market. We will be investing Rs 12,000-14,000 crore over the next three years across residential, commercial and hospitality verticals." The investments will be funded through equity, debt and internal accruals, he said, adding that the company might raise equity funds at the project level if needed. Agarwal noted that the demand for the residential segment ha

Vizag beats Mumbai port; emerges as India's top seafood exporting gateway

Visakhapatnam Port emerged as India's top seafood exporting gateway, clocking an impressive shipment of 3.14 lakh tonnes, valued at Rs 17,984 crore in fiscal 2023-24, a port official said on Monday. Mumbai-based Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA), which handled over 2.4 lakh tonnes of seafood, valued at Rs 6,396 crore is ranked behind the Visakhapatnam port, followed by Cochin Port at the third position, logging over 1.81 lakh tonnes (Rs 6,120 crore). "Visakhapatnam Port has established itself as the premier port in India for marine product shipments, handling an impressive 3,14,199 tonnes of seafood valued at Rs 17,984 crore in FY24. This achievement positions Visakhapatnam Port at the forefront of the nation's seafood export sector," said Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA) secretary T Venu Gopal in a press release. According to Venu Gopal, India's seafood exports touched an all-time high of nearly 18 lakh tonnes in the previous fiscal, worth Rs 60,534 crore. Incidentally, thi

Amber Dalal case: ED raids Mumbai properties, seizes Rs 37-cr worth deposit

Bank and demat account deposits apart from cash worth about Rs 37 crore has been seized by the ED as part of a money laundering probe against a Mumbai-based financial consultant and his company who are alleged to have duped investors of Rs 600 crore through a Ponzi scheme. The federal agency said on Sunday that the action was undertaken after carrying out raids in the metropolitan city on June 21 against Amber Dalal and his company Ritz Consultancy Services. The Enforcement Directorate case of money laundering stems from a Mumbai Police FIR that charged the Chartered Accountant and his company with taking money from investors through a "suspected Ponzi scheme that promised high returns." Dalal "absconded" with this money after giving initial returns. It has been gathered that Dalal raised more than Rs 600 crore from 1,300 investors, the ED said in a statement. He was arrested by the EOW, Mumbai Police and is presently under judicial custody, it said. Dalal raised money from invest

Yellow alert in Thane, Mumbai as heavy rainfall predicted for next 5 days

Thunderstorms and heavy rainfall can be expected with gusty winds blowing at the rate of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour in both Thane and Mumbai

Maratha, OBC quota row: Maharashtra CM vows to prevent caste tensions

The Maharashtra government will ensure that caste tension doesn't erupt in society, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Saturday against the backdrop of Marathas and OBCs firming up their stands on reservations. Shinde thanked OBC activist Laxman Hake and others for withdrawing their indefinite fast following the government intervention. "We will ensure there is no caste tension in the society," Shinde told reporters in Nashik. Activists Hake and Navnath Waghmare were observing fast since June 13 demanding that the OBC quota not be diluted. They called off their agitation on Saturday after a government delegation called on them. Shinde, who chaired a meeting of OBC leaders in Mumbai on Friday, said an all-party meeting will be convened in the first week of the monsoon session beginning June 27. "A good discussion was held on the issue yesterday," he added. The government has decided to convene the meeting to discuss the issue of extending reservations to "sage-soyare" or the kin

Ghatkopar hoarding collapse: Mumbai crime branch summons chief BMC officer

Seventeen people died and 74 were left injured in the incident that happened on May 13 amid strong winds and heavy rains in Mumbai

India to push its 2036 Olympic bid in Paris, seek inclusion of Indic sports

India's sports administrators would be "lobbying" hard during the upcoming Paris Olympics to brighten the country's chances of hosting the 2036 Games where they will push for the inclusion of indigenous disciplines like yoga, kho kho and kabaddi if their ambitious bid is successful. The Sports Authority of India's Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) presented its detailed report on the measures needed for a successful bid to new sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday. In this document, MOC has identified six disciplines, including yoga, kho kho, kabaddi, chess, T20 cricket and squash for inclusion in the 2036 Olympics if the country gets to host the quadrennial extravaganza. "We met the new Sports Minister yesterday and handed him the report. The minister said he will need a few days to go through it. But he asked us to prepare another report on how sports can be a career option in the country, how to build interest among youth, how to bring private players into sports," a senior memb

ED conducts raids in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Nagpur in Rs 20K-cr bank fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday searched about 35 premises in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Nagpur as part of a money laundering probe against a company and its promoters accused of perpetrating an alleged bank loan fraud of more than Rs 20,000 crore, official sources said. The raids are being carried out on the Amtek Group and its directors, including Arvind Dham, Gautam Malhotra and others. About 35 business and residential premises in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Mumbai and Nagpur are being raided since this morning, the sources said. The probe stems from a CBI FIR against a group entity of Amtek-- ACIL Limited-- on allegations of a bank fraud of more than Rs 20,000 crore in a number of listed companies which were finally taken over in NCLT proceedings at nominal price leaving the consortium of banks with nominal recovery, they said. The Supreme Court too had sought an ED probe, the sources said. This, as per the ED, led to a loss of about Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000 crore to the exchequer,

Now, dead frog found in packet of chips in Jamnagar; probe ordered

The civic authority here ordered an inquiry on Wednesday after a dead frog was allegedly found in a packet of potato wafers. The complaint came days after a Mumbai resident claimed to have found a piece of human finger in the ice cream he had ordered online. Samples of the production batch of the wafer packet will be collected as part of the probe, said an official of the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation. "One Jasmin Patel informed us that a dead frog was found in a packet of Crunchex, manufactured by Balaji Wafers. We visited the shop from where it had been purchased last night. Preliminary probe suggested it was indeed a frog in a decomposed state," food safety officer D B Parmar told reporters. "As directed by the municipal commissioner, we will collect samples of this batch of wafer packets to conduct an inquiry," he added. Patel, a resident of Pushkar Dham society, claimed that his four-year-old niece bought the packet from a nearby shop on Tuesday evening. She and his ...

Monsoon gathering pace in Maharashtra, to progress by June 21-22: IMD

The south-west monsoon, which has slowed down after hitting Mumbai, is gathering pace and is expected to progress further by June 21-22, an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday. The progress of the monsoon will provide a much-needed relief to north India, which is reeling under an intense heatwave. "Monsoon activity was weak after it hit Mumbai, but it is slowly turning moderate. It will strengthen by June 21-22 and coastal Maharashtra is likely to receive good rainfall. Central Maharashtra, including Marathwada, will receive light to moderate rainfall during this time," Sunil Kamble, Head of the Regional Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai, said. Several parts of Mumbai received showers on Wednesday morning, but it was insufficient to give respite from oppressive heat. Monsoon arrived in Mumbai on June 9, two days ahead of its normal schedule. Since then it made little progress and it is yet to cover parts of northern Maharashtra and ...

BLS E-Services to acquire 55% stake in Aadifidelis Solution for Rs 190 cr

Visa services provider BLS International on Tuesday said its subsidiary BLS E-Services Limited (BLSE) has signed an agreement to acquire 55 per cent in Aadifidelis Solutions and its affiliates for an enterprise value of about Rs 190 crore. BLSE has entered into a definitive Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) to acquire the controlling interest in Aadifidelis Solutions (ASPL) and its affiliates, a major player in India in the distribution and processing of loans for corporates and individuals. BLSE will make an upfront investment (primary and secondary) of about Rs 71 crore with balance consideration being deferred linked to the achievement of milestones in 2024-25, BLS said in a release. The acquisition will be an all-cash deal. The transaction will be completed in the second quarter of the fiscal. Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director of BLS International Services said that the signing of a definitive agreement with ASPL is a strategic move that will unveil a plethora of ...