Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray arrives at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai (PTI, file)
Mumbai News Highlights: Even though compulsion has ended, people should wear masks in public as long as he and his deputy Ajit Pawar continue to wear them, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday. Speaking at the inauguration of new metro rail lines in the city, the chief minister said though mask is no longer compulsory, we can not let off our guard.
Claiming that there was was no internal unrest in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said a befitting reply is being given through development works to those trying to topple it. Speaking after virtually laying the foundation stone of the GST Bhavan building at Wadala in central Mumbai, Thackeray also said that those maligning Maharashtra should note that the state is the largest contributor to the national economy.
Meanwhile, in a veiled attack on the BJP, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday alleged that attempts were being made to spread bitterness in the society, and therefore taking the country forward and maintaining harmony has become a challenge. Politics used to connect people in the past, but now efforts were being made in the country to divide them on the basis of religion, he said, adding that the the country’s leadership was trying to defame national icons like Mahatma Gandhi.
Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik has moved the Supreme Court against an order of the Bombay High Court which had rejected his interim application seeking immediate release in a case of money laundering.
In his plea which has been drafted by advocate Ankur Chawla, Malik has challenged the March 15 order of the division bench of the high court which had rejected the application saying just because the special PMLA court’s order remanding him in custody is not in his favour, it does not make that order illegal or wrong.
The special leave petition (SLP) has been filed by advocate V D Khanna. After the Enforcement Directorate had arrested Malik under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), he had filed a habeas corpus plea in the high court claiming that his arrest by the ED and the consequent remands were illegal. (PTI)
Actor-model Malaika Arora sustained minor injuries after her SUV met with an accident near Khopoli on Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Saturday afternoon, police said.
She has been admitted to a hospital in Mumbai and kept under observation, family sources said. The incident took place around 4.45 pm near a food-mall when Arora was returning to Mumbai from Pune, a police official said.
A bus and two cars collided and one of them hit Arora’s SUV, he said. The actor was travelling with her driver and bodyguard. An MNS leader who was travelling in the same direction took her to Mumbai in his car, the official added. (PTI)
MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday demanded that loudspeakers of mosques be shut down.
“Why loudspeakers in mosques are played at such high volume? If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume,” he said, speaking at a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai. “I am not against prayers, or any particular religion. I do take pride in my own religion,” he added.
He also criticized NCP chief Sharad Pawar, accusing him of “playing the caste card from time to time and dividing society.” Thackeray also took potshots at Maharashtra Chief Minister and his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray, whose party, the Shiv Sena, fell out with the BJP in 2019 over the chief minister’s post. (PTI)
Hundreds of denizens take out a Gudi Padwa rally at Dombivli and Thane on Saturday to mark the commencement of the Maharashtrian New Year.
Express photos by Deepak Joshi
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— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 2, 2022
Mumbaikars enjoy a ride along the newly inaugurated Metro line starting from Aarey to Dhanukarwadi on Saturday. The first service along this route started at 8 pm.
Express photos by Amit Chakravarty pic.twitter.com/AKWrOqpn6D
— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 2, 2022
Maharashtra on Saturday reported 130 Covid cases and two deaths, taking the tally to 78,74,277 and the toll to 1,47,787, an official said. The deaths took place in Bhiwandi in Thane district near Mumbai and Sangli, he added.
So far, 77,25,553 people have been discharged post recovery, including 102 in the last 24 hours, leaving the state with 937 active cases, the official said. He pointed out that Nandurbar, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri, Jalna, Hingoli, Parbhani, Latur, Nanded, Akola, Yavatmal, Washim, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia and Chandrapur districts had zero active cases.
State health department data showed the recovery rate was 98.11 per cent, while the examination of 32,707 samples in the last 24 hours had taken the overall number of tests to 7,94,53,522. (PTI)
Mumbai on Saturday reported 49 Covid cases, taking its tally to 10,58,076, while the death toll remained unchanged at 19,559, a civic official said.
The city has reported less than 100 cases per day since March 2 while the fatality slate is clean since March 28, he pointed out. Of the 49 cases detected during the day, 48 were asymptomatic and one required hospitalization, the official added.
So far, 10,38,227 people have been discharged post recovery, including 33 during the day, leaving the city with an active caseload of 290, he said. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation data showed that 10,200 samples have been examined in the last 24 hours, taking the number of tests to 1,66,44,340. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday took swipes at the BJP and Union government over issues such as GST compensation and clearance for the state’s projects while inaugurating two new Metro rail lines here.
Thackeray inaugurated Lines 2-A and 7 of Mumbai Metro, which connect the western suburbs of Andheri and Dahisar.
“There are some people who feel I am taking away their credit for Metro. I am ready to give the credit. If you love Mumbai, why is the state government’s proposal to build car shed for Metro-3 at Kanjurmarg is put on hold? The Indian Railways is not giving its land for the redevelopment of Dharawi slums,” the chief minister said, without naming the BJP. (PTI)
Even though compulsion has ended, people should wear masks in public as long as he and his deputy Ajit Pawar continue to wear them, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday.
Speaking at the inauguration of new metro rail lines in the city, the chief minister said though mask is no longer compulsory, we can not let off our guard.
Thackeray on Saturday inaugurated Metro lines 7 and 2A which would cater to Andheri and other western suburbs north of it. “I saw most people did not wear masks. The only two people who have continued wearing masks since the day of the coronavirus outbreak in the state were me and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar,” he said. (PTI)
The removal of Covid restrictions by the Maharashtra government led to the celebration of Gudi Padwa with tradition gaiety in Latur on Saturday, with the highlight of the day being a well-attended motorcycle rally by the local women’s wing of the Indian Medical Association.
The rally was held to spread the message of health and cleanliness to keep pandemics at bay, the organisers said. (PTI)
State-run planning body CIDCO on Saturday said it had allotted a plot of land near the upcoming international airport in Ulwe in Navi Mumbai to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam to construct a temple for Lord Balaji.
A release from the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited said the proposal will now be forwarded to the state government for final approval.
It will allow people from the state to have “darshan” without having to go all the way to Tirupati, a hugely patronised temple town in Andhra Pradesh, the release added. (PTI)
After two years, people across Maharashtra celebrated Gudi Padwa, the start of the Marathi new year, with pomp and fervor as there were no pandemic-related restrictions to worry about.
All restrictions including the mask mandate would be lifted from April 2, the state government had announced two days ago. The auspicious day marks the start of the Hindu new year for Marathi- and Konkani-speaking people.
Processions of women and men decked up in traditional attire and jewelry, absent from the celebrations in the last two years due to the pandemic, returned to the streets this year. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said his government was focusing on the modernisation of the state police by upgrading its capacity to enable it to deliver world-class policing.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the ‘Dial 112’ helpline project, which will deal with cyber crimes against women and children.
Speaking on steps being taken for the police, he said, “We have to consider the needs of the police personnel. Modern vehicles have been made available, upgraded police stations are being constructed and they are also being given housing. The government is taking positive steps.” The chief minister said there must be fear among the people for the police, adding that cybercrime was on the rise and there was need to build adequate infrastructure to tackle it. (PTI)
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and others during the inauguration of Metro Lines 7 and 2A (Phase 1), on Saturday.
Express photos by Amit Chakravarty pic.twitter.com/TY3TxqqbjB— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 2, 2022
The state government is working on simplification of the `official Marathi’ which is at times nearly incomprehensible, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said here on Saturday.
Speaking at the foundation stone-laying for the main centre of the Marathi Bhasha Bhavan on the occasion of Gudhi Padva (Maharashtrian new year), he noted that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was keen on the use of Marathi in his administration.
Maharashtrians had to “fight and shed blood” to get Mumbai as capital of their state, Thackeray said, adding, ”Those who forget history have no future.” Many Marathi terms used in the official communication are difficult to understand, the chief minister conceded. (PTI)
A 6-year-old girl drowned in a swimming pool while on a picnic with her family in a bungalow in Uttan area of Thane district, a police official said on Saturday.
The incident took place on Friday and the girl, identified as Geetika Nadkarni, hails from Dahisar in north Mumbai, he added.
“She possibly slipped into the pool while walking alongside. She was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival,” he said. (PTI)
Ahead of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray inaugurating two new metro rail lines in Mumbai, the opposition BJP on Saturday said the Shiv Sena was taking credit for the work done under the previous Devendra Fadnavis dispensation.
The state unit of the BJP tweeted that these metro lines as well as several other ones were cleared and construction started under the Fadnavis government between 2014 and 2019.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi, the ruling alliance led by the Sena, has a simple policy, which is to oppose metro lines while they are being planned and built and then take credit by inaugurating them when they are completed, the state unit of the BJP said. (PTI)
Eight wagons of a freight train derailed on Saturday morning at Daulatabad yard in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad city, resulting in rail traffic on the route being affected for nearly four hours, an official said.
The derailment took place at around 8am and the track was cleared only after four hours, he said.
He said South Central Railway (SCR) has run special trains on the Jalna-Mumbai and Jalna-Pune routes to ferry stranded passengers of the over one dozen trains that were affected due to the derailment. (PTI)
Hundreds of denizens take out a Gudi Padwa rally at Girgaon in Mumbai on Saturday to mark the commencement of the Maharashtrian New Year.
Hundreds of denizens take out a Gudi Padwa rally at Girgaon in Mumbai on Saturday to mark the commencement of the Maharashtrian New Year.
Express photos by Pradip Das pic.twitter.com/Izm2X9lzBn
— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 2, 2022
Hundreds of denizens take out a Gudi Padwa rally at Girgaon in Mumbai on Saturday to mark the commencement of the Maharashtrian New Year.
Express video by Pradip Das
1/2 pic.twitter.com/z7xgWA5u2V— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 2, 2022
Hundreds of denizens take out a Gudi Padwa rally at Girgaon in Mumbai on Saturday to mark the commencement of the Maharashtrian New Year.
Express video by Pradip Das
2/2 pic.twitter.com/Z6h6Zt3Fup— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 2, 2022
All arrangements are in place for the inauguration of Metro Lines 7 and 2A (Phase 1). Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will soon throw the two lines open to public, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa.
Express photos by Amit Chakravarty pic.twitter.com/rHoceBVt7i— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 2, 2022
NCP state president and Irrigation Minister Jayant Patil said on Wednesday that in the backdrop of the “vitiated political climate” in the country, BJP could try to foment communal trouble in the state in view of the upcoming local body elections.
Patil was speaking at the Express Townhall, organised by The Indian Express, in Mumbai.
Maintaining that Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government will have to be vigilant to stall such incidents in the state, Patil said, “With local body elections coming up, there may be some attempts to create some trouble between two communities or two religious groups. There could be an attempt to create riots in Maharashtra. The home department needs to be very alert.”
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-news-live-politics-traffic-pollution-crime-7845455/
