With more than half of the state’s new Covid-19 infections recorded from Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked civic officials to increase daily testing, ensure strict contact-tracing and keep a vigil in their respective administrative wards.
Currently, the daily testing is below 10,000 samples in the city. BMC has asked all the 24 ward officers to be alert. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner (health) said, “We have directed officials to increase testing, surveillance, contact tracing, strict implementation of home isolation protocol and booster dose to the eligible population.” The number of tests conducted in the last 24 hours in the city stood at 9,514, taking the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted so far to 168,08,907.
Fire broke out in seven storey building at Khar west on Thursday morning. According to the officials from Disaster Management Cell, fire started on 4th floor Nutan Villa building around 10.30am. So far no injuries have been reported. Fire brigade has pressed 8 fire engine and 4 jumbo tanker into action. This is second time in the last six months fire broke out in Nutan Villa. Last year in September fire took place in a room in the building and two people were rescue.
Maharashtra government has transferred/promoted 40 senior police officers including Nashik police commissioner Deepak Pandey. Pandey had faced backlash following his tweet on Azaan and claims land mafias were involved with a section of revenue department officials.
Pandey had issued order instructing no one will be allowed to play bhajan or songs on loudspeakers within 15-minute period before and after the call of ‘azaan’ in the radius of 100 meters of any mosque in Nashik city.
The senior officer had requested for a transfer from Nashik and in another letter to police chief he mentioned about curtailment in powers of district revenue officers.
As per PTI reports, “The government has promoted 14 officials as special police inspector general and transferred many of them elsewhere. Eleven officials were promoted as deputy inspector general and transferred from their current place of posting”.
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Maharashtra: Chemical factory blaze in Palghar district kills manager
A manager with a chemical company died after a major fire broke out at its factory in Tarapur in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Thursday, fire department officials said.
According to a fire brigade official, the fire broke out at the factory of Chembond Chemicals at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation area in Tarapur around 8:30-9am on Thursday.
The official said the factory had a lot of chemicals and it was suspected that a blast took place in the factory. However, the exact cause of the blast and the fire is yet to be ascertained, according to the fire brigade official.
Woman arrested for threatening Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde
The Mumbai crime branch on Thursday arrested a woman for allegedly threatening and demanding money from Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde. The minister told the police that the woman is a sister of his former live-in partner.
In his statement to the police, Munde said that the woman was threatening to post a message on social media saying he forced her to withdraw a rape complaint. In return for not doing so, the woman was demanding Rs 5 crore in cash and a shop worth Rs 5 crore, he alleged.
The case was registered on Wednesday after which Munde’s office issued a statement saying the woman had levied rape allegations against him in January 2021 and had withdrawn the complaint a few days later.
6 additional summer special trains to run between Mumbai and Madgaon
The Central Railway will run six additional summer special trains between Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Madgaon to clear the extra rush of passengers.
Train no. 01047 will leave Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus at 07.50 hrs on 22.4.2022, 24.4.2022 and 26.4.2022 (3 trips) and arrive at Madgaon at 17.30 hrs the same day.
Train no. 01048 will leave Madgaon at 19.30 hrs on 22.4.2022, 24.4.2022 and 26.4.2022 (3 trips) and arrive at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus at 08.20 hrs the next day.
Halts: Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Roha, Khed, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Kankavali, Kudal, Sawantwadi Road, Thivim and Karmali.
Composition: Two AC-3 Tier, Two AC Chair Car, 2 Sleeper Class, 4 Reserved Second Class Seating, 4 General Second Class including Guard’s brake van and generator van.
Reservation: Bookings for special train no. 01047/01048 on special charges are open on 21.4.2022 at all computerised reservation centres and on the IRCTC website – http://www.irctc.co.in
Mumbai: Light rainfall brings in respite from heat
Trace rainfall (less than 0.1 mm) and cloudy skies were recorded Thursday morning in many parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai and Thane, bringing in some respite from the heat. In Mumbai, above normal minimum or night temperature was recorded.
According to the 24-hour forecast by India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to moderate spells of rain are very likely at isolated places over Mumbai city and suburbs. A possibility of thunder/lightning is also very likely in isolated places. Generally, a cloudy sky is forecast in Mumbai for the next 3-4 days.
At the IMD’s Santacruz observatory, a minimum temperature of 26.1 degrees Celsius was recorded and 48 per cent relative humidity and a trace rainfall. At Colaba observatory (representative of the South Mumbai region), high relative humidity at 72 per cent, thunder and trace rainfall were recorded Thursday morning.
BEST bus conductors, drivers stage protest at Wadala depot
Watch: BEST employees staged a protest at Wadala depot this morning over non-payment of salaries.
The protest was later withdrawn after negotiations.
Read top #Mumbai news today: https://t.co/otbs6ezp9g pic.twitter.com/2TYgU1su7r
— Express Mumbai 😷 (@ie_mumbai) April 21, 2022
Conductors and drivers of BEST buses staged a protest at Wadala bus depot this morning, due to which buses did not operate.
The staffers, hired by a private company which operates BEST buses on a wet lease basis, claimed they were not getting their salaries on time.
The BEST, however, claimed that as soon as they got to know about the flash strike, they informed company officials, who negotiated with the employees and the strike was called off.
“Appropriate action will be taken against the company as per the terms and conditions laid down in the contract,” a BEST official said.
Mumbai: Cyber fraud in police uniform on video call, man duped of Rs 3 lakh
A 26-year-old man, who works in a pharma company in Borivali (west), was allegedly duped of Rs 3 lakh by a gang of three cyber fraudsters, including a woman, who convinced him that his documents were misused by a criminal to commit crimes and he needed to register a case for which he would have to pay money. To win his trust, one of the fraudsters allegedly wore a police uniform and posed as a crime branch officer from Delhi on a WhatsApp video call.
A first information report (FIR) has been registered in the matter by the Borivali police on April 13. The man told the police that on April 7, he received a phone call from a woman named Swati Patil who said she was calling from a Delhi passport office. “She told me that she was checking my details and asked me to take out my Aadhaar card. She correctly read out my name, birthdate and Aadhaar card number. Then she read a passport number but I told her that I do not have any passport,” the complainant said.
According to the FIR, the woman told the complainant that he had been to Thailand on March 30 and did some illegal work and the passport office had received a complaint from the immigration department. “I told her I do not have a passport. How will I go abroad? I have never been to any state but Maharashtra and Gujarat. She then told me that I am innocent and someone had misused my documents to make a new passport,” the man said in his complaint.
Fire erupts in 7-storey building in Mumbai’s Khar area
A fire broke out in a seven-storey building in suburban Khar in Mumbai on Thursday morning, a civic official said. There was no report of anyone getting injured, he said.
The fire started in a flat on the fourth floor of Nothan Villa Building on Guru Ganeshwar Marg in Khar (West) around 11 am.
At least eight fire engines, water tankers, ambulances and other fire-fighting equipment reached the spot and fire fighting is on, the officer said.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, he added. (PTI)
Maharashtra government puts cop transfer orders on hold over ‘unhappiness’ of Shiv Sena leader
Within 12 hours since the Maharashtra Home Department transferred 39 IPS officers in the state, the transfer orders of five officers were put on hold. Sources said the orders were withheld after senior Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde expressed his unhappiness over the postings of the five police officers.
It was also indicated that some of the recommendations made by Shinde were not taken into consideration by Home Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dilip Walse Patil while preparing the transfer list. Shinde then reached out to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray who asked the Home Department to put a hold on the transfer list. The five officers include Rajendra Mane, Mahesh Patil, Sanjay Jadhav, Panjabrao Ugale and Dattatraya Shinde, all superintendent rank officers promoted as DIGs.
This is, however, not the first time that a list issued by the government has been put on hold. In July 2020, the state Home Department had shuffled 10 DCP-rank officers in Mumbai city. The next day, the state government put the transfers on hold amid speculations that the Shiv Sena was unhappy at not being consulted in the process. Later, a new list was issued with some changes.
Darekar meets senior police officers in connection with ‘pol khol’
A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders led by opposition leader Pravin Darekar met senior police officers of Chembur Police Station in connection with ‘pol khol’ van vandalized in Chembur. Before the meeting, on Thursday senior BJP leaders like Ashish Shelar, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Prasad Lad along with Darekar and party workers staged a protest outside the police station demanding immediate action against culprits who had damaged the van.
“We have requested police officials to expedite action against culprits. They informed us that two people have been detained so far. I suspect involvement of Yuva Sena leaders in this incident and action must be taken against them. If the police do not take fast action then we will also reply in our style,” said Darekar.
On Tuesday, hours before the launch of ‘pol khol’ campaign to publicize alleged corruption in Shiv Sena ruled BMC, a van was vandalized.
As #Mumbairains trends online, netizens share memes and videos
#Mumbairains is trending on Twitter and netizens flocked the social media platform with memes and videos of rain as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted light rainfall till Saturday in Maharashtra.
Videos and photos showing light rain surfaced online with some users sharing funny memes showing people shocked to see the rain. Some memes also reminded people of floods in 2005, which devastated the state.
An IMD bulletin Thursday has forecast “no significant change in maximum temperatures very likely over Maharashtra during next 24 hours and fall by 2-3°C thereafter.” Weather warning of thunderstorm accompanied with lightning likely at isolated places over Madhya Maharashtra has also been issued.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-top-news-nashik-commissioners-transfer-comes-amidst-controversial-azaan-tweet-quarrel-with-revenue-minister-7879620/
