1. Jogeshwari Man Held In Pak, Former SIMI Member Same?
The recent arrest of Indian national Sheikh Nabi Ahmed in Pakistan for not possessing valid travel papers has thrown up a puzzle before security agencies, which are trying to find out whether he is actually a former SIMI functionary who fled Mumbai in 2006.
The connection, officials of security agencies said, came about not only because the SIMI activist has the same name, but also hailed from Jogeshwari as Ahmed.
According to reports, Ahmed was walking down a street on F-8 Nizamuddin Road in Islamabad on May 19 when local policemen stopped him at a check post. During queries, he claimed to belong from India, but could not show any travel document nor could justify his “visit” to Pakistan.
Pakistan police consequently arrested him and booked him under the Foreigners Act 1946.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
2. BMC Bid To Reclaim Open Spaces From Netas
The BMC has finally got cracking to stake claim to a large number of open spaces that are controlled by private trusts and organisations enjoying the backing of politicians.
After a delay of over six months, the civic body on Monday issued around a dozen notices, asking the organisations concerned to hand over the gardens and plots that are being currently managed by them. These include the four spaces held by NGOs supported by former MLA and BJP leader Ramesh Singh Thakur.
Thakur is attached to Zagdu Singh Charitable Trust, which maintains three open spaces in Kandivali, and the Shyam Narayan Thakur School, which is run by the Thakur Education Trust and Thakur College of Science and Commerce.
The Shyam Narayan Thakur School also controls some plots.
This apart, the civic guardians also took over two plots run by the Prajapita Brahmakumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya.
Around 60-odd such open spaces are lying with the private players.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Two Halves Of Monster 42-Ft Whale Wash Ashore At Mumbai's Juhu And Aksa Beaches
The carcass of a 13-meter (around 42 feet) long whale washed ashore in two parts at Mumbai's Madh and Juhu beach on Sunday and Monday morning. While one part of the carcass measured around six meters, the other measured around seven meters.
Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) Makrand Ghodke, Mangroves Cell of the Forest Deparrtment, said, "Yesterday one portion of the whale carcass admeasuring six meters washed ashore at Juhu and the another portion measuring seven meters washed ashore at Aksa beach today (Monday). The body parts were in decomposed manner and so after collecting the necessary samples, both the carcasses have been buried at both the locations."
(Source: Mid-Day)
4. Activist Lauds Govt Warning To Dawoodi Bohra Community On 'Khatna'
The Central government's warning -- a first -- to the Dawoodi Bohra community last week over the practice of khatna or female genital mutilation (FGM) has been hailed as a "landmark breakthrough" in the fight against the 600-year-old custom.
Last Saturday, Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD) Maneka Gandhi told the community that if it doesn't voluntarily stop FGM, it will bring in a law to ban it. The warning was a response to a Change.org petition launched in 2015 by Speak Out on FGM to end khatna in India. It was issued after a closed-door meeting among WCD officials, founder of Speak Out on FGM Masooma Ranalvi and officials from Change.org, at Shastri Bhavan in Delhi on May 12.
"They called us for a meeting, where we put forward our case. Based on that, the ministry issued this statement," a jubilant Ranalvi told mid-day over the phone. "The ministry heard our basic plea: that the government take a stand on the issue. And, that is exactly what they have done. This is a victory for all those women who spoke out against FGM."
(Source: Mid-Day)
5. Sewage That Mumbai Pumps Into Sea Is Filled With Pharmaceutical Drugs: IIT-B Study
The sewage that Mumbai pumps into the sea has high concentration of pharmaceutical drugs that are potentially disastrous for aquatic life, a first-of-its-kind study led by the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IITB) revealed.
The source of the untreated pharmaceuticals discharged first into the sewers and then waste water treatment plants (WWTP) are households and hospitals.
“When we consume any medicine, 30% is absorbed by the body, and about 70% gets excreted that goes into the sewerage treatment plants. But these treatment plants are not designed to treat medicines,” said Sanjeeb Mohapatra, co-author, and doctoral student, Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, IITB.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Mumbai Man Takes Stock Of Butterflies In The City, Finds 153 Species
Till three years ago, Mumbaiites were only familiar with butterfly species recorded by the British in 1950. But thanks to Nelson Rodrigues, a Wadala resident who spent six years at various green zones in the city, Mumbai got its first record of butterfly species in 2014. The copywriter-turned-nature enthusiast has documented 153 species of the winged insects in a book ‘Butterflies of Mumbai’ against 130 noted by the British.
Rodrigues also recorded 103 caterpillar species from the city in six years and included it in his book.“The idea was to educate citizens about the importance of conserving these species. With the advent of concretisation and various developmental activities in the financial capital that rapidly increased over the last five decades, the butterfly population started dwindling in the city. This gave me the impetus to study them,” said Rodrigues adding that the reduction in their green habitat and air pollution are the primary reasons for decline in their numbers.
Some of the rarest butterflies seen in Mumbai include the Indian Red Flash, Red spot, Orange Awlet, Silverstreak Blue and Crimson Rose. In 2014, Rodrigues identified three new butterfly species found in Mumbai — Abnormal Silverline (Cigaritis abnormis), Giant Red Eye (Gangara thyrsis) and Large Guava Blue (Virachola perse).
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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