1. Bhima Koregaon: State to Withdraw All Cases Barring Serious Ones
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced withdrawal of all cases, except serious ones, in connection with the violence at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district on January 1.
Speaking in the Legislative Council, Fadnavis also said that the loss of property worth Rs 13 crore during the violence will be compensated by the state government.
“We will form a committee under Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) to assess serious offences that were committed during the episode,” he said. “This committee will submit recommendations to a cabinet sub-committee which will then decide whether the serious cases (too) should be withdrawn. The committee will submit its report in three months,” the chief minister said.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Maharashtra Govt Orders CID Probe Into 'Irregularities' in Slum Rehabilitation Projects
The state government Tuesday announced a CID probe into alleged irregularities in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) during its former CEO Vishwas Patil’s tenure. Patil retired recently. Minister of State for Housing Ravindra Waikar made the announcement in the state Legislative Assembly during Question Hour while responding to the Opposition’s demand. Former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan led Congress and NCP members to demand a probe into the matter.
While accepting the Opposition’s demand, Waikar said, “The government accepts the demand for a CID probe into the entire matter.” He said when the matter came to light, the government had constituted a committee led by then SRA secretary Sitaram Kunte. Almost 137 cases related to SRA schemes were scrutinised. In 33 cases, irregularities were found.
Waikar said, “Much to our surprise the Kunte committee report along with a file is missing. The missing file related to Patil allegedly making his wife a partner in a real estate company to get two flats in a SRA project in suburban Juhu.” The government lodged a complaint at Nirmal Nagar police station last November over this, he added.
3. ‘Rs 40,000 Not Enough to Cover Hospital Bills’
Victims injured in the Elphinstone stampede say compensation awarded to them by the Railway Claims Tribunal yesterday is just not enough.
After running from pillar to post for the past five months, the victims of the Elphinstone Road station stampede and the kin of the deceased received the compensation from the Railway Claims Tribunal on Tuesday. However, many of the injured were not happy with the amount they were given, saying it wasn’t enough to pay for their hospitalisation and medical bills. On 29 September, 2017, 23 people died in a stampede on the staircase of a narrow Foot Over-Bridge at the station during the morning rush hour.
Of the 39 applications received by the tribunal for compensation, 18 were by family members of the deceased while 21 were by those who suffered injuries. The immediate family members of 15 deceased were told that they would be given a compensation amount of Rs 8 lakh in the form of a Fixed Deposit, in the name of dependants of the deceased.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. You May Be Able to Buy Alcohol Bottles From Bars at MRP Soon
The state government is considering issuing FL II licences to bars in the state in a bid to increase its revenue. As per estimates, the state hopes this move will benefit its exchequer by adding at least 10 per cent in the excise duty collections.
FL II licences allow establishments to sell alcohol but prohibits consumption on their premises. On the other hand, bars or permit rooms are given FL III licences that only allow serving alcohol.
“Now, one can buy liquor at bars at the rate it is available in shops and consume it at the place of his or her choice,” said a senior state excise official.
The official further said, “There is a freeze on issuing new licences for shops and the political leadership doesn’t want to get entangled in a controversy over liberalising the alcohol licence policy. That’s why this middle road has been found.”
Source: Mumbai Mirror
5. ‘Monorail Stations Built on Four Roads Without BMC Nod’
An affidavit, filed by fire dept officer in the HC, points finger at MMRDA.
The MMRDA has constructed Monorail stations at four locations — Sheikh Misree Road, Kokari Aagar, Bhakti Park and Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Marg — without taking permission from the BMC, an affidavit filed before the Bombay High Court has revealed.
Also, it obtained a blanket NOC from the chief fire officer of Mumbai for 17 Monorail stations without submitting a structural plan for individual station in codified format. Ideally, MMRDA should have obtained specific NoC from the chief fire officer (CFO) for individual station by submitting the duly approved structural drawings.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. Rashid Oomerbhoy, Top Businessman, Horse-lover No More
Prominent city businessman Rashid S Oomerbhoy passed away at 1:30pm on Tuesday at his Girgaum Chowpatty bungalow. Several captains of industry, including Adi Godrej and Cyrus Poonawalla, visited his home to pay their last respects.
The tall and handsome Rashid, a regular presence at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, was the grandson of the pioneering Ahmed Oomerbhoy. Ahmed founded Ahmed Oil Mills, which produced Postman groundnut oil. The mill was located in Do Tanki, near Pydhonie, once the heart of the city’s oil business. It was said that their stock would set the tone for daily trade in oil in the city back in the day.
Ahmed Oomerbhoy passed the centuryold company onto his sons Sattar and Majid Oomerbhoy. Rashid was Sattar’s son. The Oomerbhoys belonged to a large family, and nearly all of its 60-odd members lived in Chowpatty’s Sattar Sea View, opposite the Mafatlal Club. After his uncle Majid’s death, the Oomerbhoy family was torn apart by feuds. Rashid exited the family business and launched his own company, RR Oomerbhoy, in 1995. Its offices are located in Marine Drive, and the company is run by Rashid’s children Riyad Oomerbhoy and Roohi Jaikishan.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
7. Fire Breaks out in Commercial Complex in Thane; Patients From Nursing Home Evacuated
A fire broke out on the fifth floor of Samarth Arcade complex in Thane on Tuesday morning. Fire department officials evacuated seven patients and staff of a nursing home located in same building.
The fire started around 9.45am in a builder’s office located in the six-storey structure near Holy Cross school, Uthalsar Road, officials said. Thane’s Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) dispatched two fire engines, two rescue vehicles and one water tanker to the spot, and brought the fire under control within 30 minutes.
Builder Sanjay Bhalerao’s office has been damaged badly in the blaze, but there were no casualties. “No one was injured, but we evacuated two patients, a two-day-old baby, two relatives of patients and two staff members of Prathamesh Nursing Home from the building’s first floor. It was just a precautionary measure; the nursing home was not affected,” said Santosh Kadam, in charge of RDMC.
Source: Hindustan Times
8. Two Mangrove Parks to Come up in Mumbai
The Maharashtra government’s Mangrove Cell proposes to set up Mumbai’s first mangrove parks in Gorai and Dahisar. The parks, which are proposed to be set up by the end of this year, will not only boost eco-tourism in the area, but will also increase awareness about mangroves, officials from the Mangrove Cell said. “We are working on a plan to have eco-tourism activities, including boating and mangrove trails, at the parks. Tourists will be able to see mangroves and birds closely. It will also have an interpretation centre,” said N Vasudevan, additional principal chief conservator of forest, state Mangrove Cell.
The Dahisar park, which is estimated to cost about Rs 6-7 crore, will have a mangrove trail, a watchtower to observe birds, a ‘Nature Interpretation Centre’ for people to learn more about mangroves and boating trips into mangrove patches. “It will be almost 80 hectares in area. If one is to walk around it, it will be a six- km walk.
Presently, there is an old bund there, which we will use as a path for mangrove trails. We will construct boardwalks at places where the bund is broken. A jetty is also being constructed for boating,” said Prashant Deshmukh, range forest officer, state Mangrove Cell. Around the Dahisar creek, there are varieties of birds, such as egrets and grey herons.
Source: The Indian Express
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