1. City Lensman’s Work Part of Pulitzer-winning Rohingya Series
One of Danish Siddiqui’s pictures shows a despondent woman, about to collapse on a beach on Shah Porir island, located at the mouth of the Naf River, near the maritime boundary between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Another shows refugees making their way along the shore, gunny sacks under their arms or on their backs, as a cloud of dark smoke rises up behind them.
These photographs are Siddiqui’s contributions to a series of about 15 photos of the Rohingya crisis, which won international news agency Reuters the Pulitzer Prize for photography. The awards were announced on Tuesday.
Siddiqui shot the pictures in September 2017, back when the Myanmar military had set thousands of Rohingya homes ablaze, displacing thousands of Rohingya Muslims -hence the ‘fires’ he spotted on the horizon.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Thundershowers Likely in Mumbai Today
The city is likely to witness thunderstorm with light rain in some areas on Wednesday, the weather bureau has predicted. The sky is likely to remain partly cloudy on Thursday as well. Meanwhile, the temperatures are expected to remain high with the maximum temperature likely to hit 37 degrees.
“A convection had developed over the coast in south central Maharashtra in areas like Sangli, Pune and few others. Due to this, these areas are experiencing thunderstorm with gusty winds and even rainfall has been reported in some areas. In Mumbai region Thane Kalwa and Dombivali have reported rains,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, IMD.
Areas in the suburbs like Badlapur, Ambernath and Thane received rainfall on Tuesday evening. Areas of south central Maharashtra and Marathwada are expected to receive light rainfall on Wednesday. Meanwhile several parts of the state experienced soaring heat on Tuesday with maximum temperatures rising above 40 degrees. Areas in Vidarbha like Chandrapur, Akola, Nagpur, Wardha, Yevatmal and Amravati saw the highest temperatures in the region.
Source: The Indian Express
3. Mumbai: Three Girls Drown Inside Water-filled Pit at Quarry in Bhiwandi
Three Bhiwandi girls accidentally drowned in a pit filled with water at a quarry in Dahelepada, a tribal hamlet in Thane district. Police said that the incident happened on Monday when Rohita Ravi Mangat (13), her sister Rasika Ravi Mangat (12) and their cousin Nita Fakat (10) stepped into the water-filled pit for a swim.
Unable to judge the depth of the pit, the three girls drowned and their bodies were brought out by local residents, the official added.
Senior Inspector RE Yadav of Nizampura police station said that foul play was not suspected in the incident but a noting of it had been made in the police station's diary.
Source: Mid Day
4. WR Gears up to Rebuild Platforms and Fobs
Every single day, Mumbai commuters taking suburban trains find themselves walking on the edge of an abyss. The indignation and fury in the wake of last year’s tragedy on an overpopulated Elphinstone station foot overbridge (FOB) elicited response in the form of Union budget allocation to develop 600 stations across India – including several in Mumbai – and promises and plans from Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation and Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC) to re/build FOBs and improve passenger amenities.
As part of the ambitious multi-tier project, a section of the Kandivali station boundary wall was demolished on Tuesday. With the razing of the wall and levelling of a path, the Western Railways aims to provide an alternative approach to the platforms.
The railway authorities have also put up indicators to enable commuters to identify the substitute approach. Currently, a structurally weak FOB at Kandivali station is shut down until July 2018 for urgent rebuilding, forcing the peak hour rush to take the other overcrowded FOBs.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. Single Window Clearance for Film and TV Production
The Single Window Clearance mechanism has been picking up pace in several states in sectors like services, small scale industries, manufacturing, tourism, environment and real estate. The latest sector to be targeted for smoother approvals within designated timelines in Maharashtra is the entertainment industry. From film production to television serials, advertisements and documentary filmmaking, all approvals will now be sanctioned under the Single Window Clearance System.
Allowing the ‘One Window System’, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday made online permissions for shooting of movies, TV serials, documentaries, ad films, and short films in public places mandatory.
According to a senior official, this decision is the result of the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ initiative. At present, about 35 permissions from various agencies – including police, fire brigade and local BMC ward – need to be taken before the shoot of a film or a television serial.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
5. Ex-ACP, Son Bash up Neighbour Over Parking Row
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Pradeep Temkar, his son Vaibhav and his friend Deep Shah allegedly bashed up their neighbour, Ankeet Gandhi, following a row over parking space on Saturday. Gandhi is Temkar’s neighbour in their residential building, Ganga Heritage, in Matunga East.
The incident that took place on Saturday has been captured in the building’s CCTV. Gandhi said that instead of registering an FIR, the police only took a non-cognizable complaint and let the ACP off. Senior Inspector BM Kakad of Matunga police said, “It is a case of a minor fight between two youths over parking space. The ACP did not beat up the youth. We organised a meeting between the two parties and told them to behave. We have also given a notice to Temkars so that such incidents do not happen again.’’
Temkar stays on the seventh floor while Gandhi lives on the sixth, and they have not been on good terms for the past many years.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. CCTV Footage Shows Indrani Took Bag From a Man, Returned It on Mumbai Court Premises the Day She Fell
Indrani Mukerjea, an accused in the murder of Sheena Bora, is seen receiving a bag from a man and returning it later in the CCTV footage of the city civil and sessions court on April 6, the day she overdosed on drugs, said prison officials.
Mukerjea was found semi-conscious in her cell after returning from court and was admitted to the intensive care unit of JJ hospital later in the night. Doctors later confirmed she had overdosed on benzodiazepine, a drug used to treat of anxiety and insomnia.
A top source in the prison department that ordered an IG-level probe into the incident last week to check for lapses by jail staff said the CCTV footage shows three men approaching Mukerjea during lunch break.
Source: Hindustan Times
7. Special PP in Khwaja Yunus Case Sacked
The special public prosecutor in the Khwaja Yunus encounter death case was on Tuesday informed in court that his services had been terminated. Dhiraj Mirajkar, who had been appointed in November 2015 on the specific request of Yunus’ mother, learnt that he no longer represented the state of Maharashtra when Lata Chheda, the chief public prosecutor of the Sessions Court, informed Sessions Judge VS Padalkar about this. The judge remarked that the state should have informed the special PP directly.
The government resolution (GR) terminating Mirajkar’s services is dated Monday, April 16. Now, the chief PP will represent the state.
But this goes against an order passed by Justice VM Kanade and Justice PD Kode of the Bombay High Court in 2014, which said that in all custodial death cases, Special PPs would have to be appointed.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
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