1. Man Attempts to Self-Immolate Outside Mantralaya in Mumbai
A 54-year-old man from Maharashtra’s Dhule district poured kerosene on himself and attempted self-immolation outside Mantralaya’s main gate on Monday.
Security officials stopped Baban Yashwant Jhote, in the nick of time and handed him over to the Marine Drive police. “Jhote poured kerosene and was trying to set himself on fire when the security personnel outside Mantralaya stopped him,” said an official, requesting anonymity.
Jhote was an employee of Dhule Municipal Corporation and wants to be reinstated. He claimed that in 1989 backward class recruitment for the Dhule civic body, the local politicians used their influence to get jobs for people known to them. He said that despite giving interviews, he and the others did not get jobs.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office, Jhote had written to the chief minister demanding an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the 1989 backward class recruitment.
Source: Hindustan Times
2. Three-year-old Girl Falls Into Metro Pillar Pit, Dies
A three-year-old girl died Sunday after she allegedly fell inside a pit made for Metro pillar construction. According to police, the girl was found late last night and was declared dead by the doctors. The girl was identified as Sheetal Mishra. “We received a call that a girl who lives in the nearby slum area was missing. When we checked, she had fallen into the pit. There were allegedly barricades but she managed to cross them and reach the pit,” an officer from Vanrai police station said. The girl was rescued and rushed to the trauma centre in Jogeshwari where she was declared dead.
DCP Vinay Rathod said, “We are in the process of registering an FIR against whoever is responsible for her death.”
“We have reported a couple of times in the past to the concerned police station that children from the nearby slum come to play inside the barricaded area of the Metro 7 construction. Despite that children continued to come inside. The police are investigating the matter and action will be taken against the guilty,” said Dilip Kawathkar, MMRDA spokesperson.
Source: The Indian Express
3. Veggie Vendor Wins Rs 1.11 Cr, but Ticket Turns Out to Be Fake
It was heartbreak for a Nalasopara based helper at a bread manufacturing unit, who also sells vegetables to supplement his meagre income, when he won a Rs 1.11 crore lottery, but was told his ticket was fake.
Suhas Kadam, 44, who has filed a complaint with the Mahatma Phule Police station in Kalyan, was told at the Vashi headquarters of the State Lottery Department that there were three claimants to the Rs 1.11 crore bumper prize. All three, including Kadam, had the winning ticket serial number, and the amount, officials told him, had already been paid to the one with the genuine ticket.
The winning ticket, Kadam was told, had a barcode that was genuine, while the one on his ticket and the ticket of the other claimant was fake. Kadam’s tragic tale is indicative of a massive racket involving fake lottery tickets worth crores of rupees being sold to unsuspecting customers across the state. Mumbai has around 4,000 lottery stalls and tickets worth Rs 15 crore are sold every day.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. Glass-roofed Vistadome Train Coach to Run From Mumbai to Goa Only Thrice a Week Till Oct-end
The glass-roofed Vistadome coach, which offers breathtaking panoramic views of the Konkan coast en route to Goa, will be attached to the Dadar-Madgaon Jan Shatabdi Express only thrice a week instead of all seven days, till end of October.
Railway authorities said the Vistadome would be attached to the train leaving from Dadar on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Thus, it will be attached to the train departing from Madgaon on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
This arrangement will continue till October 20.
On days when the train won’t be fitted with the Vistadome, a two-tier air-conditioned coach will be attached, till September 25. LK Verma, chief public relations officer of Konkan Railway, said the Vistadome’s running days have been reduced owing to the Konkan Railway’s monsoon timetable. As per the timetable, the speed of all trains has been reduced to 75-90kmph from 110kmph because of the hilly, landslide-prone terrain.
Source: Hindustan Times
5. Rule-flouting Koyla Gets Notice to Shut Business
Popular restaurant Koyla in Colaba, housed in the 100-year-old Kamal Mansion, has been issued a notice by the BMC’s fire department to stop operations for failing to have necessary permissions in place in order to serve food on its rooftop.
The notice was issued on May 24, the day of Mumbai Mirror’s exposé on the joint — owned by Farhan Azmi, son of Samajwadi Party legislator Abu Azmi — for multiple violation of rules.
The BMC had cracked down on rooftop restaurants after the Kamala Mills fire in December last year, in which 14 people lost their lives.
The notice, issued to Koyla manager Lavesh Turbadkar, stated that the fire department had inspected the premises and that Turadkar was running its day-to-day operations. It ordered a halt on operations till the trade licence, fire safety compliance documents, and clearance from the medical officer of health as well as the assistant engineer (building and factories) are obtained. The notice also said that during the inspection, Turadkar did not produce any valid permission from the BMC, but had paid the “required fees” to serve food on the terrace. “…there were deviations and contraventions of the requirements with regard to fire prevention and life safety measures or inadequacies,” read the notice issued by SS Rane, assistant divisional officer of the fire department.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
6. Maratha Group Wants MU Renamed After Sambhaji
A campaign will make its way to the city next week, seeking to rename the University of Mumbai after Maratha king Shivaji’s scholar-son Sambhaji. Sambhaji ruled the Maratha kingdom after his father’s death for nine years. His reign was largely shaped by wars with the Mughal empire.
Sakal Marathi Samaj, a group that has been working on giving Sambhaji “his due”, launched the campaign in Pune and will arrive in Mumbai next week to meet the education minister, the governor and the vice-chancellor with its request for a name change.
Rajesh Khadke, convener of the group, asserted that Sambhaji’s intellectual contribution to history has often been neglected. “Sambhaji Maharaj was a Sanskrit scholar and knew 14 languages. There are four major books written by him, including Budhbhushanam which deals with politics. He will be an inspiration to students of the university.”
Source: Mumbai Mirror
7. BMC Seeks Bombay High Court Nod to Raze 25 Buildings at GTB Nagar
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Monday told the Bombay High Court that they should be granted permission to proceed with the demolition of 25 buildings located at GTB Nagar. The corporation told the court that more than 6,000 people had been residing in 25 buildings and their lives were in danger, as the buildings were on the verge of collapsing.
Dhruti Kapadia, lawyer for the corporation, told the court that the BMC’s Technical Advisory Committee in its April report had said that “without warning the building will collapse,” and based on this report they wanted to demolish the building. Kapadia also told the court that there were 6,000 people living in 25 buildings of Vijay Punjab Cooperative Housing Society at GTB Nagar. They should be safely evacuated from the building to avoid any harm to human life. The lawyer appearing for the society told the court he wanted to amend his petition. The court has posted the matter on Tuesday, to hear the society.
The petition filed by the society says there is a likelihood of coercive action from the municipal corporation in the form of demolition of the 25 buildings at any moment, leaving society members homeless. The petition says the state government is duty-bound to announce a policy of redevelopment of these buildings. “…due to indecision of the state government the future of the petitioner societies and their residents have struck hanging, jeopardized,” the petition says.
Source: The Indian Express
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