1. 931 More Maharashtra Villages May Be Declared Drought-Hit
Considering the acute water shortage and low crop produce, the state government on Thursday decided to declare 931 more villages in Maharashtra drought-hit, in addition to the 151 tehsils where relief work has already begun.
The villages are located in 50 revenue circles in eight districts — Dhule, Ahmednagar, Jalgaon, Parbhani, Jalna, Osmanabad, Satara and Buldhana. The cabinet sub-committee’s decision brings the total number of revenue circles affected by drought to 318. Each revenue circle comprises 30-40 villages.
Source: Hindustan Times
2. Poachers Had 30 Live Snares Inside Film City
The extensive search and combing operation carried out inside Film City after the carcasses of a leopard and sambar were found inside has thrown up around 30 live metal snares. All were found in a 10-km radius and forest officials believe these may have been set up by poachers to trap wild animals.
Interestingly, the majority of the snares were recovered from the area close to Film City where garbage is dumped and where dogs and deer come to feed and which in turn, attracts leopards. Biologist Nikit Surve said, "We found a lot of garbage around the carcasses of the wild animals. This garbage, which is high in salt content, is a huge attractant for herbivores. And, herbivores and domestic animals serve as attractants to the leopards."
Source: Midday
3. ‘Male Cub May Have Jumped The Fence’: No Sign Of T1C2 In Trap Cameras For Days
Forest department officials are facing a new challenge as the male tiger cub, T1C2, may have escaped the chain-link fence that was erected to contain him.
The male cub of tigress Avni or T1, who was shot dead on November 2, has managed to successfully dodge the tracking teams while his female sibling, T1C1, was captured last month and sent to the Pench Tiger Reserve. The 11-foot fence was raised around 80 hectares of forest land in order to tranquilise and capture the cubs.
Source: The Indian Express
4. Peter Unhappy With Rahul’s Relationship: Friend
Former television executive Peter Mukerjea’s friend told a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Thursday that Peter was not happy with his son Rahul’s relationship with his wife’s daughter, Sheena.
The friend, an MBA graduate, is a former employee of INX Media, which was owned by Peter and mostly run by his wife. He quit INX Media in 2009, two years after he was shifted there from INX Services, where he worked for seven years from 2000 to 2007.
Source: The Hindu
5. Chembur: Builder Shoots Self, Was Under Stress Due To Delayed Project
A 57-year-old builder allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his licensed revolver at his office in Chembur on Thursday.
The deceased has been identified as Sanjay Agarwal, a partner in Sanjona Builders. His relatives, including his son, were outside his cabin when he shot himself, the police said. No suicide note has been found from the spot. The Chembur police station has filed an accidental death report.
Source: The Indian Express
6. Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari: Noted Gandhian And Former Acting Chief Justice Of Bombay HC Dies At 91
Noted Gandhian thinker and former acting Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Justice Chandrashekhar Dharmadhikari, died in the wee hours of Thursday. He was 91. Justice Dharmadhikari was unwell and was admitted to a private hospital two days ago, but suffered a cardiac arrest on Wednesday night. Sources said he breathed his last at 1 am Thursday.
His last rites were performed at Ambazari crematorium on Thursday with many Gandhians in attendance from across the state. He is survived by daughter, Dr Aruna Patil, and two sons, Bombay HC judge Satyaranjan Dharmadhikari and senior lawyer Ashutosh Dharmadhikari.
Source: The Indian Express
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