1. State Stares at Power Crisis as Koyna Water Level Dips
Maharashtra is likely to face power shortage due to depleted water stock in the Koyna dam, an official said on Sunday.
While the Koyna dam's total capacity is 105 TMC, its current stock is merely 28 TMC, the official said.
The 1,000 MW fourth phase of the Koyna hydroelectric project is currently facing water shortage. Only nine TMC water stock is available for the fourth phase of the power generating unit, the official said.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
2. Students From Open Category Protest the Maratha Reservation on Carter Road
As Maharashtra government clears the way for aspirants from the Maratha community for PG Medical with an ordinance, those from the open category protested on Carter Road on Saturday. The PG medical admissions continue to remain chaotic.
After the Supreme Court order declared no Maratha reservation for this year's PG medical admissions, students from the Maratha community protested at Azad Maidan. The state government then decided to pass an ordinance to regularise the admissions. Aspirants from the open category protested at Carter Road on Saturday to demand of the Governor of Maharashtra, who is yet to sign the ordinance, to listen to their concerns.
Source: Mid-Day
3. Residents of Azad Nagar Slum in Mahim Defecate Along the Tracks, Railways Asks BMC to Install Toilets for 500 Families
For the past many months, the state government has been claiming that Maharashtra is open defecation-free. While these claims have been taken with a pinch of salt, more than 500 families residing in the Azad Nagar slums at Mahim call it a cruel joke, as they are forced to defecate along the tracks every day. When Mirror visited this slum colony last week, it found the nearest public toilet – a mobile toilet – was located inside a crowded labour camp that’s at least a 20-minute walk.
Last Friday, the Railway Protection Force, Western Railway, organised a drive along the tracks where around 300 residents from Azad Nagar slums were urged to not litter the tracks.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
4. Mumbai More Than Twice as Dusty as in 2001, Data Finds
While Mumbai has achieved better air quality on certain parameters over the last 15 years, the financial capital is now well over twice as dusty as it was in 2001.
Data from the Central Pollution Control Board, compiled by the Union government, shows that levels of sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen in the air are significantly lower than in previous years, average levels of particulate matter have increased dramatically in Mumbai.
A report titled ‘EnviStats-India 2019’, published by the Central Statistics Office, shows that particulate matter in Mumbai rose from an average of 67.2 microgram per cubic metre in 2001 to 151 microgram per cubic metre in 2017, rising steadily barring a small dip in 2014.
Source: Indian Express
5. 20-Year-Old Mumbaikar Creates Guinness Record in Underwater Cubing
Mumbai resident Chinmay Prabhu has made it to the Guinness Book of World Records by solving nine Pyraminx (pyramid shaped Rubik's cube) under water.
The 20-year-old, who received the Guinness certificate on March 15, had achieved the feat on December 9 last year by solving the Pyraminx sitting underwater in a pool in just one minute and forty-eight seconds.
Source: Mid-Day
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