1. One Ticket for All: CM Devendra Fadnavis Writes to Railway Minister Over Payments Row
The state government’s plan to launch a one-ticket system for all public transport modes in the city by the end of December has hit a stumbling block, as state authorities and railways were unable to agree on how commuters will pay for tickets.
With the integrated ticketing system, more than one crore commuters can access all of the city’s public transport modes — suburban trains, metro, monorail, buses, autorickshaws and taxis — using a single card or mobile app. While the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is executing the project, has invited tenders, until the railways — used by 75 lakh people a day — agrees on a payments system, the project will remain incomplete.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
2. Man Who Shot Narendra Dabholkar Arrested in Pune
On a tip-off from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested Sachin Prakarao Andure, an Aurangabad resident, in the 2013 murder case of Dr Narendra Dabholkar. The ATS said that during the interrogations, Sharad Kalaskar — one of the two accused arrested along with Vaibhav Raut in Nallasopara a week ago — had confessed to being part of Dabholkar’s murder. Kalaskar had also told the ATS that Andure had shot at Dabholkar.
Andure was picked up from Pune and was likely to be produced in a court there because the Dabholkar case was registered at Deccan police station in Pune.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Mumbai DP Map Goof-Up: BMC Marks Plots in Sea, Nullahs
In a major goof-up in planning the city for the next twenty years, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) literally went into the sea. In BMC’s new development plan (DP), at least six plots around Haji Ali have been marked in the sea, two plots with city survey number were marked in the sea along Madh Island, while some plots in Mahul and Oshiwara have been marked in nullahs.
With only a week left for sending in suggestions/objections for eastern suburbs maps, the city-based Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) has highlighted recurring errors in DP maps, demanding clarification from authorities. “Is marking plots in sea, a clerical error? If it is an error, the authorities need to immediately rectify it and release a clarification. The implications of such errors are huge,” said Pankaj Joshi, director, UDRI.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
4. Mumbai Police Raise Awareness Over Deadly Momo Challenge
After the Blue Whale Challenge that took over a hundred lives across the globe, a new life-threatening trend has picked up on social media. Identified as Momo challenge, the new challenge is gaining popularity on social media. The Mumbai police has issued a warning regarding the dangerous challenge.
The police took to Twitter to raise awareness about the deadly game saying, " How about interacting with us on the widely know #Dial100 than on unknown numbers, to beat the challengers in their own game!” They also started the hashtags trend #NoNoMoMo and #MomoChallenge and wrote a catchy statement which read- “Not all Momos are meant to be consumed”."
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
5. Temple Trustee Booked for Abusing Woman
A 56-year-old trustee of Dahisar’s Jain temple, was on Saturday arrested by the MHB Colony police for allegedly outraging the modesty of a 24-year-old woman and intimidating her by making abusive comments. He was released on bail the same day.
The complainant has alleged that Ambalal Jain, a resident of Dahisar, always leered at her when she visited the temple. On Saturday morning, the woman was in the temple with her mother when Jain apparently started screaming at them over some altercation he had with the woman’s father, the police said quoting the complaint.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
6. Maharashtra Government Likely to Stop Food Being Delivered to Seat During Film Screenings
Weeks after the state filed an affidavit in the Bombay high court (HC) saying that allowing outside food into cinemas may lead to security threats, Maharashtra’s home department is now considering the prohibition on the vending of snacks and beverages inside auditoriums during film screenings.
“We have sought action against theatres for blatant violations of such hawking inside theatres. I myself have experienced the buttons next to seats abetting the hawking. We have sought, in our petition, action against such rampant violations,” said advocate Aditya Pratap, counsel for the petitioner Jainendra Baxi, who has moved court and challenged the sale of food and water bottles inside cinemas, particularly multiplexes.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. FYJC Special Round: Cut-Offs Ease in Top Colleges, Remain High for Commerce
Cut-offs in city’s top colleges dropped by several percentage points in the special round of admission to first year junior college (FYJC) for which the merit list was declared on Saturday. Percentages for Commerce stream, however, continued to remain uniformly above 85 per cent in many colleges.
The special round was conducted on August 13-14 for students who could not get a seat in any of the previous four regular rounds of admission. Students who were allotted a college of first preference but did not take admission and those who cancelled their admission in all earlier rounds were not eligible for this round.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
8. Mumbai: Crime Plagues Bhandup With Drugs Trade, Gang Wars, Encroachment on the Rise
Not very long ago, Bhandup was seen as just another nondescript neighbourhood in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai, which was home to the burgeoning middle class. This was before it earned the notorious reputation of becoming the city's new gangland, this year.
Since March, the township has witnessed eight murders, over 10 attempt to murder cases and hundreds of incidents of assault, forcing the city's top police brass to act against inefficient officers within its force - Senior Police Inspector Shrinivas Panhale was shunted to the Local Arms division - and crack its whip on criminals in the area. But the story of the making of this crime hub, where youngsters between 16 and 25 years of age have been unleashing terror, runs deep.
(Source: Mid-Day)
9. State Government Asks Civic Authorities to Take Onus of 'Good' Roads Across Seasons
The state government has asked all civic bodies, including Mumbai Municipal Corporation, to be responsible for filling potholes and keeping roads in good condition through all seasons. It has also instructed them to launch an exclusive helpline for citizens who want to report potholes.
This means that the roads within city limits will have to repaired by the civic corporations, no matter which agency owns them. In the past, jurisdiction squabbles have hampered repairs.
(Source: Mid-Day)
10. Kandivali Residents Cannot Open Their Window Due to High Noise Level
For residents living near Bhore junction, near Asha Nagar in Kandivali East, the experience is similar to living next to an airport. That’s because the sound from car horns blaring at the junction is equivalent to a jet taking off at a nearby airport.
Last month, Mirror had reported how the 200-metre stretch in Kandivali had been identified as one of the worst traffic points on the metro-scarred Western Express Highway (WEH).
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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