1. Elderly Vegetable Vendor In Kalyan Electrocuted Under ATM Kiosk
A 65-year-old woman, who had sought shelter outside an ATM kiosk at Kalyan, died after she was electrocuted. The women, a vegetable vendor, had gone to the kiosk after it suddenly started raining.
According to the police, the deceased, identified as Sakubai Waghmare, 65, is a resident of Vikas Colony in Kalyan west and ran a stall at Khadakpada. "The incident took place on Sunday morning around 11.40 am. When it suddenly started raining, Waghmare ran to the nearest place, which happened to be an Axis Bank ATM kiosk. She was standing under the air conditioner outside the kiosk and must have touched some loose wire and was electrocuted. She was taken to a private hospital, where she was declared dead," said a senior officer from Khadakpada police station on condition of anonymity.
(Source: Mid-day)
2. No Clarity On Fare Hike As BEST Deficit Widens to Rs 880.88 Crore
For the second consecutive year, the BEST has presented an annual budget with a deficit. This time, there is a deficit of Rs 880.88 crore whereas last year’s deficit stood at Rs 590 crore. Although the budget hinted at austerity measures ‘as the inevitable way’ of reducing losses, there was no clarity or discussion on the much-expected fare hike at Tuesday presentation of budget.
The budget for 2018-19 projected the earnings for the year at Rs 4,943.37 crore and the expenditure at Rs 5,824.25 crore.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Butcher Island Fire: How Did 'Lightning-Proof' Tank Get Struck?
A third inspection was carried out yesterday at Butcher Island, off the coast of Mumbai, where one of the storage tanks owned by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) had caught fire three days ago and burned for over 70 hours.
Experts from the Oil Industry Safety Directorate inspected the site after the blaze was finally brought under control and cooling operations on tank number 13 started. A team of insurance surveyors also visited yesterday to take stock of the situation and get an idea of the estimated loss.
(Source: Mid-day)
4. 25 Societies Warm Up to Composting After ‘BMC Stinker’
The civic body’s stance to not pick up garbage from residential complexes which disregard new waste segregation and composting rules has yielded early results. Twenty-five reluctant societies on Marine Drive gave an undertaking to the BMC on Tuesday that they would start composting wet waste within three months. They stopped resisting the idea, which officials believe will help Mumbai manage its refuse more efficiently, a few hours after Mirror reported how garbage vans had stopped clearing trash piles from the societies for over a week.
“We had issued notices to 25 societies after they failed to comply with wet waste segregation and composting rules. They made no representations before us, so we stopped collecting waste from the compounds,” said C Ward officer Jivak Ghegadmal.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
5. Elphinstone Road Stampede: WR Gives Clean Chit To Railway Staff
After Dadar Police, a high level committee of the Western Railway has also given a clean chit to the railway station staff. After recording statements of about 30 survivors of the stampede. The report was compiled by five senior officials of the Western Railway including the chief safety officer.
The report also lists a few pertinent suggestions like relocating the booking counter, regulation of vendors’ entry during rush hours, additional CCTV cameras for monitoring, and hotline facility at stations.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
6. Petrol Cheaper By Rs 2, Diesel By Re 1
Petrol was made cheaper by Rs 2 and diesel by Re 1 per litre across the state from Tuesday midnight after the state government reduced the value-added tax on the fuels. Making the announcement about VAT reduction on petrol and diesel, state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar termed it a “Diwali gift” to people of the state.
“The chief minister has approved a proposal to reduce the VAT on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 and Re 1 a litre, respectively. This is our Diwali gift to the masses,” Mungantiwar said. He added the decision will cause an annual revenue loss of Rs 2,000 crore to the state exchequer. “The government is ready to bear the additional financial burden despite Maharashtra’s economy not being in a good shape,” he said.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
7. Track Maintainers To Get GPS Bands So They Stay On Tracks
In a desperate attempt to prevent railway track maintainers from being used by officers as house helps, the Western Railway has decided to make these Class IV employees wear GPS tags to ensure they are on the field during working hours and not running errands for their seniors or their wives.
Mumbai Mirror in its September 2 edition had exposed how over a thousand track maintainers – the railways’ first and most effective protection against derailments – were either employed as servants at senior officers’ residences or were attached to offices where there was a shortfall of manpower.
The shocking number, sources said, could safely be extrapolated to railway divisions across the country and reveals the real reason behind the recent spate of derailments across the country, including Mumbai.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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