Page 34 - Maharashtra

Maha CM's convoy stuck in traffic as truck breaks down, blocks road in Pune

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's convoy was stuck in traffic briefly Friday evening after a truck and a car broke down blocking the highway near Chandani Chowk in Pune. Personnel from the Pimpri Chinchwad Police traffic department rushed to the spot and helped the chief minister's convoy pass through the area. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Anand Bhoite said the chief minister's convoy was on the way to Satara. "As a truck and a car broke down blocking two lanes of the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway near Chandani Chowk in Pune, the convoy got stuck at around 8 pm. We immediately rushed to the spot and helped the convoy pass through a third lane," he said. The convoy got stuck in traffic for 15 minutes. Seeing CM Shinde, some people standing on service roads approached him and and appraised him of the daily traffic issues on the stretch due to the ongoing road work. Shinde then called officials concerned of the civic body and the NHAI and asked them to address the ...

Maharashtra govt hikes reward money for medal winners of Commonwealth Games

The Maharashtra government has hiked the reward money for medal recipients of the Commonwealth Games by up to five times with a gold winner now getting Rs 50 lakh, state Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Girish Mahajan said on Friday. Talking to reporters here, Mahajan said the reward money for Commonwealth Games medal winners given by the Maharashtra government was less compared to states like Haryana and Punjab. "Earlier, a gold medal recipient in the Commonwealth Games was given Rs 10 lakh. The amount has now been hiked to Rs 50 lakh," he said. A recipient of silver medal will now get Rs 30 lakh, instead of Rs 7.5 lakh earlier, while a bronze winner will get Rs 20 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh. The minister said 14 players from the state participated in the just concluded Commonwealth Games at Birmingham in the UK. Of these, seven players bagged a total of eight medals. These players, along with their coaches, will together get Rs 3.5 crore in reward money, Mahajan said.

Maharashtra logs 1,846 Covid-19 cases, 4 deaths; active tally at 11,871

Maharashtra on Friday reported 1,846 new COVID-19 cases and four deaths linked to the infection, which took the overall tally in the state to 80,93,122 and the toll to 1,48,218, a health department official said. The addition to the tally and the toll was less than the 1,887 cases and six fatalities reported a day earlier. Two of the deaths took place in Mumbai, while Vasai-Virar in Palghar district and Raigad witnessed one fatality each, he said. Mumbai accounted for 679 of the new cases reported in Maharashtra, the official added. The recovery count increased by 2,240 in the last 24 hours to touch 79,33,033, leaving the state with an active caseload of 11,871, he said. State health department data showed the coronavirus recovery rate was 98.02 per cent, while the fatality rate stood at 1.83 per cent. The overall number of coronavirus tests was 8,39,92,876, including 34,142 swab samples examined in the last 24 hours, as per official data. Maharashtra coronavirus figures are as

Cabinet expansion the next challenge for Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde

Government has 23 vacant ministerial berths to fill, even as it prepares for municipal elections, and battles a shift in Shiv Sainiks' sympathies

Maharashtra to amend NDPS Act to make it more stringent, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra will amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and make it more stringent by making abetment a serious offence, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Thursday. He was speaking in the Legislative Council. Saying that the menace of psychotropic drugs is spreading like cancer, Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, said the government plans to conduct awareness programmes against drugs in a big way. Under the NDPS Act one needs to possess commercial quantities of drugs or consume drugs for it to be considered a crime, he said. We have decided to bring state amendments to the NDPS Act and it will not be restricted to consumption and possession alone. Abetment of crime will also be considered a serious offence. This will ensure that loophole in the NDPS Act is not misused, Fadnavis said.

Maharashtra records 1,887 Covid cases, six deaths; active tally at 12,269

Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 1,887 new coronavirus cases and six pandemic-related deaths, the health department said in a bulletin. The state's COVID-19 case tally rose to 80,91,276, and death toll reached 1,48,214. On Wednesday, the state had recorded 1,913 cases and five fatalities. State capital Mumbai recorded 838 new coronavirus cases and two fatalities on Thursday. Pune city, Solapur city and Raigad and Solapur districts recorded one fatality each. The case fatality rate in the state stands at 1.83 per cent. There are 12,269 active cases in the state now. As many as 2,190 patients recovered from coronavirus infection since Wednesday evening, taking the total of recovered patients to 79,30,793. The recovery rate in the state stands at 98.02 per cent. As many as 35,969 tests were conducted since previous evening, which took the tally of tests conducted in the state to 8,39,58,734. Coronavirus figures of Maharashtra: New cases: 1,887; Deaths: six; Active cases: 12,269;

Shiv Sena factions target each other in Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan premises

Legislators of the Shiv Sena faction of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde targeted former minister Aaditya Thackeray by displaying a banner against him on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan here on Thursday. Aaditya Thackeray countered them by shouting a slogan implying that MLAs of the Shinde faction got money to switch loyalty, which had resulted in the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government comprising the Sena, NCP and Congress. Legislators from the Shinde faction carried banners with the message: "Yuvrajanchi disha chukli" (the prince missed his path) on the steps of the Vidhan Bhavan where the state legislature session is currently underway. MLA Bharat Gogawale told reporters that if legislators of the Shinde group are targeted repeatedly, they would not sit with folded hands. "We will respond," he said. On the other side, Aaditya Thackeray and some legislators of the Congress and NCP shouted slogans demanding that a "wet drought" be declared in Maharashtra to pro

Maharashtra logs 1,913 Covid-19 cases, five deaths; active tally at 12,578

Maharashtra on Wednesday reported 1,913 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of three from a day ago, while five more patients died due to the infection, the health department said. With this addition, the tally of COVID-19 cases in the state climbed to 80,89,389, while the death toll increased to 1,48,208, it in a bulletin. On Tuesday, the state had recorded 1,910 cases and seven deaths. As per the bulletin, of the total new cases recorded on Wednesday, the highest 1,320 were from the Mumbai administrative circle, followed by Pune (309), Nagpur (88), Nashik (65), Kolhapur (47), Akola (26), Latur (44) and Aurangabad (14) circles. An administrative circle consists of multiple districts. Of the five deaths reported on Wednesday, two were from Mumbai city and one each from Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Parbhani city, said the bulletin. The number of discharged persons rose to 79,28,603 after 1,913 patients recovered from the infection during the day, leaving the state with 12,578 active cas

Maharashtra govt to form policy for desilting rivers to prevent floods: CM

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday announced formation of a comprehensive policy for desilting rivers in the state to prevent floods. He was speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly to a question raised by BJP member Sunil Rane on some rivers flooding earlier than expected and causing major damages. Shinde said, The Maharashtra government is forming a comprehensive policy for desilting of all rivers in the state. It would work as a guideline for the implementing authority to take necessary steps to clean and desilt the river beds. Meanwhile, to a question by some members on satellite phones, minister Abdul Sattar said in the House that the previous state government had bought satellite phones at a rate of Rs 1,70,000 per unit, when similar phones are available at Rs 80,000 per unit. "The previous government in Maharashtra bought six satellite phones given to (authorities in) Ratnagiri district, which was severely hit by excess rains last year. The regular phone netwo

Trying to get speedy presidential assent for Shakti Bill, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state government will make all efforts to get the presidential assent speedily for the Shakti Bill that provides for stringent punishment for crimes against women. Replying to a debate in the Legislative Council, he said the state government had sent the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, to the President for assent earlier this year. The bill, inspired by the Disha Act of Andhra Pradesh and other similar laws, was passed by the state legislature in December 2021. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs asked for some information pertaining to the bill and the state Director General of Police will soon submit a report, Fadnavis said. While enacting special laws, some central laws are changed, hence such legislations are sent to eight central departments and scrutinized by the Law and Justice department to check whether they conform with Supreme Court and High Courts judgements, he said. I will

SC refers Uddhav-Shinde dispute to five-judge constitution bench

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav Thackeray faction, asked the top court to restrain the Election Commission from deciding Shinde's claim

Maharashtra logs 1,910 Covid-19 cases, 7 deaths; active tally up to 12,355

Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 1,910 new COVID-19 cases, an increase of 727 from a day ago, while seven more patients died due to the infection and the active tally crossed the 12,000-mark in the state, said the health department. With these additions, the tally of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra jumped to 80,87,476, while the death toll increased to 1,48,203, said the department in a bulletin. A day before, the state had reported 1,183 coronavirus cases and one death linked to the infection. As per the bulletin, of the total new cases, the highest 1,355 were from the Mumbai administrative circle, followed by Pune (199), Nagpur (86), Nashik (60), Kolhapur (55), Akola (23), Latur (20) and Aurangabad (12) circles. An administrative circle consists of multiple districts. The Mumbai circle recorded three coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours, the Kolhapur circle two and Nashik and Nagpur circles one each, said the bulletin. The number of recuperated cases rose to 79,26,918

SC refers petitions of Shiv Sena, Eknath Shinde to constitution bench

The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred to a five-judge bench the petitions filed by the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde raising several constitutional questions related to defection, merger and disqualification. A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana ordered the listing of petitions before the constitution bench on Thursday and directed the Election Commission not to pass any orders on Shinde faction's plea that it be considered the real Shiv Sena and granted the party's poll symbol. "List the matter before the constitution bench the day after tomorrow and the bench will decide about the symbol related to the Election Commission proceeding at the beginning," the bench also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli said. The bench was hearing pending cases related to the recent political crisis in Maharashtra that led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in the state.

Maharashtra's Thane records 324 new Covid-19 cases; active tally at 1,904

Maharashtra's Thane district has recorded 324 new COVID-19 cases, taking its infection tally to 7,38,777, a health official said on Monday. With the addition of the latest numbers on Sunday, the district currently has 1,904 active COVID-19 cases, he said. No death was reported on Sunday and the fatality toll in the district stood at 11,938. The recovery count in Thane has reached 7,25,364, he added.

Maharashtra sees 1,832 Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths; active tally now 11,641

Maharashtra on Sunday reported 1,832 COVID-19 cases and two fatalities, which took the tally to 80,84,383 and the toll to 1,48,195, a health department official said. A day earlier, the state had reported 1,855 cases and two deaths. Of the new cases, Mumbai Circle led with 1,259, followed by Pune Circle (295), Nashik Circle (78), Nagpur Circle (100), Kolhapur Circle (39), Latur Circle (32), Aurangabad Circle (16) and Akola Circle (13). One of the two COVID-19 fatalities was reported from Mumbai city and the other from Satara in western Maharashtra, the official said. The recovery count increased by 2,055 in the past 24 hours and touched 79,24,547, leaving Maharashtra with an active caseload of 11,641. Mumbai accounts for 5,761 active cases, followed by 1,925 in Thane and 1,579 in Pune, he said. The overall number of coronavirus tests in Maharashtra reached 8,38,38,036 after 30,421 samples were examined in the last 24 hours, he added. As per the state health department data, the

DICGC to make payments to depositors of 17 co-op banks in October

The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) will be making payments to the eligible depositors of 17 cooperative banks, including eight from Maharashtra, in October. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had imposed several restrictions, including on withdrawals, by depositors of these 17 banks in July in view of their deteriorating financial positions. DICGC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI, provides an insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh on bank deposits. Of the 17 cooperative banks, eight are in Maharashtra, four in Uttar Pradesh, two in Karnataka, and one each in New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The cooperative banks from Maharashtra are: Sahebrao Deshmukh Co-operative Bank, Sangli Sahakari Bank, Raigad Sahakari Bank, Nashik Zilla Girna Sahakari Bank, Saibaba Janata Sahakari Bank, Anjangaon Surji Nagari Sahakari Bank, Jaiprakash Narayan Nagari Sahakari Bank, and The Karmala Urban Co-op Bank. As per the DICGC, the banks from Uttar Pradesh whose eligib

15 swine flu deaths in Maharshtra's Thane so far this year: Officials

A total of 15 people have died of swine flu so far this year in Maharashtra's Thane region which includes civic corporations of Thane, Palghar and Panvel in Raigad, health department officials said on Sunday. From January 1 till August 19 this year, 2,07,742 people were screened for the H1N1 influenze virus and 462 of them were found positive for it. Out of the positive cases, 15 patients have died so far, a per the official data. The maximum 291 positive cases were found in Thane Municipal Corporation limits where eight people died, followed by 56 cases in Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation where five deaths were reported, it said. Besides, one death each was reported from Thane and Raigad districts, as per the official figures.

What did rebel Sena MLAs achieve by backstabbing us? Aaditya Thackeray asks

Shiv Sena MLA and former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray has sought to know what did the rebel legislators achieve by "backstabbing" the party leadership when it supported them in every possible way. He made the remarks on Saturday at a public rally in Jalgaon, the Assembly constituency of rebel Sena leader and present state minister Gulabrao Patil. In June this year, Shiv Sena MLA Eknath Shinde and 39 other legislators revolted against the party leadership, leading to the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which comprised the Sena, NCP and Congress. Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30 along with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy. CM Shinde recently expanded his cabinet, inducting nine ministers each from the Sena and the BJP. We gave them tickets, made efforts to get them elected and supported them in every possible way. Why did they backstab us? What did they achieve by being traitors? Aaditya Thackeray ...

Maharashtra: 278 new Covid-19 infections in Thane; active cases cross 1,900

As many as 278 new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Maharashtra's Thane district, taking its infection tally to 7,38,453, a health official said on Sunday. With the addition of the latest numbers on Saturday, the district currently has 1,905 active COVID-19 cases, he said. The toll stood in Thane remained unchanged at 11,938, while the recovery count has reached 7,25,082, he added.

Maharashtra sees 1,855 Covid-19 cases, 2 deaths; active tally at 11,866

Maharashtra on Saturday reported 1,855 COVID-19 cases and two deaths, which took the tally to 80,82,551 and the toll to 1,48,193, a health department official said. A day earlier, the state saw 2,285 cases and five fatalities. Of the new cases, Mumbai Circle led with 1,229, followed by Pune Circle (263), Nashik Circle (117), Nagpur Circle (112), Kolhapur Circle (48), Latur Circle (33), Akola Circle (27) and Aurangabad Circle (26). Both the COID-19 deaths took place in the Mumbai Circle, which comprises the metropolis and several surrounding districts, the official informed. The recovery count increased by 1,720 in the past 24 hours and touched 79,22,492, leaving Maharashtra with an active caseload of 11,866. Mumbai accounts for 5,825 active cases, followed by 1,923 in Thane and 1,637 in Pune, he said. The overall number of coronavirus tests in Maharashtra reached 8,38,07,615 after 32,030 samples were examined in the last 24 hours, he added. As per the state health department dat