Mumbai News Highlights: Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, BJP, Shinde’s Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP announce joint rallies on Jan 14 (2024)

#UddhavThackeray and other Sena (UBT) leaders met the protesting anganwadi workers at Azad Maidan.

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Express photos by Amit Chakravarty pic.twitter.com/DGsOZP92V1

— Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) January 3, 2024

All of Maharashtra’s 2 lakh anganwadi workers, who have been on strike since last year to press for various demands, marched to Azad Maidan in protest against the state government.

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— Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) January 3, 2024

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole expressed confidence that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance would win 40 to 41 Lok Sabha seats, out of the total 48 in the state, in the upcoming general elections.

Addressing a press conference, he said the MVA's seat-sharing formula was ready and that there was no dispute among the three constituents. "Soon, the decision about seat-sharing will be announced. We have no dispute among ourselves. The real dispute is going on in the 'Mahayuti' (ruling alliance of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP of Ajit Pawar camp). They are claiming any number- 45, 48," Patole said.

"But I can say that in Maharashtra, MVA will have its maximum MPs after the 2024 elections. Recent surveys showed that maximum seats will go to the MVA and that the number is increasing as the MVA will win 40 to 41 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," Patole claimed.

A 19-year-old college student ended her life by jumping from the 14th floor of a residential building in Mumbai's Andheri area, a police official said.

A one-page note left behind by the deceased suggested that she had slipped into depression and took the extreme step due to it, said the official from D N Nagar police station. The incident took place at the Millionaire Heritage Society located on S V Road in the western suburb, he said.

Victim Vidhi Pramod Kumar Singh had been living in the building for the past few years as a paying guest, while her family members reside in neighouring Thane. She was a student of Mithibai College in Vile Parle, he said.

Maharashtra cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal said looking at the current atmosphere in the country, he is confident that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will get another term in office after the Lok Sabha polls due in a few months.

Asked about seat-sharing among the ruling allies BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP (Ajit Pawar faction) in the state for the Lok Sabha polls, Bhujbal told reporters here that leaders from the three parties will sit together and decide on it. "Looking at the wave and the results of elections in some states, everywhere the wind is blowing in favour of Narendra Modi saheb. I am confident that PM Modi saheb will again become the prime minister in 2024," he said.

"In the subsequent Maharashtra assembly elections (due later this year), the chief minister will be from Mahayuti (ruling alliance)," the NCP leader said, expressing confidence that they will win the state polls.

Business returned to normal a day after nationwide truckers' strike was held across Maharashtra.

Here are some visuals from the APMC as trucks returned arrived at the venue:

(Express Photos and Videos by Narendra Vaskar)

The Supreme Court Wednesday sought a response from the Maharashtra government and the NIA on a plea by Delhi University's associate professor and Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused Hany Babu against an order of the Bombay High Court which rejected his bail plea, news agency PTI reported.

The bench sought their response within three weeks. The high court on September 19, 2022 had rejected the bail plea filed by Babu.

The NIA, which is conducting a probe into the case, has accused Babu of being a co-conspirator in propagating Maoist activities and ideology on the instructions of leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation.

Babu was arrested in July 2020 in the case and is currently lodged at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held in Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the city's outskirts. One person was killed and several others were injured in the violence.

Babu in his plea had said the special court had "erred" in holding that there existed prima facie incriminating material against him.

The NIA had opposed the bail plea, arguing Babu actively participated in activities to promote Naxalism and wanted to overthrow the government. (PTI)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP groupkickstarted its campaignfor the upcoming Lok Sabha polls by announcing joint rallies in all districts on January 14 in a bid to bring workers of all three parties together.

Moreover, all three leaders — Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar — accepted that the decision of the central leadership in terms of seat sharing will be accepted.

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) assured that their bus services will not be affected due to the fuel shortage owing to the truckers' strike as they have ample stock at present.

Vivek Bhimanwar, transport commissioner of Maharashtra, who holds additional charge as the MSRTC's vice chairman and managing director, told PTI that the state-run public transport body requires 11 lakh litres of diesel every day, and presently they have a stock of about 20 lakh litres of fuel.

"We have also written to the Superintendents of Police for providing security to the tankers supplying fuel to the MSRTC," Bhimanwar said.

BEST general manager, however, claimed that the situation is "under control" and they will have CNG and electric buses to deploy in case of a diesel shortage.

Amid protests in parts of Maharashtra by some truckers' associations against stricter punishments in the new law on hit-and-run cases, the refilling of tankers carrying petrol and diesel started at all except four depots of oil companies in the state. There are around 10 depots of oil companies in the state.

Except the four fuel refilling depots of oil marketing companies - at Akola, Ahmednagar, Chandrapur and Wadala (Sewri in Mumbai), the refilling of fuel tankers resumed from all other depots, including the biggest one in the state near Manmad in Nashik district.

Almost 80 per cent of fuel supply has been restored as the refilling of the dealer transporters tankers started from these depots. But problem for the remaining 20 to 30 per cent of supply remains as fuel refilling has not yet started at four depots and tankers of fuel transporters have not yet started refilling.

Truck drivers protesting against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run road accidents, called off their strike in Nashik district of Maharashtra after the local authorities assured to look into their demands.

In Nashik, the fuel transporters started the agitation at Panewadi near Manmad on Monday. More than 1,000 trucks and tankers were parked in Panewadi area as part of the nationwide protest. Panewadi village near Manmad town in Nandgaon taluka of the district has fuel depots of various companies, including Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil. Fuel is supplied in many parts of the state from these depots. Indian Oil has an Indane LPG bottling plant also at Panewadi.

In a bid to find a solution, District Collector Jalaj Sharma and Superintendent of Police Shahaji Umap held a meeting with the transporters, dealers, petroleum company officials and other stakeholders at Panewadi. Following an assurance by the collector, the transporters agreed to call off the strike.

As the truckers' protest continued, people lined up at fuel stations in Mumbai and neighbouring areas amid concerns of impending scarcity of fuel. Here are some visuals:

Heavy crowds, long queues at fuel stations as #TruckDriversProtest continues in Maharashtra. Seen here is a queue outside a petrol pump near Mantralaya

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Video courtesy: Alok Deshpande pic.twitter.com/xVClBPcUjn

— Express Mumbai (@ie_mumbai) January 2, 2024

Over 30 truck drivers were arrested by the Navi Mumbai Police for allegedly attacking four police personnel on Monday morning. The truck drivers had gathered to protest against the new law in hit-and-run cases that attracts stringent punishment.

As the protests were carried out without informing the police, there were massive traffic snarls due to which a police team was sent to resolve the issue but were attacked instead. Read more

Maharashtra’s opposition parties extended support to the strike called by truck drivers against the 10-years jail term and fine of Rs 10 lakh under the new criminal law Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for hit-and-run cases.

“This is yet another dark law brought by the Indian government without giving due consideration to the reality. How can the driver pay a fine of such huge amount? What is the logic behind extending jail term by blindly blaming the driver alone?” asked Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, Vijay Wadettiwar.

Wadettiwar said that the central government has a habit of bringing laws without doing research and holding discussions with stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said that the central government has kept no provision to investigate the reason behind the accident and instead put the blame on drivers. “The government is working only by scaring the citizens about the jail term. How can only drivers be blamed for an accident? This is an extremely one-sided law and needs to be changed,” said Awhad.

#WATCH | Nagpur, Maharashtra: People crowd up fuel pumps to fill up their vehicle tanks fearing a shortage of fuel as truck drivers protest against the hit-and-run law. pic.twitter.com/BA8r5aBYWt

— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2024

A level-1 fire was reported in a residential room and three adjacent shops at Govandi's Zakir Husain Nagar on Tuesday afternoon. No injuries have been reported in the incident.

According to the BMC, the blaze remained confined to electric wiring, installation, household articles such as utensils, clothes etc in two residential rooms as well as some scrap material stored in three shops nearby.
The fire was extinguished at 5.40 pm.

The Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday instructed to all district collectors of the state to hold meetings with striking truck and bus drivers and resolve the impasse at the district level and ensure that citizens are not inconvenienced.

An official said that government is planning to discuss the issue in Wednesday's state cabinet meeting. State minister Uday Samant has appealed to the striking trucks and bus drivers to initiate a dialogue with the state and union governments.

Samant said the government will resolve the issue of truck drivers after holding a dialogue with them and will find a middle ground. “The Centre and state government will take an initiative and the issue will be resolved. In the end, this is for heavy vehicles, which are used to transport milk and vegetables and other such goods and even essential commodities. So, the truck drivers organisations must keep this in mind. The centre and the state government will surely step in to break the impasse. The truckers must adopt a patient approach and understand the situation. Their point must be conveyed to the Centre and the state, but they must not take any steps that will hurt the people,” Samant said.“They should not take any step that will create a law and order situation,” he added.

1. Wellness Day at Yogisattva Cafe

New year, New me? Well, you are in for a treat! Bandra-based cafe Yogisattva which offers healthy eating options is hosting a wellness day this weekend. It would feature six expert-led sessions throughout the day, each focusing on key aspects of wellness, including movement and strength training, intention setting, digestive health, breathwork, hip opening, and a sound meditation experience.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that Mumbai will record higher-than-normal temperatures for the next two to three days, before witnessing a drop in mercury. According to weather experts, the minimum temperatures could drop to 17 degree Celsius after Wednesday (January 3), owing to the expected influx of northerlies.

Read full story.

Even as MP Supriya Sule, who belongs to the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), claims the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has finalised seat-sharing talks for the Lok Sabha polls and that the details will be announced in Delhi, the Sena (UBT) said its chief Uddhav Thackeray is holding talks with the Congress and NCP to finalise the same. The Shiv Sena underlined that it would not want to see any tension between the alliance partners over one or two seats.

Speaking toThe Indian Expresson Tuesday, MP and Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson MPSanjay Rautrevealed, “Our party chief Uddhav Thackeray is in touch with the Congress leadership inDelhi. He is holding a consultation with them over the seat-sharing for the Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, inMumbaihe shares a good rapport with NCP chief Sharad Pawar and has been in touch with him.”

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The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is gearing up to take the survey of Maratha and Open category citizens of city as per the direction of the state OBC commission in view of the Maratha community’s demand for reservation in jobs and education.

Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar has been appointed as nodal officer for survey at the level of Municipal Corporation and a deputy municipal commissioner as assistant nodal officer.

Petrol pumps in Mumbai and Nagpur witnessed long queues on Tuesday as people came to fill up their vehicle tanks fearing shortage of fuel amid the protest by truck drivers against a provision in the new penal law on hit-and-run accident cases involving motorists.

Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaces the colonial era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause a serious road accident by negligent driving and run away without informing police or any official from the administration can face up to 10 years imprisonment or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

Petrol Dealers Association, Mumbai, president Chetan Modi told PTI that the fuel supply to petrol pumps was affected due to the drivers' agitation since Monday.

(PTI report)

#WATCH | Visuals from Navi Mumbai amid a nationwide truckers' strike against the stringent jail and fine regulations under the newly-launched Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) for hit-and-run cases

Video by Narendra Vaskar

Read here: https://t.co/gVEjqyBZ5q pic.twitter.com/hak5otwGkp

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) January 2, 2024

The Maharashtra government has requested police to ensure uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders in the market amid the protest by truckers against a provision in the new penal law regarding hit-and-run road accident cases involving motorists.

Under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the colonial era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause a serious road accident by negligent driving and run away without informing the police or any official from the administration can face punishment of up to 10 years or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

The Maharashtra Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection Department has written a letter to all police commissioners and superintendents of police expressing concern about the stir and its affect on the supply of petrol, diesel and LPG cylinders.

The state level coordinator (oil industry) has requested the Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Protection Department to intervene to resolve the ongoing impasse as truck drivers and petroleum product transporters were on strike in front of the Mumbai refinery on Monday, officials said.

(PTi report)

Popular film and television actor Rakesh Bedi was allegedly duped of Rs 85,000 by a cyber fraudster posing as an Army officer while trying to sell his flat in Pune.

The Oshiwara police probing the matter said Lokhandwala resident Bedi, 69, owns a 2BHK flat in the Kondhwa area ofPune. As no one lived there, he decided to sell the flat and put an advertisem*nt on a popular real estate brokerage website.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday said the Mumbai coastal road from the Princess Street flyover to the Worli end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is expected to be completed by May 2024.

In a written reply during the winter session of the state legislature, CM Shinde said the cost of the coastal road project has increased not due to the delays in its completion but the changes in its alignment. The changes were made after the demands of the Worli fishermen to increase the distance between two ends to ensure smooth navigation of their fishing boats.

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Maharashtra registered a total of 894 new COVID cases in December amid the spread of the new Omicron variant—JN.1. This number was substantially higher than November when the state reported only 26 cases.

On Monday, the state recorded 70 new Covid cases over the last 24 hours, significantly lower than the 131 reported on Sunday. This figure represents a slight drop from Saturday when a total of 172 newCovid-19cases were diagnosed.

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Skies inMumbaiare expected to be cloudy today with a misty morning. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be 32 degree celsius and 20 degree celsius, respectively.

Moreover, on Tuesday morning, the IMD's Santacruz recording station registered a minimum temperature of 19.8 degrees while the Colaba observatory recorded 22 degrees, which is three degrees above the normal.

The overall air quality index (AQI) in Mumbai touched 128 on Tuesday which falls in the moderate category. The worst air quality has been observed in Chembur where the AQI stands 261 followed by Shivaji Nagar (222) and Bandra East's Kherwadi (196). Meanwhile, of the city's 27 AQI monitoring stations, five have recorded an AQI in double digits, which the best AQI recorded in Bhandup West (73), Mazgaon (75), Worli (87), Byculla (90) and Borivali (98).