British-era Carnac Bunder bridge to go under construction by November 2022
After a long wait of eight years, the Carnac Bunder bridge's construction will start in the next two months. The length of the new bridge will be 70 metres and the width 26.5 metres, while the estimated cost is around Rs. 53.08 crores. To ease the traffic congestion in South Mumbai, the BMC has set a deadline to complete the 154-year-old bridge by June 2024.
The British-era bridge runs over the railway tracks between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Masjid Bunder railway station. It was closed for heavy vehicles in 2014, but the construction was delayed since the other important Hancock bridge was still under construction.
Both bridges provide east-west connectivity in South Mumbai. Finally, the two lanes of Hancock bridge were opened on August 2, clearing the way for the Carnac Bunder bridge.
Commuters, check the latest local train updates here
City to get light rains for next 48 hours, says IMD
Mumbai will see light rain for the next 48 hours with a generally cloudy sky, said the India Meterological Department. The temperature will be hovering around 25 degrees Celcius to 31 degrees Celcius.
The city last week saw continuous moderate showers along with intense spells due to a cyclonic circulation. However, the intensity of showers will be decreasing, said IMD officials earlier this week. The Konkan belt including Mumbai was been given a green alert (no rainfall warning) Monday onwards.
IMD official Sushma Nair had earlier told FPJ that the weather over the week will start becoming drier and the rain intensity will reduce.
TMT to go green with 123 e-buses by year end
The Thane Municipal Transport undertaking (TMT), – the transport wing of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is all set to introduce over 100 state-of-the-art electric buses.
An order for the procurement of 123 e-buses, at a cost of Rs 185 crore, has been given to a well known electric bus manufacturer and the first bus from this lot is likely to be delivered next month.
The supplier will maintain the buses for the next 15 years. The TMC had introduced one electric bus on the public-private partnership (PPP) model more than two year ago, but operation of the bus was stopped after a few months.
Of these 123 new e-buses 71 will be air-conditioned (AC) while the rest will be non-AC, including 55 buses with a seating capacity of 33 passengers and 68 that will seat 23 passengers. Both types of buses will have additional standing capacity of 13-15 passengers.
Pune City Police arrested a food delivery man for allegedly molesting a girl in Yewalewadi; later released on bail.
Mumbai's Coastal Road Project 62% complete; Twin tunnels under Malabar Hill almost complete with 4 storey interchanges at Haji Ali alongwith 175 Acres of public garden & 1800 parking.
Mumbai police ask people to not believe in fake messages on social media about child abduction
Mumbai Police on Monday have asked people to not believe rumours that are spread on social networking sites regarding child abduction messages.
Since the past week, people, essentially parents, have been receiving messages including letters and voice notes on their social media applications like WhatsApp and Facebook which says that children in several areas in Mumbai are being kidnapped from school and residential building premises by random men.
One of the messages that the Free Press Journal verified, that was spread via WhatsApp said, "Two children from a civic school in Vikhroli were abducted by a random gang of men who were waiting outside the school." This message was backed by a voice note by an unknown person - which later created panic among parents.
Clearing these, deputy commissioner of police, Prashant Kadam, Zone VII, on Monday said, "All the rumours are absolutely baseless. We (Mumbai Police) are here, for the safety of each citizen. That includes children, parents and teachers."
He continued, "No reports of kidnapping or abduction has been reported anywhere, so the ones who are spreading such fake news are only creating panic among the people. We will be taking strict action against those who are behind these fake messages soon."
Traffic at ATLAS Skilltech University junction in Kurla. Commuters, please plan alternate route before travelling
Bombay HC directs BMC to demolish unauthorised construction at Narayan Rane's bungalow in Mumbai within 2 weeks
Mumbai's minibuses stay off-road over non-payment of dues; BEST issues notice to contractor
For over 15 days, the wet-leased minibuses have not been plying since the drivers have not received payment for nearly three months now.
Of the total 280 buses the BEST fleet has, 266 have not been operational that has put nearly 500 drivers out of work, Times of India report stated. The report also mentioned that the drivers have moved labour court demanding compensation of resumption of work.
BEST general manager Lokesh Chandra was quoted as saying that a showcause notice was issued to leaseholder to resume services by month-end or face contract termination.
Stop Defacing Mumbai: Campaign by The Free Press Journal to clear our skyline of illegal hoardings
The politicians have failed us yet again and it is time we the citizens reclaim our city. The rampant political hoardings dotting our streets and ruining our skyline are becoming intolerable.
Despite a directive by the Bombay High Court in Jan 2017 to remove illegal hoardings, you can still see the eyesores in every nook and corner of the city. The court had instructed the Maharashtra government that the implementation of provisions of municipal laws should be done at the level of every ward.
The Journal is joining hands with the Mumbai North Central District Forum, a citizen-led organisation, to report every single illegal hoarding. We urge you, dear reader, as a resident of this great city, to join us in this campaign.
Send us pictures of illegal hoardings and tag us on social media, or scan the QR code below to fill a form and we will ensure the hoardings are removed. Your identity, rest assured, will not be revealed.
IIT Bombay Shocker: Canteen worker arrested for peeping into girls' bathroom
On Sunday evening, an IIT Bombay student spotted a mobile phone looming outside the bathroom window in the girls' hostel, she raised an alarm immediately. On the same day, a night canteen worker was arrested for peeping on a resident while she was in the bathroom.
On spotting the camera, she called her friends for help and reported it to the college authorities, after which the Dean and SA Dean entered the premises. CCTV footage from outside the hostel building could not be produced due to broken cameras.
As the only men present in the hostel building, the night canteen staff were the first to be inspected. The five staff members who run the night canteen from 3:30 pm to 3 a.m., were interrogated at the Powai Police Station, after which one of them was arrested for under 354c IPC by I.O. Sawant at Powai police station.
Navi Mumbai civic body razes under construction building, recovers Rs 1 lakh penalty
The Anti-Encroachment department of the Turbhe ward of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) demolished an under-construction illegal structure sector 5 in Sanpada.
The work of the ground floor slab of the building was already completed without any permission from the civic body. The civic body also recovered Rs 1 lakh as a penalty from the owner of the building.
A notice was issued under section 54 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 for the unauthorized construction at plot number 114 in sector 5 in Sanpada and asked to remove themselves.
However, they did not remove the unauthorized construction despite being served a notice. The civic body then carried out a demolition drive against the unauthorized construction.
Stalls under 'One Station, One product' to come on 14 other locations in Mumbai
The Central Railway put up stalls on various stations across India under the Union government's 'one station, one product' campaign aimed to promote local produce. One of the stalls selling Dharavi's leather products was put up on CSMT station.
Now, such stalls will be further coming up on 14 other stations on the Mumbai division. The stalls will now be coming up on these stations: Parel, Dadar, Shiv, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Mulund, Nahur, Thane, Kalyan, Karjat, Lonavala, Igatpuri and Chembur.
TMC announces 12-hour water cut in some parts of city on Wednesday
The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) on Monday announced a 12-hour water cut in some parts of Thane city to be enforced on Wednesday (September 21). The Thane civic body has appealed to the citizens to stock up on water in advance.
“Due to heavy rainfall in September, the Bhatsa Dam has been flooded from time to time which has led to waterlogging at the Pise filtration plant. The strainer at the plant is clogged with silt and garbage, impacting supply to the city,” TMC said in a statement. The water supply will be cut from 9 am to 9 pm on Wednesday in view of maintenance work.
TMC additional commissioner Sandeep Malvi said, “Apart from the 12-hour water cut in parts of the city, some areas including Indira Nagar, Ram Nagar, Sri Nagar, Lokmanya Nagar, Rupadevi, Yeoor, Vitthal Sports Mandal and Kisan Nagar will face a 24-hour cut, up to 9 am on Thursday (September 22).
