1. Mumbai Building Collapse: 31 Dead, PM Modi Offers Condolences
A five-storey residential building collapsed in Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazaar area on 31 August, killing 31 people and injuring at least 47 others. Many are still feared trapped under the rubble.
The incident occurred two days after the city received torrential rains, which is suspected to have damaged the building.
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2. Fields Parched, Farmers Threaten Hunger Strike
Mumbai faced heavy rainfall over the last few days, but other parts of Maharashtra are still reeling under a severe drought. Farmers from Pathri tehsil in Parbhani district are grappling with less than 40 per cent of rainfall so far this year in eight revenue circles comprising nearly 100 villages.
The farmers of Gondgaon, Loni Babhalgaon, Umara and Gunj in Pathri taluka have now launched an indefinite hunger strike in front of the Parbhani collector’s office, demanding drought relief measures.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Duronto Derailment: Flow Of Mud Delaying Track Repair Work: CR
Despite hundreds of employees working round-the-clock at the site of the derailment of the Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto on Tuesday, Central Railway has still not been able to complete the restoration work. They hope to complete the same in the next two days, said Divisional Railway Manager of Central Railway, Mumbai division, Ravinder Goel.
The derailment happened between Vasind and Asangaon stations, when the train’s engine and nine coaches derailed after a landslide hit the area on Tuesday morning. One of the reasons for the slow pace of repair work is due to the mud that keeps gushing on to the tracks. The heavy rains since Tuesday have compounded the problem. The railways are now going to bring in boulders from Bhusawal to create a barrier to stop the mud.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
4. How Metro Construction Lead To 12-hour Flooding At BKC After Tuesday's Rain
The Metro may ultimately add to the infrastructure that is supposed to better transport in Mumbai, but it seems that this will happen at the cost of locals in Bandra East and Bandra-Kurla Complex. As of now for them, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation's (MMRCL) Metro-3 (Colaba-Bandra-Seepz) has proved to be a bane. mid-day has learnt that the construction of the proposed BKC Metro station for it has led to the clogging of an important stormwater outfall in the locality.
On Tuesday, after the heavy rains, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) had seen unprecedented waterlogging. Locals have claimed that this might have been the first time that BKC got flooded, and also that the water did not recede for more than 12 hours.
(Source: Mid-day)
5. Maharashtra Fencing Gold Medallist Drowns In Waterfall While Saving Girl
A 22-year-old state-level fencing champ drowned in a waterfall at Tungareshwar, 50 km from Mumbai, while trying to save his female friend, on Tuesday, when Maharashtra was lashed by torrential rain. His body was found last evening. Anand Varthi, a resident of Kandivli, had visited the Tungareshwar temple in Vasai with three friends at 4.30 pm on Tuesday when they got caught in rain.
"At 5.30 pm, when we were leaving after the aarti, we were caught in heavy rainfall," recalled Varthi's friend Raghuvendra Upadhyay.
(Source: Mid-day)
6. PIL Demands Action Against ‘Negligent’ BMC Boss
A public interest litigation has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking criminal prosecution of the BMC commissioner and his staff, as well as Rs 50 lakh compensation to some non-government organisation, after it was confirmed that Dr Deepak Amarapurkar had indeed slipped into a manhole.
The PIL, filed by Federation Of Retail Traders Welfare Association through Advocate Ashish Mehta, also seeks appointment of an advisory committee of former bureaucrats and technocrats for carrying out a detailed inspection of all manholes in the city, and for suggesting ways and means to streamline the working and operations of manholes.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3 Of A Family Die Hours After Birthday Party
Barely seven hours after his midnight birthday celebrations, Sayyed Jaffer is missing in the rubble that lies at the spot where his home once stood. His family members — wife, 19-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter are all dead.
A dealer in air-conditioners, Jaffer used to live with his family in a tworoom flat on the second floor of Husaini Building that crashed a little after 8 am on Thursday. The tragedy couldn’t have come at a worse time.
Jaffer turned 46 yesterday and his children — Zaman and Fatima — had organised a surprise birthday party for him on Wednesday night and invited a few close relatives. They had even ordered a special cake, modelled on an air-conditioner.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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