1. Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway: Nashik Farmers Refuse Offer, Burn Govt Order
A day after the government announced monetary compensation for land to be acquired for the proposed Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway in Nashik, farmers from 48 villages, who stand to lose their fields, slammed the settlement package offered and burned copies of the order outside the Collector's office on Saturday. While revenue officials claimed that the amounts fixed - ranging from Rs 40.99 lakh to 84.71 lakh per hectare in Nashik - were almost four times the ready reckoner rates in some villages, farmers groups claimed the compensation is nowhere close to the market rates.
"First they said we would get Rs 50 lakhs per acre. Now they say that the rate is per hectare. When the market rate in Sinnar is easily above Rs 50 lakh per acre, why would anyone part with their land? Anyway, we have made it clear that we are not giving up our land," said Somnath Wagh, a grape farmer from Shivade village. Nearly two and a half acres make up one hectare.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
2. Race Among Politicos To Break Laws On Sound Pollution: Bombay HC Judge
Justice Abhay Oka of the Bombay High Court today said that there is a "race" among politicians to break the laws governing sound pollution.
The remarks by Justice Oka came close on the heels of reports that the Maharashtra government was mulling to come out with an ordinance to insulate the Dahi Handi and the Ganeshotsav celebrations in the state from the ambit of laws governing sound pollution.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
3. Youth Held For Groping CA Student At Churchgate
A 22-year-old woman who was waiting to board a train home from Churchgate station was groped by a youth on Saturday afternoon.
The molester tried to disappear in the crowd, but the woman, a CA aspirant, screamed to draw the attention of fellow commuters, who chased him down and handed him to railway cops.
He has been booked under section 354 (assault to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code. Authorities described him as a vagabond who milled around near stations. He claims to be 16 years old, but they believe he is much older.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
4. 36 Lakh Farmers In Maharashtra To Get Complete Loan Waiver: CM Devendra Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said around 36 lakh farmers in the state, covered under the recently announced farm loan waiver scheme, will have their entire debt waived.
The Maharashtra government had announced a mega agri loan waiver of Rs 34,022 crore on June 24 after a state-wide agitation by farmers earlier that month.
Source: Mumbai Mirror
5. #MumbaiCraps Trends On Twitter, As CM Fadnavis' Claims Fall Flat
On July 7, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, tweeted a photo with a caption stating that Mumbai has become Open Defecation Free.
Soon after he tweeted this, twitter exploded with people posting pictures and videos of public defecation, thereby refuting his claims. Some people even labeled him a 'liar' for spreading false propaganda under the guise of 'Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan' an initiative started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some of the tweets are pretty hilarious and the twitteratis trended the hashtag #MumbaiCraps, by posting some true accounts and reality of public defecation.
Here’s a tweet:
Source: Mid-day
6. Murder Convict Smashes Inmate’s Head With Stone
Just over two weeks after the Byculla custodial death rocked Mumbai, a prisoner in Yerwada jail in Pune was bludgeoned to death by a fellow inmate on Saturday, calling into question once again the security arrangements inside the state’s jails that are often overcrowded and lack basic facilities.
Dinesh Davde, who already has four murders to his name, smashed Sukhdev Mahapore’s head with a stone at around 11.30 am. Davde, who is from Mumbai, and Mahapre, a resident of Ahmednagar Nagar, had had a minor argument over a week ago. While there was tension between the two, nobody knows what could have led Davde to kill Mahapore.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
7. College Kids Turn Informants To Take Down Drug Peddlers
In the last 24 hours, eight peddlers supplying drugs to colleges were rounded up from across the city. And, if the Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) officers are to be believed, it's their newest recruits, who played a pivotal role in these drug busts. Around thousand students from over 50 schools and colleges are masquerading as police informers within their campuses.
The string of successes that the ANC has had with nabbing the peddlers only reflects the efficiency of this young team. In April, during a sting operation, mid-day had exposed how illicit drugs were being openly sold in suburban colleges. Following the sting, ANC upped its ante and also arrested a peddler outside one of the city colleges.
(Source: Mid-day)
8. Fire Breaks Out At Flat Inside South Mumbai Building
A fire today broke out at a flat inside the Himalaya building near Flora hotel in Worli, fire brigade official said.
No one was hurt in the blaze, which erupted inside a closed flat on the fifth floor in the ground plus ten floor residential building at around 4:50 PM, they said.
Eight fire engines were pressed into service to douse the blaze, officials said.
According to them, a short circuit could have caused behind the fire.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)