1. Plastic Ban in Maharashtra from Today: What’s Allowed, What’s Not
As per the notification on plastic ban, violators will be fined Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for the first and second-time offence. A third-time offender will have to shell out Rs 25,000 and may also face imprisonment for a period of three months.
From 23 June, India’s second-most populous state Maharashtra will start penalising all those found using plastic products, including single-use disposable items. The Devendra Fadnavis-led state government enforced the ban after issuing the Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products (manufacture, usage, sale, transport, handling, and storage) notification in March this year. The government had given the manufacturers, distributors, and consumers a period of three months to dispose their existing stock and come up with alternatives to plastic usage.
Plastic items excluded from the ban
* Plastic used for packaging medicines and drugs
* Food grade virgin plastic used for packaging milk
* Compostable packaging bags used for horticulture and agriculture purposes
* Plastic bags used for exporting goods
* Plastic used at the manufacturing stage
* Plastic used for handling of solid waste
(Source: The Indian Express)
1. Plastic Manufacturers’ Plea Against Ban: HC to Decide Date for Final Arguments on 20 July
The Bombay High Court on Friday said that it will decide a date for hearing the final arguments on a petition filed by the Maharashtra Plastic Manufacturers on 20 July.
Senior lawyers Milind Sathe, Janak Dwarkadas and Anil Anturkar, appearing for the petitioners, had previously argued that the sections -4(1) and (2) of the Maharashtra Non Biodegradable Garbage Control Act was ultra vires (beyond one’s legal power or authority) to the provision of the Food Safety & Standard Act 2006, the Bureau of Indian Standard Act and Environmental Protection Act which are Central Acts governing the law regarding the environment and packaging.
Sathe, during the hearing, argued that section 4 (1) and (2) empowers the state to enforce norms prescribed only by rules and there are already Central rules like Plastic Waste Management Rules of 2006 in place. Dwarkadas contested that the ban was taking away “the livelihood of the people.” The PET Container Manufacturers Association and the All India Plastic Manufacturers Association had challenged the recently imposed plastic ban.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. PM Modi to Address AIIB Conclave in Mumbai
AIIB has sanctioned 1.2 billion dollars for six infrastructure projects in India. Moreover, projects worth 1.9 billion dollars are under consideration.
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) conclave beginning on 25 June in Mumbai will provide an impetus to infrastructure through investments integral to development of Maharashtra and India, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the third AIIB conclave in Mumbai. Delegates from various Asian countries representing the government and private companies, besides experts, will participate in the two-day conclave. ‘Mobilizing Finance for Infrastructure: Innovation and Collaboration’ will be the theme of the event where experts will share their experience and discuss the future.
The bank with 100 billion dollars deposit provides long-term loans at low interest rates. AIIB has sanctioned 1.2 billion dollars for six infrastructure projects in India. Moreover, projects worth 1.9 billion dollars are under consideration.
The CM said, “We look forward to attract higher investments and expedite big infrastucture projects.” He said, “About 50 trillion rupees (777.73 billion dollars) is the required investment for infrastructure in India by 2022.”
(Source: The Indian Express)
3. Woman Sues AAI for Gender Discrimination
Swaroop Bandikalla, who now calls herself Myra Grace Bandikalla, has alleged that AAI is not issuing a No Objection Certificate for her to be able to apply for a new passport, without which she can’t travel to Bangkok for sex-change surgery
An Air Traffic Control manager (ATC), who believes she is a woman trapped in a man’s body, has sued the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for gender discrimination and not letting her fly out to Bangkok to undergo a sex reassignment surgery.
Swaroop Bandikalla, 33, who identifies herself as a woman, now calls herself Myra Grace Bandikalla, has alleged that AAI has refused to change her name in official records despite repeated requests and is not issuing a no-objection certificate for her to be able to apply for a new passport. Without the new passport, she is unable to travel to Bangkok to undergo a sexchange surgery scheduled for September this year.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
4. ‘Harassed’ by In-Laws, Woman Poisoned Food
Mixed snake poison in food served at house-warming, killing 5, including 4 children.
Police have arrested a family member in the food poisoning case at Mahad in Raigad district, in which four children and a man lost their lives.
On Friday, the Raigad police arrested Pradnya Suresh Survase, 28, for allegedly mixing snake poison in the dal served to guests on Monday during a house-warming ceremony. Survase mixed the poison to take revenge on her family members, as they were reportedly harassing her for two years, the police said.
Subhash Mane had invited 200 people for the house-warming, where rice, dal, beans-potato, puri, boondi laddoo and shira were served. After eating the food, about 88 people were hospitalised with symptoms of vomiting and stomach ache. Three children died on Monday night, and one child and a man died the next day.
The five who died were Kalyani Shingude, 7, Hrishikesh Shinde, 12, Pragati Shinde, 13, Vijay Shinde, 11, and Gopinath Nakure, 53.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
5. Commuters Pull Chain After AC Local’s AC Stops Working
A section of commuters travelling by the Churchgate-bound AC suburban train pulled the chain and brought the local to a halt at Andheri station on Friday morning after they discovered that the air-conditioning was “not functioning”.
Passengers in some coaches of the Virar-Churchgate train said they had experienced suffocation and sweating due to the non-functioning AC.
“Ever since the local train left Borivali station, we found that the coach was not cooling. Initially we thought that the AC would start soon. But despite crossing a few stations on the way, there was no sign of it [the AC coming on],” a passenger said.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
6. Bodybuilder Claims Pictures Being Misused
A woman bodybuilder, who is also the first woman to win India a medal in a world championship, has registered a case with the Oshiwara police alleging that her pictures were being misused on social media. According to the complaint filed by Shweta Rathore last week, an unidentified account on Instagram was using her photos to attract followers. The account holder allegedly regularly posted pictures of her taken at various fitness events, to gain popularity on the photo and video sharing app. After her friends alerted her, Rathore checked the page but didn’t pursue the matter further assuming it was a fan account. But lately, the pictures had been drawing a lot of vulgar and obscene comments.
So, she decided to take up the matter with the police. “Some of my followers on Instagram told me about the account and the unacceptable comments. I ignored it for a few days but when more and more people started contacting me, I decided to report the matter to the police because such people need to be punished,” the international physique athlete, who has successfully represented India in several international tournaments, told Mirror.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
7. Christian Groups Protest on Church Land Issue
Despite BJP legislator Ashish Shelar’s assurances on Wednesday, 20 June, that no setback land would be acquired from heritage religious structures to widen Hill Road, 150 protesters from various Christian groups, including nuns and parishioners from the Bandra deanery, gathered outside the H(West) ward office in Bandra on Friday. On 19 June, Mirror had reported that the BMC was eyeing setback land from St Andrew’s Church, St Peter’s Churchand Parsi Agiary on Hill Road.
(Source: Mumbai Mirror)
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