The Mahalaxmi racecourse will allow a whopping 18 lakh square feet of area for construction in South Mumbai as the BMC proposed 1.33 FSI over the area of 211 acres of open space. The redevelopment of the racecourse has been a talking point for the last few years due to the massive open space and the construction of FSI. As the BMC published a notification inviting suggestions and objections for the proposed modification for the redevelopment of the Mahalaxmi racecourse, it is revealed how much area will be available to construct due to the massive space available at the Mahalaxmi racecourse. Zoru Bathena, an activist raised the que8over the massive use of FSI. "This means, the turf club RWITC can reconstruct their stand or clubhouse into a multistorey building. Using the entire FSI paves the way for a skyscraper." The users are permissible for development or redevelopment will be clubhouses, restaurants, stands, viewing decks, swimming pools, banquet, small departmental stores, conference rooms, and Gymnasium with indoor and outdoor sports like squash, badminton, billiards, table tennis, cricket nets, box cricket, football turf, pickleball and allied users such as security cabin, staff quarters etc and other compatible users as decided by the Municipal Commissioner. Out of 211 acres, (acres), Public Park/Theme Park is proposed on 29.4 acres area. Development stipulation in another 1.96 acres. Existing Amenity of Recreation Ground EOS(2.6) will remain unchanged on 77 acres of the land. The existing Mahalaxmi Racecourse Horse Stable will be in 26.32 acres of land. The existing Mahalaxmi Racetrack will cover 34.12 acres. The existing Mahalaxmi Club/Gymkhana will be on 32.17 acres where they can use the FSI.
20 September,2024 10:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta KasaleA 67-year-old man, identified as Kushal Dand, tragically took his own life after allegedly being threatened with a false rape accusation. According to the police, Dand was found dead on the railway tracks near Mulund station. He had left home to buy milk but never returned, prompting his family to start searching for him. They later received a call from the railway police informing them of his death. The police revealed that Dand had been involved in a dispute with the woman, a resident of the same building. Dand had been temporarily assigned the same parking spot as the woman, leading to a verbal altercation between the two. It is alleged that she threatened to falsely accuse Dand of rape, which may have contributed to his tragic decision. Both the woman and Dand resided in Manisha Pride Housing Society.
20 September,2024 09:52 AM IST | Mumbai | Apoorva AgasheThe Central Railway has a long-term plan to keep the Matheran Light Railway operational during the monsoon and has allocated a sum of Rs 5 crore for the project even as work has begun to resume services post-monsoon by October. Passenger services between Neral and Aman Lodge from June to 15th October during the monsoon every year. Shuttle services between Matheran and Aman Lodge will continue to run as per the current schedule in force. Aman Lodge is the station near Dasturi Point from where road vehicles are available. With an average of 40,000 passengers using the train every month, it has been able to ferry about 3.34 lakh passengers in the last six months while it was on. CR is working on a project to upgrade the narrow gauge line so that it works during the monsoon too. The plan involves strengthening the drains and other assets. "It is a long-term plan. Right now, the work has primarily begun in view of the restarting the train post monsoon," Central Railway chief public relations officer Dr Swapnil Nila said. “Matheran is the nearest and the most popular tourist destination for the citizens of Mumbai. Central Railway with its shuttle services for passengers between Neral/Aman Lodge and Matheran has been instrumental in popularizing this place as a major tourist destination. In addition to providing a comfortable journey to tourists, these services help in cheap and quick transportation of materials also,” a CR spokesperson said. Stated over a century ago in 1907, the latest figures indicate the priority role of railways in providing safe and comfortable travel to its passengers coming to this tourist destination even now. Central Railway has put in herculean efforts to restore the Neral-Matheran track which was washed out due to heavy downpours in 2019. The entire 21km stretch of narrow-gauge line was finally ready and services on the line were resumed last year on 22 October 2022. Before that, only shuttle services between a small 2-km stretch of Aman Lodge and Matheran were in service carrying passengers and parcels. The Neral-Matheran line was built over a century ago in 1907 as a family enterprise of the Peerbhoys and is now on the UNESCO tentative list for Mountain Railways of India.
20 September,2024 09:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarOn Thursday evening, around 7 PM, the slab of a 70-year-old ground-plus-two-story load-bearing building located at Goshala Lane, Diamond Market, Ratna Sagar Compound, Malad East, collapsed. The building, primarily used for storage, housed small businesses. The slab of the first-floor room (Room No. 11), measuring approximately 10 x 10 feet, suddenly collapsed. Two individuals working in the readymade garment industry fell with the collapsing slab and sustained minor injuries. The injured have been identified as Dinesh Bhagwan Solanki, aged 53, and Mahadevarao Mohite, aged 41. Fortunately, no one was in the ground-floor office at the time of the collapse. Local residents, along with the Dindoshi Police and emergency authorities, promptly arrived at the scene. The injured were swiftly rescued and transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, thanks to the assistance of locals, according to an officer from the Dindoshi police station. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the collapse, the officer added.
20 September,2024 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah KhanSerious concerns have been expressed over the tailstrike incident of the IndiGo aircraft which took off from Delhi. Experts have red-flagged the decision of the pilots to continue the flight to Bengaluru despite the tailstrike happening at Delhi. One major concern, is the possibility of rapid cabin depressurisation mid-air if the tailstrike would have caused even a minor leak to the fuselage. The incident The incident happened on September 9 when IndiGo flight 6E 6054 (Delhi - Bengaluru) bearing the registration VT-IBI took off from Delhi around 4.17 pm from Delhi Airport where the tail of the aircraft struck the runway during the take off. The pilots decided to continue the journey to Bengaluru instead of initiating an emergency landing procedure. RA senior DGCA official said, “The flight data recorder has been sent to the instrument manufacturer for technical analysis. The results for the same are awaited.” The airline also confirmed the tailstrike. “On 9th September 2024, an IndiGo A321 was grounded in Bangalore due to a tail strike,” it said in a statement. Serious concerns Several pilots that mid-day spoke with wondered how the pilots could continued flying the aircraft after the tailstrike instead of carrying out an emergency landing. “Such an impact could possibly result in cabin depressurisation which would lead to a loss of air pressure in the cabin. Above a certain altitude, the concentration of oxygen in the air reduces and also, the air becomes thin which makes it very difficult to breathe. That is the reason, cabin pressure is very important,” a senior flight instructor said. “It may even damage the tail cone impacting aerodynamic functions as well as the sensitive equipment inside the aircraft such as hydraulics and flight controls. It may even lead to increased fuel burn which may lead to the issue of low or no fuel till the time the aircraft reaches its destination,” he said. Sanjay Lazar, an aviation expert said, “During the Gulf War, we had a similar situation. We developed a hole but the Pilot in Command decided to fly on. Obviously, his licence was suspended for years after that. It is very risky to fly in such cases as the extent of damage cannot be understood midair.” Were pilots informed? The incident came to light only after the aircraft landed in Bengaluru, and an aircraft maintenance engineer saw scrapes under the aircraft fuselage during an inspection ahead of the next flight. mid-day spoke to several A320 and A321 senior pilots to understand whether the tailstrike would have gone unnoticed by the pilots flying. One of the senior A321 pilots who is working in the aviation industry as a pilot trainer explained, “There is no instrument in the cockpit of an Airbus A320 or A321 to indicate that a tailstrike has occurred.” He added, “Sometimes a minor scrape can go unnoticed, especially in the longer A321s where there is an increased distance between the pilots in the cockpit and the rear section of the aircraft,.” However, he pointed out, “The cabin crew in the aft or rear section of the aircraft should have been able to relay the information to the pilots as they are trained to detect and respond to loud thuds and scraping noise.” When asked, a senior DGCA official told mid-day, “The cabin crew of the flight is also under investigation to understand whether they felt the tailstrike or any scraping or thud noises were heard.”
20 September,2024 07:15 AM IST | Mumbai | Prasun ChoudhariA commuter who had suffered a cardiac arrest and fell unconscious at Marine Lines station on August 29 and was saved by a Western Railway (WR) staffer using an automated external defibrillator remained in a coma for several days at HN Reliance hospital and was discharged late last week, hospital authorities said. His survival, however, may not have been possible without the efforts of Dr Akshay Mehta, an interventional cardiologist affiliated with the Rotary Club of Bombay Airport, who has worked at leading hospitals like Nanavati and Breach Candy. He has trained railway staffers at 24 stations—10 on the Western line and 14 on the Central line—over the past year. “We are very happy he has been discharged,” said station superintendent Pradip Biswas, who performed CPR and used the defibrillator on the passenger who had collapsed on the platform. “Railway staffers are trained in CPR and many health camps are held for it. But this was the first time we were trained in using defibrillators,” Biswas added. Dr Mehta said that defibrillators are rarely found in public spaces like railway stations in India, unlike in other countries. “In September last year, I decided to change that, with help from donors through the Rotary Club,” he said. CPR alone, he said, has only a five to ten per cent success rate. “With defibrillators, the chances rise to 60 to 70 per cent. The sooner it is done, the better the chances of saving a life.” Using portable defibrillators, resuscitation efforts can be sustained for up to an hour. The process involves alternating between two minutes of CPR with a brief few second shocks from the defibrillator. “There are cases where a person is revived after 45 minutes. In this case, the passenger was revived in about 10 minutes,” Dr. Mehta said. Dr Mehta plans to extend his training to another 20 stations or possibly more over the next year. He said that he plans to cover the entire city and its suburbs. “This was the first time a layperson from the Railways has been able to save someone using a defibrillator. Previously, as far as I know, the standard response was to rush the person to a hospital, but by then, it was often too late, and the individual was declared dead. Everyone should receive basic CPR training and people should not be afraid to use it,” he added.
20 September,2024 07:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Eshan KalyanikarNavi Mumbai residents are hopeful that the government may finally direct CIDCO to stop levying transfer premium charges from buyers of resale property. CIDCO has been levying mandatory transfer premium charges as per the slab rate ranging between R25,000 to R10 lakh excluding GST, depending on the size of the property. The charges are for issuing CIDCO NOC, without which banks would not release mortgage loans and societies would not transfer the flat or allot membership to the property buyer. Various citizen associations have started a people’s movement in Navi Mumbai to put pressure on CIDCO to end this additional financial burden. Housing Society Federation members meet with housing society office-bearers Transfer premium “The transfer premium levied by CIDCO has skyrocketed ever since it was introduced in the nineties. The transfer premium for the financial year April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025 ranged from Rs 25,000 (last year it was Rs 23,000) plus 18 per cent GST for a 215 sq ft carpet area flat to Rs 10 lakh (last year it was Rs 8.35 lakh) plus 18 per cent GST for a flat or commercial space above 2,150 sq ft carpet area for properties notified between Airoli and Ulwe. For properties in notified areas of Dronagiri and Pushpak Nagar, in Panvel, the transfer premium varies from Rs 24,465 for a flat (215 sq feet carpet area) to Rs 15.27 lakh for shops and godowns,” said Bhaskar Mhatre, secretary, Navi Mumbai Housing Federation. Privity of contract Mhatre said, “The contractual obligation of the society along with CIDCO is forced on the members of the housing society who have no privity of contract (a legal principle where only parties to a contract can have rights or obligations under it) with CIDCO. We can understand that if there is a transfer of land by the society then certainly the society has to take permission and pay transfer charges to CIDCO. In case of resale of properties, there is only a transfer of membership or transfer of shares, which is regulated by the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act. Thus CIDCO by way of transfer premium is controlling the transfer of shares in housing societies.” Associations join hands The four associations--the Navi Mumbai Housing Federation, Sahakar Bharati, Navi Mumbai Vyapari Mahasangh and Navi Mumbai Citizen Foundation--have joined hands. They have appealed to the town planning authority to stop levying transfer premium with immediate effect. “Recently, members from these associations have started visiting residential buildings, educating them on their rights and also seeking their support to the cause. Out of 10,000 buildings in 500 societies from Airoli to Panvel-Ulwe have been covered in our outreach programme and more societies will be invited to take part in the initiative. A meeting was held last week with Vijay Kumar Singhla, CIDCO managing director and vice-chairman, has been apprised about our concern. He has assured us he will go through our contentions and would do the needful,” said Mhatre. Political support The associations have already met the local political leaders and they have all consented to support the cause. Vijay Nahata, former IAS officer and deputy leader of Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena Party said, “Levy of transfer premium by CIDCO burdens the common man. I had recently apprised the CIDCO managing director on the issue, and prima-facie, he is convinced by our contention and soon a proposal to the effect may be sent to the state government, for seeking consent to put an end to the age-old practice of dual transfer premium.” What residents say “What services does CIDCO offer to citizens post formation of municipal corporations (NMMC and Panvel)? Where does CIDCO utilise the amounts collected as transfer premium charges? Until 1992, CIDCO had all the right to ask for transfer charges since it was the Town Planning Authority looking after the infrastructure of the satellite township. Now, for Kharghar and areas beyond, Panvel Municipal Corporation charges property tax from citizens and CIDCO collects transfer charges. Isn’t the citizen forced to pay dual tax? The state government should seriously intervene and put an end to CIDCO’s dual transfer charges and should let the municipal corporations develop the areas under their jurisdiction,’ said Mangal Kamble, founder President of Swach Kharghar Foundation. “No other city development or municipal authority has used such strong-arm tactics to generate revenue,” said Binu Thankappan, resident of R S Residency CHS Ltd, Sector 34-B, Kharghar. Apex court view According to advocate Shreeprasad Parab, expert director, State Housing Federation, “The Supreme Court has held that an agreement to transfer shares of co-operative housing society or a limited company cannot amount to an agreement to sell an immovable property. Although the flat purchaser has a right to occupy the flat as a member of the society, the transfer of shares by itself does not amount to transfer of the immoveable property. The right to occupy is the legal consequence of the person purchasing the shares to the flat in a co-operative society.” Writ petition filed The Navi Mumbai District Housing Federation has already filed a writ petition against the transfer premium. Similarly, there is a pressure from the elected representatives (MLAs and political leaders) from Navi Mumbai on the state leaders to convert the land from leasehold to freehold thus restricting CIDCO from levying such charges,” said Parab. The other side A CIDCO official, requesting anonymity said, “CIDCO, through an amendment, mandated the transfer premium for transfer of membership in housing societies. A writ is already pending before the Bombay High Court.” Attempts made to contact Vijay Kumar Singhla, MD of CIDCO did not yield any result.
20 September,2024 07:13 AM IST | Mumbai | Vinod Kumar MenonAn 18-year-old MBBS aspirant has lodged a complaint with the Parksite police in Vikhroli, claiming that his email account was hacked, and abusive, threatening emails were sent to the Embassy of Poland, where he had applied for a student visa to pursue his MBBS degree at a private college. The youth alleges that these emails led to the rejection of his visa application. According to the FIR registered by the police, Kumar Hiren Bhunje had secured admission to Poznan University of Medical Sciences in Poland after completing his HSC from a college in Ghatkopar. Bhunje stated that after completing all admission formalities, he applied for a visa, which was later rejected. He alleges that on September 17, someone hacked his email account and sent a threatening email to the Polish embassy. The contents of the email reportedly included vulgar and offensive language. In a second email, the unknown sender continued to use explicit language and inappropriate demands. “Due to these emails, I received a notice from the Embassy of Poland rejecting my visa application for medical education, and hence, I am filing this complaint,” Bhunje said in his statement. The police registered a case under various sections of the BNS and IT Act, and are probing the matter. “This concerns the medical education of the student. The investigation will be completed soon and if required, we will send details to the embassy about the threatening email,” an officer of Mumbai police said.
20 September,2024 07:10 AM IST | Mumbai | Faizan KhanThe reopening of a restaurant, that earlier went by the name Wakai (as per BMC records) in the B wing of the Mangal Sandesh building on 17th Road, Khar, has alarmed residents, who fear it may soon be turned into a nightclub. Renovations are currently underway, which has left locals upset. Residents of 20 surrounding buildings are worried that the reopening could worsen longstanding issues tied to the establishment, potentially becoming a bigger nuisance for the neighbourhood. They have launched a signature campaign and filed complaints with both the ward office and Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. Additionally, they have reached out to their local MLA and await positive responses from the BMC and other authorities. Some residents have even alleged that the restaurant obtained its permits through forged documents. Residents said the restaurant’s garbage adds to the menace Attempts to contact the property owner, Manish Jain, through calls and messages, were unsuccessful. The property is under the insolvency department and liquidator and has been rented out to Wakai Hospitality Private Limited. mid-day also tried to reach out to Wakai Hospitality Pvt Ltd and those involved in the renovations, but no one responded to calls, messages, emails and messages on Instagram. “When the restaurant opened in May 2023, the music at Wakai was so loud it shook the whole building, and despite our repeated complaints, nothing changed. Eight months later, in March this year, the restaurant shut down and we finally had peaceful nights. Now, we fear its return in a new avatar. Don’t we have the right to peaceful sleep?” said Haresh Lalwani, a first-floor resident of Mangal Sandesh. Article 21 of the Constitution states that citizens have a fundamental right to a peaceful, dignified life without any encroachment on their privacy, and to live life without public nuisance surrounding them. Residents claim the restaurant was illegally approved, having been converted from a studio to a restaurant. They allege the B wing owner provided a self-signed NOC by the restaurant owner himself without any authority and the knowledge and consent of the Mangal Sandesh building (Puja House Apartment Condominium members), without any authority. Moreover, the restaurant has reportedly extended its premises by enclosing the front open space of the building. Another resident, Utkarsh Raipat, added, “The restaurant also misused a flat in the residential ‘A’ wing for staff, security, and valet quarters, causing major security and inconvenience issues. The restaurant enclosed the front space and installed air conditioning, clearly intending to permanently misuse the area.” The residents of Mangal Sandesh and 20 other buildings on 17th Road have sent a complaint to the Khar Residents Association (KRA). Ashok Mansukhani, from the adjacent Palazzo Residency, said, “People would drink and fight, and back then, the gate was on the other side. Now, it’s near our building. This road is too narrow for restaurants, and there’s no parking space. It’s also a fire hazard with no proper escape routes." Anandini Thakoor, trustee of KRA, said, “Wakai opened last year in the rented ‘B’ wing of Mangal Sandesh without the consent of the building's residents but soon shut down. The ground-plus-one-storey ‘B’ wing is attached to the stilt-plus-10-storey ‘A’ wing by a common wall, creating noise, privacy, and safety concerns for the residents. Now, they may change the name of the restaurant but the nuisance will be the same or more.” She noted that a letter opposing the nightclub in a residential area was given to Gagrani during his visit to Khar Gymkhana on September 16. Gagrani confirmed he had instructed BMC officials to investigate and take necessary measures to maintain local harmony. “We have received complaints about the restaurant on 17th Road, with residents citing noise, crowds, and parking issues. We’ll conduct an inquiry and take appropriate action,” said Vinayak Vispute, assistant commissioner of the H West ward. A BMC source stated that no specific policy restricts restaurants or bars in residential areas, but they can take action if residents claim nuisance.
20 September,2024 07:08 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta KasaleThe new tree census inside the Tansa sanctuary—84 km northwest of Mumbai in Palghar district—which will be submerged under the proposed Gargai dam project, is expected to be completed in October. Depending on the number of trees, the BMC will start compensatory procedures. The dam is a key project to improve the water storage capacity of Mumbai. The civic body has been trying for over a decade to start the long-pending Gargai dam project, which could add around 440 million litres per day (MLD) to the current supply of 3,850 MLD. The city currently needs more than 4,500 MLD of water, with this requirement expected to reach 5,000 MLD in the next few years. The project faced a major hurdle as it was feared that more than 4 lakh trees would be submerged and it may have a large impact on wildlife inside the sanctuary. Though the BMC has been pursuing the matter due to water shortage, it suffered a setback as the forest department suggested conducting a fresh survey of trees in the Tansa sanctuary. The earlier survey, conducted eight years ago in 2016, had estimated that around 4 lakh trees would be submerged. The BMC has changed the plan thereafter, and even the number of trees in the area might have changed, so the forest department suggested a fresh survey before starting the environmental clearance procedure. “We supported the idea to count the trees again. Now the survey has started and we are expecting that it will be completed within two or three weeks,” said an official. An official from the forest department of Thane said that the survey started two months ago and it may take another month as it gets affected due to the rainy season and the current shortage of manpower. “Though the maximum area is under the forest department, a few patches on the outskirts belong to private landholders. We haven’t received permission to do a tree census in those areas. We will carry out the survey there when permission is granted,” the official said. The initial proposal for the Gargai dam covered 1,100 hectare, impacting 700 hectare and over 4 lakh trees in Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary. In addition, 618 homes would have to be relocated in Palghar. “As per the latest plan, the dam will affect a total of 814 hectare of land, including 557 hectare of forest land that will be submerged, so the number of affected trees might have decreased by 40 per cent,” explained a BMC official. While the BMC received permission from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, they have yet to secure clearance from the Ministry of Wildlife, which requires primary approval from the state forest department. The BMC’s proposal includes compensatory afforestation in Chandrapur.
20 September,2024 07:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta KasaleFollowing mid-day’s expose on the illegal dumping of debris in the mangroves and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas of Versova village, the Mangrove Cell has taken action. High-tech CCTV cameras are set to be installed in the area to monitor and protect the mangroves. The Mangrove Cell plans to implement a video surveillance system in five zones, covering locations in Mumbai, Thane, Bhiwandi, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, and Uran. The aim is to ensure mangrove protection, enhance public safety, prevent encroachment and debris dumping, and maintain law and order in mangrove areas across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). According to the Request for Proposal (RFP), the surveillance will cover dumping areas, entry and exit points of the mangroves and forest areas, important mangrove boundaries, roadside entry/exit points, sensitive road junctions, unmanned roads, coastal and slum area boundaries, and check-posts. S V Ramarao, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (APCCF) and Head of the Mangrove Cell said, “The consultant appointed by us, along with our field officers, has surveyed sensitive mangrove areas in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Panvel. Based on this survey, locations for high-tech video surveillance cameras were shortlisted. The CCTV surveillance system will aid in mangrove protection, public safety, and preventing encroachments, debris dumping, and other crimes while maintaining law and order in mangrove areas across the MMR.” The CCTV system will be implemented in phases, with 28 locations in Thane-Bhiwandi, 35 locations in central Mumbai, 79 in Navi Mumbai and Panvel, 31 in the Thane Creek jurisdiction, and 22 in western Mumbai. The cameras will be equipped with an Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system to track vehicles moving through the mangrove areas. Notably, three high-tech CCTV cameras will be installed near Shiv Galli in Versova village. On June 25, mid-day published a report “Locals distraught as Versova Mangrove land gets filled with debris,” which highlighted how authorities appeared to be ignoring illegal debris dumping on mangrove and CRZ land near Shiv Galli in Versova village. The story, based on photos taken by a nature lover, revealed the rampant dumping of construction material within a 300-metre radius in this ecologically sensitive area.
20 September,2024 07:00 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet JadhavADVERTISEMENT
