The contest in the Dindoshi Assembly constituency is heating up between Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sunil Prabhu and Sanjay Nirupam, who joined the Eknath Shinde faction a few months ago. Sunil Prabhu, a two-time MLA and former Mayor of Mumbai, is confident of victory, citing his work for the people and his commitment to continue serving them. Sanjay Nirupam believes he has strong chances, alleging that Prabhu has not delivered on his promises. The Dindoshi Assembly constituency spans parts of Malad East in the western suburbs, covering areas such as Santosh Nagar, Kurar Village, Appa Pada, Nagri Niwara, Kranti Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, and Anand Nagar. Local journalist Uday Sangle, who runs a weekly paper, said, “People in the constituency expect a tough fight. Around 45 per cent of the voters are North Indian, but there are also murmurs that BJP cadres are not happy with Mahayuti’s decision to nominate Sanjay Nirupam, given his past criticisms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” It is estimated that the constituency comprises 45 per cent North Indian voters, 15 per cent Muslim voters, and the remaining 40 per cent includes Marathi and other communities. Sunil Prabhu, Shiv Sena (UBT) How have you contributed to the development and progress of the constituency over the past 10 years? Before I became the MLA, the Kurar Village area in my constituency struggled with a high crime rate. During my tenure, I worked closely with the police department and local officials to address this issue. Our collaborative efforts have led to a significant reduction in crime and today, the area enjoys a much-improved law and order situation. We have also made significant improvements to concrete cement roads and developed new roadways. I have been actively working to resolve water supply issues and will continue to focus on Slum Redevelopment Authority-related challenges. Mahayuti candidate Sanjay Nirupam, contesting against you, has claimed that you have not contributed to improving healthcare in the constituency. I think the person making such allegations is not fully aware of the facts. In my constituency, we provide subsidised dialysis services at Divya Apartment in Triveni Nagar, Dindoshi. Additionally, the Appa Pada Urban Primary Health Centre offers multi-specialty outpatient services to local residents. Looking ahead, I plan to develop a well-equipped hospital with state-of-the-art medical technology at the current site of S K Patil Hospital in Malad East, covering over 5 acres. What initiatives have you taken for the youth and open spaces in your constituency? I am developing several projects, including the Shardabai Govind Pawar Multipurpose Sports Ground, as well as a fully equipped garden in Dindoshi. For Std X students, I distribute model question papers to help them prepare for board exams. I am dedicated to addressing the issues and development needs of the youth. I have the people’s support because I am available to them 24/7. How will you improve the environment in this constituency? Air pollution is a critical challenge and it is essential that we all take responsibility. As an MLA, I have consistently prioritised protecting our existing green cover. I’ve initiated several projects, including the Miyawaki forest, and have personally planted thousands of trees in my constituency to combat environmental issues. Several MLAs sided with Eknath Shinde, leaving Uddhav Thackeray. What prompted you to continue supporting Thackeray? I am a committed Shiv Sainik, deeply loyal to the legacy of Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray. Whatever I am today, I owe to Shiv Sena, Balasaheb, and Uddhav Saheb. Sanjay Nirupam, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) What do you think are the key issues in the Dindoshi Assembly? The key issues are drinking water, road development, interconnecting roads, and general development. The entire Dindoshi area lacks systematic or planned development, with slums and buildings intermingled in an unorganised way. My vision is to ensure that the constituency develops in a more planned manner. How do you respond to your opponents who claim that you are an outsider and therefore unaware of the local issues? The current MLA, Sunil Prabhu, is himself an outsider. Residents complain that he is rarely available during the day, as he only arrives at the office after midnight. How can people be expected to access their representative late at night? The Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA is confident of winning a third term, citing his extensive work for the people... Regarding development, my challenge to him is simple: show me one significant project he’s completed in the constituency over the past 10 years. I believe his performance as an MLA has been inadequate. How do you plan to tackle air pollution? Much of the pollution is due to construction work, which generates dust, while sanitation issues add to the problem, with garbage often left on or beside the roads. My priority will be to protect the forested areas in the constituency while ensuring that residents have basic amenities. Your opponent claims that your change of parties raises questions about your credibility... Everyone should have the freedom to make decisions. Have I switched parties multiple times? My life is an open book. I was a dedicated Shiv Sainik under the guidance of Balasaheb Thackeray, who trusted me. Due to some differences, I left Shiv Sena and joined Congress, where I stayed for 20 years. Now, I have returned to Shiv Sena, my original home, and this does not make me a “dal badlu”.
16 November,2024 10:29 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet JadhavSunil Prabhu, Shiv Sena (UBT) How have you contributed to the development and progress of the constituency over the past 10 years? Before I became the MLA, the Kurar Village area in my constituency struggled with a high crime rate. During my tenure, I worked closely with the police department and local officials to address this issue. Our collaborative efforts have led to a significant reduction in crime and today, the area enjoys a much-improved law and order situation. We have also made significant improvements to concrete cement roads and developed new roadways. I have been actively working to resolve water supply issues and will continue to focus on Slum Redevelopment Authority-related challenges. Mahayuti candidate Sanjay Nirupam, contesting against you, has claimed that you have not contributed to improving healthcare in the constituency. I think the person making such allegations is not fully aware of the facts. In my constituency, we provide subsidised dialysis services at Divya Apartment in Triveni Nagar, Dindoshi. Additionally, the Appa Pada Urban Primary Health Centre offers multi-specialty outpatient services to local residents. Looking ahead, I plan to develop a well-equipped hospital with state-of-the-art medical technology at the current site of S K Patil Hospital in Malad East, covering over 5 acres. What initiatives have you taken for the youth and open spaces in your constituency? I am developing several projects, including the Shardabai Govind Pawar Multipurpose Sports Ground, as well as a fully equipped garden in Dindoshi. For Std X students, I distribute model question papers to help them prepare for board exams. I am dedicated to addressing the issues and development needs of the youth. I have the people’s support because I am available to them 24/7. How will you improve the environment in this constituency? Air pollution is a critical challenge and it is essential that we all take responsibility. As an MLA, I have consistently prioritised protecting our existing green cover. I’ve initiated several projects, including the Miyawaki forest, and have personally planted thousands of trees in my constituency to combat environmental issues. Several MLAs sided with Eknath Shinde, leaving Uddhav Thackeray. What prompted you to continue supporting Thackeray? I am a committed Shiv Sainik, deeply loyal to the legacy of Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray. Whatever I am today, I owe to Shiv Sena, Balasaheb, and Uddhav Saheb.
16 November,2024 10:27 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet JadhavOnce labelled Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi has seen a vertical split since the Maharashtra government’s Dharavi Redevelopment Project began here a few years ago. Many residing in this hub of small-scale businesses, self-sustaining manufacturers and skilled and unskilled labourers are insecure and fearful about losing their homes while the prospect of growth is a cause for hope in others. In 2022, as a part of the Dharavi cluster redevelopment project, the Gautam Adani-led Adani Realty won a tender worth R20,000 crore to transform 259 hectares of land into a “world-class township” and formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL), in an agreement with the existent Maharashtra government body, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority, under the state’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). As the project began, one of the main contentions was that houses/structures that came up after the year 2000 were not eligible. Another was that of losing the ecosystem; many others felt it would uproot them while the few eligible for new homes in Dharavi itself were cheerful about it. The growing confusion has given politicians ammunition. This split is now being exploited by social and political activists to their benefit with Dharavi becoming a citywide burning issue. The main contenders of the Dharavi constituency are Congress’s Dr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad, sister of Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad and Shinde Sena’s social worker and activist Rajesh Shivdas Khandare. While Gaikwad has been harshly criticising the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and elaborating on how the land has been sold to a businessman, Khandare has been targeting the Congress candidate, criticising “dynasty politics” while mentioning her late father and sister’s political careers. He claimed it was the Gaikwad family that first proposed the Dharavi redevelopment issue 25 years ago and never took it ahead. In the Dharavi constituency, Congress’s Varsha Gaikwad served as MLA for four consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019. Now that she has moved to the Lok Sabha, her sister, an ayurvedic doctor and head of the anatomy department of Sion Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, as per her official social media account, is being fielded in her place. Khandare has questioned Dr Jyoti’s absence in Dharavi during the pandemic when she was required the most. Residents, in turn, clouded by the onslaught of relentless campaigns, have no clarity on the issue. 600Area of Dharavi in acres Rajesh Shivdas Khandare, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) What is your take on the redevelopment of Dharavi?The Dharavi redevelopment project was first mooted by the Gaikwad family about 25 years ago. All these years, they were in power, and the project just remained on paper. Ask them why they remained silent. A family of outsiders [non-residents of Dharavi] has been ruling here and what stopped them from redeveloping it? Now that the development has started, it has made them insecure. What about the sorry state of Dharavi’s public infrastructure?Dharavi is a living hell. I was born and brought up here and lived in an 8x8-sq-ft room. I know life here. There are no roads, no infrastructure and no life. Who has been getting elected here? Only people from a single family. Ask them what they have done in so many years. The Shinde government has built a Coastal Road, sea link and even a Metro station in Dharavi. The growth has been unprecedented. The Opposition is saying there are ineligible residents. When they themselves had done a survey of people staying here in 2002, they had given a figure of 61,000 residents. Now there are 1.5 lakh. How has the number gone up, who is responsible? It is because of them, who turned a blind eye to encroachers and allowed anyone to build anywhere in Dharavi. What about the area’s water supply issues? Dharavi residents drink recycled water. The issue is not just about water but the overall influx and growing population. And pollution? Dharavi is the hotbed of pollution and people here are mostly workers. We have a candidate who is a doctor. Where was she when we Dharavikars needed her the most during the lockdown and pandemic? That time, a doctor would have helped us in a big way and given relief. No one was seen at that time.
16 November,2024 10:19 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarOnce labelled Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi has seen a vertical split since the Maharashtra government’s Dharavi Redevelopment Project began here a few years ago. Many residing in this hub of small-scale businesses, self-sustaining manufacturers and skilled and unskilled labourers are insecure and fearful about losing their homes while the prospect of growth is a cause for hope in others. In 2022, as a part of the Dharavi cluster redevelopment project, the Gautam Adani-led Adani Realty won a tender worth R20,000 crore to transform 259 hectares of land into a “world-class township” and formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL), in an agreement with the existent Maharashtra government body, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority, under the state’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). As the project began, one of the main contentions was that houses/structures that came up after the year 2000 were not eligible. Another was that of losing the ecosystem; many others felt it would uproot them while the few eligible for new homes in Dharavi itself were cheerful about it. The growing confusion has given politicians ammunition. This split is now being exploited by social and political activists to their benefit with Dharavi becoming a citywide burning issue. The main contenders of the Dharavi constituency are Congress’s Dr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad, sister of Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad and Shinde Sena’s social worker and activist Rajesh Shivdas Khandare. While Gaikwad has been harshly criticising the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and elaborating on how the land has been sold to a businessman, Khandare has been targeting the Congress candidate, criticising “dynasty politics” while mentioning her late father and sister’s political careers. He claimed it was the Gaikwad family that first proposed the Dharavi redevelopment issue 25 years ago and never took it ahead. In the Dharavi constituency, Congress’s Varsha Gaikwad served as MLA for four consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019. Now that she has moved to the Lok Sabha, her sister, an ayurvedic doctor and head of the anatomy department of Sion Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, as per her official social media account, is being fielded in her place. Khandare has questioned Dr Jyoti’s absence in Dharavi during the pandemic when she was required the most. Residents, in turn, clouded by the onslaught of relentless campaigns, have no clarity on the issue. 600Area of Dharavi in acres Dr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad, Congress What will remain your main focus on the issues plaguing Dharavi?The government has a wicked plan to hand over land to a builder in the name of redevelopment. The plan is about Dharavi Vinaash, not Dharavi Vikas. My main focus will remain to protect the people of Dharavi from this so-called redevelopment project. But Dharavi residents have been living in pathetic conditions...We are not against Dharavi redevelopment; it is the way that it is being implemented that is questionable. Huge plots in areas like Kurla, Mulund and Bhandup in no-development zones like salt pan land and dumping ground are being handed over to the builder. It is about the redevelopment of the builder, not Dharavi residents. The redevelopment of Dharavi should be done by keeping the people here sector-wise and not by destroying the entire ecosystem. What about the state of roads, pedestrian footpaths, last-mile connectivity and other public Infrastructure?Dharavi has been suffering due to poor infrastructure. We have been working in the area and most of the problems of poor civic maintenance that we find due to the absence of BMC. We try to help, but that is only till a limit. The election of a full-time corporator for the area is most important. Water supply is a growing issue for Mumbai...The water issue is grave and in Dharavi, there is no regular supply. There are major problems like contamination issues, too, which need to be addressed. There is a need to lay dedicated pipelines and improve and upgrade the old, existing ones. When elected, I will take up the water issue. What about high air pollution levels and a general lack of green spaces?The government is out to finish the delicate balance of nature. They have allocated salt pan land for rehabilitating people affected by redevelopment. There will be environmental disaster and doom if salt pan land is filled with people. We need to stop all such attempts and save the city from such a devastating plan.
16 November,2024 10:04 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarSanjay Nirupam, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) What do you think are the key issues in the Dindoshi Assembly? The key issues are drinking water, road development, interconnecting roads, and general development. The entire Dindoshi area lacks systematic or planned development, with slums and buildings intermingled in an unorganised way. My vision is to ensure that the constituency develops in a more planned manner. How do you respond to your opponents who claim that you are an outsider and therefore unaware of the local issues? The current MLA, Sunil Prabhu, is himself an outsider. Residents complain that he is rarely available during the day, as he only arrives at the office after midnight. How can people be expected to access their representative late at night? The Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA is confident of winning a third term, citing his extensive work for the people... Regarding development, my challenge to him is simple: show me one significant project he’s completed in the constituency over the past 10 years. I believe his performance as an MLA has been inadequate. How do you plan to tackle air pollution? Much of the pollution is due to construction work, which generates dust, while sanitation issues add to the problem, with garbage often left on or beside the roads. My priority will be to protect the forested areas in the constituency while ensuring that residents have basic amenities. Your opponent claims that your change of parties raises questions about your credibility... Everyone should have the freedom to make decisions. Have I switched parties multiple times? My life is an open book. I was a dedicated Shiv Sainik under the guidance of Balasaheb Thackeray, who trusted me. Due to some differences, I left Shiv Sena and joined Congress, where I stayed for 20 years. Now, I have returned to Shiv Sena, my original home, and this does not make me a “dal badlu”.
16 November,2024 09:57 AM IST | Mumbai | Ranjeet JadhavOnce labelled Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi has seen a vertical split since the Maharashtra government’s Dharavi Redevelopment Project began here a few years ago. Many residing in this hub of small-scale businesses, self-sustaining manufacturers and skilled and unskilled labourers are insecure and fearful about losing their homes while the prospect of growth is a cause for hope in others. In 2022, as a part of the Dharavi cluster redevelopment project, the Gautam Adani-led Adani Realty won a tender worth R20,000 crore to transform 259 hectares of land into a “world-class township” and formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL), in an agreement with the existent Maharashtra government body, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority, under the state’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). As the project began, one of the main contentions was that houses/structures that came up after the year 2000 were not eligible. Another was that of losing the ecosystem; many others felt it would uproot them while the few eligible for new homes in Dharavi itself were cheerful about it. The growing confusion has given politicians ammunition. This split is now being exploited by social and political activists to their benefit with Dharavi becoming a citywide burning issue. The main contenders of the Dharavi constituency are Congress’s Dr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad, sister of Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad and Shinde Sena’s social worker and activist Rajesh Shivdas Khandare. While Gaikwad has been harshly criticising the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and elaborating on how the land has been sold to a businessman, Khandare has been targeting the Congress candidate, criticising “dynasty politics” while mentioning her late father and sister’s political careers. He claimed it was the Gaikwad family that first proposed the Dharavi redevelopment issue 25 years ago and never took it ahead. In the Dharavi constituency, Congress’s Varsha Gaikwad served as MLA for four consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019. Now that she has moved to the Lok Sabha, her sister, an ayurvedic doctor and head of the anatomy department of Sion Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, as per her official social media account, is being fielded in her place. Khandare has questioned Dr Jyoti’s absence in Dharavi during the pandemic when she was required the most. Residents, in turn, clouded by the onslaught of relentless campaigns, have no clarity on the issue. 600Area of Dharavi in acres
16 November,2024 09:45 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarOnce labelled Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi has seen a vertical split since the Maharashtra government’s Dharavi Redevelopment Project began here a few years ago. Many residing in this hub of small-scale businesses, self-sustaining manufacturers and skilled and unskilled labourers are insecure and fearful about losing their homes while the prospect of growth is a cause for hope in others. In 2022, as a part of the Dharavi cluster redevelopment project, the Gautam Adani-led Adani Realty won a tender worth R20,000 crore to transform 259 hectares of land into a “world-class township” and formed a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL), in an agreement with the existent Maharashtra government body, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority, under the state’s Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). As the project began, one of the main contentions was that houses/structures that came up after the year 2000 were not eligible. Another was that of losing the ecosystem; many others felt it would uproot them while the few eligible for new homes in Dharavi itself were cheerful about it. The growing confusion has given politicians ammunition. This split is now being exploited by social and political activists to their benefit with Dharavi becoming a citywide burning issue. The main contenders of the Dharavi constituency are Congress’s Dr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad, sister of Mumbai North Central MP Varsha Gaikwad and Shinde Sena’s social worker and activist Rajesh Shivdas Khandare. While Gaikwad has been harshly criticising the Dharavi Redevelopment Project and elaborating on how the land has been sold to a businessman, Khandare has been targeting the Congress candidate, criticising “dynasty politics” while mentioning her late father and sister’s political careers. He claimed it was the Gaikwad family that first proposed the Dharavi redevelopment issue 25 years ago and never took it ahead. In the Dharavi constituency, Congress’s Varsha Gaikwad served as MLA for four consecutive terms from 2004 to 2019. Now that she has moved to the Lok Sabha, her sister, an ayurvedic doctor and head of the anatomy department of Sion Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, as per her official social media account, is being fielded in her place. Khandare has questioned Dr Jyoti’s absence in Dharavi during the pandemic when she was required the most. Residents, in turn, clouded by the onslaught of relentless campaigns, have no clarity on the issue. 600Area of Dharavi in acres Dr Jyoti Eknath Gaikwad, Congress What will remain your main focus on the issues plaguing Dharavi?The government has a wicked plan to hand over land to a builder in the name of redevelopment. The plan is about Dharavi Vinaash, not Dharavi Vikas. My main focus will remain to protect the people of Dharavi from this so-called redevelopment project. But Dharavi residents have been living in pathetic conditions...We are not against Dharavi redevelopment; it is the way that it is being implemented that is questionable. Huge plots in areas like Kurla, Mulund and Bhandup in no-development zones like salt pan land and dumping ground are being handed over to the builder. It is about the redevelopment of the builder, not Dharavi residents. The redevelopment of Dharavi should be done by keeping the people here sector-wise and not by destroying the entire ecosystem. What about the state of roads, pedestrian footpaths, last-mile connectivity and other public Infrastructure?Dharavi has been suffering due to poor infrastructure. We have been working in the area and most of the problems of poor civic maintenance that we find due to the absence of BMC. We try to help, but that is only till a limit. The election of a full-time corporator for the area is most important. Water supply is a growing issue for Mumbai...The water issue is grave and in Dharavi, there is no regular supply. There are major problems like contamination issues, too, which need to be addressed. There is a need to lay dedicated pipelines and improve and upgrade the old, existing ones. When elected, I will take up the water issue. What about high air pollution levels and a general lack of green spaces?The government is out to finish the delicate balance of nature. They have allocated salt pan land for rehabilitating people affected by redevelopment. There will be environmental disaster and doom if salt pan land is filled with people. We need to stop all such attempts and save the city from such a devastating plan. Rajesh Shivdas Khandare, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) What is your take on the redevelopment of Dharavi?The Dharavi redevelopment project was first mooted by the Gaikwad family about 25 years ago. All these years, they were in power, and the project just remained on paper. Ask them why they remained silent. A family of outsiders [non-residents of Dharavi] has been ruling here and what stopped them from redeveloping it? Now that the development has started, it has made them insecure. What about the sorry state of Dharavi’s public infrastructure?Dharavi is a living hell. I was born and brought up here and lived in an 8x8-sq-ft room. I know life here. There are no roads, no infrastructure and no life. Who has been getting elected here? Only people from a single family. Ask them what they have done in so many years. The Shinde government has built a Coastal Road, sea link and even a Metro station in Dharavi. The growth has been unprecedented. The Opposition is saying there are ineligible residents. When they themselves had done a survey of people staying here in 2002, they had given a figure of 61,000 residents. Now there are 1.5 lakh. How has the number gone up, who is responsible? It is because of them, who turned a blind eye to encroachers and allowed anyone to build anywhere in Dharavi. What about the area’s water supply issues? Dharavi residents drink recycled water. The issue is not just about water but the overall influx and growing population. And pollution? Dharavi is the hotbed of pollution and people here are mostly workers. We have a candidate who is a doctor. Where was she when we Dharavikars needed her the most during the lockdown and pandemic? That time, a doctor would have helped us in a big way and given relief. No one was seen at that time.
16 November,2024 09:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarSpiceJet faced severe criticism after forcing passengers on flight SG325 to travel a day earlier than their scheduled departure. Despite booking tickets nearly three months in advance, passengers were compelled to prepone their journey at the last minute on Friday. Adding to their frustration, they were denied any refund for the inconvenience. Flight SG325, originally scheduled to depart from Patna at 5:10 PM, finally took off at 10:05 PM. Upon landing at Mumbai’s Terminal 1 at 12:42 AM on Saturday, passengers were informed that their luggage had not been loaded onto the aircraft. SpiceJet assured them that their belongings would be delivered to their homes the following day. This lapse left many passengers stranded without essential items, including important files, medical documents, baby care equipment, and meals. Frustrated travelers were left with no immediate solutions. The situation escalated further as angry passengers confronted SpiceJet ground staff at Mumbai Airport around 1:30 AM on Saturday, expressing their outrage over the airline’s handling of the incident. A representative of SpiceJet is seen consoling the passengers whom he said, “I can say sorry to all of you on behalf of the company.” Reacting to his apology, a frustrated woman passenger vented out her anger asking, “What sorry? Clothes and keys to our home are kept in the luggage bags. Where we will stay now?”
16 November,2024 09:41 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar SharmaWhile low prices of onions and the ban on their export are said to have hit the Mahayuti in North Maharashtra in the Lok Sabha elections, the high cost of onions has added to the ruling alliance’s worries ahead of the Assembly polls. Sensing trouble, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered action against the hoarders under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, and Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Act, 1980. A release from the CM’s team said that since the common people were being hit by rising onion prices, Shinde had taken serious note of hoarding. “The Food and Civil Supplies Department has been asked to take action against traders who are hoarding onions beyond the permissible limit,” it added. According to the information available, onion retailers can stock only up to two tonnes, whereas wholesale traders are allowed to keep up to 25 tonnes. “However, the government has noticed that some traders have been hoarding onions beyond the permissible limit, resulting in the price hike,” said the CMO, appealing to people to inform their district collector’s office about the illegal hoarding of onions. It said the state government had been giving the onion farmers a grant of R350 per quintal, and so far, Rs 851 crore was disbursed. At present, the onions are being sold at Rs 80 to Rs 00 per kg in the retail market. The hike is blamed on the demand-supply mismatch because the new stock has not hit the market. Interestingly, Maharashtra is the largest producer of onions in the country. The state’s northern region has a kind of monopoly in production and trading. Insiders said that the October rains had impacted the kharif crop. The prices will stabilise in a couple of weeks with harvesting and normal supplies. However, by the time prices stabilise, the November 20 polling would be over. In the Lok Sabha elections, it was traders and farmers who protested and made the government lift the export ban. This time, it is the consumers who are being given relief ahead of the Assembly polls.
16 November,2024 08:54 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentMaharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has come out with an ‘action plan’ that focuses on various issues, sectors and Marathi Asmita (pride). He said fulfilment of his manifesto will be a precondition for those who would want him to support their government. Thackeray released the manifesto five days ahead of the Assembly elections polling on Friday. He also released a document that has listed his party’s achievements since it was founded in 2006. “Many have released their respective manifestos saying they will do this and that, but we have told the people what we will do and how we will fulfil our promises. MNS is now 19 years old. We have also informed the people about what we have done and how we have done it,” said Thackeray, adding that he had come out with a blueprint of Maharashtra’s development in 2014. “I was ridiculed when I presented the blueprint. The BJP-Sena alliance broke the day I presented it. So, it was not given much attention [by the media] then. Nobody even bothered to ask me what was there in the blueprint in the past 10 years. I have included many things from the blueprint in the 2024 manifesto,” said Thackeray whose party is contesting over 130 Assembly seats independent of any alliance. He said the issues are the same and problems haven’t changed in the past 10 years. “We are still debating the same issues,” he stated further. The manifesto The first part of MNS’s manifesto deals with basic needs like food, drinking water, law and order, women’s safety, public health, primary education, child care/development and employment among others. The second part includes transport, electricity, communication, growing urbanisation, solid waste/sewerage/stormwater management, water management, open spaces, the environment, biodiversity, and the internet. The third part focuses on industry/commerce policy, good governance, agriculture, tourism and vocational education. The fourth part is about the Marathi pride, the use of the Marathi language in daily life/transactions, digital form and global platforms, and the conservation of historic forts and traditional sports. Each issue has been given a solution. For example, Thackeray said all of Mumbai’s dumping grounds should be closed, and the sites far from the city without human habitation should be identified. The garbage should be carried by railway wagons to these dumping yards instead of the present system of truck transport, he said, adding that, for this a dedicated railway corridor will have to be built. When asked, he said that if anyone wanted his support post-election, fulfilling the MNS manifesto would be a precondition. He said the current elections were unprecedented in the state’s political history. He said the people should keep in mind defections and unholy alliances made by the people they had voted for in the last elections. He said his manifesto didn’t have welfare schemes like ‘Ladki Bahin Yajana’ and ‘Mahalakshmi Yojana’, because he first thought of the overall financial strength of the state government before making any such promises. “Such promises are meaningless. It is a gift if they continue without burdening the state economy. And if they continue (without giving a thought to the growing financial burden), I will say it is a ‘bribe’. I’m happy that women get some money from the government,” he said, asking to assess the possibility of creating bigger problems through distribution of money. Thackeray informed that his rally proposed to be held at Shivaji Park on November 17 has been cancelled, because the government hadn’t yet given permission for it. The Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena has also applied for permission to hold a rally at Shivaji Park on November 17, which is the late Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray’s death anniversary. 2006Year MNS was founded
16 November,2024 08:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Dharmendra JoreSuchita S Wairkar and Suman U Baindukar, both aged 88, cast their votes at home on Thursday, from the Mahim Assembly constituency. The Election Commission, had this year, for the first time, provided the facility of home voting for the elderly and Persons with Disabilities (PwD), in the Lok Sabha elections. Voters above 85 years of age and PwDs with 40 per cent benchmark disability can avail the facility.
16 November,2024 08:43 AM IST | Mumbai | A CorrespondentADVERTISEMENT
