MUMBAI BUZZ

First Navi Mumbai Metro after 9 years delay The first Metro line of Navi Mumbai started on Friday after a nine-year delay. Instructing Cidco authorities, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed the commencement of the Navi Mumbai Metro Belapur-Pendhar Line 1 without an official public ceremony. Initially laid in May 2011 by former CM Prithviraj Chavan, the project faced multiple delays, with its original deadline of 2014 being extended several times due to contractor negligence compounded by the impact of the pandemic. The State opposition leader, Vijay Wadettiwar, had threatened to inaugurate the Navi Mumbai Metro service. Its inauguration, initially planned…

Mumbai breathes ‘temporary’ fresh air  The recent light rain across Mumbai has significantly improved the city's air quality, registering an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 74 on Friday. Out of the 24 monitoring stations, several recorded a 'satisfactory' AQI between 50 and 100. This unexpected rainfall is linked to a low-pressure system in the east-central Arabian Sea. In contrast, Mumbai had been witnessing poor air quality since last month, post-monsoon, with the overall AQI reaching as high as 193 last week. Numerous areas in the city had reported 'poor' air quality, with AQI levels consistently above 250. Source: Indian Express…

Four-year degrees at non-autonomous colleges Starting from the academic year 2024-25, 812 non-autonomous colleges affiliated with the University of Mumbai will offer four-year degree courses such as BA, BSc, and BCom. The academic council of the University of Mumbai decided to introduce it in alignment with the guidelines of the New Education Policy (NEP). It is aimed at providing innovative and career-focused educational pathways. The undergraduate degree course will offer multiple entry and exit points, with options for certification, diploma, and basic Bachelor's degrees. Previously, the University of Mumbai had already implemented this four-year degree system in the majority of…

BMC takes steps to tackle rising air pollution As air pollution in the city worsens by the day, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has introduced new measures. The BMC has recently imposed a ban on the open burning of garbage. In a press conference, Guardian minister, Deepak Kesarkar, said that the BMC had issued notices to 6,000 construction sites, instructing them to install fogging machines and sprinklers to control air pollution. He also informed that the BMC is in the process of implementing waste segregation procedures at its two landfills in Deonar and Kanjurmarg, focusing on the extraction of pollutants…

122 trees to be cut for underground tunnels The State Board of Wildlife approved a proposal to cut 122 trees at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park to build underground tunnels. These tunnels will connect Borivali and Thane in Mumbai. The project is a pet project of the chief minister Eknath Shinde and will require drilling 27 holes for which explosives will be used. The decision was taken at a meeting of the board chaired by forest minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Monday and was kept under wraps. The project has faced severe criticism from environmentalists. A government document said the underground…

Fire at SRA building in Goregaon West Seven persons died and over 60 were injured in a fire at the Jay Bhavani SRA building in Goregaon west. The fire gutted the ground floor with shops and the seven residential floors. Parked vehicles, items in the shops, meter cabins, household items were also damaged. The fire was extinguished at 0654 am on 6th October using six hose lines and 8 motor pumps. Out of the 62 injured five are critical. The injured have been admitted to Cooper Hospital and HBT hospital. Various agencies including persons from six NGOs were mobilised to…

37599 idols immersed on the last day of immersion As Mumbaikars bid goodbye to Bappa, a total of 37,599 idols were immersed on Anant Chaturthi. Out of which 31,322 were household ones and 5840 were sarvajanik idols. Out of these, 734 sarvajanik and 10,121 household idols were immersed in artificial ponds. The most famous Lalbaugcha Raja was immersed on Friday morning around 8.30 am. The procession started at 11 am on Thursday. The civic body spread awareness about the artificial pond immersion of Ganpati Idols. The BMC provided the citizens with artificial ponds. Pic: BMC Twitter To maintain the ease…

Highest number of Ganpati pandals since 2018 Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations are back to pre-pandemic fervour this year, with more than 2700 mandals getting a green signal to set up their pandals. The highest since 2018, the civic body has been busy preparing for the festival and is gearing up for immersions now. The BMC approved 72% of the total 3767 applications. The final number of pandals could be even higher, said Naresh Dahibhavkar, president of the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS). The single-window system has been a success. Ramakant Biradar, deputy municipal commissioner, said, “Organisers are no longer required…

Private aircraft skids and crashes during landing, injuring 8 Eight people including the pilot and co-pilot were injured after a private aircraft veered off the runway at the Mumbai airport and crashed on Thursday evening around 5.45 pm. “VSR Ventures Learjet 45 aircraft VT-DBL operating flight from Vizag to Mumbai was involved in runway excursion (veer off) while landing on runway 27 at Mumbai airport. There were 06 passengers and 02 crew members on board. Visibility was 700 meters with heavy rain," the directorate general of civil aviation said in a statement. The eight passengers were admitted to the Criticare…

Completion of the Gokhale bridge delayed again The Gokhale bridge, which was supposed to get ready before Diwali this year, will take more time. During the assembling of the girders that came from Ambala last month, it was found that the place for the cranes to move in the area was not sufficient. So, 28 structures affecting the movement of the crane and the pace of work, were demolished. Of these 13 were residential structures and 15 commercial.  According to civic officials, 30 days are needed to assemble the girder and another 15 days to launch it and push towards…