Manish Paul sports six pack abs for Mickey Virus

Manish Paul who gained popularity in the TV world as an anchor and host is now all greared for a stint on the big screen and is charged about Mickey Virus, to be directed by SaurabhVarma.

The budding actor has lost 14 kilos and will be seen sporting six packs. He shares, "I've worked very hard to build my physique and took me six months to get six packs. I followed an army-like regime and worked out like a maniac."

Talking about this decision to venture into films, Manish, who is currently shooting in the city, says, "Isn't it natural for someone from the TV world want to do films? However, I was not desperate to be in Bollywood and therefore waited for the right script and right time for it to happen."

Talking about his role, he informs, "It is a comic thriller. Audiences will get to see me doing comedy and much more. I hope people who have loved my anchoring continue to love my films." However, Manish has no plans to quit the small screen. "I'm not quitting TV. As I am busy with my films, I am not doing TV as of now, but I'll be back again.""

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Tension in Mumbai, Thane following attack on Raj Thackeray's convoy

MUMBAI: Tension brewed in parts of Mumbai and adjoining Thane districts on Wednesday following yesterday's incident of stone pelting on Raj Thackeray's convoy by alleged NCP workers in Ahmednagar district, with MNS supporters attacking NCP office in Ambernath and calling a bandh.

Angry MNS workers burnt effigies of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and blackened his posters in some parts of the city.

Incidents of stone throwing were also reported from city suburbs including Chembur, Kurla and Bandra, police said.

In Thane's Ambernath, MNS workers attacked NCP office and tried to enforce a bandh today.

However, NCP spokesman Mahesh Tapase, whose office was targeted in Ambernath around midnight, claimed his party workers foiled attempts by MNS men to enforce a bandh.

Minor clashes were reported between activists of the two parties but there was no official confirmation.

Some vehicles were also damaged by MNS supporters.

Suspected NCP workers had hurled stones at Thackeray's convoy at Bhingar in Ahmednagar district and waved black flags last evening when MNS boss had gone there for some party-related work.

NCP activists were furious at Thackeray's criticism of Pawar, nephew of party supremo Sharad Pawar, whom the MNS leader blamed for the severe drought in several parts of the state.

Thackeray had at a public meeting in Solapur recently attacked Pawar, who headed the water resources ministry between 1999 and 2009, for allegedly having failed to check water scarcity despite huge spendings on irrigation projects.

There have been allegations of a Rs 70,000 crore scam in the irrigation department, which has been with NCP since inception of Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra in 1999.

Meanwhile, MNS MLA Ram Kadam issued an open threat to NCP leaders and workers if they continued to target Thackeray.

"We know how to give tit for tat. We believe in replying in the language people choose to speak to us. They (NCP leaders) have forgotten that they have to move in Maharashtra.... Their homes are in Mumbai," he said while speaking to a TV news channel.

MNS leader in the legislative assembly Bala Nandgaonkar blamed NCP for the incidents.

"Raj saheb is on a state-wide tour (during which) he is bound to criticise the government and his opponents. Raj saheb targeted Ajit Pawar and he also responded. Such criticism is nothing new. However, throwing stones at our leader's convoy and women workers getting hurt in police lathi charge is simply not done," he told .

On the attack by his partymen at NCP office in Ambernath, Nandgaonkar said MNS workers had merely reacted to the action of the ruling party. "It is upto them to stop. Our's was a reaction to their action," he said.

Shiv Sena spokesman and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut said since the home portfolio was with NCP, it was its job to prevent violence and maintain peace.

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898 people benefited by free health camp

MUMBAI: Apex Hospital, Borivali, conducted a special health check-up camp at different places in the month of January under the 'Rajiv Gandhi Jeevandayee Arogya Yojana' (RGJAY).

A total of 898 people were screened successfully out of which 92 people required further health check-up as they suffered from various health problems. 37 people from the 92 have been already started with their treatment.

The main aim was to make people aware of the importance of regular health check-ups.

In that camps hospital has done free Consultation as well as investigation of problems like heart, kidney stone, gynaecology, cancer as well as other life style diseases.

Almost 900 people were benefited by this camp.

The health check-up comprised of free blood pressure check-up, ECG, Lipid Profile, Blood Sugar and BMI.

The camp was conducted for the people from Tata Steel colony, Dongri, Shanti Nagar, Daulat Nagar, River Park Society, Hanuman Tekri, Devi Pada and Sambhaji Nagar.

Dr. Vrajesh Shah, MD, Apex Hospitals, said that, "We at Apex Hospital are going to conduct such camps till the month of March. Under the Scheme of RGJAY we aim to reach at least 3000 people who can be benefited. The yojana is a good step toward helping the needy and we are also committed in helping the society with free medical health check up camps."

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Japan Vice admiral visits Western Naval Command in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Vice admiral Katsutoshi Kwano, chief of staff, Japan Maritime Self Defence Force accompanied by his spouse and high level delegation visited Mumbai Tuesday.

During his visit, Kwano interacted with Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, the flag officer commanding-in-chief and other Senior officers of the Western Naval Command.

Indo-Japanese Naval cooperation and goodwill has grown substantially over the last two decades and both the navies share common maritime perspective.

JMSDF and Indian Naval Ships undertake coordinate anti-piracy operations in Gulf of Aden. Both navies have over the years built up high levels of interoperability.

The first India-Japan Maritime Affairs Security Dialogue was held in New Delhi on January 29, 2013.

Representatives of both the countries participated with their focus on maritime security including non-traditional threats and cooperation at various multilateral forums.

The current visit of the chief of staff is one of the steps towards strengthening bi-lateral cooperation between the two Navies.

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Indian naval ship rescues fishing boat in Arabian sea

MUMBAI: The Indian Navy carried out a successful search and rescue operation (SAR) saving all the nine crew of a fishing trawler Kadal Matha in the high seas 240 nautical miles north-west of Goa.

It acted on a distress message sent by the trawler at 1100 hours on 25 February, and relayed by the Coast Guard Regional Head Quarters (West).

The Western Naval Command at Mumbai directed its unit, Indian Naval Ship Nashak, operating near the area to locate and render assistance.

Accordingly, INS Nashak, a guided missile vessel commanded by lieutenant commander Nitin Kapoor of the 22nd Missile Vessel Squadron, located the trawler within two hours of receiving the distress message.

The trawler with nine fishermen onboard had sustained machinery breakdown and was in danger of sinking due to ingress of sea water through a major leak onboard.

The warship salvaged the trawler by stemming the leak and took it under tow.

It was later handed over to the Indian Coast Guard Vessel Samrat who towed the trawler to safety to Goa (while the missile vessel returned to its operational mission).

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Bird species in peril due to climate change

MUMBAI: About 45 to 88 per cent of bird species in Asia will decline in suitable habitats. According to a study conducted by Durham university and BirdLife International, bird species are at a peril due to climate change and will need special protection in vast stretches.

The study was released by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) which is a partner of BirdLife International in India. The research project looked closely at 370 species of birds found at various locations in Asia including countries like Bhutan, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and parts of India and Nepal. All these species were found to be a point of concern and face environmental challenges to survival. The research looked at IBA (important bird areas) and focused on the the network on suitable habitats in these areas.

The research showed that the IBAs in Lower Mekong region were more affected that those in the eastern Himalayas. Many of these regions are likely to witness a change in the bird population and there are changes of local extinction of these birds. Projections show that at least 45% and up to 88% of the 370 species studied will experience decline of suitable habitats, leading to changing species composition in specific areas. "The findings demonstrate that survival of species will be dependent upon how conservation sites are managed and whether movement is possible from one site to another," states the research. "This means that the current conservation efforts should not only be strengthened, but also adapted to cover the wider countryside, including non-protected areas," it adds.

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Advocate calls for more emphasis on girl education

MUMBAI: Well known crime counsel Satish Maneshinde on Monday emphasized on the need to educate girls as a means to empower them with their rights.

Speaking at a workshop on legal justice organized by the Indian Merchants' Chamber Ladies Wing Legal Council Cell's Swabhimaan, Maneshinde, the main speaker, said, "Delay in the dispensation of justice is the root cause of rise in the crime against women."

The Indian Merchants' Chamber (IMC) has been established more than 100 years ago with social and economic goals for the development of commerce and society. The IMC Ladies Wing addresses various social issues that are relevant to women. With a view to further strengthen the activities of the IMC Ladies Wing and to propagate legal awareness, the LW is establishing a Legal Aid Cell.

Maneshinde also said that the strength of judges across the state may double in five years and he said that the reason women avoid going to the police with details of the crime against them is because of the fear of unnecessary publicity. Police are often also "badly behaved" he said.

Darshana M Doshi, president, Ladies Wing of IMC commented that, "The Ladies Wing has come to the assistance of women by offering free legal consultation for various issues - property matters, child custody, streedhan, maintenance of children, maintenance of the wife/live-in partner, registration of marriage, contractual obligations, domestic violence, taxation, divorce, trade marks and copyright issues, marital inheritance, sexual harassment and gender bias, immigration and nationality issues, housing cooperative societies and related matters such as society nominations."

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HC tells state govt to examine book 'inciting hatred'

MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the state government to examine and take necessary action on a public interest litigation that prayed for forfeiture of a book allegedly aimed at inciting hatred against Hinduism and a certain section of the Hindu community.

A division bench of Justice A M Khanwilkar and Justice K K Tated heard a public interest litigation filed by Dilip Aloni pointing out that the book 'Bahujan Hitay' by Purushottam Khedekar is inflammatory and defamatory.

His petition said in the guise of propagating secular ideology, the author has distorted history and alleged mala fide against Hindu saints and leaders.

He urged the court to direct the authorities to initiate appropriate action for forfeiture of the book and for criminal proceedings against the author and publisher under section 95 (power to declare certain publications forfeited and to issue search warrant for the same) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Aloni's advocate Sanjiv Punalekar argued that the book was provocative and must be banned.

Additional government pleader Aruna Pai sought time for the authorities to look into whether Section 95 can be applied. However, the judges disposed of the PIL directing the Home Department to examine the issue and take appropriate action in accordance with law within four weeks.

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BMC floats tender to reconstruct broken Sion-Dharavi-Mahim bridge

MUMBAI: Several months after the Sion-Dharavi-Mahim bridge collapsed, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has floated tenders to repair it.

The tenders have been floated and are being scrutinised, once completed, the work will be awarded to the lowest bidder and will ease bottlenecks between the island city and the eastern and western suburbs.

The estimated cost of the project is pegged at Rs 6.6 crore.

The process in finalising the bidder is currently on. According to civic officials, 4 firms participated in the e-tendering process and the lowest bidder is yet to be finalised.

In August 2011, a portion of the culvert over Mahim creek collapsed. This bridge was constructed by the Public Works Department around 30 years ago.

The four-lane bridge was then converted into a one-way, affecting traffic in the region. The bridge connects traffic from Tulsi Pipe Road, Sion, Dharavi and Bandra junction.

"After more than two designs of the bridge being changed, we have now asked the consultants to consider a concrete bridge," an official added.

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Investors move SC for refund from Sahara

MUMBAI: The Supreme Court will hear an application filed by Roshan Lal Maurya and others who are seeking directions to Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd to refund monies collected by Sahara agents from investors with interest.

Maurya and others who have filed an application before the SC in the matter between Sahara India and Sebi, said they were the investors in the OFCD's namely Abode Bond, Real Estate Bond and Nirman Bond issued by Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited or the Housing bond, Income Bond, Multiple Bond issued by Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited.

The applicants said that prior to the issue of these bonds, the two companies had submitted their Red Herring Prospectus with the jurisdictional Registrar of Companies. They were assured a guaranteed return at the rate provided in the terms and conditions of the bond and apart from the interest the investor had an option to convert their invested amount and accrued interest, at their sole option, in the equity shares of the said two companies, at the conversion rate which was pre-decided at the time of subscribing to the said OFCDs. Conversion into equity would enable higher returns due to which the investors invested.

However, last August the apex court had held that the scheme fell outside the purview of Sebi and as a result the OFCD's were lacking Sebi approval and illegally issued.

Last December the SC had directed Sahara companies to refund thousands of crores of rupees to Sebi, who upon verifying the investors and the invested amounts, were to ultimately refund their money to the unpaid investors.

The investors said they had invested their hard earned money and are now seeking court intervention to have it refunded.

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Bombay HC quashes externment order

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has ruled that police must be cautious and apply their mind when seeking externment of a person under the criminal law as it held that the "Externment order, when implemented, may result in far-reaching harsh consequences for the externee and his family members if dependent upon him for their livelihood."

A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and A P Bhangale held that an externment order "may spell economic death for the externee," and hence, "procedure established by law must be shown to have been followed vigilantly and cautiously before a person is deprived of his fundamental right of free movement as guaranteed under article 19(1)(d) and personal liberty guaranteed under article 21 of the Constitution of India."

The HC passed its order while quashing an externment order against a Nashik resident Praful Yadav who was a cable operator. The HC said that the externment order against Yadav not only suffers from the vice of laches but also from the non-application of mind.

There was no justification to pass such a drastic order; hence it is indefensible and unsustainable, the HC said, as there was no past instance conviction recorded against the externee. "He cannot be branded as habitual criminal merely on the basis of fact of pending criminal cases of 2010 particularly in the absence of any past conviction," the HC said.

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Rail Budget: Mumbai commuters soon to get AC coaches

MUMBAI: The Rail Budget on Tuesday brought a much anticipated announcement -- of air-conditioned (AC) coaches on the suburban trains used by nearly eight million commuters daily and considered Mumbai's lifeline.

Mumbaikars have been demanding AC coaches on suburban trains for long but their demand failed to materialise in successive budgets over the past few years.

"Right now, we cannot set a date when AC coaches will be added to suburban trains or whether there will be a separate AC charge applicable. But the work will be taken up in right earnest during the current year itself," a Western railway official told IANS, declining to be named.

Another major announcement is the proposal for an elevated railway corridor, in planning stage for some years.

"A feasibility report on the project between Churchgate and Virar has already been completed. Very soon, we will sign a State Support Agreement with Maharashtra government, followed by a bidding process and then implementing the project," the official said.

Mumbai commuters will also get 72 additional services on the suburban section of the Western Railway, Central Railway and Harbour Line, details of which are being worked out and will be announced soon.

Besides these announcements which directly affect Mumbai suburban commuters, Railway Minister P.K. Bansal offered more new trains, services, extensions and other facilities for Mumbai and Maharashtra.

These include new trains on Central Railway: Ajni (Nagpur)-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Mumbai Express; Hazrat Nizamuddin-Mumbai AC Express; Hubli-Mumbai Express; LTT-Kochuveli Express; Nizamabad-LTT Express; Puri-Sai Nagar Shirdi Express; Chennai-Nagarsol Express (for Sai Nagar Shirdi); LTT-Ramnagar Express; LTT-Jaisalmer Express; LTT-Hisar Express; LTT-Haridwar Express (weekly) via Valsad (all weekly); Kakinada-Mumbai Express (bi-weekly) and Mumbai-Solapur Express (six days).

There will be four new passing-through trains on Central Railway and two on the Western Railway time tables.

A new daily passenger train service has been approved between Amravati and Narkhed.

Several trains have been extended to better serve passengers on long-distance routes.

They are: 12145/12146 LTT-Bhubaneswar Express to Puri, 12545/12546 LTT-Darbhanga Express to Raxaul after gauge conversion, 22107/22108 Mumbai CST-Latur Express to Hazoor Saheb Nanded, 16535/16536 Solapur-Yesvantpur Express to Mysore, 51183/51184 Bhusaval-Amravati Passenger to Narkhed, and 12449/12450 Madgaon-Hazrat Nizamuddin Express to Chandigarh.

The frequencies of seven long-distance trains, including five on Central Railway and two on Western Railway, have been increased offering more accommodation and journey flexibility to passengers.

This year, surveys for new lines will be taken up at Pandharpur-Vijapur via Mangalwedha, Vasai Road-Byepass line between Naigoan and Diva (Juchandra), and Washim-Mahur-Adilabad.

One new gauge conversion project will be taken up between Nagpur-Nagbhir, doubling of lines between Daund-Manmad, Parbhani-Manmad and Kalyan-Karjat (third line), while an ongoing doubling project between Apta-Jite will be completed this year.
Budget 2013 Rail Budget 2013 Economic Survey 2013

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The only taxidermist of the country narrates the art of preservation of animal skin

MUMBAI: Dead animals and birds are also a treasure to be preserved for the next generation, believes taxidermist SantoshGaikwad. The only taxidermist in the country, working at the sole Taxidermy Center at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Gaikwad has been preserving rare animals through taxidermy over the last few years. This painstaking work has involved not just long hours bout also a passion in recreating animals and birds and making them look life-like.

Over the last three years, Gaikwad, who also teaches at Bombay Veterinary College, has preserved lions, leopards, an elephant head, and turtles. The biggest achievement he felt was preserving the country's last Siberian tiger. The tiger was at the Nanital zoo and after it died, the zoo authorities sent it to be preserved through taxidermy. "At least the next generation can see how the tiger looked like," said Gaikwad.

Gaikwad said that though taxidermy is a very specialized and unique art, it has failed to attract many people to pursue it. This also explains why he is the only taxidermist in the country. "We need more such endeavours so that we can preserve the animals we lose," said Gaikwad. "Highly endangered species can be kept in all their actuality for educational purposes too," he added.

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Country's only taxidermist narrates the art of preservation of animal skin

MUMBAI: Dead animals and birds are also a treasure to be preserved for the next generation, believes taxidermist SantoshGaikwad. The only taxidermist in the country, working at the sole Taxidermy Center at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Gaikwad has been preserving rare animals through taxidermy over the last few years. This painstaking work has involved not just long hours bout also a passion in recreating animals and nirds and making them look life-like.

Over the last three years, Gaikwad, who also teaches at Bombay Veterinary College, has preserved lions, leopards, an elephant head, and turtles. The biggest achievement he felt was preserving the country's last Siberian tiger. The tiger was at the Nanital zoo and after it died, the zoo authorities sent it to be preserved through taxidermy. "At least the next generation can see how the tiger looked like," said Gaikwad.

Gaikwad said that though taxidermy is a very specialized and unique art, it has failed to attract many people to pursue it. This also explains why he is the only taxidermist in the country. "We need more such endeavours so that we can preserve the animals we lose," said Gaikwad. "Highly endangered species can be kept in all their actuality for educational purposes too," he added.

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Two unattended bag instances in three days at Mumbai airport

MUMBAI: On Sunday, the Mumbai airport reported two instances of unattended baggage which sparked a bomb alert. Around noon, an unattended bag was spotted inside the international terminal in the departure area. The bag was black and had been there for more than 30 minutes. A Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) was summoned to check the bag. In the evening, around 8 pm, a bag was found abandoned on a trolley at the entrance of the domestic terminal. BDDS was summoned to check the bag. In both case, the bags turned out to be empty and the bomb alarm a hoax.

According to Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials, such incidents are fairly common at the airport with many passengers either forgetting or even deliberately dumping an empty bag. There are two such instances in three days on an average. "The BDDS has to be summoned almost everyday to check these bags. Though most of these are harmless, we cannot take a change in the current circumstances. All checks are done and things have to be verified," said a senior CISF official.

Officials said that often passengers carrying excess baggage shift their stuff into bigger bags and leave the spare one at the terminal. This happens mostly at the international terminal where passengers do not have the time to leave the bag with someone or even seek adjustment from the airline crew. "The problem is that these bags are dumped in the middle of the terminal. We keep an eye on the bag and if nobody comes to claim it, we conduct the checks," said another CISF official.

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New Air Traffic Control tower to be functional by year end

MUMBAI: The new ATC tower at Mumbai airport is likely to be inaugurated towards the end of this year. The new tower is being constructed near the current domestic terminal. According to officials at Mumbai airport, the tower is likely to be ready for handing over to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) by the end of March.

However, the installations for ATC management are likely to take another five to six months. Officials said that once the tower in ready, it will be given to the ATC so that all the necessary equipment can be installed. ATC officials also said that they would need to train their staff as per the requirements of the new tower.

"The entire thing will take about six months," an official said. Officials said that once the new tower is operational, the existing one can be demolished as it is a notified obstruction the flight path of the secondary runway. "Many airlines, like Singapore airlines, do not land on secondary runway due to the presence of the tower," an airport official said.

Also, the view of the airport's operation area from the new tower would be much better. "Currently, there are many areas and parking lots which are beyond the controller's ambit of vision. The new location is likely to facilitate better view," said an ATC official.

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Rising vehicle thefts irk Navi Mumbai transporters, complain to police commssioner

MUMBAI: All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) as an apex body of Transporters - (both cargo and passenger), is aggrieved at the rising incidents ofvehicle thefts, pilferage of goods and money extortion taking place in Navi Mumbai. This is due to proliferation of anti-social elements in the Navi Mumbai, said the president of AIMTC, Bal Malkit Singh. A delegation of senior members of AIMTC from Navi Mumbai led by Singh met the Navi Mumbai police commissioner, A K Sharma, on Monday and apprised about the problems prevailing in the Kalamboli and Port area.

We have been frequently getting complaints from our members from Navi Mumbai, especially from members from Kalamboli area, regarding complaints of vehicle thefts and extortion by anti-social elements in the area. Over past few years Kalamboli area in Navi Mumbai has become hub for transportation activity owing to its vicinity to JNPT port, which is important and crucial for export - import business from Mumbai.,'' said Singh.

Many of the transporters have opened their offices in that area for providing efficient transport services to the clients from across the country.

There are many roadside 'dhabas' that have sprung up near the steel yard and footpaths of the transport centre. These illegal dhabas provide shelter to other shady activities like drug peddling, liquor, illegal trade, gambling etc, he further alleged.

The victims are mostly single or two truck owners, whose bread and butter are these heavy vehicles.

The AIMTC members have approached the police officials at local police station, but they are harassed as either their complaints are not registered or they are discouraged from filing the same, giving impression of complicity of police with the anti-social elements, said Singh.

Because of the callous approach by the local police these criminals are emboldened, having no fear of law. Our members have met and represented to the police officials at various police stations in Navi Mumbai against the criminal activities in the area and even identified the culprits in few instances but there has been no action on behalf of the police officials. We have even mentioned specific complaints that still lying unresolved in spite of the fact that the names of the identified criminal are mentioned therein,'' alleged Singh.

There is reportedly a big scam of trailers in JNPT going on. The stolen vehicles are sold as scrap metal or their chassis is tampered with to give the vehicles a new identity.

We have asked the police commissioner of Navi Mumbai to take action against the concerned officials at the local police station and order registration of the complaints immediately, take decisive steps for sanitizing the area from criminal elements and removal of all types of roadside dhabas. We have suggested that police patrolling will be increased in the area to ensure safety of goods and vehicles in the area,'' said Singh.

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Security at Juhu airport still a concern

MUMBAI: The recent terror threats to the city have once again put Juhu airport under the security scanner. Juhu airport has been one of the most vulnerable aerodromes in the city.

Even though the airport handles about 100 helicopter movements daily, the security there has been negligible. Officials said that a slum has expanded into the airport and is within meters from the secondary runway. The hutment dwellers from the neighbourhood hop across to play or even sleep on the runway.

Though a boundary wall is slowly being constructed, the progress has been really slow. The airport officials have also sought help from the local police to guard the premises. "Proper baggage scanning machines have to be installed. Security forces have to be sanctioned to patrol and guard the area," said an official from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Officials said that AAI has a master plan to develop Juhu airport but it will take years before it can be implemented. "Before that proper security has to established. Today only harmless people sneak into the airport, tomorrow it can be someone with a malicious intent," said an official. Officials said that thefts of aircraft parts are very common, particularly in the Pawan Hans hangar which is closest to the slums.

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Bank refunds shipping firm president cash robbed in credit card fraud

MUMBAI: After a month-and-a-half, a private bank on February 17 provided permanent credit towards the disputed transaction of Rs 1.17 lakh to the credit cardholder, a shipping company president. Initially, the bank had issued temporary credit to the complainant, Soumen Majumdar (43), after he lodged a complaint with the police.

The fraud transaction sum was nullified and Majumdar's credit card account was re-credited. In the complaint, Majundar told the bank that someone cloned his card and used it physically to swipe at different shops a total nine times in the US on January 5. He received nine SMS alerts the next day. At the time of the fraud, Majumdar was physically present at his Navi Mumbai residence.

The bank informed Majumdar about the reversal done in his card on February 19 via email. TOI on February 5 reported the case, 'Man in Mumbai, card used in US to shop for Rs 1.17 lakh'.

"The bank settled the matter and credited my account with the total money debited from my credit card on January 5," Majumdar told TOI.

Alarmed by the fraud, Majumdar complained to the bank. Days later, he was dealt another blow: the bank allegedly asked him to pay up about 95% or Rs 1.12 lakh of the Rs 1.17 lakh fraudulently spent in the US. Majumdar's bank statement showed that on January 5, his credit card was used in the US' east coast at various outlets. In nine transactions, more than $2,000 was spent there while, according to Majumdar, he was in Mumbai.

Majumdar had lodged complaint both with the bank and the cyber police on January 6. "We are probing the matter. The fraud has taken place in the US and it is a long procedure to get in touch with that country's government. By that time, the accused goes scot-free," said a cyber police officer.

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Borivli station has most toilets for women

MUMBAI: Mumbai's suburban rail network has inadequate toilet facilities at stations for women commuters. In fact, Borivli, had 13 toilets for women commuters, the highest on Western and Central Railway's local network.

Details procured under the Right to Information Act show that of the 38 toilet/urinal facilities at Andheri, only four were for women. Of the 83 urinals and toilets at CST, only 10 were for women, including two urinals.

RTI activist Chetan Kothari, who filed the query, said, "As many as 24 stations don't have more than one lavatory or urinal facility for women."

A railway official said, "Space is a major constraint for building more toilet blocks. The effort to build one through public-private-partnership did not yield much success." Another official said, "Railways is trying to find a solution. But contractors sacrifice quality by using inferior quality cleaning agents to recover bidding costs and maximize profits." Shailesh Goyal, member, National Rail Users Consultative committee said, "Toilet blocks for women should be built on both ends of platforms. They should be well lit and manned by women personnel."

Kothari said, "Stations like Currey Road and Parel on CR and Elphinstone Road and Lower Parel have become busier because several corporate offices have shifted on mill land in this part of the city. However, authorities failed to upgrade toilet infrastructure for women at these stations. I was surprised that even stations like Bandra and Malad had only one toilet each for women."

On the Harbour line, there are 454 toilet facilities across 23 stations. Of these, 78 are for women, including 70 lavatories. "Only stations build by Cidco in Navi Mumbai have adequate toilets. Tilak Nagar, Dockyard, Sewri, Cotton Green, Chembur have only one toilet facility each," Kothari said. On WR, there are 676 restroom facilities across 30 stations. Of these 119 are for women, including 86 lavatories and 33 urinals.

Times View

Need more toilets for women

Thousands of women take the train to and from work every day and many spend more than three hours travelling, making the number of toilets grossly inadequate. Many are locked day in and day out and a walk past the ones that are in use would be enough to prove how genuine the complaints about unhygienic toilets are. Both CR and WR need to do something urgently on this front.

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Few toilets for women at city railway stations

MUMBAI: Women travelling by Mumbai's suburban rail system have to reconcile with the woefully inadequate toilet facilities at stations.

Details sought under the Right to Information (Act) have revealed the lack of proper toilet facilities on Western Railway's suburban network as well as the three suburban lines on Central Railway.

Figures at most stations indicate that authorities discount the necessity of such facilities for women at the planning stage itself.

For example, of the 38 toilet/urinal facilities at Andheri, only four were for women. Of the 83 urinals and toilets at CST, only 10 were for women, including two urinals. Even at Dadar, only eight of the total 43 toilets were reserved for women.

RTI activist Chetan Kothari, who filed the query, said, "As many as 24 stations on the Mumbai suburban network don't have more than one lavatory or urinal facility for women commuters. Of these, 15 are on CR's Main line, seven on the Harbour line and five on the WR."

Most stations which have only one toilet are those which witnessed significant growth in passenger traffic in the past few years. Kothari said, "Stations like Currey Road and Parel on CR and Elphinstone Road and Lower Parel have become busier because several corporate offices have shifted on the mill land located in this part of the city. However, authorities failed to upgrade toilet infrastructure for women at these stations." Also Matunga (CR), which has a significant number of student commuters, doesn't have more than one toilet for women.

Kothari said, "I was surprised to know that even a station like Bandra, which is a shoppers' paradise besides offering connectivity to Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), had only one toilet for women. Malad, which has turned into a major business hub, also has only one toilet facility."

CR's Main line has 29 stations between CST and Ambernath, with a total of 299 toilet/urinals, of which only 62 toilets and 13 urinals are for women commuters.

On the Harbour line, there is huge disparity between stations in Navi Mumbai and those elsewhere. There are 454 toilets facilities across 23 stations. Of these, women have been earmarked 78, including 70 lavatories. "Only stations build by Cidco in Navi Mumbai have adequate toilets, stations like Tilak Nagar, Dockyard, Sewri, Cotton green, Chembur have only one toilet facility each," he said.

On WR, there are 676 restroom facilities across 30 stations. Of these 119 are for women, including 86 lavatories and 33 urinals. Kothari said, "Borivli, with 13 toilets for women, is the only station on the entire suburban network where toilet for women commuters cross the double-digit mark."

A railway official said, "Space is a major constraint for building more toilet blocks. The effort to build one through public-private-partnership did not yield much success." Another official said, "The Railways is trying to find a solution to the problem through the pay-and-use system. But it is not successful as contractors usually sacrifice quality by using inferior quality cleaning agents to recover bidding costs and maximize profits."

Shailesh Goyal, member, National Rail Users Consultative committee said, "Toilet blocks for women should be built on both ends of platforms. They should be properly lit and manned by women personnel. A separate department should be created for the maintenance of toilet and urinals."

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Cops detain Ulhasnagar man for letting friend rape daughter over Rs 50,000 debt

MUMBAI: Cops probing the case of a 16-year-old girl in Ulhasnagar, who claimed her parents forced her to have sex with a man to whom they owed Rs 50,000, booked her parents and the man for rape on Saturday. While the victim's father has been detained, her mother and Nisar Khan (40), a family friend who the minor accused of sexually abusing her, are absconding.

The victim, sent by her parents to their native place in Uttar Pradesh as they feared police action, was brought to the city on Friday by UP police and handed over to Vithalwadi police. The victim's statement was later recorded by the Child Welfare Committee and police. Based on the statement, police on Saturday morning booked the three accused under sections 376 (rape), 354 (molestation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

"Initial investigations revealed the victim's mother was involved in an illicit relationship with Nisar and it was she who first forced her daughter into a relationship with him," said Chandrakant Deshmukh, senior inspector of Vithalwadi police station. While the case has been transferred to Kolsewadi police station where the crime first started, the victim has been sent to a child welfare centre. A medical test of the victim will be conducted on Monday.

In her statement, the victim said the family earlier lived in a rented room at Khadegolivali area in Kalyan east and said her parents had borrowed Rs 50,000 from Nisar, who was friendly with the family and lived with them, to buy a new room. She said since they were unable to repay the money, Nisar began physically abusing her two years ago, an act supported by her parents.

The victim alleged in her complaint that when her father would go out to work, her mother would force her to have sex with Nisar, claiming both her mother and Nisar threatened her when she protested. She said the abuse continued when the family moved into their new one-room house at Shiv Nagar in August and Nisar moved with them. She said he would force himself on her at night in the room when her parents and two younger brothers were sleeping.

The victim, a student of Class VIII, went into depression and managed to confide in a teacher last August. The teacher called her parents and asked them to take action against Nisar, but they stopped sending her to school instead and packed her off to their village in UP.

School principal Anju Singh then approached a local NGO, which reported the incident to the Thane CWC. The committee approached Vithalwadi police, but they reportedly refused to file a complaint till the victim directly came to them. The CWC then issued summons to the police, forcing it to contact UP police who then send the victim to the city. However, on learning of the developments, the mother and Nisar reportedly left the city while the father has been detained.

The accused

The victim's 42-year-old father works as a daily wage labourer at construction sites while her 38-year-old mother is a housewife. The main accused, Nisar Khan (40), sells fruits near Vithalwadi station and has been living with the family for the past four years

The long trauma

* The victim's ordeal started around two years ago, when her parents took a loan of Rs 50,000 from Nisar to buy a room in Shiv Nagar area in Ulhasnagar. In exchange for the money, the victim said her parents forced her to have sex with Nisar

* Last August, the victim, a student of Class VIII managed to confide in her teacher who called her parents and asked them to take action against Nisar. Instead, her parents stopped sending her to school

* Finally in January 2013, the school principal approached a local NGO which took the matter to the Child Welfare Committee

* A CWC representative complained to the police who reportedly said they could not act unless directly approached by the victim. Meanwhile, the girl's parents sent her to their village in UP to avoid police action

* On February 19, the CWC issued summons to the police, forcing them to act to bring back the victim and register her complaint

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Local trains in Mumbai running 15 minutes late due to megablocks

MUMBAI: Commuters should plan their travel on Sunday as there are megablocks on Central and Western Railway.

Trains are running at least 15 minutes and some services have been cancelled during the block period.

On CR, there is a megablock on the Up Fast line between Thane and Kalyan stations till 3.30pm.

The Dn fast line services will be diverted on slow tracks between Thane and Kalyan.

There is also a rail block on the Up and Down Harbour lines between Mankhurd and Nerul stations.

This will inconvenience Navi Mumbai passengers, who have either opt for the road route or take a long detour via the Trans-Harbour line.

The rail block is expected to get over by 3 pm.

However special local trains will run on Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus - Mankhurd and Panvel - Thane sections during the block period.

Said CR spokesperson A K Singh, "Due to these blocks, suburban locals will be running about 15 minutes behind schedule. As a result of this, suburban trains are likely to be more crowded than usual. Passengers are requested not to take any risks while travelling. They are also requested to avoid travelling on foot board, roof top of locals and not to board extremely over crowded trains."

On WR, there will be jumbo block between between Marine Lines and Mahim junction stations till 3.35pm on Down local lines (i.e. slow corridor).

During the block, all Down slow trains will run on Down through lines (i.e. fast corridor) between Marine Lines and Mahim Jn. stations.

These diverted trains will not halt at Mahalaxmi, Elphinstone Road and Matunga Road for want of platform. "Due to the block, some Up and Down suburban trains will remain cancelled," said WR spokesperson Nitin David.

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MSRTC adopts new strategy to prevent bus fare hike

MUMBAI: This could be good news for commuters. The MSRTC has decided to adopt a new strategy so that it does not have to hike fares, especially on the Mumbai-Pune AC bus route.

This is despite hikes in diesel prices every month. Speaking to TOI, MSRTC managing director Deepak Kapoor said, "There have been two hikes in diesel prices in the past two months. But we have decided to keep our fares unchanged on all routes."

In the last one year, the MSRTC had already hiked fares twice mainly on the AC bus routes such as the Mumbai-Pune Shivneri service after a Rs 5-hike in diesel in September 2012.

"We have decided to adopt a different approach from Monday. Our drivers and conductors will be given incentives to ensure that buses halt for more time and more passengers are ferried in a single journey," he said. The corporation is targeting an additional revenue of Rs 150 crores by incentivising staffers and increasing passenger load.

"It is called the Pravasi Vadva scheme, wherein other staffers like inspectors and technical staff are also encouraged to ensure there is good turnout of buses, fewer breakdowns, optimum utilisation of fleet and more revenue to the transport undertaking," he stated. The MSRTC has already begun procuring diesel from the retail outlets at lower rates, but the price at these outlets will also increase substantially in coming months.

"This means that going to the retail outlets is also not the final solution," Kapoor said.

"This is the reason why we are launching this scheme from Monday to increase passenger load and deploy more buses on roads."

He said drivers were also being sensitized not to overspeed or cause accidents.

"The accident involving death of a young girl at Sion recently is unfortunate. We are conducting a thorough probe and will take action against the driver," he added. MSRTC spokesperson Mukund Dhus said that drivers/conductors will be offered incentive upto Rs 100 cash per day to increase the number of passengers. "He will also get the benefit of earning upto Rs 3,000 per month extra," he added.

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City Forest Project to be conducted at National Park

MUMBAI: The City Forest Project under the Conservation Department of the Bombay Natural History Society is an urban biodiversity initiative to protect the forests of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (TWLS).

The objectives of this initiative are:systematic documentation of the conservation issues of the urban biodiversity,conduct awareness campaigns among locals for the protection of flora and fauna, and eco-restoration of fringe areas through people's participation.

There is a severe human-leopard conflict in and around the SGNP. BNHS therefore initiated awareness campaigns from 2005 in all areas prone to leopard attacks. The BNHS team has, so far, interacted with more than 15,000 people in these settlements. SGNP and TWLS house number of temples, ashrams, and the Kanheri Caves - an archaeological Buddhist site. These sites attract scores of visitors on various religious occasions. The huge crowds bring along problems for the Park in the form of littering, forest fires, and general nuisance. Public awareness campaigns by the BNHS team along with more than 150 volunteers, other NGOs and the forest department has succeeded in controlling incidents of forest fires and curtailing litter during these festive seasons, both at SGNP and TWLS.

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Bombay HC asks Deccan Chronicle to furnish securities worth over Rs 125 crore

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has directed Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd and T Venkatram Reddy to furnish, within four weeks, security of Rs 101 crore in favour of Tata Capital Financial Services and of Rs 25 crore in favour of L&T Finance Ltd. Justice R D Dhanuka who passed the order on Thursday February 21, 2013 in response to arbitration petitions filed by Tata group company and L&T also directed that failure to furnish the bank guarantees within a month would result in appointment of a court receiver over the properties of the Hyderabad-based Deccan Chronicle.

In the case of Tata Finance who moved the HC to recover its Rs 100 crore loan to Deccan, the court after hearing counsel Virag Tulzapurkar along with Ashok Paranjpe also imposed a 3% yearly interest on Rs 101 crore since August 23, 2012. In the Tata case the properties that would be attached if Deccan Chronicle misses are its prime property forming part of Mathuradas Mills Compound, Lower Parel and other assets/properties of Venkatram Reddy including land and building, vehicles , investments in other entities, cash and bank balances and investments in Deccan Chronicles Holdings Ltd. Till the Court Receiver takes possession of these properties there is an injunction against DC. The court also directed DC and Reddy to give details of their assets within two weeks .

After hearing advocate Shakuntala Joshi for L&T, the HC directed that Deccan pays 15% interest per year since July 2012 as'' overdue compensation'' to L&T. Deccan Chronicle represented by law firm Jaykar&Partners basically argued that an arbitration agreement cannot be invoked for enforcement of mortgage, relying of various SC judgments. But the HC judge held that filing an application under Section 9 of the Arbitration Act for interim relief does not amount to enforcement of mortgage and hence the court was empowered to grant interim relief to preserve and protect the property.

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Resolve issue of non-recognised degrees : HC tells state govt

MUMBAI: Bombay High Court has has asked the State government to take the help of the Centre and Medical Council of India to resolve the issue of non-recognition of medical courses. The court said it was embarassing that government run colleges are teaching results in degrees being unrecognised.

A divison bench of Justice S J Vazifdar and Justice Mridula Bhatkar were hearing a petitions by doctors who were refused registration by Maharashtra Medical Council stating that the courses in which they acquired doctorate were not recognised by MCI. The judges have asked attorney general Goolam Vahanvati and advocate genera Darius Khambata to assist with the matter. The judges observed that they do not want to pass any order which will have serious repercussions. It is embarassing to know what the State (governmnent) has been doing. How can it run courses which are not reconised ? So manner students will suffer because of this,'' said Justice Vazifdar.

One of the petitions was by Dr Manoj Kashid, who acquired his post graduate degree in M.S. (Orthopaedic) from the Institute of Naval Medicine, INHS, Asvini, Colaba, in 2008. After completing his MBBS from Lokmanya Tilak Medical College, Sion, in 2002, Kashid did a one-year mandatory internship. Later he joined Institute of Naval Medicine for post graduate course.

His advocates argued that several students who have passed out way back in 1999 are also suffering because the MCI refused to recognise over 44 courses. They said several government-run medical colleges conduct courses that are non-recognised and derecognised by MCI. and grant registration to several students who acquired the degree from the Institute of Naval Medicine. He has also sought compensation from the government, the INM and Mumbai University for ruining his career. He said at the time of admission the students were informed that application is made for recognition of the course and would be granted soon.

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Powai residents begin garbage segregation in their areas

MUMBAI: Eager to make their area a zero-waste zone, citizens of the 's' ward in Powai have chalked out a plan for a more efficient waste disposal system which includes special attention to garbage on roads and CHS.

Over 150 citizens were educated on garbage segregation by the chief of A.L.Ms Seema Redkar of the BMC in Powai.

Advanced Locality Management)ALM) is local management of solid waste by citizens who organise themselves to manage their waste.

For the very first time the chiefs of the CHS cooperative housing societies were invited to officially register and join the ALM s of Powai, so that under their leadership the entire lane or society can segregate wet and dry garbage. Some housing societies in Powai have special house keeping management therefore it is important for the managing committees of each building to educate the setup as well as its members to segregate at source.

A Kale, the Additional Municipal Commissioner of the 'L' ward was present and also educated the public, "When citizens have the right to demand cleanliness from the civic body, they also have a duty. Citizens must ensure they adhere to rules on segregation of dry and wet waste."

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Citizens to come together for a better city

MUMBAI: The city which never sleeps, is a conglomerate of seven islands, which today serves more than 20 million people of the country. Every year, thousands of people fly down to the city, to meet their dreams and fulfill their desires. Every evening when the city is lit up, it regains a sense of hope, a moment of happiness. Each time tragic events strikes us, we come together and combat the situation. Today, we Mumbaikars are standing on the edge, facing several challenges every single day. It time for us to come together, to nurture, protect and care for the city.

Volunteer for Better India (VBI) Mumbai is that neutral platform that will make it easy for individuals from all walks of life, irrespective of cultural, religious, ethnicity, caste, organizational or spiritual affiliation, to volunteer and be in service, to make community service a way of life and thereby help build a just, peaceful and prosperous Mumbai.

The VBI invites you to participate and become a part of this magnanimous service initiative. This week VBI is set to give a glimpse about what this whole initiative can do.Through VBI Mumbai week we will get a glimpse of the road ahead. The projects include activities like organizing Medical camps in slums; traffic management at various junctions, clean-up at railway stations, music and skits around the city to create awareness about the citizens movement will take place at defined destinations.

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Mumbai consultation on police reforms: For better policing and safer city

MUMBAI: A meeting of over 80 of the leading activists representing over 30 organisations/civil society in Mumbai voiced deep concern about the state of women's safety and the safety of all Mumbaikars.

Attended by no less personage as Julio Rebeiro, [ Former Mumbai Police Commissioner], Dr A N Roy [Former Director General of Police, Maharashtra ], Shailesh Gandhi [former Central Information Commissioner], Satish Sahney [Former Mumbai Police Commissioner], leading advocates, Women and Rights Activists and concerned citizens.

The discussions pointed out that despite the bitter complaints against the inefficiencies of policing in Mumbai, its bias's and violence, police performance was failing the public. Bandage remedies such as transfers or punishment postings will not do. There is a need for root and branch improvement. The constabulary have to be better equipped not with arms and ammunition but with a better value system that ensures that there will be more responsive and less illegal policing and better all round every day performance.

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BMC to map public toilets in the city

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be taking a survey to map all the public toilets in the city.

The BMC will conduct the survey so then there is a clear idea of the need of toilets as against the demand and work can be taken to bridge the gap.

A senior official from the solid waste department said there are nearly 4,500 toilets in the city, of which 65-70 per cent are for men and the remaining for women.

The civic body will also focus on collecting data regarding the number of toilets available along the railway stations and railway lines and slums.

To assess the need for sanitation, the civic body will also survey properties of other public agencies such as MHADA, SRA, MMRDA and PWD among others to account of the public toilets in their area.

Though the survey will initially be undertaken by ward-level officials in each area, all the data will later be mapped out using geographic information system ( GIS).

A similar survey was conduced In 2001, and which it was found that over 200 of the city's 1,435 slums have no toilet facilities on their premises. It had been estimated that more than 10 lakh people lived in slums during that period.

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BMC to buy soap from Karnataka

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be buying soap bars from a Karnataka government company for its use.

The BMC will be purchasing mysore sandal soap bars worth Rs 2crore for the use in all their offices, hospitals for the entire year. Each bar will be costing them Rs 15.

The BMC will be procuring the soaps and will distribute it to the head of departments; they will then disburse it to their staff for use.

The BMC has been purchasing these soaps from Karnataka for the last two years.

Rahul Shewale standing committee chairman said that the BMC will be soon procuring the soap bars because the stock of the soaps in most of its departments is over and they are using soaps by taking from departments that have some bars to spare

The proposal to buy these soaps was passed in the civic standing committee on Monday

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BMC to buy soap from Karnataka

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be buying soap bars from a Karnataka government company for its use.

The BMC will be purchasing mysore sandal soap bars worth Rs 2crore for the use in all their offices, hospitals for the entire year. Each bar will be costing them Rs 15.

The BMC will be procuring the soaps and will distribute it to the head of departments; they will then disburse it to their staff for use.

The BMC has been purchasing these soaps from Karnataka for the last two years.

Rahul Shewale standing committee chairman said that the BMC will be soon procuring the soap bars because the stock of the soaps in most of its departments is over and they are using soaps by taking from departments that have some bars to spare

The proposal to buy these soaps was passed in the civic standing committee on Monday

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Police burst gang involved in kidnapping of minor girls

MUMBAI: The Chandrapur police have busted a ring that was involved in kidnapping of minor girls and selling them off for marriage in states like Madhya Pradesh.

The case dates back to February last year when five girls had gone missing one after the another from the Indiranagar slums in Chandrapur. In spite of a year long investigation the police were nto a able to crack the case and find out who kidnapped the girls and why.

However recently the cops recently had a break through when one of the girls who was kidnapped earlier told the cops about how she was a victim of a racket of selling minor girls for marriage in the RajasthanMadhya Pradesh border.

The police then investigated it and found out that there was a organized gang of men and women who were involved in kidnapping girls and then selling them off in Rajasthan and Madhyapradesh for Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.

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Police burst gang involved in kidnapping of minor girls

MUMBAI: The Chandrapur police have busted a ring that was involved in kidnapping of minor girls and selling them off for marriage in states like Madhya Pradesh.

The case dates back to February last year when five girls had gone missing one after the another from the Indiranagar slums in Chandrapur. In spite of a year long investigation the police were nto a able to crack the case and find out who kidnapped the girls and why.

However recently the cops recently had a break through when one of the girls who was kidnapped earlier told the cops about how she was a victim of a racket of selling minor girls for marriage in the RajasthanMadhya Pradesh border.

The police then investigated it and found out that there was a organized gang of men and women who were involved in kidnapping girls and then selling them off in Rajasthan and Madhyapradesh for Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000.

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BJP slams NCP for Beed collector's transfer

MUMBAI: BJP leader GopinathMunde on Thursday slammed the decision to transfer Beed Collector Sunil Kendrekar. Munde alleged that the transfer was done at the behest of deputy chief minister leader AjitPawar (NCP). Munde was in Delhi when he made these allegations, according to MundeKendrekar's transfer wads done as he had stopped all illegal activities in Beed and had put the fear of law on the oil, sand and the land mafia.

"The NCP's interests have been hurt due to the transfer. This is the reason why the local NCP MLA's and leaders met Ajit Pawar who has then effected the transfer of the Beed collector," claimed Munde.

The BJP leader said that while chief minister Prithviraj Chavan enjoys a clean reputation it could be sullied if he remains party to such decisions. According to Munde, Chavan should stop coming under the pressure of the NCP or else there would be question raised on the functioning style of the CM too.

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Mumbai was normal on bandh day

MUMBAI: Life in Mumbai was normal during the Bharat Bandh on Wednesday barring stray incidents of stone pelting on buses and banks remaining shut for general public.

However, it will be another normal day on Thursday, which is the first day of HSC exams and no union in Mumbai will participate in the bandh.

On Wednesday, office-goers did not face any inconvenience as the autos and taxis were out in full strength, the BEST plied more than the regular fleet of buses it had planned during peak hours and trains services were normal on Western, Central and harbour lines.

While garbage were cleared by the BMC vans at most places, the supply of essential services like water, milk, vegetables, power and gas supply was not hit.

The BEST buses recorded a cent per cent attendance of conductors and 98% drivers." Our services ran smoothly except for two stray incidents of stone pelting - one on route No 422 at Powai and another on route No. 186 at Marol. But this did not affect the services and our buses plied with grilles fitted on windscreens and windows," said BEST senior spokesperson AS Tamboli. Despite the "industrial bandh", over 10,000 small and medium scale industries in Vasai taluka remained open.

The MSRTC too ran its services, specially the popular Mumbai-Pune AC Shivneri buses. WR spokesperson Sharat Chandrayan said: "There has been no effect of Bharat Bandh on WR suburban services and all services have been running normally." There was heavy police bandobast in several parts of the state specially in the industrial areas.

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Indian Navy organizes one day seminar-cum-exhibition on Marine Infrastructure Trends

MUMBAI: The Indian Navy (IN) under the aegis of the Director General Naval Projects, Mumbai is organising a one day seminar-cum-exhibition on "Emerging Trends in Development of Marine Infrastructure" at the INHS Asvini auditorium near RC Church, Colaba on February 28.

The one day seminar will flag off at 9am. The chief guest for the function will be Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Mumbai. The keynote address will be delivered by Vice Admiral NN Kumar, Chief of Materiel, Integrated Headquarters of Ministry of Defence (Navy), New Delhi.

Defence (Chief) PRO N Vispute said that the seminar will focus on issues related to modern design processes for marine structures, modern materials and maintenance aspects. The seminar is being conducted when the Navy as well as the defence shipyards is in the process of modernising their marine infrastructure with substantial investments.

He said that the seminar and exhibition will be attended by personnel from the Indian Navy, Army, Coast Guard, Public and Private sector shipyards, Port Trusts, Government Departments, Academia and also personnel from the Industries engaged in developing and maintaining marine infrastructure.

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Coast Guards get state-of-art interceptor boat for coastal patrolling and security

MUMBAI: The Indian Navy (IN) will add feathers to its armoury with the commission of Indian Coast Guard Ship C-154, the New Generation of Arneson Surface Drive (ASD) Interceptor Boat. The vessel will be commissioned on February 22 at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.

Defence (Chief) PRO Narendrakumar Vispute said that the commissioning Ceremony of Indian Coast Guard Ship C-154, ASD Interceptor Boat is scheduled to be held on Friday and will commissioned by Mr. Jayant Kumar Banthia, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt of Maharashtra.

Vispute said that in addition to Senior Service Officers, various Civil Dignitaries from State Administration will be attending the function.

The ICG has inducted in December 2012 36 high speed interceptor boats to boost the coastal security force's capability to prevent terror attacks like the one on Mumbai in 2008 and illegal activities close to the 7,516-km coast.

Officer said that the Interceptor Boat can achieve a maximum speed of 45 knots or 83 km per hour. The vessel is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment and medium-range armament, and is designed for high speed interception, close-coast patrol, low-intensity maritime operations, search and rescue and maritime surveillance. The commissioning of the interceptor boat has taken the ICG force level to 77 vessels and with more planned inductions in the future; it is expected to double by 2018.

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More transparency in food programmes is the need of the hour

MUMBAI: At a time when the food security bill is slotted for Parliamentary debate, an independent non-governmental organization has raised the flag for more transparency to be induced into India's food security system, if the government was to indeed ensure the right to food for all.

Stating that India is still has a long way to go to ensure food security, the Asian Legal Resource Centre has recommended that India ensure "effective monitoring" of existing anti-malnutrition programmes such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme so as to prevent pilferage. It suggests tracking to ensure that goods and services reach the intended beneficiaries, even as it recommends setting an example by bringing individual offenders to book.

Alluding to the food security bill, the ALRC points out that, "While the bill itself appears good on paper, little can be done to implement the bill effectively while government corruption remains as rampant as it is."

After all we aren't talking of peanuts where the food budget is concerned. The Centre spent around Rs 75,366 crore on food subsidy in the current financial year and citizens have a right to know where their money is spent, given that indicators stubbornly refuse to change.

India represents a worrying 25% of the world's hunger and the government itself admits that about 43% of children in the 0-6 agegroup are malnourished. India is set to overtake China as the most populous nation by 2030 and it is imperative that the government pay heed to the impending food crises. An urgent course correction to turn these statistics on their head, is the need of the hour.

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Constable ends life after killing girlfriend

MUMBAI: A married constable today committed suicide by shooting himself with a service revolver here after killing his girlfriend, police said.

Sudhir Rane (42), attached with protection department of the city police, shot a bullet on his temple from his service revolver at about 6.30 AM, at the rest house in the government colony near Haji Ali area of south Mumbai, police said.

Prior to that he killed his girlfriend Sharvari Khan (48), who was a widow.

The constable apparently took the extreme step out of fear as his family had come to know about his extra-marital affair.

The widow, a mother of three children, used to stay in a nearby building. She was shot on her chest by Rane, police said.

Rane was deployed for the protection of a magistrate, residing in building No 14 of the government colony.

The constable was found dead inside the rest room in the building No 11 of the same colony, an official at Tardeo police station said.

"After learning about his death, his girl friend's murder also came to light," the official added.

Rane is survived by wife and two children, staying in Matunga police camp.

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SC issues notice on SLP against appointments of varsity VCs in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: A former pro vice chancellor of Mumbai University A D Savant has moved the Supreme Court to challenge the appointments of vice-chancellors in several universities across Maharashtra including the Mumbai University. The SC bench of Justice R.M. Lodha, Justice Chelmeshwar Jasti and Justice Madan Lokur has now issued notice to various universities and vice-chancellors.

The challenge by Savant is on the ground that the appointments were contrary to the requirements laid down by the UGC.

In September 2009, UGC Regulations came into force and were gazetted in June 2010. They prescribed qualifications for the post of the vice-chancellors to be appointed in the various universities and the qualification for selection of the search committee, which would forward the list of the selected candidates to the chancellor — the governor of respective states — for final selection. The UGC regulations provided for 10 year experience as a professor for the post of Vice-Chancellor and it also recommended that one of the member of the search committee should be from UGC.

The State Commission, had amended section 12 (1) of the Maharashtra Universities Act, 1994 and provided qualification for appointment of Vice-Chancellor as well as search committee. Savant said these amendments were in breach of the UGC regulations and his case is that based on these amended rules, the search committee selected unqualified candidates as vice chancellors in several universities.

Savant who felt that many qualified candidates were thus bypassed filed two Special Leave Petitions in the SC-one last year and one this year — challenging orders passed last July by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC and by the Bombay HC. Though his lawyers Prashant Bhushan and Dilip Taur he challenged the amendment to section 12(1) of the Maharashtra Universities Act on the ground that, it is repugnant to the UGC Act. He also challenged the constitution of the search committee being contrary to the UGC Act and he sought the quashing of the amended section 12(1) and also the search committees appointed under the amended section.

Savant made Sant Gadgemaharaj University , Amravati , Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad , SNDT University Mumbai, vice-chancellors of Mumbai, Pune, Kolhapur , Lonare, Nagpur , Aurangabad , Nashik as a respondents and pleaded that all these appointment are contrary to the UGC Act.

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Chemists shut down shops early to pressurize FDA

MUMBAI: The state Food and Drug Administration's tough stand to implement the mandatory presence of a qualified pharmacist in every chemist shop has not gone down too well with the latter. Having tried every trick in the book to wriggle out of this strict norm, the chemists have now threatened to shut shops early as a mark of protest.

Over 2,000 chemist shops in the city, even the ones with license to operate 24 hours, are threatening to shut down as early as 6pm from Tuesday. The chemists have been at war with the FDA since the latter started checks to ensure the presence of qualified pharmacists during the sale of drugs. While, the FDA said it was not too big a requirement to be fulfilled, the chemists have been inisiting that the officials have been penalizing them even if the chemists are not present at the time of FDA inspection.

The Drugs and Cosmetics Act empowers the FDA officials to issue a stop sales and purchase order against the chemists who do not have a pharmacist. The chemists associations have also been insisting that it was difficult to find pharmacists for over 6000 shops in the city. An FDA official called it a "bogus pretext" to duck the law.

The chemists said since January, when the FDA launched its crackdown, more than 80 shops were forced to shut operations. In the last two weeks, the FDA has issued stop sale notices to 86 chemists. atives.

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Speeding car knocks down five, 2 critical

MUMBAI: A speeding Mercedes knocked down five pedestrians in Versova on Monday, severely injuring two of them. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered.

The victims, who share a flat in Versova, had stepped out for a walk after dinner around 1.30am when the incident took place. Some of the victims are students, while some are script writers. After the accident, the driver fled, leaving behind the injured, who sustained fractures . Passersby rushed the two critically injured to a hospital and informed the police.

Cops reached the spot and took the other three to the hospital . The three were discharged after treatment and their statements recorded by the police. The victims gave the registration number of the car involved in the mishap to the cops, who found out that the vehicle belonged to a Lokhandwala resident, who owns a furniture business in Juhu. But, the owner was not at his house and his phone was switched off. The police found his driver, who confessed that his negligent driving had led to the mishap.

The driver, who has been detained, claimed he was behind the wheel of his employer's Mercedes when the incident took place. According to him, one of the victims came in his way and he lost control over the vehicle. Not convinced with the confession, cops are examining other details. Cops said the employer has been untraceable since the accident. They are inquiring with witnesses and examining CCTV footage to find out who was driving the car.

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Mumbai International Airport to get IT services from Wipro

BANGALORE: Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), the operator of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai has entered into a 10-year contract with Wipro Infotech, the India and Middle East IT business unit of Wipro, to provide IT services for its newly integrated terminal T2.

Wipro will be responsible for providing managed services across the entire IT

landscape at MIAL and delivering operational efficiency across all the critical airport processes.

Wipro will begin the transition with a takeover of the IT services in the current terminals at CSIA, which is expected to commence from April 1, 2013. With regards to T2, Wipro will assist in the preparation of IT related standard operating procedures and also work closely with MIAL during the testing and trial phase of the IT systems prior to managing all the IT services for the new terminal. MIAL is currently implementing a master plan to build an integrated terminal --T2 -- designed to cater to 40 million passengers annually. The four-level integrated terminal with an area of around 4,39,000 sq mts will include new taxiways and apron areas for aircraft parking.

Rajeev Jain, CEO, MIAL said, "Our vision is to make T2 a global showcase and IT will play the role of a significant business driver. "

Anand Sankaran, senior VP - Wipro Infotech and Global Infrastructure Services said, "This engagement with MIAL adds strength to our existing airport and infrastructure practice."

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Banks to be shut for three days from today

MUMBAI: Banking services will be hit on Wednesday and Thursday because of a nationwide strike called by trade unions. It is a three-day disruption for Maharashtra, which is observing Tuesday as a bank holiday on account of ChhatrapatiShivajiJayanti.

Bank unions have claimed that 10 lakh bank employees will be striking work in nearly 90,000 bank branches. Anticipating the strike, State Bank of India announced extended working hours on Monday to make up for some of the inconvenience that would be caused because of the strike.

Most of the bank unions are supporting the strike call by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) consisting of nine national-level unions including AIBEA, NCBE, BEFI, INBEF, NOBW and AIBOC in support of their demand.

For customers, some of the strike impact would be blunted by the availability of automated teller machines (ATMs) and internet banking. However, branches of public sector banks are expected to be non-functional and cheque clearing activity will be hit. "All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) is participating in this strike with full strength to resist the Central government's policy of privatizing public sector banks and allowing more bank licences to corporate houses in India who are primarily responsible for the huge Rs 5-lakh-crore non-performing bad loans in Indian banks," AIBEA said in a statement.

Industry associations said that the two-day national strike by trade unions on February 20 and 21 is likely to cause a "a substantial loss" to the Indian economy.

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Banks to be shut for three days in Maharashtra from today

MUMBAI: Banking services will be hit on Wednesday and Thursday because of a nationwide strike called by trade unions. It is a three-day disruption for Maharashtra, which is observing Tuesday as a bank holiday on account of ChhatrapatiShivajiJayanti.

Bank unions have claimed that 10 lakh bank employees will be striking work in nearly 90,000 bank branches. Anticipating the strike, State Bank of India announced extended working hours on Monday to make up for some of the inconvenience that would be caused because of the strike.

Most of the bank unions are supporting the strike call by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) consisting of nine national-level unions including AIBEA, NCBE, BEFI, INBEF, NOBW and AIBOC in support of their demand.

For customers, some of the strike impact would be blunted by the availability of automated teller machines (ATMs) and internet banking. However, branches of public sector banks are expected to be non-functional and cheque clearing activity will be hit. "All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) is participating in this strike with full strength to resist the Central government's policy of privatizing public sector banks and allowing more bank licences to corporate houses in India who are primarily responsible for the huge Rs 5-lakh-crore non-performing bad loans in Indian banks," AIBEA said in a statement.

Industry associations said that the two-day national strike by trade unions on February 20 and 21 is likely to cause a "a substantial loss" to the Indian economy.

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Public protest over railway fare surcharge of Rs 5 per ticket

MUMBAI: There was a public protest outside Vashi railway station on Monday evening to protest the railway fare surcharge of Rs 5 per ticket. This surcharge was implemented since January 22. More then 500 Passengers gave their support to the movement which will spread to other railway stations of Navi Mumbai in the days to come.

CIDCO funded Railway Vashi Creek Bridge was constructed sometimes in 1995. In order to recover the cost of construction stated to be Rs 100 crore, a surcharge of Rs. 2 per ticket was set till the amount is paid back with Interest by Railway to CIDCO.

Even this Rs 100 crore were paid from tax payers' money since CIDCO is owned by Maharashra Government. Contract for construction of the Bridge was given to M/s AFCONS. Surcharge was enhanced to Rs. 3/- per ticket , by adding another component of Re 1 for MUTP.

As a result, second class railway ticket from Vashi to CST is Rs 15 while for equal distance to other stations is Rs 10 only. Navi Mumbaikar on every travel to & from Mumbai is squeezed by Rs. 10 for a return journey, said a protester of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

AAP convener Ravi Srivastava wrote to Minister of Railways Pawan Kumar Bansal in the last week of January 2013 and also to railway Board Chairman to stop this surcharge instantly.

Aam Aadmi Party has now demanded from Railways to withdraw this unjustified surcharge forthwith or in the Railway Budget to be presented on February 26, 2013.

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Nuclear Law Association to host meeting on India's nuclear energy sector in March

MUMBAI: The Nuclear Law Association will host its second annual meeting on "India's Nuclear Energy Sector: Business Opportunities and Legal Challenges" in Mumbai. The meet on March 2 this year is expected to explore legal and policy issues in respect to India's nuclear energy sector which is currently generating a lot of heat.

Specifically, the discussion will be based on three major issues, said a member of NLA. The main focus is on Nuclear energy projects and private sector participation; Regulatory and Stakeholder engagement in nuclear energy projects and Nuclear Liability and Insurance: impact on commercial viability.

Judges of Bombay High Court; officers of Atomic Energy Commission; senior counsels from the Bombay Bar Association; senior legal officers of nuclear energy industries from India and abroad are speakers.

Nuclear energy is posed for a major expansion in India. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), subsequent to the Nuclear Suppliers Group's wavier, has projected an ambitious target from the current 4GW to 30 GW by 2020 and 60 GW by 2032. This expansion is planned through major

imports of high capacity nuclear reactors from supplier countries like Russia, France, US and others. And also through aggressive expansion of indigenous reactors.

In respect to imported reactors, the DAE has already earmarked sites for Joint Venture partnerships between NPCIL and other vendors. Many countries are expected to participate in this planned expansion. Importantly, while there are significant business opportunities for both Indian and

foreign companies in the nuclear energy sector, such large-scale projects have a risk dimension as well, which increases the need for it to be supported by an adequate legal and regulatory regime, a NLA release said..

The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act enacted in 2010 with the clear message that liability from nuclear damage will have to be met by every party in the business chain, is viewed as a strong law from India. However, the law has seen the resistance from both supplier countries for being

too far-reaching and not exactly in tune with international treaties; whereas domestically some have criticised it as being too weak in some respects, a lawyer-member from NLA said. The subsequent rules that were formulated seemed to have created further legal confusion on its interpretation. As a result, foreign suppliers are delaying finalising inter-government agreements. Locally, the proposed expansion is already witnessing implementational hurdles like local acceptability, land acquisition, environmental issues, perceived regulatory ineffectiveness and more, NLA believes. To strengthen the regulatory framework, the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011, is currently been debated in the Parliament.

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Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation extends deadline for suggestion and objections on illegal shrines

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has yet again extended the deadline for filing suggestions and objections for illegal shrines in the city.

The last date will be now April 22. The civic body has so far received 178 suggestions and objections on the illegal shrines.

The BMC had announced a list of 534 illegal shrines and given time till January 28 to the concerned parties to respond. However, following fervent demands from public, the BMC had extended the deadline up to February 12, and now it has been further extended up to April 22.

According to civic sources, any shrine that is in existence from 1964 would be of legal status. People objecting the illegal status of these shrines were asked to submit the necessary documents to prove that the shrine existed before that period.

"Along with suggestions and objections, people have also submitted documents about concerned shrines, and asked for hearing to decide on their status. Some have also asked for shifting of the shrines instead of demolition, while some have drawn attention to new shrines in their areas," said a senior civic official.

According to the sources, these suggestions and objections will be sent to the respected ward offices for scrutiny.

The ward officer will hear them and a report will be submitted to civic level committee headed by the municipal commissioner.

The committee will decide whether to demolish, shift or regulate them. Depending on its findings a report will be sent to the state government asking them to decide on the course of action.

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Tension prevails in Maharashtra's Bhandara over death of 3 girls

MUMBAI: Tension has spread in Lakhni taluka in Bhandara district after the dead bodies of three girl children were found in a well in Murmudi village on Sunday. The three girls all sisters were living in the village and had gone missing for the last three days.

Local villagers said that they suspected that some men who were not residents of the village as suspects in the crime. According to villagers, a few youths in the age group of 20 to 25 were living near the school and the girls have been missing from the same time that the men have vacated their house.

Angry villagers demanded that the police apprehend the culprits and also trooped on to the National Highway-6 and stopped traffic for two hours.

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Bombay high court dismisses a builders petition to quash FIR filed against him

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court recently dismissed a petition filed by a Fort-based developer Homi Patrawala seeking to quash a First Information Report (FIR) filed against him by the Economic Offences Wing.

The FIR was filed against Patrawala, who owns Snowgold Constructions Pvt Ltd for forging documents and allegedly duping Ashok Mohanani of Ekta Group of Rs 6.5 crore over the purchase of a bungalow plot at Khar.

The court however, has stayed its order for eight weeks to permit Patrawala to approach the Supreme Court.

In his petition, Patrawala argued that they had reached a settlement with Mohanani by transferring two properties; a 42.25 sq mts building no 66, Jeenah Building at Fort and 2488 sq ft (carpet) commercial office at City Grand Plaza at Vasai West.

"Though the amount shown in the FIR is Rs 6.5 crore, the properties are worth Rs 11 crore as per the market value as per the settlement amount agreed with Mohanani. The FIR should therefore, be quashed," Patrawala's counsel Rizwan Merchant argued.

However, Mohanani's counsels, Ashok Mundargi and Ganesh Gole pointed out that Patrawala was misrepresenting facts. In their arguments, Mundargi contended that both the properties are worth only Rs 6.5 crore and not Rs 11 crore. The lawyers contended that Rs 6.5 crore is only part payment of the settlement that was reached to the extent Patrawala could get interim bail.

"Furthermore, the dummy woman who played the role of the original Sushil Jadhav, the bungalow owner is absconding. So, till she is arrested, the loss incurred by me cannot be fully determined," Mohanani said in his affidavit-in reply. As per Mohanani's complaint, Patrawala took Rs 6.5 crore while claiming to broker a deal between Mohanani and 70-year-old Sushila Jadhav who owns a bungalow on 13th Road in Khar (west).

Mohanani also purchased an adjacent plot owned by Patrawala's firm. However, he alleged, Patrawala never gave the money to Jadhav and fraudulently diverted all of it to his own company. When Jadhav did not vacate the plot, Mohanani visited the property. Jadhav later lodged a police complaint harassment against Mohanani. Mohanani, in turn, filed a complaint with the EOW.

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Senior Congress leader Narayan Rane slams MNS chief for baseless allegations

MUMBAI: In politics there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. MNS chief Raj Thackeray and senior Congress leader Narayan Rane were very close when the two were in the Shiv Sena. Now the two seem to be turning in to each other. An angry Rane has slammed Thackeray for alleging that the former was involved in land grabs in Konkan. Writing in his publication 'Prahaar' Rane has asked the MNS chief to first seek proper information and only then talk henceforth. The Congress minister has said that the allegations were totally baseless as he had not usurped anyone's land.

Raj had fired the first salvo against Rane during a rally at Khed in Konkan held last week. In his speech Thackeray had accused Rane of indulging in land grabs.

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Republican Party of India chief takes potshot at Mayawati

MUMBAI: Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's statement in a rally in Maharashtra where she said that her party would come to power in the country and the state has been termed as 'hilarious' by one of the Republican parties in the state.

Republican Party of India (RPI-A) leader Ramdas Athavale on Monday ridiculed Mayawati's statement that the BSP would come to power in the state. "Her statement that she would come to power in the state is hilarious. Her party has no presence in the state. Only the RPI-A decides who should come to power. We supported the Congress-NCP government and hence they came to power. We are now supporting the Sena-BJP alliance and they will come to power in the state," the RPI chief said.

Reacting to Mayawati's statement that she would not be satisfied with just building a memorial for Dalit leader Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in just 12 acres and would in stead go for building a memorial in 200 acres, Athavale remarked that his party would go in for building a much larger memorial.

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East Indians to lead solidarity rally on March 3

MUMBAI: Organisations representing the East Indian natives of Mumbai will take out a rally in Juhu Sunday, March 3, to "voice the concerns" of the community. Ten associations have pledged their support to the gathering that will be attended by around 1,000 community members.

At 10.00 am the march will wend its way from Juhu bus depot to the Vile Parle church grounds. Around 1887, the native Portuguese Christians had changed the name of their community to East Indians.

Their associations claim that their lands were taken over during British rule, particularly the World War to build military and airport facilities. After Independence the government allegedly took over land parcels for industrial and infrastructure needs. They say that in modern times their gaothans (villages) are being targeted.

"We will demand our rights as original inhabitants of Mumbai and demand our lands back if they cannot fulfil those. The aim is also to show unity as a community," said Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (MGP) spokesperson Gleason Barretto.

"Other communities are granted their demands in a few days but we have not been granted a single benefit till date. We East Indians remain strangers in our own land. The MGP will voice its 10-point agenda at the rally to the Central and state governments, BMC and the Archdiocese," he added.

The associations supporting the morcha are the Bombay East Indian Association (BEIA), Bassein Portuguese Cultural Association, Bright Seva Samiti, Kurla, Gauthans Active Residents Association of Juhu (GARAJ), Kolovery Welfare Association, Kalina, MGP, Orlem East Indian Association, Oshiwara East Indian Welfare Association, United Social Welfare Association, Kurla, and the Vakola East Indian Association.

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Builder's murder: Ex-cop arrested

MUMBAI: A day after a Navi Mumbai builder was shot dead by two assailants dressed as private security guards, a retired policeman was arrested today in this connection.

"We have arrested Samuel Amolik in connection with the case," Navi Mumbai Police commissioner A K Sharma said today.

Samuel, an 'encounter specialist' in Mumbai who retired from the police force three years back, was allegedly in touch with the shooters, a police source said.

He was earlier suspended for his alleged links with the underworld, but later on was reinstated in the force, the source said.

Sunil Kumar Loharia, 50, had sustained five bullet injuries and stab wounds yesterday when he stepped out of his car in front of his office in Vashi area of Navi Mumbai. He later died at a hospital.

The two motorcycle borne assailants had approached Loharia when he was walking towards his office. While one of them shot him at point-blank range, the pillion rider attacked the builder with a chopper.

While one of the attackers escaped, another assailant — identified as 35-year-old Venkatesh Shettiar — was caught by locals and Loharia's staff. He was handed to police later.

The motive of the killing was suspected to be business rivalry, police said, adding that further investigation in the case was on.

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Builder's murder: Ex-cop arrested

MUMBAI: A day after a Navi Mumbai builder was shot dead by two assailants dressed as private security guards, a retired policeman was arrested today in this connection.

"We have arrested Samuel Amolik in connection with the case," Navi Mumbai Police commissioner A K Sharma said today.

Samuel, an 'encounter specialist' in Mumbai who retired from the police force three years back, was allegedly in touch with the shooters, a police source said.

He was earlier suspended for his alleged links with the underworld, but later on was reinstated in the force, the source said.

Sunil Kumar Loharia, 50, had sustained five bullet injuries and stab wounds yesterday when he stepped out of his car in front of his office in Vashi area of Navi Mumbai. He later died at a hospital.

The two motorcycle borne assailants had approached Loharia when he was walking towards his office. While one of them shot him at point-blank range, the pillion rider attacked the builder with a chopper.

While one of the attackers escaped, another assailant — identified as 35-year-old Venkatesh Shettiar — was caught by locals and Loharia's staff. He was handed to police later.

The motive of the killing was suspected to be business rivalry, police said, adding that further investigation in the case was on.

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Kokilaben Hospital launches liver transplant centre

MUMBAI: The KokilabenDhirubhaiAmbani Hospital in Andheri launched centre for liver transplant with an aim to cater to western India.

A team comprising of surgeons, hepatologists, anesthetists, radiologists and intensivists have been put together to run the transplant programme. Gastrointestinal surgeon Dr Tehemton Udwadiainaugurated the programme.

Speaking at the occasion, chairperson Tina Ambani said, "The efforts in this direction were initiated first in September 2009 when the hospital had launched a centre for children's heart followed by center for Sports Medicine in Oct 2009 and again in 2012 setting up the Robotic surgery centre." She added, "The launch of this unit will give hope to patients who need not travel to other parts of the country for critical liver-related treatments such as transplantation."

Dr Vinay Kumaran who has an impeccable record of performing over 700 liver transplants, will be hearing the team of experts. He said, "It has been estimated that about 2,00,000 Indians die of liver failure every year. In an ideal world, most of these would be candidates for a life-saving liver transplant. Around 25,000 liver transplants need to be done every year in India. However about 1,100 transplants were performed in India that too mostly in Delhi and centers in south India." He also said, "The need for liver transplant in the western India, including Mumbai, is estimated to be about 5000 - a demand almost impossible to meet through cadaveric organ donation, emphasizing the importance of the live donor transplants".

Dr Udwadia also added,"The medical fraternity has often contended the lack of dedicated liver facility in Mumbai, but we attributed it to high cost and the present visiting- doctors models that cannot support the comprehensive liver transplant care which is critical for the survival of patients, as Living Donor Liver Transplants (LDLTs) require specialised and comprehensive centers for the success of the procedure."

The hospital will be offering both living and cadaver donor transplants for adults as well as children with end-stage liver disease. The unit will also be offering emergency liver transplants for patients.

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Shiv Sena woman corporator alleges party seniors of ragging

MUMBAI: A first time woman Shiv Senacorporator from Mazgaon made allegations against senior leaders of the party of ragging her and not allowing her to speak on issues that are against the civic administration.

Despite having 50 per cent reservation for women in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), women corporators are still being gagged by the senior male leaders.

Yamini Jadhav on Thursday created a storm by alleging new corporators in her party are being ragged by senior leaders.

Jadhav made allegations against house leader in civic body Yashodhar Phanse. "Under the guise of discipline, senior leaders in our party are not allowing us to speak on issues that are against the administration as it may show them in bad light," she said.

According to the sources, both Jadhav and Phanse had heated exchange in a meeting held on the issue of a Konkan Mall in BMC.

Jadhav is wife of sena leader Yeshwant Jadhav who has been two time corporator.

During the meeting, Jadhav suggested that the mall should not be restricted to selling items from Konkan only. However, Phanse said it is the party's decision to form a special mall for the products from Konkan.

Later while speaking to reporters, Jadhav alleged of ragging from senior leaders. We are not allowed to express our views, she said.

However, Phanse refuted the allegations by saying new corporators are always being addressed how not to raise issues which will bring party into trouble. There is no ragging in the party, he added.

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Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority's clearance for pumping station at Khar

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) has issued a no-objection certificate (NoC), for the construction of a pumping station at Gazdarbandh in Khar.

The NOC will mean that a major hurdle has been cleared has finally been removed and the BMC can soon start work

The pumping station is expected to solve water logging problems in areas like Bandra, Khar and Santacruz.

Under the Brimstowad project, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was suppose to construct pumping stations at eight places in the city.

The Gazdarbandh pumping station will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 100 crore. However, the project was awaiting the nod from MCZMA as the site falls in non-development zone. It was further delayed as its files were gutted down in Mantralaya fire in June 2012.

"We will now begin the process of land acquisition, simultaneously the process of inviting tenders will be initiated," said Laxman Vhatkar, director, engineering (services and projects).

Currently two pumping stations at Haji Ali and Irla are operational since the last three years and have given a lot of relief to areas like Tardeo, Nana Chowk, Girgaum and Juhu, Andheri respectively. Pumping stations at Love Grove (Worli) and Cleveland (Worli) are presently under construction

Work is soon expected to begin on pumping stations at Britannia (Ray Road) and Gajdharbandh and the BMC has planned to complete them within a year.

For the construction of pumping stations at Mahul and Mogra, the process of land acquisition and seeking permission from environment and forest departments is underway, said civic officials. The BMC has a made a provision of Rs 178 crore in the budget for the year 2013-14 for the pumping stations project.

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