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Ex-corporator hangs self in Virar home
A former corporator from Virar who lost his vision, hanged himself at his home on Thursday. He did not leave behind a suicide note.
Chaudhary (67), a Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) corporator in the erstwhile Vasai-Virar Municipal Council, lost vision in his right eye due to old age. He sustained an infection in his left eye and had recently undergone an operation. However, the surgery could not restore his sight, the police said. On Thursday night, he hanged himself at his Dongarpada home in Virar (W). Family members told the police that the infection in his eye had worsened and he was in constant pain. |
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Missing Virar diamond broker found dead at Panchgani
A diamond broker, who went missing five days ago with diamonds worth nearly Rs one crore from the city, has been found murdered with his throat slit at the Panchgani hill station in Maharashtra's Satara district, police said today. The deceased Hardik Moradiya (21), a resident of suburban Virar, went missing on Thursday with diamonds worth nearly Rs one crore from Opera House area in south Mumbai. Moradiya's brother had lodged a missing complaint a day later at the D B Marg police station here. However, on Saturday, Moradiya was found with his throat slit and with stab marks near Panchgani, police said. The case has now been transferred from Panchgani police station to the city police. PTI |
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Join Maharashtra Animal Rescue Association
Maharashtra Animal Rescue Association has been founded by Mr. Sunil Kadam about 30 years back. Since then he has been training interested youth to rescue snakes and other animals over the years. His students Sunil Warang and Kedar Kunte are now rescuing snakes from Borivali to Dahanu for the past 10 years.
Both are well experienced and now planning to expand the team for which MARA is looking for youths who are willing to do the same work. We are a team of about 8 people who are being trained by Kedar, if the team increases, we can attend more rescue calls in a day and the work can be divided subsequently. Youths above 18 years of age can contact Kedar and Sunil for training.
Along with rescuing snakes and providing training for the same MARA is now planning to start nature activities with the students. Tree plantation drives, cleanliness drives, and many more programs will be conducted twice a month FREE of charge. All the students will also receive a certificate for participating.
Those who want to enjoy amidst nature and feel proud to be a young environmentalist then join the group NOW! If you come across a snake or any other animal posing danger do not kill it. Call on the following numbers and our representative will be there to rescue it…
Kedar Kunte 09890745411 | Sunil Warang 09820509912 |
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Vasai gets first sterilization centre for dogs
Flooded with complaints of stray dog menace, the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) has opened its first dog sterilization centre. There are 25,000 stray dogs in the Vasai-Virar region, say civic body officials. Ambernath-based NGO Animal Welfare Society (AWS) will help to run the sterilization unit at Navghar in Vasai.
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Virar cop sets example of honesty
Setting a rare example of honesty, Assistant Sub-Inspector BN Kadam, attached to the Virar police station, deposited Rs5 lakh in cash, which he found on Achole Road on Friday afternoon, at the Nalasopara police station. Appreciating his honesty, the Superintendent of Police (Thane Rural) has announced to felicitate Kadam for his exemplary act. |
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Stir against Vartak Engg colleges' fee hike
Students of two engineering colleges in the Vasai-Virar belt protested against the steep hike in fees for the current academic year. It was raining protests in Vasai-Virar on Monday with students of two engineering colleges protesting against the steep hike in fees for the academic year 2010-11.
Second-year students of Vartak Polytechnic Institute, Vasai, raised slogans against the management and complained that they were shocked to know that the fees had been raised from Rs 48,000 to Rs 60,000 without prior notice. Students allegedly indulged in stone-pelting, however, the Manikpur police denied this. Last week, a section of students had protested against the fee hike. However, their campaign was called off after the college management assured students that their grievances would be looked into. On Monday, when they did not hear from the management, students went on a protest again and claimed that they were being pressurized to cough up the increased fees. Even as the Vartak college protest was on, Students of Virar's Viva Institute of Technology were also up in arms against the fees being raised from Rs 46,000 to Rs 80,000 for the current academic year. Students complained that the fees for second, third and fourth year engineering programmes had increased by Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. First-year engineering students said that they had paid fees totalling Rs 90,000. The students had to call off their agitation after the management threatened to suspend them. The students complained that fees had been raised without any prior notice. |
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Winners - Vasai-Virar Mayor’s Marathon
Deepchand Saharan of Services and Kiran Tiwari of Western Railway won the open full marathon for men and half marathon for women respectively, at the Vasai-Virar Mayor's Marathon 2011, organised by Vasai-Virar Mahanagar Pallika on Sunday.
Deepchand clocked 2:28.03 to win the men's full marathon and take home prize money of Rs. 1 lakh, while Kiran overcame fancied Lalita Babbar and Priya Thoke to win in 1:18.20 and take home Rs. 51,000.
The event was flagged off by athletics icon P.T. Usha. India men's hockey international, Yuvraj Valmiki was felicitated and given Rs. 1 lakh.
The results:
Men's Open (42 km): Deepchand Saharan Mohansingh (Pune) 2.28.03; Bhaskar Madhukar Kamble (Vashi) 2.37.26; Nilesh Waman Bodhe (Chandrapur) 2.39.16; Bhima Sawlaram Shinde (Nashik Police) 2.40.50; Kalidas Dahikale (Pune) 2.41.10.
Women (21 km): Kiran Prayag Tiwari (Western Railway) 1.18.21; Lalita Babar 1.19.23; Priya Prakash Thoke (Mumbai) 1.20.25; Sangeeta Yadav (Mumbai) 1.22.53; Reshma Chandrakant Dalvi (Pune); Swati Deviprasad Sarode (Amravati) 1.25.49.
Boys: Under-20 (11 km): Bharat Krishna Gharat (Vasai) 40.01.08; Shubham Sudhakar Taral (Virar) 40.10.03; Hitesh J. Patel (Virar) 40.10.09. U-17 (5 km): Salim Salman Khan 25.17.08; Gurunath Dinesh Mhatre 27.10.08; Virendra Yadav 27.47.07. U-14 (3 km): Shohaib Mustakh Mansuri 11.08.01; Shubham Rakesh Yadav 12.08.00; Radhe Sagar Gupta 13.20.00.
Girls: U-17 (5 km): Divya Suresh Padvi 20.05.06; Kavita Ankush Khandekar 27.23.09; Megha Prabhakar Patil 28.10.01. U-14 (3 km): Itkar Chaya Shridhar 13.10.08; Gaikar Shilpa Jagdish 13.19.01; Amisha V. Jadhav 13.23.04. |
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MSRDC now moots coastal road from Versova to Virar
In a fresh amendment to the city's road plans, the proposed 10-km Bandra-Versova coastal road corridor may be extended by 8 km up to Malad, towards the north of the city, and in further phases up to Virar, a distance of about 46 km.
The proposal came up based on a draft report of a joint technical committee (JTC) constituted by the state government to study technical, financial and environmental feasibilities of road options along the city's coast. The report, sources said, enthused administrators as it recommends coastal roads on reclaimed land and stilts, besides a link portion which has a mangrove patch.
"We will put up concrete proposals before the next infrastructure sub-committee for extensions up to Malad and Virar. Most road alignments on these sections will help us in the development of the project. Wherever mangroves confront us with an alignment, a stilt road or link can be built," said Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) managing director Bipin Shrimali.
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Patch-up jobs start in Vasai-Virar
After a huge public outcry, the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) has begun patching up potholed roads in the region. Several main and frequently used roads have become scarred by potholes, causing inconvenience and harassment to motorists. The flyover connecting Nalasopara's east to the west has become a nightmare for motorists. The Nalasopara-Vasai Link Road is also full of potholes.
VVMC mayor Rajeev Patil recently took a tour of potholed roads in Nalasopara and directed the civic administration to improve road conditions. Civic officials have promised that the roads will be pothole free by Ganesh Chaturthi, which begins on September 1. At the standing committee meeting of the VVMC, corporator Umesh Naik had demanded action against road contractors. So far, the municipality has not drawn up a list of erring contractors. Sources said that the work of repairing the potholed roads has been given to the same contractors who carried out the initial road work.
Meanwhile, the condition of roads in Mira Road and Bhayander has worsened due to rains and water-logging in most parts of the region. The Mira-Bhayander unit of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) met newly appointed municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar to demand that potholes be fixed. No work on the potholes has been undertaken so far. Source |
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Vasai-Virar Marathon to offer prize money for state runners
The men's and women's winners in the Rs 15-lakh prize-money inaugural Vasai-Virar Mayor's Marathon on September 18 would pocket Rs one lakh and Rs 51,000 respectively.
"In the first year we are inviting athletes from all over the state, as well as from Vasai-Virar region which has produced some top runners in the past, including Olympian Anand Menezes, to take part. We will try and expand it later," said Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation's Mayor Rajiv Patil. The second and third place finishers in the men's 42-km race would get Rs 75,000 and 50,000 respectively, while the corresponding women's half marathon placings would offer Rs 40,000 and 30,000 respectively.
Former Asian track queen PT Usha has consented to be the brand ambassador of the event whose motto is to save girl child and maintain nature's balance, Patil said. "We have some exquisite and scenic places. We also want to take the marathon route through adivasi hamlets and encourage them to take part in the event," he said.
The event is supported by local MLAs Kshitij Thakur and Vilas Tare, former India hockey captain Dhanraj Pillai and former sprinter Anand Menezes. There would be races for junior boys and girls too for various distances, ranging from 11km to 3km. Patil also took the opportunity to say the corporation was in the process of laying a 400m synthetic running track, constructing an Olympic size swimming pool and facilities for other indoor games at its proposed sports complex in Virar within two years' time.
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Miracle recovery for Mumbai 7/11 blasts victim
For nearly five years, Parag Sawant was comatose; his life virtually written off.
Parag was travelling on a Virar-bound local train July 11, 2006, returning home after work when a bomb went off. It was one in a series of seven train blasts that rocked Mumbai that day killing nearly 200 people and injuring close to a thousand.
Parag suffered severe brain trauma and went into coma. He was 27 years old, his wife six months pregnant.
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Vasai villagers seek basic civic amenities
After succeeding in getting 29 villages excluded from the municipality, the Swabhimani Vasaikar Sanghatana (SVS) is now trying to upgrade basic civic amenities in the villages.
The Sanghatana comprising of young men and women from the villages was formed to fight the inclusion of villages in the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) in July 2009. The villagers were against joining the municipality and had come together to save the green patches in the villages.
Sanghatana members met state tribal development minister Rajendra Gavit and discussed their problems. Villagers requested the minister to call for an urgent review of the electricity poles, wires and transformers' in the villages. A number of cases of electrocution have been reported in the villages. The incidents go up during monsoon. President of the Sanghatana Vijay Machado said that electric wires were loosely lying in fields. He said that electricity poles were outdated and resulted in electric shocks. Machado requested the minister to organize a meeting with the Maharashtra State Electricity Board and discuss the problems. The SVS sought allocation of funds for upgradation of poles, wires and transformers. The issue of load shedding and power cuts was also discussed with the minister.
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Illegal Buildings a big issue in Vasai-Virar
Monday's incident highlights the gravity of the problem of illegal structures along the Vasai-Virar belt. More than one lakh such structures dot this belt, according to the NGO, Harit Vasai Saurakshan Samiti, which filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against these illegal structures in 2007. 'The whole place is in shambles as such structures have mushroomed. The quality of life has deteriorated,' said the Samiti's advocate, Uday Warunjikar.
On Monday, the buildings demolished had come up very close to the railway tracks in Nalasopara (east). Last year, the Bombay High Court came down heavily on the issue of illegal structures and ordered civic authorities to take stringent action against them. After issuing notices, the civic body is now undertaking a demolition drive.
Residents blame the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation for allowing so many illegal constructions to crop up. 'Over the past decade, the civic body turned a blind eye as illegal structures mushroomed in this belt,' said resident Sadanand Rawle. 'It was clear cut nexus between the builders, politicians and authorities,' he said, adding that such constructions have systematically destroyed the area's green cover. 'There was absolutely no planning and structures were coming up everywhere.'
Officials complain that they face many hurdles. 'Politicians interfere in our work and provoke people against us,' said a senior official who does not wish to be named. 'We are often denied police protection and so have to postpone demolition.' In May, when chief secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad visited Nalasopara, he had criticised the presence of illegal structures in the belt, and since then demolition has been in full swing.
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Mayor warns plastic manufacturers of stern action
Concerned about the growing use of plastic bags below 50 microns in the region, the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) Mayor Rajiv Patil held a meeting of plastic manufacturers' to warn them of stern action.
Despite the state government's directives to ban polythene bags of below 50 microns thickness, hotels, restaurants, grocery shops use plastics that cog drains and damage the environment. The VVMC has already collected a fine of over Rs 1.5 lakhs from manufacturers' and dealers' of plastics.
The mayor asked manufacturers to manufacture plastic carry bags of the stipulated size and weight. He noted that plastic bags of various colours and sizes were seen in shops and establishments and it was causing harm to the environment. During the pre-monsoon cleaning of nullahs, civic employees have found drains clogged with plastics. Details of plastic manufacturers' have been gathered and civic officials will pay surprise visits.
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Massive demolition drive in Nallasopara east
The Municipal Corporation of Vasai-Virar on Monday 6th May carried out a major demolition drive targeting illegal constructions in Nallasopara (East). More than ten multi-storey buildings (Load bearing structures)which had been constructed upon land belonging to salt department were razed amidst tight police security by a demolition squad.
However, the drive evoked a strong protest from locals who blamed the civic officials for allowing the illegal constructions to flourish. "What was the civic administration doing, when such huge structures were being constructed?” questioned a local.
Even as altercations and scuffles between locals and administrative officials continued throughout the day, the presence of police personnel in the area prevented any untoward incident. The drive is expected to go on over the next few days.
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VVMC pitches Vasai as tourist destination!
The newly formed Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) on Wednesday presented its first budget-of Rs 810 crore-with the emphasis 'Destination Vasai'. The focus is on restoring and maintaining churches, forts, lakes, and tourist and picnic spots.
The VVMC has not imposed new taxes. The funds for undertaking projects will come from existing taxes, including property tax, local body tax, water tax and fire service tax.
In the budget proposal, municipal commissioner Kishore Borde has made a provision of Rs 4.45 crore to restore and upgrade facilities at places of religious importance, among them the Jeevdani temple and the Agashi Jain temple in Virar, and the Shiva temple at Tungareshwar, which attract lakhs of devotees a year. The forts under consideration are the ones in Vasai and Virar. Provision has also been made for the Vasai coastal belt. The VVMC plans to promote as tourist destinations the Buddhist stupa at Nalasopara (West), the hot springs of Ganeshpuri and Vajreshwari in Bhiwandi taluka, which is easy to access through Vasai. It also plans to plant 20 lakh trees in the region as part of its Rs 8.16-crore green initiative. In addition, there is a provision for a snake park, a bird sanctuary and a hanging garden.
Through the 'Destination Vasai' campaign, the municipality plans to make these tourist destinations more accessible from Vasai. |
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Maharashtra to be load-shedding-free by December 2012
Maharashtra will be freed from load-shedding by December 2012 as the state government is augmenting electricity production, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said today.
The Government is setting up projects on its own and also in partnership with the private sector to increase power supply and ensure the shortage is bridged by 2012-end. Adequate funds will be provided to make the state load- shedding-free. |
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