Illegal Borivli Chowpatty on govt land pulled down

A clutch of eateries that had popped up under the banner Borivali Chowpatty at Shimpoli, allegedly on government land, have dismantled the joints following a series of reports by mid-day. This newspaper’s exposé also prompted Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat to order a probe and take action against officials who helped the land-grabbers start the alleged illegal food hub in the first place. Around 10-12 stalls were set up about three months ago on RM Bhattad Road at Shimpoli in Borivli West.

Central Railway to introduce AC locals on holidays, Sundays; WR to fix Bandra station roof

In a string of impacts of mid-day’s reports, the Central Railway plans to introduce AC locals on holidays and Sundays, while the Western Railway has begun fixing the central roof of the Bandra station. mid-day had last week highlighted concerns of commuters on CR and WR. While CR travellers rued the lack of AC services on Sundays and on holidays, WR commuters had to bear the heat at roofless Bandra station.

Maharashtra govt releases Rs 150 crore to MRVC but delay in funding leaves projects in disarray

The Maharashtra government on May 11 released a sum of Rs 150 crore to the Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) of the total due amount of Rs 1,000 crore. However, the timelines of various ongoing projects have already been affected.

The new Dighe station on Thane-Vashi line, which was set to be open by this year-end, has been hit as the engineering work slowed down and the work was set to be halted in view of the fund crunch. Sources said a sum of Rs 850 crore is further awaited to process the other ongoing projects.

Mumbai: Angry residents of Siddharth Colony storm Adani power plant, hold 100 employees hostage

Fed up with the daily power disconnection by Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited, hundreds of Siddharth Colony residents gheraoed AEML’s Tilak Nagar plant on May 12 for more than 13 hours. Residents claimed that AEML acted inhumanely and disconnected supply around 4 am on May 12. Citizens started the gherao at 8.30 am and continued till evening. 

Tilak Nagar police had deployed personnel along with the SRPF platoon as 100-odd employees were held hostage inside the plant due to agitation. A delegation met AEML officials, following which they were given two days’ time to pay the running bills. The gherao was called off at 9 pm after 13 hours.

Covid effect in Mumbai: More hawkers spring up, and in new streets

Many people who lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic, were forced to resort to selling eatables to make a living. But this has led to a new problem, as once hawker-free roads are full of them. While people understand the issue of the jobless, they say they are inconvenienced by the congested roads. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has not yet tackled the issue. The hawkers’ policy that could help resolve it, is still on paper after 7 years.

The BMC does not have any data of the number of people hawking in the various wards, but most former corporators have made the observation that hawkers have increased.