The fire was reported at B-14 Gomati building in Vaishali Nagar, Jogeshwari. The blaze was confined to the electrical wiring and installations in the common meter cabin located on the ground floor

Mumbai: Eleven residents, including two senior citizens and a 13-year-old boy, were injured after a fire broke out in the electricity meter cabin of a four-storey residential building in Jogeshwari (West) early Friday, with most suffering from smoke inhalation. Residents said they rushed to the terrace and alighted via the connected wing.The fire was reported at 5.59 am at B-14 Gomati building in Vaishali Nagar. According to the Mumbai Fire Brigade, the blaze was confined to the electrical wiring and installations in the common meter cabin located on the ground floor. TOI found that the front door of an apartment owned by Khalid Mirza was scorched. “Thankfully the blaze did not enter the house,” Mirza said.Officials said a suspected short circuit triggered the fire, which quickly filled the building with thick smoke, trapping several residents inside. As sparks flew and flames leaped, panicked occupants attempted to evacuate but many were slow to make their way out due to poor visibility caused by dense smoke.Fire brigade rescued the trapped residents before extinguishing the blaze at 6.18 am. While the fire was contained, smoke inhalation left several people in need of medical attention.Elderly couple Salim Noor Mohiddin Tadavi (75) and Mumtaz Salim Tadavi (67) who sustained burn injuries were shifted to Cooper Hospital for specialised treatment. The remaining nine were admitted to Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari and are stable. Those admitted are Yousuf Mitha (55), who suffered burn injuries, Sameera Mitha (55), Irfan Mitha (46), Bilkis Mitha (70), Mohammad Amir Mitha (80), Hoosa Mitha (40), Irfa Mitha (13), Mehragiz Batawala (64) and Ali Ashad Batawalkar (33).Fire brigade officials, civic authorities and the local police are investigating the cause of the fire. Preliminary information suggests a short circuit.TOI visited the building Friday evening and saw people arriving to retrieve some belongings. “Residents of B wing have left their homes as power supply is shut off,” said local store owner Zeeshan Khan. One flat owner Farooque Bhati said, “We rushed to the terrace in our night clothes to escape. There was no time to gather belongings or change.” Rashid Khan claimed fire brigade arrived after 40 minutes by which local youth had rescued stranded people. “Oshiwara police have summoned us to the station house for the punchnama instead of visiting the society,” claimed another neighbour.

Navi Mumbai: A 70-year-old former banker residing in Vashi became a victim of a fraudulent ‘Quantro AI’ trading app and lost Rs 29.70 lakh after being contacted by a five-member gang of scamsters. The cyber fraudsters posed as bank and RBI officials and claimed that he had earned huge profit on his investment by trading on the said app and, for enabling him to withdraw his profit, he was made to transfer money under the pretext of various charges. As per the complainant, the incident occurred between Sept 19 last year and March 25, 2026. In Sept last year, he received a WhatsApp call from a woman identifying herself as Tara Sehgal and claiming that she was from Quantro AI trading app company. She told him that he had earned high returns after investing by trading on the app. Thereafter, he received various calls from her aides identified as Maya, Rajesh Rathod, Suryaprakash Reddy and Rajesh Pawar. They claimed to be from a private bank and RBI and sent him fake documents mentioning his huge earnings from investment on the trading app.Thereafter, they offered him the option of withdrawing his profit amount. However, they claimed that he would have to pay the applicable charges. Hence, under the pretext of processing fee, SEBI charges, security deposit, duty charges and final disbursement charges, the complainant was made to transfer money to bank accounts provided to him by the scamsters. Hence, till March 26, 2026, the complainant gradually transferred a total of Rs 29.70 lakh. When he requested to withdraw his profit amount, the scamsters demanded that he transfer more money, when he suspected something amiss and lodged a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Portal. On Thursday, the Vashi police registered an FIR against the five accused persons, who were booked under BNS sections for cheating, criminal breach of trust and joint criminal liability along with the IT Act.

Navi Mumbai: After the falling of around a hundred trees in the last 3-4 days with the advent of monsoon, tree-pruning work continued on a war footing on a daily basis through the garden department of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, as dangerous trees were inspected and the removal of such trees remained in progress. The garden department deployed 9 tree-pruning vehicles across 8 wards to carry out pruning work. A total of 7,036 trees were pruned to date and the highest number was recorded in Airoli node with 1,622 trees, followed by Belapur with 1,400. Nerul node recorded 578, Turbhe with 1,159, Vashi 113, Koparkhairane 672, Ghansoli 1,014 and Digha 478 trees.According to the survey conducted by garden assistants from time to time in their respective areas, and based on complaints received through various mediums such as applications from corporators, calls from citizens, WhatsApp messages and the grievances app, many tree branches were pruned in different places.NMMC said that a total of 104 trees that were dry, dead and prima facie dangerous were found in the civic jurisdiction and were removed accordingly in order to avoid further damage to human lives and properties.Due to heavy rains accompanied by stormy winds, even healthy trees were being uprooted, and daily complaints were received from citizens of Navi Mumbai. The garden department coordinated with the fire department and the solid waste department to promptly remove uprooted trees and branches that fell due to strong winds and rains,” said an official.NMMC Commissioner Kailas Shinde appealed to citizens that the risk of trees falling increased during stormy rains, and said citizens should take care for their own safety and the safety of others.NMMC in its advisory said that citizens should not park their vehicles under the trees and not stand under a tree when it is raining. Maintaining a safe distance from weak, leaning trees has to be adhered to. Dangerous trees in the society should be pruned in a timely manner.Citizens have been urged to immediately inform the relevant department office or the Central Disaster Management Department at the Municipal Headquarters on the toll-free numbers 1800222309/1800222310 if a tree fell on the road or if it was found to be dangerous.End.

Orchids International School in Sion was declared illegal last month over lack of OC and govt recognition

Mumbai: A month after being declared unauthorised by the education department, Orchids International School in Sion has resumed physical classes under a new name—The Institute of Learning and Education—leaving more than 400 students caught in a legal and bureaucratic tussle between the school management and govt.While the management had earlier assured parents that physical classes would resume by July 1 after approvals were secured, the campus has instead reopened under the banner of what parents say is a “learning centre” or coaching institute. Students are attending classes without school uniforms and are going to be issued fresh identity cards carrying the new name.A parent told TOI: “I am desperate and don’t know what to do. The academic year has already begun and changing schools now is nearly impossible. My biggest worry is examinations. A coaching centre cannot conduct recognised school examinations. My child’s academic year should not be wasted.”The school, which caters to students from nursery to Class 10, had been declared unauthorised after the education inspector (north) pasted a notice outside the campus in June stating that it had no mandatory occupation certificate (OC) and govt recognition and urged parents not to enrol their children in it. Under Section 18 of Right to Education Act, 2009, schools cannot operate without recognition and are liable to an initial penalty of Rs 1 lakh, followed by a daily fine of Rs 10,000 if they continue functioning.Deputy director of education (Mumbai zone) Rajesh Kankal said the school’s proposal for recognition is progressing through the approval process. “The documents for the school’s recognition have been passed along further,” he said. After the notice had triggered alarm among parents just days before the start of the academic session, he had said the school had managed to secure an OC in the interim.Kankal, however, refused to comment on whether the institution can conduct regular school classes while recognition remains pending.Rahul Gharte, the school’s operations manager, maintained that the institution is in the final stages of obtaining approvals. “We are waiting for the final approvals from the state and are in the very last stage,” he said. Despite multiple attempts from TOI, there was no response from Gharte on the legality of the management’s new move.The school had earlier claimed that changes in recognition norms required it to first obtain a no-objection certificate from the fire department, undertake structural modifications to the building and then secure the OC before reapplying for recognition.

Mumbai: Even as seven officials have been suspended and inquiries have been instituted by the BMC administration following two recent rain-related tragedies, information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act reveals that as of April 30, 2026, as many as 537 departmental inquiries involving 1,523 officials and employees are currently pending. Of these, 189 inquiries are pending with the Enquiry Office itself. The data further shows that 234 employees are currently under suspension, including 150 suspended in connection with criminal cases and 84 linked to bribery and anti-corruption cases.Activists alleged that although the data reflects pending inquiries only for the past six months, many of them remain unresolved for years, with some officers eventually retiring before the proceedings are concluded. They pointed out that while an inquiry is pending, the delinquent employee continues to receive 50% of the last-drawn salary, which can increase to 75% after three months. Also, employees of the BMC cannot be transferred to other civic bodies or to other departments of the state govt, except IAS officials.Civic officials maintained that these inquiries against suspended staff are ongoing rather than pending, as employees must be given a fair opportunity to present their case and the proceedings have to be completed strictly in accordance with the rules.Activist Jeetendra Ghadge, who obtained the information, said that while the prompt suspension of officials has been projected as evidence of accountability, the BMC initially refused to provide information regarding departmental inquiries in 2021. Subsequently, in 2025, the Maharashtra State Information Commission directed the BMC to disclose the details, leading to the release of the latest report as of April 30.According to the data, 182 inquiries have been pending for up to one month, 98 for between two and six months, and 257 for more than six months. Only 15 inquiries were disposed of during April 2026, Ghadge pointed out.“Though the data shows pending inquiry figures only for the past six months, many of these inquiries could actually have been pending for years. The inquiries are left unresolved, and eventually the officials even retire. In most cases, the officials are let off with a very minor punishment or given a complete clean chit. Furthermore, despite the information commission’s orders, the BMC has refused to provide information on the number of officials who have been dismissed from service,” said Ghadge.“Whatever may be the allegations, the delinquent employee has to be given a fair opportunity to represent his case. There could be instances where the employee is sick or is engaged in election duty. Besides, an extension may have been granted for the inquiry. We submit a monthly report on the status of the inquiries to the municipal commissioner,” said a civic official handling inquiries.

The wet spell continued on Friday with over 100mm rainfall lashing many parts of Mumbai

Mumbai: Even as the wet spell continued on Friday with over 100mm rainfall lashing many parts of the city, India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounded this monsoon’s first ‘red’ alert warning for the weekend across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated locations.The alert comes amid an active monsoon system that is expected to keep rainfall intensity high, starting Saturday. For Monday, an ‘orange’ alert has been issued, indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places, while from Tuesday, a ‘yellow’ alert is in place, indicating the rain spell is expected to ease.A holiday has been declared for schools in Palghar and Thane districts, including Navi Mumbai and Kalyan-Dombivli, for Saturday. Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation has declared a holiday for colleges too.IMD officials said the current heavy rainfall spell is being driven by multiple weather systems, including an offshore trough extending along the Maharashtra-Karnataka coast, a low-pressure area over the northwest Bay of Bengal that is likely to intensify over the next two days, and a shear zone over central India. “Under the influence of these systems, IMD has forecast widespread rainfall across Maharashtra till July 7. Konkan, including Mumbai and adjoining ghat areas, is likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated places expected to witness extremely heavy showers,” it said.In the 24-hour period ending Friday 8.30am, IMD’s Colaba observatory recorded 111.8mm rainfall and IMD’s Santacruz observatory 101mm. Between Friday 8.30am and 8.30pm, Colaba logged 56mm rainfall and Santacruz 62.4mm. According to rainfall data from the automatic weather stations across the city, the highest downpour was recorded at Ram Mandir (138.5mm), placing it in the ‘very heavy rainfall category’ as per the IMD rainfall classification.Meanwhile, water stocks in the lakes supplying to Mumbai rose to nearly 1.3 lakh million litres or 8.9% of the total required quantum of 14.47 lakh million litres from 1.2 lakh million litres or 8.1% a day earlier. On July 3, 2025, the total water stock had touched nearly 6.3 lakh million litres or 43.5%.