Citizens in these areas have been appealed to store water and use water sparingly

Mumbai: Water supply to areas in H-East Ward will be shut completely, while several areas in K-South Ward will receive low- pressure supply from 10am on August 11 to 10am on August 12, as the BMC will undertake maintenance work on the 2,400 mm diameter Vaitarana water pipeline as part of measures being implemented to improve water supply in these two wards.The areas where water supply will remain shut in H-East ward are international airport, Hangar employees’ colony, Air India Colony, Santacruz (East), Bandra Railway Terminus, Bandra-Kurla Sankul Vandre (East) will face complete cut in water supply from August 11 to 12, while areas such as Santacruz (East), Khar (East), and Bandra (East) areas will remain completely shut on August 12.The areas to receive water supply at low pressure in the K-South ward on August 11 from 2pm to 5.30pm are Kabir Nagar, Bamanwada, Parsiwada, Vimanatal area, Tarun Bharat Vasahat, Islampura, Deulwadi, Masali Bazar (Fish Market), Ghativada, Chakala, P & T Vasahat, while areas such as Koldongari, Old Police Lane, Vijay Nagar (Sahar Road), Mograpada will get low pressure from 5pm to 10pm. Areas such as Sahar Gaon, Sutar Pakhadi, Cargo Sankul will get low pressure from 5am to 8am on August 12.Citizens in these areas have been appealed to store required quantity of water and use water sparingly.

Mumbai: Mulund BJP MLA Mihir Kotecha has alleged that a Development Plan (DP) road linking LBS Marg between Off Park Road and Tansa Pipeline in Mulund West does not actually exist and was illegally incorporated into a developer’s project. Claiming that public property has been “stolen”, he has filed a complaint with Mulund police and demanded that the missing road, which would have helped reduce traffic congestion, be traced and handed over to BMC.Kotecha said the DP road is public property and is important for reducing traffic congestion. Under municipal corporation rules, he said, such roads are required to remain in BMC’s possession and be available for public use. He alleged that while a portion of the DP road has been constructed, the remaining stretch has disappeared and a nearly 60-storey building now stands on the site.In a representation submitted to senior police inspector of Mulund police station, Kotecha stated that the DP road between Off Park Road and Tansa pipeline on LBS Marg (plot numbers 543, 544 and 547, Nahur village) forms part of the approved Development Plan. He alleged that although part of the road has been developed, the remaining stretch is not physically available and has instead been incorporated into the developer’s project.

Thane: Transport minister Pratap Sarnaik suggested an alternative alignment of the Thane Integral Ring Metro rail project to run through Samata Nagar, Lokmanya Nagar, Aai Mata Mandir and Shivai Nagar without interfering with the rest of the alignment. The deviation, he claimed, would lead to fewer rehabilitations required along the original stretch and instead raise footfall to the project.Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde directed the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MahaMetro) to study the feasibility and submit a report within three weeks.Meanwhile, Konkan graduate constituency MLC Niranjan Davkhare said the state has shown willingness to replicate and extend the Thane Integral Ring Metro rail project to Kalwa, Mumbra and Diva, bringing the fast-growing suburbs under the fast rail transit network. Davkhare, who raised the issue during an online meeting with Shinde and MahaMetro officials, said the suburbs, which have witnessed a sharp rise in population and commuter traffic, must be integrated with the Ring Metro to improve connectivity with the city and other parts of the district.“The rapidly developing Kalwa, Mumbra and Diva suburbs were not included in the original metro plan. There is now a need to connect them with the main metro network. The deputy CM responded positively and approved the extension,” Davkhare said through a statement. Meanwhile, officials said that a detailed project report for the proposed extension had already been prepared. Davkhare also flagged concerns over the proposed underground metro alignment through Chendani Koliwada and parts of old Thane, where residents have expressed fears about the safety of their homes. Metro officials said the tunnelling work would not endanger existing structures and said a detailed impact assessment of the affected areas would be carried out and the findings placed in the public domain.

11 structures in Meghwadi-Ganesh Nagar slum were demolished

Mumbai: Some families from Dharavi’s Meghwadi-Ganesh Nagar slum stormed the Dharavi Redevelopment Project’s (DRP) office at Matunga and staged protests as other homes in their area were being demolished on Thursday.Around 11 structures were razed. Meghwadi-Ganesh Nagar abuts Sector 6, which is railway land and where the rehabilitation buildings have been proposed to be built.In Meghwadi-Ganesh Nagar, 125 households were served eviction notices. Around 80 families appeared before DRP for a hearing and accepted the proposal for temporary shifting. They are being offered Rs 18,000 per month as rent for a ground floor tenement and Rs 15,000 per month as rent for an upper storey house. Another Rs 5,000 is being offered for moving out.But 45 families have been holding out, refusing to move. Residents said on the condition of anonymity they had been promised key-to-key rehabilitation and eviction notices served on July 28 came as a huge shock. “The master plan has not been published. We do not know where the rehab flats are being constructed. No agreement is being signed for the rehab flat. So we do not even know if we will be given a home in Dharavi,” said a resident.BMC plans to lay a sewer line through the slum, which will connect to the upcoming Dharavi wastewater treatment facility. This is to prevent untreated sewage from being discharged into the Mithi river.There are 3,500 hutments in Sector 6, of which 379 have been demolished so far. Another 890 have been vacated and BEST and BMC are in the process of disconnecting electricity and water connections. The scrutiny process for the remaining structures is still underway, said sources.

Palghar: Heavy rain during the first and third weeks of July damaged crops on 1,205.4 hectares in Palghar district, affecting 4,636 farmers across 349 villages, according to a preliminary report by the agriculture department.Heavy rain that lashed the district between July 1 and 8, and again from July 22 to 24, claimed 23 lives and inundated 15,802 houses. The torrential rain also caused extensive damage to the district’s agricultural sector.Paddy was the worst-hit crop as prolonged waterlogging damaged the seedlings. Fruit crops, including banana, chikoo and mango, as well as vegetables, also suffered losses.The worst-hit talukas were Vasai, Palghar, Dahanu and Talasari, while Mokhada, Vikramgad and Jawhar reported comparatively lower losses.The crop losses came on top of the Rs 180 crore damage to public and private property caused by the July deluge, leaving many farmers under financial stress.District agriculture superintendent Nilesh Bhageshwar said the figures were preliminary and were likely to increase as panchnamas were still underway. The final report is expected to be ready in the next two to three days.