Bombay high court will hear the matter finally after two weeks

Mumbai: The state government on Wednesday submitted before the Bombay high court an expert technical panel report for eco-friendly dissolution of PoP idols, which recommended two separate artificial immersion ponds: one for idols made of environmentally unfriendly material and another for those made of traditional clay.The report also suggested more research was required as biological disintegration of PoP is very slow and not technically feasible. But it recommended that chemical or thermal processes were an option.The HC will hear the matter finally after two weeks.Proposed eco-friendly disposal methods, the committee said, could be a calcination process of dehydrating the used PoP at 150°C to convert it back into fresh PoP and the ‘chemical process’ of using ammonium bicarbonate to chemically break down the idols into ammonium sulphate and calcium carbonate.The BMC reported accumulating 2,000-2,500 tonnes of PoP idol waste following the 2025 Ganesh festival.The panel noted that chemical use could lead to air and water pollution and its economic viability needs to be checked as the amount of the bicarbonate needed is equivalent to the idol’s weight and is “10 times more expensive”.Calcination of PoP can help in reuse for new idols, plaster board, medical use for plaster for ceramic items or brick manufacturing, the panel suggested.The “expert scientific committee for suggesting methods for reuse, recycle of PoP material and its faster dissolution” was formed by the Maharashtra government last August in a pending PIL filed in 2024 and four connected petitions against the harmful effect of PoP idols. Activist Rohit Joshi had flagged concern before the HC of violations of its orders to ensure compliance with Central Pollution Control Board on PoP idol immersions.The committee, headed by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board member-secretary Devender Singh, also has Anurag Garg, professor from IIT- Bombay, and S Venkata Mohan, director, NEERI (Nagpur). It said the chemical disintegration process could be expensive and its “process optimisation and detailed economic analysis needs to be carried out”.The expert committee recommended that idols be kept in artificial tanks for at least three weeks to enable proper dissolution of paint, softening of PoP, and partial disintegration, and local bodies can transport them later to a processing facility. Devotees who wish, may send the idols directly to a pre-decided centre, where calcination can take place.The state, in its comments, noted that the panel suggested that pilot projects be implemented in 8 to 10 cities, including Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, to test the feasibility and costs of these recycling methods before rolling them out statewide.Joshi said, “ Maharashtra sees approximately 1.5 crore idols installed annually. If an average idol weighs 10kg, and we conservatively estimate that just 50% of them are made of PoP, we are looking at a staggering 75,000 tonnes of PoP waste generated across the state every single year.”

Mumbai: Heavy rain continued to lash Mumbai on Wednesday, inundating several low-lying areas, triggering tree fall incidents and pushing rainfall in parts of the eastern suburbs well past the 150 mm mark within 12 hours.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red nowcast warning for Mumbai around 12.30 pm on Wednesday, warning of intense spells of rain over the next few hours. The city continues to remain under an orange alert till July 5, forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places. Neighbouring Thane has been placed under a red alert for July 4.The downpour also brought some relief to the city’s strained water reserves, with lake levels witnessing a marginal rise and Powai lake overflowing. Powai lake supplies water only for industrial use.At 170 mm, Mankhurd recorded the highest rainfall for the 24 hours ending 8 am on July 1. Chembur recorded 169 mm, Govandi 163 mm and Byculla 162 mm.Other areas that received heavy showers included Mumbai Central (142 mm), Bandra-Kurla Complex (132 mm), Borivli (126 mm), Lower Parel (125.4 mm) and Dindoshi (123 mm).Rain continued through the day. Between 8 am and 9 pm on July 1, IMD stations recorded intense rainfall, with Mulund topping the chart at 166 mm, followed by Bhandup (155 mm), Powai (152 mm) and Vikhroli (152 mm).In the western suburbs, Santacruz recorded 141 mm and Andheri 135 mm. In the city, Lower Parel recorded 84 mm, followed by Matunga (82 mm), Wadala (78 mm) and Dadar (74 mm).The current meteorological analysis and numerical weather guidance indicate that an offshore trough at mean sea level extending from south Gujarat to Karnataka is likely to persist during the week.“An upper air cyclonic circulation over north Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood, extending between 1.5 km and 7.6 km above mean sea level and tilting southwestwards with height, is also present. Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining regions around July 3, 2026. In addition, a trough extending from this cyclonic circulation over the north Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood to the northeast Arabian Sea, across south Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, north Maharashtra and Gujarat between 4.5 km and 7.6 km above mean sea level, is also active,” the IMD said, pointing to the reasons for the ongoing wet spell.The persistent rain led to waterlogging at several vulnerable stretches, including SV Road in Andheri and Lokhandwala Circle, slowing vehicular movement during the day.In Navi Mumbai, a Dharavi teenager, Ashraf Shaikh (17), was drowned in a pond at the foothills of the Kharghar hills behind Bharati Vidyapeeth. A group of teenagers from Dharavi were on a monsoon trip to the area. Some of them had entered the pond for a swim.Amid the disruption, the rains brought encouraging news for Mumbai’s water supply. The combined stock in the seven lakes supplying drinking water to the city increased from 6.75% on Tuesday to 7.18% on Wednesday, offering some relief after weeks of dwindling reserves and the ongoing 10% water cut. The rainfall also caused Powai Lake to overflow at around 5.30 am on Wednesday. The lake, which has a storage capacity of 545 crore litres, is not part of Mumbai’s potable water supply and is used for industrial purposes.

Pic used for representation purpose

Mumbai: Five families of brain-dead patients donated the organs of their loved ones over five days last week, taking Mumbai’s cadaver organ donation tally to a record 35 in just the first six months of 2026 — among the fastest the city reached the milestone since its deceased organ donation programme began in 1997.The five donations between June 26 and June 30 benefited 17 patients with end-stage organ failure, while the city’s overall 35 donations this year have helped over 90 patients.The five-day run began on June 26 when two families at Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital consented to organ donation within hours of each other. A 39-year-old woman who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a road accident donated her heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and corneas. Later that day, the family of a 57-year-old woman who was declared brain-dead after a stroke donated her liver, kidneys and corneas.On June 28, the family of a 69-year-old woman at Fortis Hospital, Mulund, donated her liver, kidneys, corneas and skin. A day later, the family of a 28-year-old man at Wockhardt Hospital, Mira Road, donated his heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and bones. The BARC employee had met with a fatal accident.On June 30, the wife of a 37-year-old man who was declared brain-dead in Fortis Hospital, Mulund, consented to donate his liver, corneas and skin.The pace of donations marks a significant turnaround. Mumbai recorded 53 cadaver donations in all of 2025 after posting 60 in 2024, 50 in 2023, 47 in 2022 and 33 during the Covid-hit 2021. This year, in the first six months itself, the city has witnessed 35 donations.However, a senior doctor pointed out that the donations could have been far higher if public hospitals had also motivated organ donations. “The state health minister a few months back held a series of meetings to promote organ donations, but public hospitals haven’t responded,” he said.

Mumbai: A day after 11-year-old Vihaan Srivastav died in a tree crash in Chembur, the BMC suspended three officials–Jagdish Bhoir, assistant garden superintendent of M-West ward, Arun Mundhe, sub-engineer from its roads and traffic department, M-West ward, and Yogesh Parte, assistant engineer of M-East ward–for alleged negligence, pending a departmental inquiry.Following Tuesday’s tragedy, BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide has directed officials to undertake fresh pruning and time-bound re-inspection of hazardous trees across Mumbai and ensure all potentially dangerous trees are identified and made safe before further heavy monsoon spells. Further, Bhide constituted a two-member committee comprising deputy municipal commissioner (special engineering) Purushottam Malavde and deputy municipal commissioner (engineering) Shashank Bhore to investigate the incident. The panel has been directed to submit its report within eight days, consult experts and recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in future.In a statement issued on Wednesday, the civic body said officials against whom prima facie negligence was established have been suspended. It added that strict action would also be taken against the contractor responsible for the road works in the area.Additional municipal commissioner Avinash Dhakane said issuing notices alone does not absolve officials of responsibility. “Merely issuing notices cannot be an excuse for such negligence. The matter should have been escalated to higher authorities. I have also directed the Roads Department to initiate action against the road contractor,” he said.Meanwhile, anguish over the child’s death spilled into the BMC’s standing committee meeting on Wednesday too, with corporators across party lines demanding accountability, an independent inquiry into the incident and systemic reforms in Mumbai’s tree management. Members across party lines demanded that a culpable homicide case be registered against officials found responsible for the incident.Congress corporator Tulip Miranda alleged that residents often do not receive timely responses from the garden department even after applying for permission to prune or remove hazardous trees, leading to preventable risks.Committee chairperson Prabhakar Shinde demanded that no official or contractor responsible for lapses should escape accountability. He called for the suspension of concerned officers pending the outcome of the probe and insisted that the inquiry should not be conducted solely by the same department involved in the incident.”There should be an independent, third-party inquiry. Responsibility must be fixed, whether it lies with officers or contractors,” Shinde said.BJP party leader Ganesh Khankar said the death of another child in a tree-fall incident, after a similar tragedy in Khar where a girl lost her life, could not be dismissed as an isolated accident.A total of 13 children were trapped inside the school van. Twelve were rescued immediately by personnel from the Mumbai fire brigade, the bus conductor and local residents, and were shifted by ambulance to nearby hospitals. Of the injured students, four sustained minor injuries, while 11-year-old Vihaan Srivastav died.

The next hearing is on Aug 5

Mumbai: Bombay HC, in an interim order, protected 13 commercial tenants—all shops—challenging eviction orders passed in 2008 by National Textile Corporation’s (NTC) Jam Manufacturing Mills at Lalbaug under provisions of Public Premises Act.Justice MM Sathaye gave the interim relief on June 10 in an “ad hoc arrangement’’ by directing them to pay Rs 10,000 per month from Sept 2012 till the end of June this year to prevent their eviction, while posting the matter to Aug 5 for further hearing.The petitioners, including a restaurant, had petitioned HC in 2008 to challenge their eviction in a common judgment passed that July by the city civil court. They questioned the validity of various eviction orders passed by the estate officer of NTC, a central govt undertaking, under Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. Their petition has been pending since 2008 and has not been admitted yet by HC.The Public Sector Tenant Action Committee, of which the tenants are members, have filed a fresh plea before Supreme Court to constitute a larger bench for reconsideration of the legal issue involved, their lawyer Nimesh Mehta submitted before HC. He asked HC to defer the hearing and grant interim protection till the top court decides the important law point. Public Premises Act governs and affects thousands of tenants in Mumbai who occupy buildings owned by public sector undertakings, including banks and insurance companies in prime areas across south Mumbai.Advocate Bhushan Joshi, for the mill, argued that SC had earlier this year settled the issue and held that Public Premises Act would prevail over the more protective State Rent Act.The court noted that seven other tenants had separately challenged the 2008 eviction order and that HC had in Aug 2012 dismissed their plea. Against that dismissal, the seven tenants had gone to SC, which in Aug 2016, protected them by directing them to pay a monthly compensation of Rs 10,000 per shop to NTC from Aug 2012. SC had considered the rental value prevalent then. However in 2017, SC declined to interfere with the HC order and upheld the eviction, directing them to continue to pay Rs 10,000 till the premises are vacated.Joshi said although NTC volunteered in 2008 to maintain the status quo, HC has not stayed, by any order, the eviction and the petition’s pendency is causing “serious prejudice’’ to the mill.Mehta said the petitioners were ready to pay the same amount to NTC as directed by SC in the other petition, but from Sept 2012. NTC said the payment ought to be from July 2008—the date of the eviction order.HC said, “Since the petitions are pending, in order to avoid prejudice to either party, for the time being, I am not discussing anything about market rate or interim compensation or rent fetching potential of shops involved or their areas. It directed Rs 10,000 per month to be paid from 2012 in eight weeks after Mehta said that the plea before SC would be mentioned by July-end.HC directed the status quo volunteered by NTC will continue for only eight more weeks and its further continuation will be subject to payments as directed.