A healthcare worker takes swab sample of a woman in Mumbai on Saturday. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)Mumbai Live News:Â Mumbai registered a dip in coronavirus cases for the third day running recording 13,648 cases on Monday. Total tests done on Monday were 59,242. The positivity rate on Monday stood at 23 per cent.
Pune saw its biggest single-day jump during the third wave and recorded 6,464 new cases on Sunday. Mumbai reported 19,474 cases on Sunday, slightly less than 20,318 cases registered on Saturday. Across the state, 44,388 new cases were reported. Experts attributed the slight dip in cases in Mumbai to a small drop in testing on Sunday, unreported positive cases because of at-home antigen testing kits and backlog of RT-PCR test reports.
Maharashtra on Sunday reported 207 new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, taking the state’s overall tally of such patients to 1,216, an official statement said. Sangli reported 57 cases of the Omicron variant, followed by 40 in Mumbai, 22 in Pune city, 21 in Nagpur, 15 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 12 in Thane city, 8 in Kolhapur, 6 in Amravati, and 5 in Osmanabad. Buldhana and Akola each added four such cases, Gondia 3, while Nandurbar, Satara, and Gadchiroli added 2 Omicron cases. Aurangabad, Latur, Jalna, and Mira Bhayander added one case each, news agency PTI reported. Of the total 1,216 cases so far, 454 have been discharged after the negative test report.
The Maharashtra government on Sunday revised the Covid-19-related restrictions for gyms and beauty salons, allowing them to operate at 50 per cent capacity from January 10 midnight. On Saturday, the government had said gyms and beauty salons will remain closed, while hair cutting salons will function at 50 per cent capacity.
A beneficiary gets a shot of a Covid-19 vaccine in Nerul, Navi Mumbai, on Saturday evening. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
The complainant in the Sullibai app case received threats for lodging an FIR. The police have lodged a non-cognisable complaint under section 506 of the IPC after receiving a complaint from her. The police will be apprising the magistrate court about it. The cyber police investigate the matter to find out who called her and how they got her number. They will add sections to her FIR. The police also appealed to more victims to come forward and lodge FIRs. A cyber police official said two complainants contacted us saying they do not want to lodge complaints as their families will panic and not allow them to socialise and will restrict their movements.
The Bombay High Court on Monday told the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) that it “should not leave any stone unturned” to ensure that the public’s health is not compromised amid the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in the city.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand S Karnik directed the civic body to ensure measures on vaccination, bed management, ambulance management and oxygen supply initiated by it are duly implemented.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by city-based lawyer Sneha Marjadi, alleging improper management of Covid-19 treatment in Maharashtra.
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Vishal Jha gets judicial custody till January 24. Cyber police said they intend to apply for further custody on January 24. Jha's lawyers have also applied for bail. The other two accused were sent to police custody till Friday.
The custody of the two accused in the Bullibai app case, Shweta Singh, 18, and Mayank Rawat,21, ended on Monday and they were been produced before the Bandra magistrate court on Monday afternoon by cyber police officials of the Mumbai Crime Branch.
The public prosecutor requesting further custody said the two accused Shweta and Mayank used proton mail to send emails in order to hide their identity. Due to this, it makes it difficult for police to trace them.
Further, the two accused have used more than 10 Twitter handles each and police want to find out if these accused are also involved in Sulli deals.
The police also said Vishal Jha,21, the first accused arrested in the case tested positive for Covid-19 and so he has been admitted to Kalina quarantine centre. His further custody has also been requested.
An Air India spokesperson said that there were no injuries or damage to the aircraft. “We are checking with airport ground handlers for more information. Basically, the aircraft appears close but, in fact, it was a good 20 feet or more away. The cause of fire is being ascertained,” the spokesperson added.
Hitting out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wants to ride on the shoulders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to come to power in Goa. Raut, in his weekly column in Saamana, said that Banerjee was “dreaming of power” in Goa by inducting unstable people into the party, adding it did not suit her image. Read More
A cyber-fraudster impersonated a bank official and sent a text message with a phishing link to a businessman, offering him an international credit card and tricked him into sharing his banking details and used it to dupe him of Rs 4.20 lakh.
An FIR was registered on January 7 at Khar police station regarding the matter. The 49-year-old complainant told the police that he runs a business related to ice cream and dairy products. On January 5 at 10.30 pm, he received a text message which he thought was sent by the relationship manager of Citibank diners club, offering him an international credit card. (ENS)
A legal battle is brewing between Ashneer Grover, co-founder and Managing Director of fintech company BharatPe, and the Kotak Mahindra Group over financing of the initial public offering (IPO) of FSN E-commerce Ventures, the parent company of Nykaa. Kotak Mahindra Bank on Sunday said it is pursuing “appropriate legal action” against Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri in connection with the “inappropriate language” in a call allegedly made by Grover with an employee of the Kotak Group. Read More
While Mumbai registered a slight dip in coronavirus cases for the second day running, Pune saw its biggest single-day jump during the third wave and recorded 6,464 new cases on Sunday. Mumbai reported 19,474 cases on Sunday, slightly less than 20,318 cases registered on Saturday. Across the state, 44,388 new cases were reported. Experts attributed the slight dip in cases in Mumbai to a small drop in testing on Sunday, unreported positive cases because of at-home antigen testing kits and backlog of RT-PCR test reports. Read More
Maharashtra on Sunday reported 207 new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, taking the state’s overall tally of such patients to 1,216, an official statement said. Sangli reported 57 cases of the Omicron variant, followed by 40 in Mumbai, 22 in Pune city, 21 in Nagpur, 15 in Pimpri Chinchwad, 12 in Thane city, 8 in Kolhapur, 6 in Amravati, and 5 in Osmanabad. Buldhana and Akola each added four such cases, Gondia 3, while Nandurbar, Satara, and Gadchiroli added 2 Omicron cases. Aurangabad, Latur, Jalna, and Mira Bhayander added one case each, news agency PTI reported. Of the total 1,216 cases so far, 454 have been discharged after the negative test report.
Booster doses offer added protection against the Omicron variant of the Covid virus and the government should have introduced them a while ago, noted Mumbai-based chest physician Dr Zarir Udwadia said Sunday.
Several citizens above the age of 60 got a message on Sunday that they were eligible for a ‘precaution’ dose starting Monday. “This third dose or a booster should have been given a while ago,” Dr Udwadia insisted. It was incumbent on the part of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to have initiated studies on which of the two vaccines (Covishield/Covaxin) should have been pressed into service as boosters, he said, adding that there is a study underway at CMC, Vellore and results are expected. Read More
Maharashtra logged 44,388 new Covid-19 cases and 12 related deaths on Sunday.
Mumbai records 19,474 fresh Covid cases, 7 deaths today.
The Maharashtra government on Sunday revised the Covid-19-related restrictions for gyms and beauty salons, allowing them to operate at 50 per cent capacity from January 10 midnight. On Saturday, when the state reported over 41,000 new Covid-19 cases, the government had said gyms and beauty salons will remain closed, while hair cutting salons will function at 50 per cent capacity.
The order was revised on Sunday and the beauty salons were grouped with the hair cutting salons. Only those activities that do not require removal of mask by anyone shall be allowed. Only fully vaccinated people shall be allowed to use these services and all staff engaged in operation shall be fully vaccinated, the revised order said.
Gyms will be allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity subject to use of mask while performing any activity, the order said. (PTI)
Until four years ago, two 5-acre plots in Borivali west’s Chikuwadi, off the New Link Road, earmarked since 2013 in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) maps as “recreation ground”, were infamously named a nullah (stormwater drain) garden by locals. A stormwater drain carrying tons of the city’s sewage, garbage trucks kept the residents away from the vacant space.
In 2014, the BMC decided to transform these plots, divided into two by a road intersection, into a palm garden and a Sugandhi or a scented garden. Read More
An increase was recorded last year in marine animals getting stranded along the Maharashtra coastline. In 2020-21 alone, 109 incidents of strandings were recorded of which 27 animals washed ashore dead. Between 2016 and 2018, the state coastline had recorded 143 cases of beaching or stranding. Live stranding, when a marine animal comes ashore and is unable to return to the sea, occurs in two forms – single stranding and mass stranding. In some cases, the dead animal also washes ashore. Read More
Love Grove in Worli is all kinds of beguiling. Once a scenic vantage point coveted by honeymooners to view the rolling hills around the city, the spot is the site of a big stink today. It is home to major sewage treatment plants — a crucial element in any polluting megacity — but the loss of its romantic connotations has been lamented over for decades now. In April 2021, Love Grove got a makeover as a vibrant street art site. Members of the Aravani Art Project painted a mural along the compound wall that stretches out on Dr Annie Besant Road. It’s a sight for sore eyes and tired minds that wait at the traffic intersection. Read Benita Fernando's report
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will conduct the daylighting of the tunnel between Priyadarshini park and Marine Drive on the coastal road on Monday and this will be a major breakthrough in the project. As part of the 10.58-km coastal road project from Princess Street Flyover at Marine Lines to the Worli end of Bandra-Worli Sea Link, the civic body is constructing 2.07-km twin tunnels between Priyadarshini Park to Girgaon Chowpatty passing under Malabar Hill and the Arabian Sea near the coast. Read More
The Mumbai crime branch Saturday arrested a 48-year-old Mahim resident for allegedly making threat calls to BJP leader Ashish Shelar. The accused identified as Osama Shamshad Khan was arrested by the crime branch and handed over to the Bandra police station where an FIR has been registered in the case. An official said that Khan was involved in a land dispute in Bandra, which had recently been taken over by MHADA. In November last year, his son fought with the MHADA guards stationed at the plot. Read More
After the main wall of the Mahim-Kelwa dam in Palghar developed cracks recently, resulting in heavy water leakage, the state government and the district administration on Saturday wrote to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) requesting that a team be deployed at the area to evacuate villagers who stay nearby. Though the crack had developed during the monsoon, it increased recently, creating panic and forcing the district administration to take precautionary measures. Read More
The Mumbai Police’s crime branch arrested six people, including those based out of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai, for allegedly duping several people across the country over the past few years. The accused would claim to have sold a precious metal to a Canada-based company and were to receive 6.7 billion euros (Rs 5,654 crore approximately) for it. They would then claim that the money was stuck with the RBI as they had to pay Rs 27 crore as tax for the same. Read More
With the unseasonal rain on Saturday, the day’s temperature dropped by 3 degrees Celsius in the last 24 hours in the city. The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Santacruz observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, a drop from 30.4 degrees Celsius on Friday. Saturday’s maximum temperature was 3 degrees below normal. Read More
The spike in Covid numbers in the city saw a substantial drop in vehicular traffic all over Mumbai on Friday. Vehicular traffic was thinner than usual, confirmed Raj Vardhan Sinha, joint commissioner of police, traffic, Mumbai Police. “There is a drop of 20 to 25 % in vehicular traffic in Bandra (west) on S V Road and Link Road,” said Vishal Khaire, senior inspector of Bandra Traffic division. Peddar Road wore a similar look. Sagar Lad, a tennis coach and Marine Lines resident, said, “There was absolutely no traffic this evening while I was returning home from Worli. A cab ride usually takes 40 minutes in the evening peak hours but today, I reached home in 20 minutes.” Read More
The Indian Express speaks to BMC Additional Commissioner (Health) Suresh Kakani, who has been at the forefront of the civic body’s efforts to contain Covid-19 since the pandemic began, on Omicron, how most cases are from high-rises and when he expects Mumbai to reach its peak. Read Full Interview
A special court this week ordered for the de-freezing of accounts of two accused in the drugs case filed following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, observing that they were seized illegally by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Two accused, Jai Madhok and Zaid Vilatra, filed separate applications before the special court stating that their bank accounts were seized by the NCB. Madhok’s plea said that he has accounts in two banks, which informed him in October last year that they were stopping transactions. Read More
The Mumbai Police lost two 57-year-old personnel to Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking its toll to 125 since the pandemic began. The police identified the deceased as sub-inspector Rau Ramu Redkar and assistant sub-inspector Mahendra Singh Bhati, who were posted at Deonar police station and the motor vehicle department in Nagpada, respectively. While Redkar died on Friday, Bhati passed away on early Saturday. Read More
In some respite, Mumbai on Saturday recorded a 3 per cent drop in daily Covid-19 cases, registering 20,318 cases in 24 hours. However, a meagre drop was recorded in the daily positivity rate.
As per BMC data, Mumbai on Friday had recorded 20,971 cases of the 72,442 tests that were conducted, with a case positivity rate of 28.9 per cent. On Saturday, 71,019 tests were conducted and the case positivity rate stood at 28.6 per cent. Maharashtra, meanwhile, logged 41,434 new cases and 13 deaths related to Covid-19. Also, 133 patients were found to be infected with the Omicron variant on Saturday — while 118 of the patients are from Pune, one person is from Mumbai. Read More