Excerpt from DNA, reported by Divyesh Singh on March 9, 2010: Read Full Article

Residents of Alidada Estate in Shramik Nagar, Kurla, are scared to send their children to school after a nine-year-old girl from the locality was found raped and murdered on the terrace of a police colony building, about a kilometre away, on Sunday.

The entire area wore a deserted look on Monday as most of the children stayed indoors. Rashmi (not her real name) had gone out to play after returning from her tuition classes on Saturday when she went missing. “We did not allow our children to go out of the house to play,” a resident said. “We do not want any such thing to happen to them. Though children cannot understand what has actually happened, they can sense something is wrong.”

Nearly two weeks ago, Coro, an NGO working in Shivaji Nagar, Bainganwadi, and Govandi, had protested in front of the deputy commissioner’s office in Chembur against the failure of the police to stop rapes. A member of the NGO said that at least eight minors from the area had been raped in the past two-and-a-half months.

Excerpt from DNA, reported by Dayanand Kamath on March 7, 2010: Read Full Article

The Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) of Mumbai conducted raids at five places in the last four days and recovered 30gms of cocaine, 79kgs charas and 900kgs ganja, collectively valued at Rs91.38 lakh. Nineteen drug peddlers, including three Nigerians, have been arrested. The ANC also seized a tempo, and two cars.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, police commissioner D Sivanandan said, “With the arrest of 19 persons, the ANC have busted three outstation gangs who brought narcotic drugs into Mumbai and sold them.”

The narcotic drugs were sent to Mumbai from Orissa and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Sivanandan added that they will soon co-ordinate with the J&K and Orissa police to nab the culprits who were involved in sending large consignments to Mumbai. Acting on the information, the ANC officers of the Bandra unit laid a trap at Vakola bridge, Santacruz (E) on March 4 and nabbed a Nigerian national, Jems Fanck, 30, and seized 24gms of cocaine valued at Rs96,000 concealed in his trousers. Fanck resided at Mira Road.
……..
In the third seize, the ANC officials received information that Dhannu alias Raju from Orissa would send narcotic drugs to Mumbai. Accordingly, ANC officials laid a trap at Mankhurd and intercepted a tempo and seized 900kgs ganja valued at Rs27 lakh concealed in the gunny bags. Five people from Andhra Pradesh were arrested. Amongst the arrested, one was held by the AP police two years ago for possession of ganja and convicted for six months. Another was arrested by the Nagpur police for possession of 220kgs ganja two years ago and was currently on bail, said DCP (ANC) Sunil Paraskar.

Excerpt from Mumbai Mirror by Alka Shukla On February 16, 2010 … read full article

MMRDA may exercise the rarely used clause of forcible acquisition, to clear the last major obstacle that stands in the way of the Santacruz Chembur Link Road.
With the issue of rehabilitating tenants of 13 buildings in Kurla’s Tilak Nagar settled, the only hurdle remaining is the 88 tenants of three buildings in Kurla’s Netaji Nagar.

“We offered them flats of 360 sq ft in Sahakar Nagar, which is more than their existing tenements. But they are demanding 450 sq ft in the same location, which is not possible. We can’t delay the project anymore,” an official said.

In fact, MMRDA has written to the Urban Development Department seeking permission to exercise Section 32 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, which allows forcible acquisition for infrastructure projects. “In that case, the tenants will only get flats of 269 sq ft, wherever land is available,” he said.

Sources say that a World Bank team, which is in the city to review progress on projects funded by them, including the Rs 242 crore SCLR project, was also informed about this proposal.

With work on the 6.45-km two-deck bridge linking Santacruz to Chembur having begun in 2004 and the 2008 deadline missed, MMRDA now aims to complete the project by June 2011.

It has just about crossed the halfway mark.

“Forcible acquisition will be the last resort. But we want to be prepared with the necessary permission,” said the official.

The tenants, however, had approached Bombay High Court demanding flats of 450 sq ft on the lines of the Tilak Nagar residents. The petition has already been admitted.

However, the official said, “If we have to give 450 sq ft flats, we may have to rehabilitate them even as far as Mankhurd.”

Meanwhile, the tenants’ advocate, Uday Warunjikar, said, “If they invoke this clause, it will be a mala fide act. We will fight it out in court.”

The trial run of Mumbai’s super-fast monorail has been successful. Phase I expected to be commissioned before the end of this year

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who flagged off the 300-metre trial run, described the monorail as “an engineering marvel” and “the only one of its kind in the country” for the use of the common man.

About 3 lakh people are expected to use the monorail daily, Chavan said.

InChembur took these photos on 25th Jan, as the Monorail was getting reading for its first Test run on the Republic Day ….

The monorail moves on a single elevated beam, instead of the conventional tracks.
The Mumbai monorail project – being jointly implemented by Larsen & Toubro and the Scomi Group, of Malaysia – is expected to be completed in 2010 itself, at a cost of Rs 2,460 crore.

An initiative of the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA), the Mumbai monorail project involves design, construction, installation, testing and commissioning of a 19.4-kilometre route stretching between Jacob Circle and Chembur.

While the Phase I of the Mumbai monorail project will be between Wadala and Chembur via Mahul (about 9 kilometres), the Phase II will cover the distance between Gadge Maharaj Chowk and Wadala (11 kilometres).

We are trying to get hold of a few good photos of the Mumbai Monorail for you.

According to Shailendra Roy, executive vice-president and head of corporate initiatives of Larsen & Toubro, the Phase I of the monorail from Wadala to Chembur is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2010, and the Phase II by December 2011.

The monorail network is aimed at easing the traffic in Mumbai, the most populous city in India, having a population of about 14 million people. It is also expected to supplement the existing public transport system in Mumbai, along with the underground metro rail network under construction.

It has been planned to introduce, to start with, 14 monorails with 4 coaches, with a capacity of 500 passengers.

The super-fast monorail will have a frequency of 4.5 minutes, and the fare will range from Rs 8 to Rs 20.

Mumbai monorail’s first corridor will have 15 trains – with 9 of them for the Wadala-Jacob Circle stretch, and the rest for the Chembur-Wadala stretch.

Three coaches from Malaysia are likely to arrive in Mumbai by March 2010.

Suhaimi Yaacob, president of Scomi’s India Projects, said the company estimates that the Wadala-Jacob Circle stretch will have a higher passenger density than the Chembur-Wadala one. The Wadala-Jacob Circle alignment, Yaacob added, has fewer public-transport alternatives.

He said the pillars are designed in such a way that they can take the weight of 6-coach rakes. This means that, in future, if the services need be augmented, there is the scope of adding 2 more coaches without affecting the frequency of the trains at that time.

Countries such as Brazil have planned 8-coach monorail trains, according to Suhaimi Yaacob.

As reported in http://www.hindustantimes.com on January 29, 2010

Aman Bharadwaj, the main accused in the rape of a Russian minor girl, has been arrested in Chembur, in Mumbai, Goa police said on Friday evening.
Speaking to reporters in Panaji, Deputy Inspector General of police Ravindra Yadav said Bharadwaj was arrested by a Goa police team in Chembur on Friday evening.
“We had got a tip off that he was in Chembur. Our team picked him up, They are on their way back,” Yadav said.
The police have already arrested Anil Raghuvanshi, the second accused in the January 26 rape, at a city bus stand in the morning. Bharadwaj and Raghuvanshi, both employees of a pharmaceutical company in Dhargal, 45 km from Panaji, are accused of raping a nine-year-old Russian girl at Arambol beach.
In her complaint to the Goa police, the victim’s mother had alleged that while Raghuvanshi had distracted her with conversation, Bharadwaj had raped her daughter who was bathing in the sea.
The complaint had triggered a nationwide media debate on the safety of women, especially women tourists in Goa. The union tourism ministry had shot off a letter to the state government seeking details on the issue of safety of tourists in the state.
The Russian embassy had also warned of issuing a tourist advisory against Goa, if the state authorities could not spruce up their act. This is not the first instance of a crime against a Russian woman in the tourist state.
A 25-year-old Russian woman was raped by a Goan politician in December last year.
Police have also been unable to crack the mysterious death of Russian teenager Elena Sukhonova, whose mangled body was found on the railway tracks near Thivim, 25 km from Panaji.
Nearly 40,000 Russian tourists visit Goa annually.

As reported by Press Trust Of India (PTI) on  Jan 20, 2010

Apparently upset at being suspended for a week, a 13-year-old student today allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his residence in suburban Chembur, police said.

The deceased identified as Khaled Abdullah Sheikh, an eighth standard student of Swami Vivekananda school, was found hanging by her cousin sister this evening, they said.

According to police, Sheikh had beaten up a student Akshay in the school following which his parents were summoned.

Since his parents were not at home, his uncle went to the school where the teacher complained about Sheikh’s misbehaviour and asked him not to send Sheikh to school for a week.

The boy, who seemed upset, went to home and ended his life when he was alone, police said adding that no suicide note was found.

Further investigation is on, they said.

Excerpt from rxpressindia.com by Sukanya Shetty on Jan 19, 2010: Read Full Article

Mohammed Qamar Shafi Afghani, arrested over two years ago on charges of spying for Pakistan, apparently went on a hunger-strike at Arthur Road Jail demanding a speedy trial, fell ill, and is now in JJ Hospital for psychiatric treatment.Afghani, 29, a zari worker, allegedly fasted for a month. “He is suffering from migraine and serious psychosomatic complications. He has moved several applications to the court seeking speedy trial and appropriate treatment,” said lawyer Shahid Azmi.

Afghani was arrested from Govandi railway station on October 10, 2007 and booked under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly surveying sensitive Navy installations. According to the 135-page chargehseet filed by the ATS, Afghani had also revealed an ISI plan to take the sea route and launch an attack.

As reported in IndianExpress by Swapnil Rawal on Jan 18, 2010

The Santacruz-Chembur Link Road has hit another hurdle further delaying its construction. Tenants of three building in Netaji Nagar, Kurla have filed a petition in the High Court seeking in-situ rehabilitation.

According to a senior Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority official, the 88 tenants of three buildings are unwilling to move to a location offered by MMRDA on MHADA land in Sahakar Nagar, Chembur. “It is not possible to relocate them on the same plot as the land is not enough. Also due to the proximity to airport a tall building cannot be constructed,” the official said requesting anonymity.

The tenants are currently occupying 220 sq ft tenements while they are being offered 360 sq foot carpet area at Sahakar Nagar. “They want relocation in the same vicinity but there is no MHADA plot in the area,” the official added.

Earlier the 6.45 km-link road was caught in a delay due to rehab tussles between implementing agency and tenants. Tenants of 13 Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) buildings at Tilak Nagar, Kurla had filed a petition in High Court which was later resolved after filing consent terms on October 15, 2009 before the High Court.

As reported by PTI on 14th Jan 2010

The 23-year-old US national and student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) who was allegedly gangraped is likely to depose against the six accused on January 27.

A fast track court had on January 7 framed charges against the six accused and the prosecution today submitted all the medical and forensic documents that would be produced as evidence.

The prosecution will examine 27 witnesses to establish their case against the accused persons.

The six accused - Vinamra Soni, Harshvardhan Yadav, Jashkaran Bhullar, Anish Borkataki, Dev Colabawala and Kundanraj Borgohain- will face trial under section 376 (g) of IPC which deals with gangrape.

The case dates back to April 2009 when the accused first met the victim at a pub near TISS in suburban Deonar and then took her to Borgohain’s flat in suburban Andheri where they allegedly raped her.

As reported in Indian Express on Jan 13, 2010

The monorail will go on a trial run on Republic Day. The run will be from Wadala depot to the RTO office, Bhakti Park, a distance of 500 metres, sources in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said.

The first car for the monorail rake, being shipped from Malaysia, is expected to reach the city by next week.

Construction of the first phase of the project is on schedule and officials hope it will be a marked improvement to the city’s transport infrastructure by the end of this year.

“The piers have been erected and work on laying the beams has been put on the fast track,” said an MMRDA official.

The 20-km corridor for the monorail is being built in two phases, the first from Chembur to Wadala depot, which is expected to be completed in November 2010, and the second phase from Wadala depot to Jacob Circle, scheduled for completion in April 2011. Being built at a cost of Rs 2,460 crore, the first corridor will have 18 stations.