Excerpt from TOI by Bharati Dubey, Payal Gwalani & Parvathy Gopalakrishnan, TNN, Aug 28, 2010

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Despite all the sound and fury created by the Shiv Sena and the MNS over multiplexes failing to screen Marathi films, the first-day, first-show of two films-`Paradh’ and `Navra Awali Baiko Lovely’-failed to garner a response from Mumbaikars. TOI visited many multiplexes across the city on Friday only to find that even matinee and evening shows were running to near empty halls. In some cinema halls, audience count was as low as four, while the maximum attendance was 66.

At Fun Cinemas , KStart Mall , Chembur, with the 5.45pm show of `Paradh’ selling only 10 tickets. The older film, `Aiyka Dajiba’, fared slightly better with a viewership of 30. Cinemax at Andheri had to cancel its 2.30 pm show of `Baiko Lovely’.

As reported by Press Trust of India (PTI), August 20, 2010

A constable on Friday allegedly tried to commit suicide by shooting self with service rifle while on duty at Dharavi in central Mumbai.

Sarjerao Jadhav, 44-year-old shot one bullet in his chin on Thursday evening. The bullet came out from his head injuring him critically, Additional Police Commissioner, Vineet Agrawal told PTI.

He was immediately rushed to civic-run Sion Hospital where he has been kept into the ICU and is being operated.

Jadhav, who was on long leave and resumed duty on Thursday was today deployed at the premises of ONGC building in Dharavi. He relieved one constable and after some time shot himself. The reason for the extreme step by the Chembur resident was not yet known, police said.

Excerpt from DNA on Aug 9, 2010 By Sandeep Ashar: Read Full Article

To tackle the water supply crisis in the city, the civic administration has been flirting dangerously with groundwater reserves by digging borewells in areas where the water table is below normal, or where the water is polluted and saline, in violation of state norms.

A report of new borewells dug between January and June compiled by BMC’s hydraulic department shows that borewells have been dug in Mankhurd and Govandi in the eastern suburbs, and vulnerable parts of Bandra (E), and Andheri (W) in the west.
SK Gupta, a consultant geologist, who surveyed the groundwater table in these parts for the BMC, had asked the civic body to resist groundwater extraction in these areas. The civic administration has, however, given in to pressure exerted by elected representatives and citizens suffering water scarcity.

As reported in Hindustan Times Email  on  July 30, 2010

A 28-year-old man from Govandi died of malaria on Thursday, taking the death toll of the mosquito-borne disease for July to 17. The patient was admitted to hospital on July 22.

Public hospitals recorded 156 more cases of malaria on Thursday. More than 14,480 patients have been diagnosed with malaria and 3,570 admitted to hospitals in July alone. The number of cases this month could be the highest in the last 30 years, experts said.

In June, around 5,600 people tested positive for malaria. In July last year, 4,380 were diagnosed with the diseased. Two children tested positive for swine flu on Thursday. One of them has been hospitalised, while the other is quarantined at home. Among other rain-related illnesses, public hospitals recorded 327 cases of fever, 90 cases of gastroenteritis and five cases of dengue on Thursday.

As reported by India Infoline News Service on  Jun 25, 2010

The MMRDA offered flats which comprised of 225 sq. feet carpet area to Residential PAPs and a maximum of 225 sq. feet carpet area to those which includes Commercial and Residential.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has so far rehabilitated 4694 PAPs of Anik Panjarpol Link Road (APLR) at Vashi Naka, Chembur and Tata Nagar at Mankhurd. The development of these sites is being undertaken by builders such as RNA, Kukreja, Runwal and Akruti builders respectively.

Amongst the 4694 PAPs, there were 4241 which are Residential, 414 are Commercial and 39 comprised of both Residential as well as Commercial. Out of the 4694 PAPs, eligibility has been granted to 3807 PAPs for residential, 259 for Commercial and 31 for both Residential and Commercial and the rest yet to be decided for eligibility.

The MMRDA offered flats which comprised of 225 sq. feet carpet area to Residential PAPs and a maximum of 225 sq. feet carpet area to those which includes Commercial and Residential.

“We are ensuring that all possible measures are taken so that the APLR gets completed soon and once completed it will play a huge role in providing a major relief and comfort to the commuters from Navi Mumbai to South Mumbai” said Mr. SVR Srinivas, Additional Metropolitan Commissioner, MMRDA.

The cost of constructing APLR is Rs. 221cr of which approximately 60 % work has already been done and the remainder of the work is expected to be completed in December 2010. The APLR is a part of the Eastern freeway which runs from South Mumbai up to Ghatkopar via P D’Mello Road, MbPT Road, Anik and Panjrapol.

Ajay Jayram, the Chembur based international badminton player has once again made a mark by clinching the Men’s Singles title at the recently concluded Smiling Fish International Series 2010. The tournament was held at Trang, Thailand. In the semi finals Ajay beat Robin Gonansa 21-11, 21-13 and in the decisive finals he beat his opponent Iskandar Zulkarnian Zainuddin of Malaysia 21-10, 21-4 to bag the title.

Born in 1987, Ajay did his schooling at OLPS Chembur and went to R A Podar college for his graduation. It was during his college days that he took the decision to pursue professional badminton. Currently he is training under Prakash Padukone at the Pakudone Academy in Bangalore.

According to Ajay’s father Jayaram Goapl, “My son learnt to play with the racquet at the Chembur gymkhana and even now whenever he is in town he plays there. Ajay is now an international player who is ranked No 2 in India. For the year 2009, he was ranked No 1 but moved to rank 2 after the nationals where he lost to Anup Sreedhar in a closely contested match. With the victory at Thailand, his world ranking has improved from 71 to 63.”

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Excerpt from Mumbai Mirror, reported by By Alka Shukla on May 06, 2010 Read Full Article

Metro’s second phase from Charkop to Mankhurd via Bandra covering 32 km, is likely to get delayed as it struggles with clearances at several levels. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of Ministry of Environment and Forests has refused to give it a clearance in its present form.

It has suggested ‘deferring’ the project, redirecting it to Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) for a clear recommendation from them first.

The problem

Car depots on both ends of the elevated corridor fall in mangrove areas. While the maintenance depot proposed at Charkop is on 19.69 hectares, the one in Mankhurd is around 24 hectares.

Because some parts of the proposed project fall in Coastal Regulatory Zone I, a no -development zone, MMRDA had referred the project to MCZMA earlier for clearance from where the project was sent to the EAC.

But the EAC found the MCZMA’s recommendations unclear and remarked that MCZMA had in fact identified the ‘proposed activities’ of the metro project as falling in CRZ I. Construction in this zone is not permissible under CRZ notification of 1991.

As reported in Hindustan Times , May 05, 2010

The city’s first Monorail line, to run between Chembur and Wadala, is likely to take 5,000 bus rides and 10,000 taxi and rickshaw rides out of traffic in the Chembur-Wadala belt.

“The Monorail will achieve this reduction since it will carry about 550 commuters on each trip,” said Ashwini Bhide, joint metropolitan commissioner at the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

A consortium of L&T and SCOMI of Malaysia is building the 21-km line at a cost of Rs 2,450 crore. The first stretch, from Jacob Circle to Wadala, is likely to be completed by December 2010 — the entire line is scheduled to be ready by May 2011.

The Monorail — which will run 21 km from Wadala to Chembur — is expected to cover the stretch in 44 minutes, and will run from 5 am to midnight very day, carrying two lakh passengers.

Each train will carry a minimum of 500 passengers. MMRDA officials claim the Monorail will minimise air and noise pollution in a city that the World Health Organisation calls one of the most polluted in the world. MMRDA officials claim since the Monorail does not need any fossil fuel for its operation, it will create no air pollution and very little noise pollution. The Monorail, as an alternative air-conditioned transport system, will also help save large quantities of fuel currently used by buses, taxis, auto-rickshaws and private vehicles.

“Private vehicle owners will save time and fuel costs by using the Monorail,” MMRDA Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad said.

Excerpt from DNA by Divyesh Singh on Saturday, May 1, 2010: Read Full Article

Mankhurd police on Friday evening detained a 36-year-old Gulbarga businessman who was bringing the body of his wife to Mumbai in his SUV, without informing the local police about her death.

The police control room received information about the SUV and Mankhurd police intercepted it at Chembur.

Excerpt from DNA, reported by Rajshri Mehta on Saturday, May 1, 2010: Read Full Article

Venkatesh Iyer of Siddhivinayak Real Estate Consultants says the number of inquiries he gets seldom translates into actual sales. “People’s budgets have become constrained, as prices have increased exorbitantly. In Chembur, prices have jumped from Rs8,000 per sq ft to Rs10,000 per sq ft, to almost Rs14,000 in six months. High prices have affected the resale market the most, as owners find the next new flat to be more expensive,’’ said Iyer.