HC quashes Haryana law providing 75% quota in private jobs to residents 2
The Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed a 2020 Haryana government law providing 75 per cent reservation in private sector jobs to the residents of the state.
The verdict was pronounced by Justices G S Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan.
Senior advocate Akshay Bhan said the bench quashed the complete act. Bhan, one of the counsels for the petitioners, said it was argued that the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020 violated Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.
The court had admitted multiple petitions against the implementation of the act that provided 75 per cent reservation in jobs in the private sector to candidates from the state. It covered jobs offering a maximum gross monthly salary or wages upto Rs 30,000.
Madhya Pradesh polls: Stone pelting at two polling booths in Dimani segment, one injured 4
Violence erupted at two polling booths—147 and 148—of the Dimani Assembly constituency at Mirghan in the Morena district of Madhya Pradesh, with two groups resorting to stone-pelting, police said. One person was injured in the stone pelting, the police informed, adding that the situation was now under control and adequate security deployment had been made at the spot in the wake of the incident.
Voting for Madhya Pradesh’s 230 assembly seats began at 7 am on Friday. The voters can cast their ballots until 6 pm, barring the Baihar, Lanji, and Parswara assembly seats of Balaghat district and some booths in Mandla and Dindori districts, where voting will be held until 3 pm. The BJP is seeking to retain power in the state where it has ruled for almost 18 of the past 20 years and Congress is keen to oust the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government.
The webcasting facility has been made available at about 42,000 polling stations. Nearly 700 companies of the central forces and two lakh police personnel of the state have been deployed for security during the poll. The election will decide the electoral fate of over 2,500 candidates.
Nearly 5.59 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. It includes 2.87 crore male and 2.71 crore female voters. There are over 5,000 booths run by women and 183 polling stations run by the disabled, officials said. The counting of votes for the five states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram will be done on December 3.
Turkey's Erdogan to visit Germany as differences over the Israel-Hamas war widen 6
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected in Berlin on Friday on a short visit to Germany, as the two countries’ stances on the war between Israel and Hamas are poles apart.
Erdogan is due to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s largely ceremonial president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Scholz invited Erdogan to visit in May, following his re-election.
Turkey is viewed as an awkward but essential partner in Germany, which is home to more than 3 million people with Turkish roots. It’s a NATO ally that is also important in efforts to control the flow of refugees and migrants to Europe, but there have been tensions in recent years over a variety of issues.
This visit is overshadowed by a growing chasm between the two countries’ stances on events following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
Germany is a staunch ally of Israel and has opposed calls for a cease-fire, while pushing for aid to civilians in Gaza, advocating “humanitarian pauses” and seeking to keep open channels of communication with other countries in the region to prevent the conflict from spreading.
Erdogan has taken an increasingly strident stance against Israel. On Wednesday, he called it a “terrorist state” intent on destroying Gaza along with all of its residents. He described Hamas militants as “resistance fighters” trying to protect their lands and people. Hamas is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States and European Union.
Those and similar comments have appalled politicians across the spectrum in Germany. Asked earlier this week about Erdogan’s comments, Scholz didn’t mention the Turkish leader by name but said “the accusations that are being made there against Israel are absurd.” On Wednesday, Scholz told parliament that his talks with Erdogan will include a discussion of “differing views — in this question, it is very important that there is clarity and that we make our own position very clear.” Israel recalled its diplomats from Turkey last month after Erdogan accused Israel of committing war crimes. Turkey later also recalled its ambassador from Israel.
MahaRERA accepts registration of 823 new projects 8
Good news for the home seekers and developers that the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) approved the registration of 823 new projects. These projects secured approval and registration with MahaRERA encompass 382 solely from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The remaining projects are distributed across Pune (257), Nagpur (77), Nashik (57), Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (33), Amravati (17), and various other locations within the state. However, this year, of the 1,208 applications in October, only 645 were approved and of the 414 in November, 178 got approval. The remaining projects could not secure registration due to inadequate documentation submitted with the applications.
MahaRERA conducts weekly open house sessions to inform developers about the necessary documents required for project registration. Over a hundred developers attend these sessions. The session is also available online, ensuring developers from all parts of the state can benefit from them, as highlighted by the official.
Last year, a total of 769 projects were approved and registered with MahaRERA during October and November. Ajoy Mehta, chairman of MahaRERA, emphasized the authority’s commitment to transparency and buyer information by mandating developers to furnish all relevant project details. Stringent checks include the requirement for a dedicated bank account for the project, legal verification of land ownership and title rights, and meticulous examination of project finances, legality, and technical aspects.
MahaRERA also implemented a regulation accepting project applications after June 19 only if the project’s Commencement Certificate (CC) is provided by the competent authority via its valid email ID or website to MahaRERA’s designated email ID, following an Urban Development Department notification. These stringent measures adopted by MahaRERA have contributed to a four per cent reduction in complaints from homebuyers, with Mehta expressing the authority’s ambition to further decrease the number of such grievances.
ED summons American millionaire Neville Singham in NewsClick terror case 10
The Enforcement Directorate has issued summons to American millionaire Neville Roy Singham in connection with the NewsClick terror case, sources have informed. Neville Roy Singham’s name first surfaced in a report by The New York Times, which alleged that the US millionaire was involved in spreading Chinese propaganda worldwide.
The federal agency has sent the summons to Singham in China via Ministry of External Affairs. Singham, who has been named as an accused in the NewsClick terror case, has earlier rejected the allegations that he is running a funding network affiliated to the Chinese government’s propaganda arm to spread China’s talking points around the world, including in India through media outlet NewsClick.
The Delhi Police’s special cell has named him as an accused in the case, in which the editor and an employee of NewsClick were arrested. Close to 100 persons, including journalists and activists, were also raided last month. The Delhi Police’s Special Cell also arrested Prabir Purkayastha, the editor-in-chief of the web portal NewsClick, along with its human resources head, Amit Chakravarty last month. The arrests followed the coordinated raids at approximately 100 locations across the country.
Law enforcement officials are investigating allegations against the portal, accusing it of receiving illegal funding from China and propagating Chinese propaganda. Several employees and consultants associated with the portal are also under scrutiny. Earlier on November 2, the Patiala House Court of Delhi sent Newsclick’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty to judicial custody for 30 days.
They were arrested last month by Delhi Police in a case filed under the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) following allegations that news portal NewsClick received huge money for pro-China propaganda. The Delhi Police’s Special Cell in its FIR against news web portal NewsClick’s founder and Editor-in-Chief Prabir Purkayastha stated that People’s Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by PPK NewsClick Studio Pvt. Ltd. has been used for intentionally peddling false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of Rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of the conspiracy.
Delhi Police FIR further stated that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and Foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, security of India. The Delhi Police First Information Report is filed under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The FIR was filed following an investigation by The New York Times, which alleged a connection between Singham, a Shanghai-based businessman of Sri Lankan-Cuban descent closely affiliated with the Chinese government, and NewsClick.
Madhya Pradesh Polls 2023: BJP faces anti-incumbency challenge against Congress 12
Madhya Pradesh is all set to see a close-fitting electoral contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. Shivraj Singh Chauhan ruled the state for a long period and there is definitely an anti-incumbency. Until the previous month, people, especially the business class and government employees, were not in favor of him, but somehow frequent Modi rallies and visits by Amit Shah have changed the scenario in favor of the BJP. The BJP has been in power for almost 20 years since 2003, except for a brief 15-month period between December 2018 and March 2020. Eighteen years and eight months is a pretty long enough period for developing anti-incumbency. Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who has been Chief Minister for most of this period, is suffering from voter fatigue, as per analysts; this fact has been admitted by the party too, which is shying away from declaring him as its CM.
Four opinion polls conducted for the Madhya Pradesh elections so far have predicted contradictory outcomes for the political parties. While two have predicted a clear win for the Congress, two predict a repeat of the BJP government under CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The magic figure needed to form a government is 116. According to the ABP-CVoter survey, the Congress could win 108–120 seats out of the 230 seats, while the BJP is projected to finish at a marginally lower tally of 106–118. Another pre-poll survey conducted by IBC24 predicts that the Congress will appear as the clear winner, bagging 119 seats, while the BJP may end up with 101 seats, lower than its 2018 tally of 109.
In the meantime, according to a survey by Times Now, the BJP will have a landslide victory, winning 153 seats in the 230-member Assembly, and the Congress might just get 58 seats. The pre-poll survey by News Nation also gave a thumbs up to the BJP with a huge majority. While the BJP has maintained that it is going to contest the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections under the leadership of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, it remains unclear who will be the CM candidates for the other parties: Congress, BSP, Samajwadi Party, and Aam Aadmi Party. However, for the Congress, the name of former Chief Minister Kamal Nath is speculated. Earlier, BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya confirmed that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be the face of the party for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Kailash is aspiring to be a deputy, but this is a remote possibility. Kamalnath winning his seat is also very tricky because he has a very strong Congress contender to deal with. So, the mandate in his constituency is for Congress.
For the Congress, Rajya Sabha MP and former chief minister Digvijaya Singh had said that the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections will be fought under the leadership of state Congress president Kamal Nath, who will be the CM face. Digvijay Singh has given up his aspirations for the top post and is now rigorously making efforts to bring Congress to power. In 2018, when Nath took over as CM in December following the Congress’ victory, he was then a Lok Sabha MP from Chhindwara. To continue as chief minister, he had to become an MLA within six months. For this purpose, a by-poll to the Chhindwara assembly seat was held after its MLA, Deepak Saxena, a close lieutenant of Nath, resigned from the state assembly. The Chhindwara Assembly constituency by-poll was held along with the Lok Sabha elections, which Nath won and later took oath as an MLA.
In the last Assembly elections that were held in 2018, the Congress stormed to power in the state, along with two other states—Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly, the Congress party emerged as the single largest party with 114 seats against the BJP’s 109 seats, overthrowing the BJP’s 15-year rule. The schedule for the 2023 Madhya Pradesh elections is yet to be announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI). As soon as the ECI announces the dates of the elections, the Model Code of Conduct will come into force with immediate effect. The last elections in Madhya Pradesh in 2018 took place in a single-phase for all 230 seats on November 28, 2018. The counting of votes took place on December 11, 2018. There are 230 assembly seats in Madhya Pradesh. In the 2018 elections, the Congress had bagged 114 seats, short of a majority of 116 seats, and the BJP finished a close second with 109 seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party had won two seats and the Samajwadi Party one seat. Four seats were bagged by independents. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had won his traditional Budhni seat by a margin of 58,699 votes, defeating Congress’ Arun Yadav.
Congress leader Kamal Nath was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state in 2018. However, 15 months later, stumped by the resurgence of party colleague Jyodiraditya Scindia, who joined the BJP and the resignations of 22 Congress MLAs, Kamal Nath stepped down and resigned as the Chief Minister, following which BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan returned as the CM of the state for the fourth time. There are 74 seats in Madhya Pradesh that Congress hasn’t won in the last three assembly elections, while the corresponding number of BJP seats is only 11. The weak organization in these 74 seats burdens Congress with having to win the remaining 156 seats at an unrealistically high strike rate. Along with that, the polls have suggested a very tough fight between the BJP and the Congress, Kamal Nath vs. Shivraj Singh Chauhan. But after the polls, the Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, will have to look over his shoulder and perhaps see other potential chief minister candidates.
This year, Congress and BJP are locked in a close battle in Madhya Pradesh, with most surveys predicting a photo finish similar to the one witnessed in 2018, when the BJP won 109 seats and Congress 114 in a house of 230. This year’s MP assembly election will be very surprising because we will be able to see both major parties in the same light, according to the opinion polls. Lastly, one has to believe that “jo jitega vahi sikandar” (whoever wins, makes it to power).
J-K: 36 passengers dead, 6 in critical condition as bus plunges into gorge in Doda 14
Thirty-six people died and 19 others were injured after a bus fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda on Wednesday Union Minister Jitendra Singh confirmed in a post on X about the 36 deaths and said that out of those injured, six people were said to be in a critical condition.
Home Minister Amit Shah expressed his condolences and, in a statement on ‘X’ said that the local administration is actively engaged in the rescue operation at the site of the accident. The mishap took place as the bus carrying 55 passengers on its way from Kishtwar to Jammu veered off the road and rolled down the steep slope near Trungal in the Assar area of the highway.
“Saddened to share the update from DC Doda Harvinder Singh from the spot of the accident. Unfortunately, 36 persons have died and 19 injured, out of whom 6 injured are serious,” Minister Singh posted on X. The Union Minister said that he had spoken to the Doda District Commissioner, Harvinder Singh, and that the injured are being shifted to Government Medical College Doda.
Singh said, “Helicopter service is to be arranged for shifting the more injured ones. All possible help, as required, is being provided. I am in constant touch”. Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives.
“Extremely pained by the loss of lives in a tragic bus accident in Assar, Doda. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families & wishing for a speedy recovery of those injured in the accident. Directed Div Com & Dist Admin to provide all necessary assistance to affected persons,” Sinha tweeted. Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti condoled the loss of lives in a post on X.
“Deeply shocked & saddened about the tragic road accident at Assar in Doda. Deepest condolences to the families of those feared dead & hope the administration expedites rescue operations,” Muft posted on X.
Subrata Roy: Who made it large, drop by drop in good and bad times 16
His was a story that can sound like an urban legend, but Subrata Roy literally made it large, drop by drop.
What he started with a borrowed capital of just Rs 2,000 in 1978 kept growing for over three decades and became a corpus of tens of thousands of crores with contributions as low as Rs 10–20 each from investors, but then it started crumbling down, brick by brick.
Roy, who died in Mumbai on Tuesday after a prolonged illness at the age of 75, continued to make it large, even while battling it out in courts and before regulators.
When asked for proof of payments collected from his crores of investors and the repayments made to them with returns, he famously sent 128 trucks containing more than 31,000 cartons of documents to capital market regulator Sebi’s headquarters in Mumbai.
Flummoxed by the humongous task of sorting and verifying tonnes of investor papers, the regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), had to put them in a huge hired warehouse having ‘automated robotic system’ document handling and safe vaults with 32 lakh cubic feet of storage capacity.
In another mammoth task later, Sebi had to engage a server hosting vendor to provide electronic data storage and web access services for a database of 20 crore scanned pages in the high-profile Sahara case.
On the other hand, the Sebi saga began with just two sets of complaints—one from a small group of ‘investors’ and another from an individual named ‘Roshan Lal’—but it eventually turned out to be the biggest nemesis for Roy’s sprawling business empire.
Before it all started falling apart, the Sahara’s portfolio comprised financial services, real estate, aviation, marquee hotels in London and New York, an IPL cricket team and a Formula One racing team, as well as sponsorships for the country’s cricket and hockey teams.
And then, there was one of the most ambitious projects: a hillside township in Maharashtra, Aamby Valley, which was supposed to have villas for virtually all who’s who of the country, from fields of cricket to films to politics, where he had many ‘friends’.
It was often alleged that the tens of thousands of crores of rupees that Sahara had collected actually belonged to many politicians, cricketers, and Bollywood stars, but there has never been any proof of this.
Aamby Valley was one of the several projects undertaken by the group’s real estate arm Sahara Prime City Limited and it was a proposed IPO (initial public offer) of this company in 2009 that led the regulator Sebi to launch a probe.
When Sebi was looking into the draft prospectus filed for the IPO, it received a complaint on December 25, 2009, from ‘Professional Group for Investor Protection, which alleged that a Sahara group firm, Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL), was issuing convertible bonds to the public throughout the country for many months and the same was not disclosed in the draft prospectus.
A similar complaint from Roshan Lal was also received by Sebi through the National Housing Bank vide a letter dated January 4, 2010.
The number ‘4’ thereafter went on to become a key date in the Sebi-Sahara saga.
Arvind Datar, a counsel for Sebi in the long-running legal battle, once said, ”It all started with Roshan Lal, whom we have never seen him, from Indore, who on a colder winter morning decided to write a letter in Hindi to Sebi”.
Little did Lal know that the one-and-a-half-page letter could set in motion a litigation that seemed to be almost endless and little did he know that exactly four years and three months to the day after the letter that Roy would be sent to Tihar jail.
When Sebi issued a notice to Sahara, they went to the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court and got a stay. The case was posted on January 4.
Roy was also sent to jail on a 4th (March 4, 2014), Datar appeared for Sebi for the first time on 4th, and the main affidavit of Sahara was given on 4th, according to Datar, who also said once that it so happened that Sahara engaged almost all senior lawyers at the Supreme Court and Sebi had no one else except him from Chennai.
The case also came to the Supreme Court on January 4.
Also, while the cases were continuing in various courts and tribunals, Sahara group continued to grow and collect funds as it denied any wrongdoing and always maintained that all investors got their money back with promised returns.
When the matter reached the Allahabad High Court, the amount collected by the two Sahara firms facing the probe stood at about Rs 2,000 crore, By the time the matter reached the Securities Appellate Tribunal, Sahara Real Estate had collected Rs 17,000 crore and Sahara Housing had collected about Rs 6,500 crore.
The number of investors who invested in the bonds of two firms exceeded 3.1 crore and at one point, it was more than the number of all investors in all stock exchanges combined.
According to the data, the money was collected in a short period of 10–12 months.
Eventually, Sahara Group deposited more than Rs 24,000 crore with Sebi, which its two firms had collected from over three crore investors through an instrument called ‘Optionally Fully Convertible Bond’, though it maintained that more than 98 per cent refunds were already made by the two firms.
According to the latest update, Sebi has managed to refund only about Rs 138 crore as investors are hardly coming out to claim their money, while the corpus in the Sahara account maintained by the regulator exceeds Rs 25,000 crore along with interest generated.
Roy was referred to as ‘Saharasri’ by his employees and friends and used designations like ‘Managing Worker’ and ‘Chief Guardian’ of Sahara India Pariwar in place of usual ones like Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer.
According to its website, it has over 9 crore investors and customers, a land bank of 30,970 acres and the ”most fair value” of its assets is worth Rs 2,59,900 crore.
BJP to checkmate Chhattisgarh govt. with Mahadev Betting app? 18
In Chhattisgarh, ahead of parliamentary elections, BJP released a video claiming that Shubham Soni is one of the accused in the Mahadev betting app case. Which is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate. In this video, Soni has claimed that it has given Rs 508 crore to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel so far. At the same time, Shubham Soni also claimed that he is the owner of Mahadev App. To which Bhupesh Baghel said he had made many appeals to ban the Mahadev app and issue an LOC against its promoters. However, one of the accused came forward with a video statement claiming that the Chief Minister himself had asked him to flee to the UAE.
Shubham Soni, wanted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the Mahadev alpha, founded the company in 2021 and betting was his business. Eventually many people got arrested in this scam and the promoter Soni wanted some security and assurance of his safety. He approached CMO, he was then contacted by a person named Verma, who demanded a security deposit of Rs 10 lakh per month. Soni started paying this amount of Rs 10 lakh per month. Even after paying demanded money his people were getting arrested, he approached Verma. Verma arranged Soni’s meeting with high profile people. Those days Verma took him to the Chief Minister. In the video he can be heard saying that I have given my written statement to the ED. The Mahadev App scam is thought to have involved a huge sum of money, estimated to be approximately Rs 5,000 crore. Shubham Soni, an accused in the Mahadev Book betting app case, claims that he had the “proof” of paying Rs 508 crore to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
The Mahadev app is an online betting platform that operates illegally and launders the money. The app receives money from the users who are not located in India. Mahadev Online Book (MOB) operates from UAE headquarters, it also has various branches in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan. The app makes money by franchising “Panel/Branches” to its known associates at a profit margin of 70-30 per cent. Mahadev Book Online Betting App syndicate in which the promoters of this betting syndicate are based abroad and remotely running thousands of panels across India with the help of their friends and associates who are mainly from Chhattisgarh and have earned thousands of crore of proceeds of crime. It allegedly creates IDs, enrols new users, and launders money through a tiered network of Benami bank accounts utilizing the online book betting program. Many celebrities endorse these betting entities and do promotional work in return for hefty fees.
As of now, as many as 34 Bollywood celebrities including actors, singers, dancers etc. have come under the Enforcement Directorate ED scanner in connection with the scam. Sonu Sood, Sonakshi Sinha, Malaika Arora and Amit Trivedi are some of the names. Another agent of this app was allegedly sent by the app promoters from the UAE “especially, to deliver large amounts of cash for electioneering expenses of the ruling Congress Party”.
Police say that Chandrakar and Uppal are natives of Bhilai but have moved to Dubai. Chhattisgarh Police has issued a lookout notice against them. Chandrakar and Uppal, who run the Mahadev betting app, have denied the allegations of match-fixing. On November 6, the Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court directed the police to initiate the case following repeated complaints by social activist Prakash Banker. The social worker had alleged fraud of Rs 15,000 crore through the app since 2019. An FIR was registered under Maharashtra Gambling Prevention and IPC.
According to Prakash’s complaint, the syndicate had ‘manipulated’ the cricket matches. Of the 32 names in the complaint, at least five are associates of Chandrakar, who are working to ‘fix’ matches from different parts of the country and the Middle East. The complaint states that they operate through ‘Khiladi App’ and other portals, earning crores per day, which is distributed through Hawala, a bitcoin wallet. Mahadev Books application can be downloaded on mobile. App provides platforms for illegal betting in virtual games like poker, teen Patti, and real games like IPL, Cricket, Soccer, Hockey etc. Initially, this app didn’t make any profit but everyone gets their time. Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal got their time in 2020 Covid was a nightmare for most people but for many it proved a jackpot. When everyone was locked inside homes and was stressed this Mahadev app proved a good time for people. Their app became a major hit during Covid time.
All the virtual games hosted by the app’s platforms were rigged in a manner that the owners do not lose money. Even though users made initial profits, whose payments were done using Benami bank accounts, ultimately, they incurred losses once they got addicted.
The next phase of the Business model was – Expansion. They started to roll out franchise owners who were called Panel Owners. They are people sitting in India and their job is to market the app, and add more and more people to the app. Profit was shared between them in 80:20 ratios. Saurabh and Ravi sitting in Dubai had 80% and the Panel agents sitting in India got 20%. Most of the panel agents were from Chhattisgarh. For using the app, one will have to obtain a user ID and password, which are typically owned by people associated with the app. These user IDs were sold for a hefty sum costing up to thousands of rupees. Once acquired, users can engage in online betting activities through the app. All financial transactions are channelled through bank accounts or online transactions. All the communication happens via WhatsApp. The application also provides online casino and betting platforms- activities that are illegal in India or operate under strict supervision of the government. Sourabh Chandrakar who earlier worked as a juice vendor and his associate Ravi Uppal are the founders of this application and the duo currently resides in Dubai. Interested to see, will this app controversy give a jackpot to the BJP in Chhattisgarh or not.
Noisy Diwali in Mumbai; maximum level of 117 decibels recorded, eclipsing last year's reading 20
Noise levels during Diwali celebrations in several parts of Mumbai exceeded readings of last year, and firecrackers were burst beyond the 10 pm deadline set by the courts, an NGO specialising in noise pollution awareness said on Monday.
Diwali was celebrated with traditional pomp and fervour, marked with lights and firecrackers, across the nation on Sunday.
The maximum noise level recorded in Mumbai during celebrations this year was 117 decibels, up from the top reading of 109.1 decibels last year, Awaaz Foundation said.
The decibel levels peaked between 82 and 117 at Marine Drive in south Mumbai at 9:55 pm, with the promenade seeing a huge crowd of revellers bursting ”serial” and ”aerial” bombs, the NGO’s founder Sumaira Abdulali said in a release.
The police began stopping the bursting of firecrackers only after 10:10 pm, and also detained some people for not heeding directives in this connection, the NGO’s release said.
On Friday, the Bombay High Court directed that firecrackers could be burst only between 8 pm and 10 pm in the state in view of the deteriorating air quality in the metropolis and several other major cities.
The bursting of firecrackers increased after 9 pm at Marine Drive, the Awaaz Foundation’s release added.
”At Shivaji Park, firecracker use was observed at about 7.45 pm. Barring a few stray crackers at a distance, there were few firecrackers used along the road from Shivaji Park (in Dadar) to Marine Drive,” the release said.
”At Shivaji Park, which is a residential zone, the noise level was recorded at 99 decibels at 7.45 pm and 95 decibels at 11.45 pm. During Diwali in 2021, the highest noise level, at 100.4 decibels, was recorded at Shivaji Park,” it added.
This year, fewer aerial crackers were burst overall when compared to the period since 2020, but the bursting of loud serial crackers increased the decibel levels at several points, the NGO said.
”Though no crackers containing toxic chemicals are permitted as per Supreme Court orders, their presence was detected during chemical analysis. It included barium, a chemical banned by the apex court,” the release informed.
It said the air would contain these harmful chemicals, including barium, in the period after Diwali and would contribute to poor AQI.
For the first time in a decade, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and Awaaz Foundation did not conduct their annual pre-Diwali joint firecracker testing to determine their noise levels, the release informed.
Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Monday appealed to citizens to refrain from bursting firecrackers on the remaining two days of the Diwali festivities.
In Maharashtra, Bali Pratipada or Bali Padwa (November 14), an occasion when devotees worship Lord Krishna, and Bhaubeej (November 15), a festival that signifies the importance of brother-sister bonding, form part of Diwali celebrations and people burst firecrackers on these two days also.
The civic body urged Mumbai residents to celebrate the two festivals in an environment-friendly, green, and pollution-free way to address the pressing issue of air pollution.
In a release, the BMC urged citizens to refrain from using firecrackers besides avoiding the use of plastic bags. “Furthermore, citizens are encouraged to utilize waste and recyclable items to the maximum extent possible, promoting an environment-friendly and pollution-free Diwali celebrations,” it stated. Through the release, Mumbai civic commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal advised citizens to celebrate Diwali “safely and responsibly” and urged them to ”adhere to guidelines issued by Honourable High Court”. It said as part of the Government of Maharashtra’s ‘Majhi Vasundhara Abhiyan 3.0’, ‘Swachh Survekshan 2023’, and ‘Swachh Vayu Survekshan Abhiyan’, citizens were urged to celebrate festivals that are free from crackers, plastic, garbage, pollution, and are eco-friendly (green).
“Mumbai city is a shared space, and minimizing air pollution during Diwali is an act of consideration towards each other. Let’s make a collective effort for cleaner air, the release stated.
The BMC asked citizens “to refrain from bursting crackers in prohibited zones such as hospitals, educational institutions, places of worship, petrol pumps, and on roads”.
