A two-hour traffic block will be enforced on a part of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway between noon and 2 pm on Friday for infrastructure works, a Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation official said.
As per an MSRDC release, the traffic block is being operated for the erection of an overhead gantry (metal frame used as a support) close to Kiwale village near Pune.
“Traffic between Kiwale and Talegaon toll Naka will be diverted to the old Mumbai-Pune highway via Somatane. Motorists can dial Expressway helpline number 9822498224 or highway police helpline number 9833498334 for emergency assistance during the journey,” the release said.
In another major reshuffle at Warner Bros, the upcoming sequels to ‘Aquaman’ and ‘Shazam!’ will now have later release dates than previously planned.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the James Wan-directed Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ has been pushed back more than eight months, from March 17, 2023, to December 25, 2023, the studio announced on Wednesday.
‘Aquaman and the Lost City’ will see the return of Jason Momoa as the titular superhero, as well as Patrick Wilson’s Orm Marius and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Black Manta.
It was recently revealed that Ben Affleck’s Batman will return for ‘Aquaman 2’. The first ‘Aquaman’ was a major earner for Warner Bros./DC, grossing more than USD 1 billion at the global box office.
Apart from that, ‘Shazam! sequel Fury of the Gods, which was meant to come out in December of this year, has landed ‘Aquaman 2’s’ old date, March 17, 2023, reported The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Shazam!’, released in 2019, was a modest hit by superhero standards with USD 365.9 million, but was well-liked and praised for bringing a youthful energy to the genre. It told the story of a foster kid named Billy Batson who transformed into the hero Shazam.
The release date changes come amid tumult for other DC properties, most notably ‘Batgirl’. The once HBO Max-bound movie was shelved and will not be released on any platform, despite being completely finished and having a USD 90 million price tag.
A slew of other changes and additions were announced by Warner Bros for their upcoming theatrical release calendar, including taking ‘Salem’s Lot’ off its April 21, 2023, date. No new date has been announced.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, other changes include dating New Line’s ‘House Party’ redux for December 9, 2022, ‘Evil Dead Rise’ for April 21, 2023, and ‘The Nun 2’ for September 8, 2023.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said he has taken a “contract” for the development of the state and to ensure prosperity and welfare of its people, hitting back at his opponents over their constant jibe at him since assuming the top office.
Speaking in the Assembly, Shinde defended his revolt against the Shiv Sena leadership in June, which brought down the two-and-a-half-year-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, and asserted his act was neither unconstitutional nor illegal.
Replying to an Opposition sponsored debate on various issues facing the state on the last day of the monsoon session, the chief minister said he has been often described as a “contract CM” by his opponents.
Shinde maintained people’s welfare was his only agenda.
“When Union minister Narayan Rane made some comments (last year) against the then-chief minister (Uddhav Thackeray), he was arrested. But I would say I have taken a contract for development of the state, prosperity and welfare of its people,” he said.
In an apparent reference to being constantly targeted as a “betrayer” by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena since his rebellion, Shinde described criticism against him as a sign of “ideological bankruptcy”.
“Who has betrayed the ideology of (Shiv Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray and mandate of the people by forging an unnatural alliance for the sake of power?” he asked, referring to the saffron party’s tie-up with the Congress and the NCP in 2019 which led to the formation of the MVA government.
Shinde maintained he has done nothing unconstitutional or illegal by revolting against the Shiv Sena. “I just corrected what went wrong,” said the CM, whose government is being supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“I will respond to the ideological bankruptcy through my work,” he said.
In a speech laced with Marathi couplets, Shinde said his government will soon unveil a ‘vision document’ for Maharashtra.
When Jayant Patil (NCP) asked him who had written these couplets, the CM indicated they were written by him, saying “I have talent. I was never allowed to showcase it.” Shinde also justified his appeal to say ‘Vande Mataram’ over the phone instead of hello, a move which drew criticism from certain quarters.
“Freedom fighters went to the gallows singing Vande Mataram. Why should one have objection on being asked not to say hello (while replying over the phone),” he said.
A bill rescinding the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s decision to increase the number of municipal wards in Mumbai was passed by the Maharashtra Legislative Council on Thursday.
It had been passed in the Assembly a day before.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government had increased the number of wards from 227 to 236 ahead of civic elections.
The Mumbai Municipal Corporation and Maharashtra Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2022, which reverses the decision was passed by the Assembly on Wednesday.
During the debate on the bill in the Council, Deputy Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the previous government decided to increase the number of wards by considering a notional change in the city’s population.
But the notional change was based on the increased population of 2021 for which (census) figures are not available, he said.
In the past, the 2011 census figures had been considered while carrying out delimitation of wards, he said.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and Congress opposed the bill in the Council.
The Congress, notably, had supported the bill in the Assembly.
The Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena opposed the introduction of the bill citing a Supreme Court order.
On Monday, the apex court directed the State Election Commission (SEC) and the Maharashtra government to maintain the status quo with regard to the poll process of local bodies.
Deputy Chairperson Neelam Gorhe said she sought a clarification from the state’s Advocate General. The AG opined that the state legislature was not a party to any case on the issue before the Supreme Court, she said.
The Council also cleared an amendment to the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961, to extend the tenures of presidents and vice-presidents of Zilla Parishads and chairpersons and deputy chairpersons of panchayat samitis in some districts.
The bill had been passed in the Assembly earlier.
The Upper House also cleared an amendment to the Act — cleared by the Assembly on Wednesday — which brings down the number of councillors directly elected by the people.
Rural Development Minister Girish Mahajan said the number was being decreased due to rapid urbanisation and the inclusion of several villages in urban areas.
The state government had earlier said that the population in the rural areas was shrinking due to migration to the cities.
The House also passed three resolutions on renaming and naming.
Aurangabad is being renamed as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’and Osmanabad asDharashiv’.
The under-construction Navi Mumbai airport is being named ‘Lok Neta D B Patil Navi Mumbai Airport’.
The resolutions, already passed by the assembly, will now be sent to the Centre, Fadnavis said.
Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara said that one of his goals is to win the ICC Test Championship for his country.
India’s Test veteran held a Q&A session with his fans on Twitter, which saw his fans asking many questions about his career and life.
On being asked by a user about goals for the rest of his career, Pujara answered, “I like being in present and don’t set too many goals for the future but winning the WTC title is one.”
Coming to the World Test Championship 2021-23, India is currently placed at number four with a win percentage of 52.08.
Team India has won six Test matches, lost four and drawn two. It will have to do extremely well and go for a win in its next fixtures to take either of the top two spots, occupied by South Africa and Australia respectively.
India had reached the final of the World Test Championships 2019-21, in which they lost to New Zealand at Rose Bowl, Southampton by eight wickets in June last year.
Pujara is a one-format batter for India in recent years, having featured most prominently in whites. In 96 Test matches, he has scored 6,792 runs for his nation at an average of 43.81.
18 centuries and 33 half-centuries have come out of his bat, with 206* being his best score. In the ongoing World Test Championship 2021-23, Pujara has represented India in 10 matches.
Throughout these matches, the veteran has not been at his best, having scored 525 runs in 20 innings at a sub-par average of 27.63.
His individual best performance in these matches is 91.
Four fifties have come out of his bat in this period. Due to this run of form, he was dropped from the Test squad for the series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, but made his return to the side for the fifth and final Test against England in July due to his stupendous form for Sussex during his county stint.
In 13 innings across eight games in the county championship, he has scored 1,094 runs at an average of 109.40. His best individual score is 231.
Five hundred-plus scores have come out of his bat in the championship. He sits at the second spot in batting charts here.
The Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital on Thursday reserved the order on the bail plea of Chitra Ramkrishna, former MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Ramkrishna was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on July 14 under the money laundering act in connection with the alleged illegal phone tapping and snooping of employees of the NSE.
Following the orders of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the case in an alleged National Stock Exchange (NSE) co-location scam that involved the phone tapping of NSE employees
The FIR mentioned the names of former NSE chief Chitra Ramakrishna, Ravi Narain and former Mumbai Commissioner Sanjay Pandey for allegedly tapping the phones of NSE officials and other irregularities. Pandey is a 1986-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer who retired from service on June 30.
During the investigation, it was found that Pandey is closely related to the functioning and activities of a company called iSec Securities Pvt. Ltd.
The company had conducted a security audit of NSE around the time the alleged colocation irregularities have taken place. The company was incorporated by Pandey in March 2001 and he quit as its director in May 2006. His son and mother took over the charge of the company.
It has been alleged that illegal phone tapping of NSE employees was done between 2009-17.
Pakistani rupee continues to decline against US dollar 8
Ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive board meeting on August 29 in Washington, the Pakistani rupee continued to decline against the US dollar on Thursday.
After losing 0.62 paisas against the dollar as of 11 am, up from yesterday’s close of 218.38, the local unit was trading at 219 during intraday trade in the interbank market, reported Geo News.
Economic experts have said that the pressure on the rupee will continue till the IMF board’s approval of disbursing the USD 1.17 billion tranches for Pakistan.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, State Bank of Pakistan Acting Governor Murtaza Syed said that Pakistan is likely to receive a USD 1.17 billion loan tranche from the IMF within six days after the Executive Board’s approval, reported Geo News.
As per Syed, the country’s forex reserves dropped to USD 8 billion due to delays in the revival of the IMF agreement and external flows.
The acting governor hoped that the country’s forex reserves will shore up to USD 16 billion by the end of the current fiscal year 2022-23.
Once Pakistan gets the loan from the IMF, experts are predicting that the country will get additional funds from multilateral and bilateral organisations — giving a further boost to the depleting forex reserves, reported Geo News.
Apart from the pressure of the IMF, the government has also lifted the months-long ban on the import of luxury items and the exports have not increased at desired pace – – resulting in pressure on the rupee.
Moreover, the UAE has made it mandatory for Pakistani travellers to declare 5,000 dirhams at the airport when landing — leading to an increase in the price of the US dollar in the open market.
Economist and former adviser to the federal ministry of finance Dr Khaqan Hassan Najeeb said the rupee is slipping not only because of the dollar’s global strengthening but also due to recent political developments — causing jitters in the market, reported Geo News.
He also cited depleting foreign reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) as a reason for the fall. For
Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP) General-Secretary Zafar Paracha told Arab News that the local unit’s fall — among other reasons — was due to its smuggling to Afghanistan, where sellers get higher rates.
Mumbai Police constables to get a permanent home; CM announced a house at 15 lakhs 10
While speaking in a monsoon session on Thursday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed that a comprehensive policy will be prepared soon for the redevelopment of dangerous police colonies in Mumbai and its suburbs. CM Shinde said he earlier visited the police colony in front of the Tehsildar’s office in Borivali West and inspected the horrible condition of this building.
He said, “The condition of many police colonies in Mumbai is very pathetic and the families of the policemen living in them are living in their hands”. The CM said he visited the police colony and interacted with the police families to know their problems.
CM Shinde informed that the issue of police colonies has been pending for a long time and he has also discussed with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis about finding a solution to it. In the past, an attempt was made to define a policy in this regard, but it could not be implemented. So now after taking the post of Chief Minister, a comprehensive policy will be prepared to solve this problem once again. For this, CM Shinde informed that a meeting will soon be held with all the major officials of the Home Department on this issue.
The CM also interacted with the police families living there. At this time, he clarified that the problem of your houses will be solved as soon as possible and also efforts will be made to increase the number of police houses.
CM said by pitching private builders and developers, the government can propose extra FSI and give affordable houses to Mumbai police.
3 out of 62 AAP MLAs attended Kejriwal's meeting: Saurabh Bharadwaj 12
Amid the ongoing speculations around Aam Aadmi Party MLAs being untraceable, party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj confirmed that the Bharatiya Janata Party targeted 40 of its party MLAs and was offering Rs 20 crores each but the conspiracy of the Opposition took a back foot as 53 out of 62 MLAs were present in the meeting held by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today.
The meeting was held in the national capital at 11 am today. “BJP’s operation lotus failed in Delhi. 53 out of 62 MLAs were present in the meeting today. Speaker is outside the country and Manish Sisodia is in Himachal.
CM spoke to other MLAs over the phone and everyone said that they are with CM Kejriwal till their last breath,” said Saurabh Bharadwaj. He further alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party tried to lure over 12 AAP MLAs to break the party. “BJP contacted our 12 MLAs and told them to break the party. They wanted to break away 40 MLAs and were offering Rs 20 crores each… Now we are going to Mahatma Gandhi Smriti,” he added.
His remarks came in wake of the reports of AAP MLAs being unreachable made rounds ahead of the crucial upcoming meeting of the Aam Aadmi Party’s MLAs at the Chief Minister’s residence.
Earlier in the day, Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi dismissed the rumours of several party MLAs being unreachable and exuded confidence that the meeting at the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence will have a full house today.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought to know from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) if the height restriction for buildings in the vicinity of the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport has been relaxed.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M S Karnik was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Yashwant Shenoy raising concerns over dangers posed by high rises near the Mumbai airport.
On Thursday, Shenoy said while the situation in the Mumbai airport’s vicinity was beyond repair, the authorities have now decided to lift the height restrictions for buildings near the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport from 55.1 metres up to 160 metres.
Shenoy submitted a press note dated July 30, 2022 by the City & Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) vice chairman and managing director, commending the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, AAI and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for having agreed to grant No Objection Certificate (NOC) for construction of buildings within 20 km radius of the Navi Mumbai airport above the permissible height restriction of 55.1 metres.
The bench directed Shenoy to place the said note on affidavit and directed the AAI to respond to the same by August 29, when the matter would be heard again.
“The AAI shall inform if any clearance or NOC was given till now to any application filed by a developer for construction of a building above the permissible height limit of 55.1 metres. It shall also submit how many more such applications are pending for clearance,” the bench said.
Mumbai district suburban collector also informed the HC that parts of eight structures near the Mumbai airport that violated the permissible height restriction would be demolished within a month.
The bench accepted the statement and directed the collector to file an affidavit on September 27 indicating the progress of work done with regard to the eight structures.
