BMC to hand over 14 plots for Mumbai Metro Railway III project

BMC to hand over 14 plots for Mumbai Metro Railway III project





The civic improvement committee on Thursday approved a proposal to hand over 14 plots of the BMC to the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited for the construction of the 33.5 km Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ underground Metro-III project. The plots include a children's park, a public garden, and a playground. The plots would be given on an 11month lease for a period of five years and at a price of Re 1, all on a temporary basis. While the proposal placed before the committee asked for 16 plots, only 14 have been agreed to be given as one of the plots in Mumbai Central has already been earmarked for a hospital's expansion while the other at Lower Parel is under the state government.
Some of these plots include a children's park at Cuffe Parade, a public garden at CST, which would be used for construction of pathways for the Metro, a pay-and-park at Hutatma Chowk for construction of a station, an open playground at G South ward near Siddhivinayak temple would also be used to construct a station. The other plots are in Worli and Marol Naka.
Congress corporator Mohsin Hyder, also a member of the improvements committee, has opposed the proposal. “We are not against giving the plots for development, but it should be given as per market rates. Although the authorities are claiming the plots will be taken away temporarily , most of the works appear to be for permanent structures,“ said Haider.
The Metro project line would start at Cuffe Parade and terminate at SEEPZ.
Kishore Kshirsagar, deputy municipal commissioner (improvements), said the plots can be given by the commissioner under Section 92 (C) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1988, in which the plots can be sold or leased with the sanction of the corporation.





1st mega block on Mumbai Metro Railway from Jan 24 to 26

1st mega block on Mumbai Metro Railway from Jan 24 to 26





Metro services will be suspended from 5.30am to 7.30am on January 24-26 because of a mega block. This is the first time since Metro's inauguration on June 8, 2014, that such a block will be held for maintenance work. The authorities have chosen the three days as they will coincide with a weekend and the Republic Day holiday , when the rush will be less.
“During the two-hour mega block on the three days, periodic preventive maintenance of the Metro will be undertaken. Regular announcements inside trains and stations will be made to update commuters,“ said a Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) official.
An official said maintenance work is carried out daily after midnight. “But the technical staff proposed that we should conduct extensive work on the entire network, including rolling stock, overhead equipment wires, tracks and the signalling system. So, we are holding the blocks,“ he said.

Mumbai Railway Staions and Nearby areas from ghatkopar to Andheri Varsova

   Ghatkopar Station

Ghatkopar refers to the area that is roughly bound by the Central Railway tracks on the west, the Eastern Express highway (NH3) on the east, Ghatkopar-Andheri link road to the north and MG Road to the south. Comprising mostly middle class and lower middle class residential colonies.

 

   Asalpha

Asalpha is a neighbourhood in Ghatkopar (West), a suburb of Mumbai, India. It is a residential neighbourhood located on the Andheri-Ghatkopar link road on the slopes of the Ghatkopar hills.

 

   Marol Naka

Marol is a part of the bigger suburb of Andheri (East) in Mumbai. Marol consists of the area Marol village, Marol Naka, Marol Depot, Marol Maroshi Bus Station, Military Road, Marol Pipeline, Vijay Nagar, Bhavani Nagar, parts of JB Nagar, and parts of Marol MIDC. Its proximity to the international airport makes it a prime business district. Marol is a major residential and commercial hub.. Marol is part of the address to major big and small Indian and foreign companies.]This part of Mumbai, holds the records for maximum number of five star hotels in itsv vicinity.

 

   Chakala ( J B Nagar )

Chakala ( J B Nagar ) is a neighbourhood of Mumbai. It was a former station on the Salsette-Trombay Railway. It was dismantled after the rail line closed down in 1934. It is in the Andheri region of Mumbai. Its surrounding comprises of Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ) which is a Special Economic Zone in Mumbai, India.. It is also a major jewellery export hub consisting of the most prominent jewellery companies. The other areas around Chakala ( J B Nagar ) include Dr Charat Singh colony, JB nagar, Godfrey Phillips cigarette factory, MIDC, Mahakali caves road etc.

 

   Andheri station

Andheri is a railway station on the Western and the Harbour lines of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It also serves long distance trains of the Indian Railways network. The surrounding areas include Telly Galli, Vishal Hall, Koldongiri etc. The connecting points from andheri station are Vile parle, Western express highway and Andheri subway.

 

   Azad Nagar

Azad Nagar is situated between D.N.Nagar and Andheri west Railway station. It is situated exactly at the Rajkumar junction. Its surrounding vicinity includes the famous Andheri sports complex, Veera desai road, Amboli Village and proxmity to the Andheri railway station (WEST).

   jagruti Nagar

Jagruti Nagar is situated on the Andheri – Ghatkopar road and is a prominent locality in GhatKopar West. Maniklal grounds is situated in Jagruti Nagar.

 

   Sakinaka

Sakinaka is a neighbourhood in the Andheri east suburb of Mumbai, India. It gets its name from the important road junction on the Andheri- Kurla road connecting the eastern and western suburbs of the city. An erstwhile industrial area, it is rapidly developing into a prime business district with various call centres and commercial offices due to its improved connectivity and close proximity to the Mumbai Airport.

 

   Airport Road

Airport Road is part of the bigger suburb of Andheri (East) in Mumbai. Its surrounding areas include J.B Nagar, parts of Chakala ( J B Nagar ) etc. Its proximity to the international airport makes it a prime business district. Airport road connects to Sahar via the international airport and some parts of MIDC and Marol. This vicinity boasts of several 5 star hotels along the route of the international airport. The major commercial hubs include Mittal Chambers and Times square.

 

   Western Express Highway (WEH)

This station is the connection point to the western express highway. The Western Express Highway is a major north-south 8-10 lane arterial road in Mumbai, India, stretching from the suburb of Bandra to Dahisar. The 25.33 km (15.74 mi)[2] highway begins near the Mahim Creek and extends to the Mira-Dahisar toll booth in the northern limit of the city. Beyond the city limits, it continues as the Mumbai-Delhi National Highway 8.

 

   D.N Nagar

D.N.Nagar is a part of Andheri - the largest of Mumbai's suburbs in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is named after Dadabhai Naoroji. It is located within the triangle of Lokhandwala Complex, Seven Bungalows and Juhu Vile Parle Development Scheme (JVPD).

 

   Versova

Versova is an up market neighbourhood in the Andheri area of Western Mumbai. Versova was originally a small fishing village of the Kolis, situated to the north of the old Mumbai city. Versova is primarily a residential neighbourhood. The surrounding vicinity boasts of many restaurants, malls etc. It is also famous for its beach.

Western Railway reeling from broken window syndrome

Western Railway reeling from broken window syndrome

SC Mitra deputy financial adviser, Western Railway In a 1982 Atlantic Monthly article titled Broken Windows, James Q. Wilson and George Kelling argued that disorder in a community, if left uncorrected, undercuts residents’ own efforts to maintain their homes and neighbourhoods and control unruly behaviour. “If a window in a building is broken and left unrepaired,” they wrote, “all the rest of the windows will soon be broken... One unrepaired window is a signal that no one cares, so breaking more windows costs nothing... Untended property becomes fair game for people out for fun or plunder.” The term ‘Broken Window Syndrome’ came out of an experiment conducted in Palo Alto, in which the researchers put a car on the street. At first, it was in good shape, nothing happened to it. But after they broke a window and later removed a tire, vandals soon swarmed around the vehicle and dismantled it. The above (examples) seem very relevant to a social problem of unmatched severity faced by Mumbai Division of Western Railway in locals and on platforms and tracks — filth and squalor and unbearable stench, the kind of which make our heads hang in shame! Tolerance of these activities gives a sense of security to future criminals that ‘All is Well’ for them to cross the Rubicon and do something wrong, and that they would not be caught or pursued, much less prosecuted. Thus, we find stations and railway premises becoming a hotbed of filth and squalor, and hunting ground for junkies and drug peddlers. The moment we decide enough is enough and start prosecuting each and every minor infraction, we are bound to see positive result.

US slaps sanctions against Dawood's brother Anis, aide

US slaps sanctions against Dawood's brother Anis, aide

Washington: AGENCIES





The US on Friday slapped sanctions against two Indians, including a brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, and a Pakistan-based paper company for their ties with the D-company. Designation of two longtime members of D-company, Shaikh Anis Ibrahim Kaskar — the brother of Dawood Ibrahim — and Aziz Moosa Bilakhia, comes less than a fortnight before US President Barack Obama’s visit to India.
Anis is involved in narcotics, extortion, contract killings and money laundering on behalf of D-company. He is also accused of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. The US also targeted Mehran Paper Mill, a Pakistan-based paper company owned or controlled by Ibrahim.
Bilakhia works directly for Anis and Dawood and manages extortion, enforcement and debt collection activities for Dcompany. Bilakhia has been involved with D-company since at least the 1993 Mumbai bombings, for which he is wanted by Indian authorities, the US said in a statement.
The US and India in a joint statement after the September 30 meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Obama had pledged cooperation in curbing the activities of Pakistanbased Dawood Ibrahim.
“Today, the US is targeting D-company, a violent organization notorious for its drug trafficking activities and terrorism,” said Adam J Szubin, director of the office of foreign assets control. “We (the US) will continue to expose the activities of D-company and the underpinnings of criminal financial networks worldwide,” he said.

Regular commuters ignore Mumbai Metro Railway fare hike, but fewer tokens sold

Regular commuters ignore Metro fare hike, but fewer tokens sold

Mumbai





Metro Had 5,000 Travellers Less On Monday

There was a marginal dip in sales of Metro tokens and smart cards on Monday , the first working day after the fare hike. However, Metro officials were confident of an actual increase in ridership over time. Metro sources said, “There was a marginal dip of around 5,000 commuters on Monday , the first working day of the new week after fares went up on Friday .“
However, smart card sales dipped only marginally , the sharpest fall was witnessed in sales of tokens. The source said, “The dip is largely because fewer tokens were sold. Token users are not regular commuters. In fact regular commuters, who use smart cards, have continued to travel on the Metro as the fare hike is marginal considering the comfort and time savings vis-avis other modes of transport.“
Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL) was recently allowed to increase fares by the Bombay High Court, and the revised slabs of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30 and Rs 40 (depending on the distance one travels) came into effect from January 9.
On weekdays, the 12kmlong corridor carries 3 lakh passengers daily. The overall average, when weekend figures are also taken into account, was around 2.75 lakh commuters before the fare hike came into effect.
An MMOPL spokesperson said, “A very marginal difference was witnessed in ridership on Monday . It is too early to comment on the reason for the decrease. It requires around a week or two week to identify a trend for the same.“
Another MMOPL source said that there would not be any cause for concern even if there is a drop of 10,000 commuters per day . He explained, “If we consider average fares of Rs 25 in the band of Rs 10 to Rs 40, the revenue loss is around Rs 2.5 lakh per day , which is negligible.“
A Metro official said, “We have fixed the fare on the assumption that ridership will not be affected and we are in fact confident that it will increase as the days pass by .“ Regular commuters said the Metro was as crowded on Monday as on days before the hike. Andheri commuter Arpit Singh said, “The rush in the train at 10.15am was like any other day . I don't think people mind paying an extra Rs 5 or Rs 10.“ Shreya Naik, a D N Nagar resident said, “I will continue to travel by Metro even if there is further fare revision because it is better than waiting for bus or haggling with auto drivers.“ Agreed San tosh D'souza, an AndheriGhatkopar commuter, “It is worth the price because it offers punctual services and they have never been disrupted.“
However, the fare hike has put off some commuters. Ghatkopar resident Hitesh Jani said, “I will prefer to travel by suburban trains because they are cheaper.Over-crowding will be an issue but I can't afford to shell out Rs 500 extra per month after the hike.“





Veggies grown along tracks: HC notice to Centre, railways

Veggies grown along tracks: HC notice to Centre, railways

Mumbai





The Bombay high court has issued notices to the Union government and the Indian Railways on a public interest litigation that alleged high toxic levels in vegetables grown on farms along railway tracks in Mumbai. A division bench of Justice Anoop Mohta and Justice Nitin Jamdar has scheduled the matter for further hearing on February 20.The PIL, which also names the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board as a party, was filed by Maza Bharat Samajik Sanstha. The PIL has urged the court to direct the railways to act against contractors and employees who have been allowed to grow vegetables along railway tracks. The petitoners have sought a ban on production and sale of vegetables grown along the tracks on Central Railway, Western Railway and the Harbour Line. Instead, flowers can be grown on such farms, the PIL said.
The farms were allowed by the railway authorities as a way to prevent encroachments. In the absence of proper irrigation facilities, putrid and filthy water from flowing drains is used to water the plants. The vegetables are sold in makeshift vegetable markets on pavements outside stations including Dadar, Parel, Byculla, Kanjurmarg, Borivli, Malad, Andheri, Mira Road, Dombivli, Kalyan and Panvel.
The PIL referred to a study by a private organisation which found the presence of heavy metals like zinc, cadmium, lead, cobalt, chromium and even arsenic in samples of vegetables grown along railway tracks in Panvel and Juinagar. The presnce of heavy metals reveals that water used for farming was contaminated with domestic waste and industrial effluents, the PIL alleged.
The petitoner further pointed out that besides being in violation of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, the consumption of such vegetables was a substantial health risk. The railways are, however, turning a blind eye to the issue, the PIL claimed.