MUMBAI: A little 10-year-old champion skater from Worli, Rhythm Mamania, has become one of the youngest Indian mountaineers to summit the Everest Base Camp (EBC) in the Himalayan ranges in Nepal. Rhythm had no coach or formal training, and would practise by running up and down the long flight of steps near Shastri Garden at 5.00am. Neither the perils of low oxygen at a height of 5,364 metres above sea level nor spells of nausea nor blisters on the feet halted the determined mountain goat in her tracks. Around 1.00pm on May 6, the class five student of Met Rishikul Vidyalaya, Bandra, summited the Everest Base Camp (EBC) with her proud parents Urmi and Harshal by her side. Rhythm said, "It was my aim to reach the EBC summit so I did not bother about the cold. I enjoy sports. Yes, the occasional hailstones were a novelty." Urmi said, "Rhythm is a national level skater so her thigh muscles are strong. But it is her will and her moral conscience that is worth mentioning. She opted to climb down while others were engaging helicopter rides to descend. And she collected all her litter and brought it back to Kathmandu rather than leave it lying in the mountains where it will not decompose for years." The 11-day expedition was organised by Rishi Bhandari of Satori Adventures, Nepal. He said by phone, "I do not have a complete record of the age and nationality of all those who summit EBC. But most people from India, especially Mumbai and Maharashtra, go through my company, and Rhythm is certainly the youngest in this respect. I was inspired to see that she did not complain despite being nauseous and tired by the arduous climb. Another elderly breathless trekker had to be airlifted out, but Rhythm was like a soldier who motivated others by her strength, fitness, energy and enthusiasm." Urmi laughed and recalled how several admiring climbers stopped to take pictures with Rhythm. The family joined Kutch Trekkers Group in Mulund led by Manish Savla for this trip. Savla said, "Rhythm's achievement is a proud moment for us. She has taken no formal training and had just a few one-day Sahyadri treks behind her. And the EBC climb at 5,364 meters above sea level is no mean feat. With technical training, Rhythm certainly has the potential to scale Mt Everest which is at a height of 29,200-odd meters."
Mumbai: A little 10-year-old champion skater from Worli, Rhythm Mamania, has become one of the youngest Indian mountaineers to summit the Everest Base Camp (EBC) in the Himalayan ranges in Nepal. Rhythm had no coach or formal training, and would practise by running up and down the long flight of steps near Shastri Garden at 5.00am. Neither the perils of low oxygen at a height of 5,364 metres above sea level nor spells of nausea nor blisters on the feet halted the determined mountain goat in her tracks. Around 1.00pm on May 6, the class five student of Met Rishikul Vidyalaya, Bandra, summited the Everest Base Camp (EBC) with her proud parents Urmi and Harshal by her side.Rhythm said, “It was my aim to reach the EBC summit so I did not bother about the cold. I enjoy sports. Yes, the occasional hailstones were a novelty.” Urmi said, “Rhythm is a national level skater so her thigh muscles are strong. But it is her will and her moral conscience that is worth mentioning. She opted to climb down while others were engaging helicopter rides to descend. And she collected all her litter and brought it back to Kathmandu rather than leave it lying in the mountains where it will not decompose for years.”The 11-day expedition was organised by Rishi Bhandari of Satori Adventures, Nepal. He said by phone, “I do not have a complete record of the age and nationality of all those who summit EBC. But most people from India, especially Mumbai and Maharashtra, go through my company, and Rhythm is certainly the youngest in this respect.”He further added, “I was inspired to see that she did not complain despite being nauseous and tired by the arduous climb. Another elderly breathless trekker had to be airlifted out, but Rhythm was like a soldier who motivated others by her strength, fitness, energy and enthusiasm.”Urmi laughed and recalled how several admiring climbers stopped to take pictures with Rhythm.The family joined Kutch Trekkers Group in Mulund led by Manish Savla for this trip. Savla said, “Rhythm's achievement is a proud moment for us. She has taken no formal training and had just a few one-day Sahyadri treks behind her. And the EBC climb at 5,364 mts above sea level is no mean feat. With technical training, Rhythm certainly has the potential to scale Mt Everest which is at a height of 29,200-odd metres .”
MUMBAI: A little 10-year-old champion skater from Worli, Rhythm Mamania, has become one of the youngest Indian mountaineers to summit the Everest Base Camp (EBC) in the Himalayan ranges in Nepal. Rhythm had no coach or formal training, and would practise by running up and down the long flight of steps near Shastri Garden at 5.00am. Neither the perils of low oxygen at a height of 5,364m above sea level nor spells of nausea nor blisters on the feet halted the determined mountain goat in her tracks. Around 1.00pm on May 6, the class five student of Met Rishikul Vidyalaya, Bandra, summited the Everest Base Camp (EBC) with her proud parents Urmi and Harshal by her side. Rhythm said, “It was my aim to reach the EBC summit so I did not bother about the cold. I enjoy sports. Yes, the occasional hailstones were a novelty.” Urmi said, “Rhythm is a national level skater so her thigh muscles are strong. But it is her will and her moral conscience that is worth mentioning. She opted to climb down while others were engaging helicopter rides to descend. She collected all her litter and brought it back to Kathmandu rather than leave it lying in the mountains where it will not decompose for years.” The 11-day expedition was organised by Rishi Bhandari of Satori Adventures, Nepal. He said by phone, “I do not have a complete record of the age and nationality of all those who summit EBC. But most people from India, especially Mumbai and Maharashtra, go through my company, and Rhythm is certainly the youngest in this respect.” He further added, “I was inspired to see that she did not complain despite being nauseous and tired by the arduous climb. Another elderly breathless trekker had to be airlifted out, but Rhythm was like a soldier who motivated others by her strength, fitness, energy and enthusiasm.”
A day after the Centre reduced excise duty on fuel, the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government on Sunday slashed the VAT on petrol by Rs 2.08 per litre and diesel by Rs 1.44 per litre.A statement issued by the government said the state exchequer will have to bear an annual loss of Rs 2,500 crore as a result of this decision.After reducing the VAT on petrol and diesel, the per month revenue from petrol will reduce by Rs 80 crore, while that from diesel by Rs 125 crore.The central government on Saturday announced a record Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 reduction on diesel.
Sharad Pawar was speaking to reporters in PunePune: NCP chief Sharad Pawar has said his party will support Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati or any other candidate chosen by the Shiv Sena in the upcoming polls to six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra.Mr Pawar was talking to reporters after meeting representatives some Brahmin community organisations in Pune on Saturday.The tenure of six Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra — Piyush Goyal, Vinay Sahastrabuddhe and Vikas Mahatme (all three from the BJP), P Chidambaram (Congress), Praful Patel (NCP) and Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) ends on July 4.The polls are scheduled on June 10. The BJP can win two Rajya Sabha seats with the number of MLAs it has, while the ruling allies Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP in Maharashtra can win a seat each. The contest will, therefore, be for the sixth seat.Sambhajiraje, a member of the Kolhapur royal family and descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was earlier a President-nominated member of the Upper House of Parliament.He recently announced that he would contest the next election to the Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate, and appealed to all parties to back him.To a query from reporters here on Saturday, Mr Pawar said, "Two years ago, we had demanded two seats (in the Rajya Sabha) and we got those. But, this time, we will get one seat." "After supporting our candidate, we will have votes to support one candidate of the Shiv Sena. They may choose Sambhajiraje or any other candidate, we will support the candidate chosen by the Shiv Sena," the NCP chief said.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comSome senior Shiv Sena leaders recently said the party will field a second candidate in the coming Rajya Sabha polls, a move that could then hamper the prospects of Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati.(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NCP chief Sharad Pawar has said his party will support Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati or any other candidate chosen by the Shiv Sena in the upcoming polls to six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra.Pawar was talking to reporters after meeting representatives some Brahmin community organisations in Pune on Saturday.The tenure of six Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra — Piyush Goyal, Vinay Sahastrabuddhe and Vikas Mahatme (all three from the BJP), P Chidambaram (Congress), Praful Patel (NCP) and Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) ends on July 4.The polls are scheduled on June 10. The BJP can win two Rajya Sabha seats with the number of MLAs it has, while the ruling allies Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP can win a seat each. The contest will, therefore, be for the sixth seat.Sambhajiraje, a member of the Kolhapur royal family and descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was earlier a President-nominated member of the Upper House of Parliament.He recently announced that he would contest the next election to the Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate, and appealed to all parties to back him.To a query from reporters here on Saturday, Pawar said, "Two years ago, we had demanded two seats (in the Rajya Sabha) and we got those. But, this time, we will get one seat.""After supporting our candidate, we will have votes to support one candidate of the Shiv Sena. They may choose Sambhajiraje or any other candidate, we will support the candidate chosen by the Shiv Sena," the NCP chief said.Some senior Shiv Sena leaders recently said the party will field a second candidate in the coming Rajya Sabha polls, a move that could then hamper the prospects of Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati.
NEW DELHI: Petrol price on Sunday was slashed by Rs 8.69 a litre and diesel by Rs 7.05 per litre following the government cutting excise duty on auto fuels to give relief to consumers battered by high fuel prices that has also pushed inflation to record high. The government on Saturday announced a record Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 per litre reduction on diesel. The excise duty cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 8.69 a litre on petrol in Delhi and Rs 7.05 per litre in diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies. Petrol in the national capital now costs Rs 96.72 a litre as against Rs 105.41 previously. Diesel is now priced at Rs 89.62 per litre as opposed to Rs 96.67 earlier, a price notification from state-owned fuel retailers showed. In Mumbai, petrol rates have been slashed to Rs 111.35 a litre from Rs 120.51, while diesel rates have come down to Rs 97.28 per litre from Rs 104.77. Rates differ from state to state depending on incidence of local taxes such as VAT. Petrol now costs Rs 106.03 a litre in Kolkata (earlier Rs 115.12) and Rs 102.63 in Chennai (previously Rs 110.85). Diesel is priced at Rs 92.76 a litre in Kolkata (previously Rs 99.83) and Rs 94.24 in Chennai (earlier Rs 100.94). Announcing the duty cut through tweets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had also stated that the government will give Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy to the poor who got cooking gas connection under the Ujjwala scheme, for 12 cylinders in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels. A 14.2-kg LPG cylinder costs Rs 1,003 in the national capital. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries will get Rs 200 subsidy directly in their bank account and the effective price for them would be Rs 803 per 14.2-kg cylinder. There was no subsidy paid on cooking gas since June 2020, and all users including Ujjwala beneficiaries bought cylinders at market rate, which currently is Rs 1,003 in Delhi. The Rs 200 subsidy will cost the government Rs 6,100 crore, she had said. State-owned fuel retailers passed on the excise duty cut to consumers despite losing Rs 13.08 a litre on petrol and Rs 24.09 per litre on diesel because of holding rates even though raw material (crude oil) cost surged. This excise duty cuts along with Rs 5 cut on petrol and Rs 10 reduction on diesel affected from November 4, 2021, rolls back the Rs 13 and Rs 16 per litre increase in taxes on petrol and diesel effected between March 2020 and May 2020 to avoid passing on to consumers the sharp fall in international oil prices. The excise duty hikes of 2020 had taken central taxes on petrol to their highest level of Rs 32.9 per litre and that on diesel to Rs 31.8 a litre. After the latest excise cut, the incidence of central tax on petrol will come down to Rs 19.9 a litre and that on diesel to Rs 15.8 per litre. She exhorted all state governments to also cut local sales tax or VAT. Post November 2021 reduction in excise duty on petrol by Rs 5 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 10 a litre, 25 states and UTs had cut VAT to give further reprieve to consumers battered by record-high retail prices. However, states ruled by non-NDA parties like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu had not reduced VAT. Post that reduction, state-owned oil firms held petrol and diesel prices for a record 137-day period during which international oil prices rose from USD 84 per barrel to near 14-year high of USD 140 per barrel. They finally broke the hiatus with a Rs 10 per litre increase on both petrol and diesel in 16 days starting March 22, but again hit a freeze button after the last revision on April 6, despite not covering all of the cost. Brent - the world's most known crude benchmark - was at USD 112.55 per barrel on Sunday. Holding of prices despite rise in cost had led to lower earnings of fuel retailers in the January-March quarter. Central excise duty makes up for 20 per cent of the price of petrol, down from 26 per cent earlier. It now makes up for 17.6 per cent of diesel price. After considering local sales tax or VAT, the total tax incidence in the price of petrol is 37 per cent and that on diesel is 32 per cent, down from 40-42 per cent earlier. The excise tax on petrol was Rs 9.48 per litre when the Modi government took office in 2014 and that on diesel was Rs 3.56 a litre. The government had between November 2014 and January 2016 raised excise duty on petrol and diesel on nine occasions to take away gains arising from plummeting global oil prices. In all, duty on petrol rate was hiked by Rs 11.77 per litre and that on diesel by 13.47 a litre in those 15 months that helped government's excise mop up more than double to Rs 2,42,000 crore in 2016-17 from Rs 99,000 crore in 2014-15. It cut excise duty by Rs 2 in October 2017 and by Rs 1.50 a year later. But it raised excise duty by Rs 2 per litre in July 2019. It again raised excise duty on March 14, 2020 by Rs 3 per litre each. The government on May 6, 2020, again raised excise duties by Rs 10 per litre on petrol and Rs 13 per litre on diesel.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the Central government's reduction of excise duty on petrol and diesel was not enough and demanded that it be brought down further to what it was six or seven years ago.In a statement, Thackeray criticised the Central government for minimal reduction of excise duty on petrol and diesel.Also read: Centre reduces excise duty on petrol by Rs 8 per litre, diesel by Rs 6"Two months ago, the excise duty on petrol was hiked by Rs 18.42 per litre and today, it has been reduced by Rs 8, while the duty on diesel was increased by Rs 18.24 per litre and now it has been brought down by Rs 6. It is not good to make drastic hikes and then provide minimal reduction," the chief minister said.A real relief would be to bring the excise duty down to what it was six or seven years ago, he added.Earlier in the day, the Central government cut excise duty on petrol by a record Rs 8 per litre and that on diesel by Rs 6 per litre to give relief to consumers battering under high fuel prices that has also pushed inflation to a multi-year high. The excise duty cut will translate into a reduction of Rs 9.5 a litre on petrol and Rs 7 a litre in diesel after taking into account its impact on other levies.
AURANGABAD: Administrations across eight districts of the Marathwada region have started gearing up for the local body elections that have been pending for a while now. In most of the cases, the elections were put on hold due to the pandemic in the past couple of years. Authorities said as a part of the preparations, the process for ward formation has already been started in multiple local bodies across the region. As per the data obtained from across the eight districts, elections for eight Zilla Parishads, 76 panchayat samitis and 43 municipal councils are pending. A senior official said, “There are 50 municipal councils, 26 nagar panchayats and four municipal corporations spread across the region.” Of these, elections for 23 nagar panchayats were conducted in 2020-21 and 2021-22. “Out of the remaining three, Phulambri nagar panchayat has body till 2023. Renapur nagar panchayat election programme is underway while for Himayat Nagar, the election programme is awaited,” said the senior official. For the municipal councils, the ward formation process is underway at 43 places. Authorities at the revenue divisional commissionerate maintained that at several places the ward formation process has been initiated while at the other places the election programme is awaited. Out of the four municipal corporations in the region, Aurangabad Municipal Corporation’s previous body of elected members’ term ended in 2020 and continues to be headed by administrator. “For Aurangabad municipal corporation we have started the Prabhag Rachna or ward formation process, which is one of the vital indicators of election programme,” said a senior official from the AMC. Latur Municipal Corporation’s term has ended on Saturday while Parbhani Municipal Corporation’s term ended on May 15. The election programme for Nanded Waghela corporation the term is expiring in mid-October this year, before which the elections will be carried out. Senior officials privy to the election process maintained that a key election related meeting has been scheduled for Monday. “Most of the things about possible schedule for elections in urban as well as rural areas will be clear in Monday’s marathon meeting,” said an official from election department. In the meeting even the election programme is likely to be intimidated to the district administrations for initiating effective preparations.
Bhopal: Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday was felicitated by a section of the OBC society for the recent Supreme Court direction restoring reservation for the community in the panchayat and urban civic body polls. While the All India OBC Mahasabha called a bandh in the state, another section of the community gathered at the Chief Minister’s official residence to felicitate and thank Chouhan.The OBC crowd that collected at the CM House on 6, Shyamla Hills also included Chouhan’s wife Sadhna Singh Chouhan who is the chairperson of the Kirar Mahasabha – a backward class society.Launching a scathing attack on state Congress president Kamal Nath for supporting the OBC Mahasabha called state-wide bandh, chief minister Chouhan said, “Kamal Nath, today you are calling a bandh, but I want to ask that when the BJP government was conducting elections in the state, why did your party go to the High Court? When the issue was defeated there, they approached the Supreme Court. The Apex Court sent them back to High Court. There they mentioned Gawali case (Vikas Kishanrao Gawali versus State of Maharashtra) as an example. This gave way to the court’s direction for elections without OBC reservations.”Addressing the OBC gathering, the chief minister alleged that Congress was never in support of OBC reservations. “Look at history even as the Congress has called a bandh. Kamal Nath, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi – You have an alliance government in Maharashtra. The Congress is in power there and yet panchayat elections have been conducted without OBC reservations,” Chouhan alleged.He said that in Madhya Pradesh the government and the OBC Commission worked night and day to collect statistics of OBCs ward-wise so it could be presented and argued before the Supreme Court.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has “murdered” political reservation for the OBCs, Leader of Opposition and BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis said hours after the Supreme Court allowed OBC quota for Madhya Pradesh’s local body elections.“The Supreme Court order allowing OBC reservation in MP (Madhya Pradesh) is a tight slap on the face of MVA leaders who mocked us whenever we insisted on a triple test. Only due to the absence of triple test, OBCs from Maharashtra are deprived of their right. Our fight continues till OBC reservations get restored. They (MVA) have murdered the OBC reservation,” proclaimed Fadnavis.The two-time former Maharashtra Chief Minister was attacking the Uddhav Thackeray-led alliance of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Indian National Congress about MVA dragging its feet about the report from the state's Backward Classes Commission, in view of the Supreme Court decision.Meanwhile, State Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, from NCP, hoped that Maharashtra, too, would get “justice” like the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader and founder of Mahatma Phule Samata Parishad, said that the state government had set up a dedicated commission headed by former state Chief Secretary and a demographer of international repute Jayant Banthia.“The dedicated commission has been collecting empirical data to provide OBC reservation in the local bodies. We have met with Banthia and asked him to give the data as soon as possible. The MVA government is taking all the steps to protect the OBC quota,” Bhujbal assured.In the meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole said the BJP wanted to politicise the issue and deprive Maharashtra’s OBC community of their right to reservation.
The Shiv Sena, which is seeking to get two candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha, on Wednesday alleged that its political opponents were resorting to horse-trading for the sixth seat from Maharashtra in the upcoming polls to the Upper House of Parliament.The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) in Maharashtra has the arithmetic on its side to win the sixth seat, Sena's chief spokesperson and Sena MP Sanjay Raut asserted. "The jealousy of the opposition can be seen through the attempts of horse-trading for the sixth Rajya Sabha seat by the opposition. The money from corruption and the horse-trading through it...when will this vicious circle stop?" Raut said in a tweet.राज्यसभेच्या ६ व्या जागेसाठीमहाराष्ट्रात घोडेबाजार सुरू करण्याची विरोधकांची इर्षा दिसू लागलीय.. भ्रष्टाचारातून पैसा .. त्यातून घोडेबाजार!हे दुष्ट चक्र कधी थांबेल?सहावी जागा शिवसेना लढेल.कोणी कितीही आकडे मोड करावी.. आकडे आणि मोड दोन्ही महविकास आघाडीकडे आहे. लढेंगे . जितेंगे. pic.twitter.com/VOXRKRDzdk— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) May 18, 2022“The Shiv Sena will contest the sixth seat. Whatever anyone may do, the arithmetic is with the Maha Vikas Aghadi. We will fight and win," the Rajya Sabha member added. His assertion came a day after Sena leader and Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab said his party will field a second candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls and expressed confidence that the second candidate of the Sena will get elected.The tenure of six Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra -- Piyush Goyal, Vinay Sahastrabuddhe and Vikas Mahatme (all three from the BJP), P Chidambaram (Congress), Praful Patel (NCP) and Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) ends on July 4. All four parties are yet to announce their candidates. The BJP can win two Rajya Sabha seats with the number of MLAs it has, while the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP can win a seat each.The contest will, therefore, be for the sixth seat. But the Shiv Sena stand could hamper the prospects of Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje, a member of the Kolhapur royal family and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's descendant, who was earlier a President-nominated member of the Rajya Sabha. Sambhajiraje recently announced that he would contest the next election to the Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate, and appealed to all parties to back him.He was earlier affiliated with the BJP. NCP president Sharad Pawar has hinted that his party may support Sambhajiraje's candidature, but, if the latter doesn't get votes of the other two MVA constituents, his election could be difficult. The notification for the Rajya Sabha elections will be issued on May 24. The entire process will be completed on June 13
Sanjay Raut said the Shiv Sena will contest the sixth Rajya Sabha seat in Maharashtra. (File)Mumbai: The Shiv Sena, which is seeking to get two candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha, on Wednesday alleged that its political opponents were resorting to horse-trading for the sixth seat from Maharashtra in the upcoming polls to the Upper House of Parliament.The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) in Maharashtra has the arithmetic on its side to win the sixth seat, Sena's chief spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut asserted."The jealousy of the opposition can be seen through the attempts of horse-trading for the sixth Rajya Sabha seat by the opposition. The money from corruption and the horse-trading through it...when will this vicious circle stop?" Mr Raut said in a tweet.“The Shiv Sena will contest the sixth seat. Whatever anyone may do, the arithmetic is with the Maha Vikas Aghadi. We will fight and win," the Rajya Sabha member added.His assertion came a day after Sena leader and Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab said his party will field a second candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls and expressed confidence that the second candidate of the Sena will get elected.The tenure of six Rajya Sabha members from Maharashtra -- Piyush Goyal, Vinay Sahastrabuddhe and Vikas Mahatme (all three from the BJP), P Chidambaram (Congress), Praful Patel (NCP) and Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena) ends on July 4.All four parties are yet to announce their candidates.The BJP can win two Rajya Sabha seats with the number of MLAs it has, while the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP can win a seat each. The contest will, therefore, be for the sixth seat.But the Shiv Sena stand could hamper the prospects of Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje, a member of the Kolhapur royal family and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's descendant, who was earlier a President-nominated member of the Rajya Sabha.Mr Sambhajiraje recently announced that he would contest the next election to the Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate, and appealed to all parties to back him. He was earlier affiliated with the BJP.NCP president Sharad Pawar has hinted that his party may support Sambhajiraje's candidature, but, if the latter doesn't get votes of the other two MVA constituents, his election could be difficult.PromotedListen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.comThe notification for the Rajya Sabha elections will be issued on May 24. The entire process will be completed on June 13.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
PUNE: The education department has announced that schools run by the state government across Maharashtra will start on June 13 for the 2022-2023 academic year. According to the schedule announced by the department, the schools will have a total 237 working days during the academic year. The first-term of the academic year will end in October and the second term will start on November 9. A circular on the schedule stated that five public holidays would be on Sundays and the students and teachers would not be able to avail of those. However, the students and the teachers would be able to avail of 20 additional public holidays during the academic year. There will be 26 holidays for Diwali and 36 for summer vacations, besides four reserve holidays. Accordingly, the students and the teachers would get 76 holidays throughout the academic year. In addition, 52 Sunday offs mean 128 holidays in the new academic year for the students and the teachers, the circular stated. Smita Kale, teacher of a zilla parishad school from Parbhani, said, "The schedule declared by the government will be helpful in terms of planning the academic year. This has been an annual exercise by the government for the past four-five years. Such planning proves helpful for us." Satish Bhong, teacher of a zilla parishad school from Pune district, "Parents can plan the vacations for their wards based on the schedule announced by the education department. The teachers also need some time to relax. They too also plan outings with their families if the schedule is announced in advance. The year ahead looks challenging after regularising the academic year after two difficult years due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic."
Mumbai: The city’s daily tally of Covid-19 cases climbed to a three-month high on Thursday when 223 cases were detected. After the peak of the Covid-Omicron third wave in January, daily cases had fallen below 30 on some days in March before rising slowly in mid-April.The state daily tally increased accordingly to 316 cases on Thursday. A day prior, too, the state had recorded over 300 (307) cases after a 67-day gap.Public health officials, though, are not worried about the rise in cases or the possibility of a fourth wave. The Covid pandemic hit Maharashtra in March 2020 and has since claimed 1.47 lakh lives, including 19,566 in Mumbai.“Cases are rising in Mumbai, Thane and Pune, but our surveillance shows there are no worrying patterns,” said state surveillance officer Dr Pradip Awate. Apart from Mumbai, Pune (37) and Thane (18) have double-digit tallies while the rest of the districts have less than five cases each.Dr Awate said the patterns showed there are no clusters in Mumbai, Pune or Thane. “Over 85% of the cases are asymptomatic and there is no rise in hospitalisation or deaths,” he added.Dr Rahul Pandit, member of the state Covid task force, said the daily tally is no longer among the ‘goal posts’ marking the severity of Covid-19. “The new goal posts are hospitalisations, the number of patients needing oxygen and deaths. None of these markers are high or at worrisome levels,” said Dr Pandit.He said hospitalisation in Mumbai, which records over 60% of the state’s daily tally these days, is around 3% and “not a cause for panic”. It, though, is advisable to wear a mask in closed and confined spaces such as within offices. Dr Awate said although at the global level, Covid could still be called a pandemic as new outbreaks are being recorded in North Korea, China and Australia, it has reached the endemic stage in India. “This was apparent right during the third Omicron wave in India,” he said. The country may record small Covid outbreaks like it did with H1N1, he added.
Mumbai: After the Monday drop, Maharashtra as well as Mumbai marked an increase in fresh cases of Covid-19. The state on Tuesday recorded 266 new cases, up from 129 cases registered on Monday, while Mumbai registered 158 cases, more than double the cases seen on Monday. The tally is usually low on Monday due to fewer tests carried out on Sunday.Maharashtra didn’t record any Covid deaths for the second day in a row. However, the steady rise in new cases has pushed up the count of active cases. The state’s active cases reached 1,551. Active cases in Mumbai is nearing 1,000 (932). The city recorded no deaths, but saw a marginal rise in the average number of hospitalisations. From an average of two admissions in April, at least three patients are getting hospitalised in May. However, most hospital admissions are seen in people with comorbidities. “Many are also incidental findings. They are being tested as part of pre-operative workup and end up coming positive,” said Dr Balkrishna Adsul, dean of SevenHills Hospital.
Mumbai: The state as well as the city registered a marginal rise in fresh cases of Covid-19 on Sunday. Maharashtra reported 255 new cases while Mumbai recorded 151 cases, up from Saturday’s tally of 248 and 131, respectively. Active cases in the state breached the 1,500-mark for the first time since March 19. The state also reported a single death from Mumbai, taking its overall Covid-19 toll to 1,47,855. This was the third consecutive day of Mumbai reporting a death due to the novel coronavirus. Prior to this, the city had not seen any fatality for 12 days in a row. Civic officials said the deceased was a senior citizen with comorbidities. Mumbai had reported four Covid-19 deaths in all of April. In comparison, there have already been three deaths in the first two weeks of May. Active cases in the state reached 1,518, although state officials maintained most cases are mild and largely being treated at home. Active cases in Mumbai reached 885. On Sunday, five people were hospitalised, slightly above the daily average hospitalisation of 2-3.tnn
Mumbai: In the first fortnight of May, the number of Covid cases in Mumbai is almost 90% of the entire tally in April. While 1,641 cases were detected in the city between May 1 and 14, the tally for April was 1,827 cases.In Maharashtra, 2,353 cases have been detected in May so far, accounting for almost 65% of the caseload in April. The April tally was 3,708 cases.On Saturday, Maharashtra registered 248 Covid cases, including 131 from Mumbai. The lone death in the state occurred in Mumbai, where a 40-plus female with no comorbidity died of Covid. The city has registered one death for two consecutive days.A senior state health official said the rise in cases at the moment is not significant. Cases are mainly coming up in Mumbai and Pune regions, accounting for 170 and 63 respectively; other districts recorded single-digit tallies. Eleven deaths have occurred in the state in May so far, including two from Mumbai. BMC executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare said the rise is no cause for worry. "There is no corresponding rise in hospitalisations or deaths,'' she said. Additional civic commissioner (health) Dr Sanjeev Kumar said the BMC is monitoring the situation closely and it seems under control.
PUNE: Maharashtra has reported an increase in Covid cases, but its active caseload per million residents is still at 11, lower than India's average of 14 and significantly less than what's being reported from states such as Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala and Haryana. (See graphics) State surveillance officer Dr Pradeep Awate said trends show Covid in Maharashtra is still "very much in control". "There hasn't been an alarming rise in cases over the last three to four weeks. Nearly 90% of all new patients are asymptomatic and we're not seeing an increase in hospitalisations," he said. All this data, Dr Awate added, indicate another Covid wave is unlikely, unless one is triggered by a completely new variant. "Recent spikes may have been due higher mobility in the population, changes in immunity levels and seasonal changes. This fluctuation in caseload was seen during the waning days of the swine flu outbreak years ago," he said. Doctors too said they continue to see low hospitalisation rates. Dr Sanjay Lalwani, medical director of the Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College and Research Center, said, "We don't have any Covid patients admitted at the moment. Most cases being reported now are similar to the ones we had during the third wave, with the virus affecting the nasopharynx, instead of the lungs." Dr Parikshit Prayag from Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, said, "Admissions are at zero at our hospital. This means whatever rise has been reported at the city-level is indicative of only mild or asymptomatic disease." 41 new detections in PMR, 231 recorded across state The Pune Metropolitan Region added 41 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday. There were zero deaths. Pune municipal limits had 27 cases, while Pimpri Chinchwad limits had nine and the rural areas reported three cases. The region currently has only 12 patients in hospital care. Maharashtra, overall, added 231 Covid cases. There was one death on Thursday, reported from Solapur.
Pune: The Pune Metropolitan Region on Wednesday registered 45 new Covid-19 cases. There were 29 cases from Pune city and another 12 in Pimpri Chinchwad. The rural areas reported four new cases.There were no deaths anywhere in the region. The daily report from the health office showed the PMR currently has 288 active cases, with nine patients admitted in hospitals.Maharashtra, overall, has reported a rise in cases. While 1,097 cases were registered in the state between April 29 and May 3, the tally shot up to 1,447 between May 4 and 10.But a senior health official said caseload is still way below the threshold.Of the 221 Covid cases registered in Maharashtra on Wednesday, the majority (124) were detected in Mumbai. The weekly rise in the state capital is almost 32.4%: 637 cases were registered between April 29 and May 3 as against 844 between May 4 and 10.Pune district registered a 26.6% rise in caseload over the same period.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra secretariat, Mantralaya, reopened for public on Wednesday, two years after it was shut following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. A government circular said the general public will be able to get entry to the government headquarters after 2pm. PTI
