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Time of India
2 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Covid scare in Mumbai: Cases rise to 509; all you need to know
M UMBAI: Of the 37 Covid deaths recorded by the Centre Tuesday, Maharashtra has the maximum, followed by Kerala (9), Delhi (4), Karnataka (4), Tamil Nadu (3) and Uttar Pradesh (2). The union health ministry said Gujarat, MP, Punjab, Rajasthan and West Bengal had reported a death each. In the state, one of the deaths had Parkinson's disease and hypertension, while one had diabetes, hypertension, and chronic renal fourth patient was immunocompromised and suffered from ischemic heart disease (IHD) and tuberculosis. Mumbai's total number of Covid-19 cases since May now stands at 509. There had also been three deaths in the city, all involving patients with severe co-morbidities. Doctors told TOI that most patients, even those with co-morbidities, are recovering. The state health department on Monday asked civic bodies to conduct mock drills of all the pressure swing absorption oxygen plants. Dr Daksha Shah, BMC's executive officer, health, said, "This will also be done in the city. State department will decide the dates." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo Patients with Covid and co-morbidities at civic hospitals are being referred to Seven Hills Hospitals for further treatment and isolation. Continuous screening for influenza-like illness (ILI) has helped the Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) identify 225 suspected patients out of 6,973 screened as of Monday. These individuals underwent Covid-19 testing, and six were found to be positive. One patient was admitted to a hospital in Vasai and later discharged, while the remaining five are in home isolation with very mild symptoms. Doctors at VVCMC said the hospitalised patient had multiple co-morbidities. The screening is a measure mandated by state guidelines, which direct civic bodies to maintain surveillance for ILI and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Vasai-Virar civic body starts Covid screening
Vasai: With Covid-19 cases rising in Mumbai, the healthcare department of the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) has started a screening campaign and kept beds aside in its hospitals as a precautionary measure. "In the past week, we have screened 5,070 people for Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) and carried out antigen tests, but there are no positive cases," said VVCMC medical officer Dr Bhakti Choudhary. The corporation has also reserved a 25-bedded ward at Jivdani hospital, Virar, and has made arrangements for liquid oxygen plants. Awareness drives will be carried out in industrial areas, public places and residential neighbourhoods. The health department has also appealed to the public to promptly get tested if they experience any symptoms. Meanwhile, 66 patients, including 31 from Mumbai, tested positive for Covid across the state, according to the state health department on Tuesday. Since Jan, the state has recorded 435 positive patients, including 310 from Mumbai.
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
41 illegal bldgs in Vasai: ED records statement of fmr corporator
Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned former Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) corporator Sitaram Gupta regarding his alleged role in the construction of 41 illegal buildings on a 60-acre plot earmarked for public projects in Vasai East. Gupta's statement was recorded under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the process will continue on Wednesday, said sources in the ED's Mumbai unit, which is conducting a money laundering probe in connection with the 41 illegal buildings. According to the ED, Gupta is one of the perpetrators of large-scale illegal constructions in Vasai-Virar since 2009. The agency had conducted searches at 13 locations in Vasai-Virar and Hyderabad last week, which had led to the seizure of cash and valuables worth ₹32.29 crore, including ₹44 lakh from Gupta's Nalasopara residence. On Tuesday, Gupta was asked about the source of cash seized from his home, said ED sources. The agency has also summoned another case suspect, VVCMC deputy director (town planning) YS Reddy, for questioning, the sources added. Most of the cash and valuables seized by the ED last week were found at Reddy's Hyderabad home. He was present when the search was conducted but was later admitted to a hospital, where he continues to remain under treatment. On Monday, he was suspended from service and asked to face a departmental inquiry as his alleged actions were in violation of the Maharashtra Civil Services (conduct) rules. The ED's probe was initiated by registering an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report), which was based on multiple first information reports registered by the Mira-Bhayandar police Commissionerate in connection with the construction of the 41 illegal buildings. During the probe, the ED learnt that the 41 illegal buildings were constructed on a plot reserved for a sewage treatment plant and dumping ground via collusion between various builders and VVCMC officials. All 41 buildings were demolished earlier this year following directions from the Bombay high court, leaving around 2,500 residents homeless. The action was taken following a Supreme Court directive which denied any relief to the residents.
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Civic officials, bizmen, politicians under scanner for landgrab, illegal construction in Vasai-Virar
Mumbai: Several civic officials, businessmen and politicians are under the scanner for their role in facilitating large-scale landgrab and illegal construction in the Vasai-Virar area, courtesy two ongoing probes into the construction of 41 illegal buildings in Vasai East, on a 60-acre plot reserved for public projects. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police started investigating the matter in 2023, after the Achole police registered a first information report (FIR) as per directions of the Bombay high court. In September 2023, the EOW arrested former Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) corporator Sitaram Gupta. The former civic official and his associates fraudulently acquired the 60-acre plot in Agarwal Nagar in Vasai East and sold the land to various builders, the EOW found during its probe. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which recently launched a money laundering investigation into construction of the 41 buildings, last week conducted searches at 13 locations in Vasai-Virar and Hyderabad. The searches led to the seizure of ₹31 crore from the residence of the current VVCMC deputy director (town planning) YS Reddy, and ₹44 lakh from the house of Sitaram Gupta. According to ED sources, Gupta is one of the perpetrators of illegal constructions in Vasai-Virar. Long struggle The 60-acre plot in Agarwal Nagar includes 30 acres of land reserved for public projects, and another 30 acres owned by persons residing in New Zealand and Canada. When Ajay Sharma, caretaker of the privately-owned portion, visited the plot in 2008, he found construction was underway by a certain 'Prime Property Developers'. 'After I asked for documents and permissions for the construction work, (Sitaram) Gupta and his associates assaulted me near my home with swords,' Sharma, a resident of Vasai West, told Hindustan Times. In 2018, Sharma filed a public interest litigation regarding illegal construction on the 60-acre plot in the Bombay high court. The VVCMC acknowledged in 2020, in response to a Right to Information application filed by Sharma, that the construction was indeed illegal. In June 2023, the Achole police registered a first information report in the matter, following directions issued by the high court. The FIR was registered under sections 420, 447, 465, 467, 468, 471, 474 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. It was based on a complaint by Sharma, who alleged that in 2009, Sitaram Gupta and his brother Arun Gupta colluded with the land mafia to make bogus documents pertaining to the plot at the behest of underworld don Chhota Rajan. They then sold the land to various builders, paving the way for construction of the 41 unauthorised buildings, Sharma alleged. In September 2023, the case was transferred to EOW of MBVV police, which found that Gupta had also issued a bogus completion certificate for one of the buildings on behalf of Cidco (City and Industrial Development Corporation) and VVCMC. The former corporator and his alleged associate Vijay Tambat alias Vijay Salvi were arrested in September 2023. Court orders demolition In October 2024, the VVCMC told the Bombay high court that 30 acres in the 60-acre plot was reserved for a dumping ground and a sewage treatment plant. The court then ordered the civic body to demolish the 41 buildings on the plot. Seven structurally dangerous buildings were razed in November 2024, prompting the residents to approach the high court and then the Supreme Court for relief. The remaining buildings were demolished during a 22-day drive in January 2025, after the SC denied any relief to the residents. Over 2,000 families were left homeless due to the demolitions. A majority of them were factory workers, labourers, small business owners, and migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan. While some have managed to rent shacks or rooms in nearby areas, most were forced to return to their native places, unable to afford alternative housing. ED launches probe Meanwhile, Dhananjay Gawde, a former Shiv Sena corporator, brought the matter to the attention of the ED. Gawde had, in the past, exposed several unauthorised constructions in Vasai-Virar by filing Right to Information applications. He was named as an accused in several cases registered on the basis of complaints by affected developers, officials and politicians and was arrested in 2021 after the Supreme Court denied him bail. 'I filed complaints with the ED keeping social interests in mind,' said Gawde, who was released from jail in 2023. 'Corrupt officials were trying to help builders by displacing common people, which I brought to the notice of the ED.' As reported by HT on March 18, the VVMC attempted to de-reserve the 60-acre plot and shift the sewage treatment plant to Gass village while demolition of the 41 buildings was underway. 'VVCMC deputy director (town planning) YS Reddy was the main person behind this attempt as he wanted to hand over the plot to developers once it was vacant,' said Gawde. The plan to shift the sewage treatment plant, however, was thwarted due to intense protests by Gaas residents. Subsequently, the ED registered an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report) based on multiple first information reports (FIRs) registered by the Mira-Bhayandar police Commissionerate in connection with the construction of the 41 illegal buildings. Last week, the ED conducted searches at 13 locations in Vasai-Virar and Hyderabad, connected with builders who constructed the illegal structures. The searches resulted in seizure of cash and valuables worth ₹32.29 crore, including diamond-studded jewellery and bullion worth ₹23.25 crore and ₹9.04 crore in cash. Most of the cash and all the valuables were seized from the Hyderabad residence of VVCMC deputy director (town planning) YS Reddy. Another ₹44 lakh in cash was seized from the Nalasopara home of Sitaram Gupta – the money was hidden in a metal cupboard lying concealed behind a wooden door in the house. The ED suspects that several former VVCMC senior officials connived with a group of builders to facilitate the construction. 'We will summon those officials and other case accused for questioning soon,' a source in the ED told HT while the searches were underway.
Hindustan Times
17-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
ED seizes ₹44 lakh cash concealed in secret wall cupboard
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED), during a search, seized ₹44 lakh in cash from a metal cupboard lying concealed behind a wooden door in a Nalasopara (East) residence. The searches, conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, were at 13 locations in Vasai, Virar and Hyderabad in Telangana, and were related to the ED's money-laundering probe into the construction of 41 illegal buildings in Vasai East on a 60-acre plot earmarked for public projects. The cash was seized from the house of a former corporator, an alleged perpetrator of the illegal constructions, according to the ED. The ED team, on suspicion, decided to check the wooden door at his house, and upon its removal, found the standard-size metal cupboard concealed behind it. As the house owner allegedly did not part with the cupboard key, the ED team had to obtain the services of a key-maker who opened it, said sources. During its various searches, the ED seized ₹32.29 crore, ₹23.25 crore of this in diamond-studded jewellery and bullion, and ₹9.04 crore in cash. Most of the cash and all the valuables were seized from the Hyderabad residence of Y S Reddy, deputy director (town planning), Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC). Reddy was at home at the time and was later rushed to a local hospital on complaints of heart-related problems, sources added. Apart from Reddy's Hyderabad home, searches were conducted at the premises of other alleged key perpetrators of illegal constructions in Vasai-Virar, including the former corporator. 'We suspect that several former VVCMC senior officials connived with a group of builders to facilitate the construction,' a source familiar with the probe told Hindustan Times. 'We will summon those officials and other case accused for questioning soon.' The searches led to the seizure of documents, which revealed how VVCMC officials had connived with builders. The ED probe was initiated by registering an ECIR (Enforcement Case Information Report), which was based on multiple FIRs registered by the Mira-Bhayandar police commissionerate in connection with the construction of the 41 illegal buildings. During the probe, the ED learned that large-scale illegal constructions in the area commenced in 2009. The 41 illegal buildings were constructed by a group of builders and their henchmen by forging a range of approval documents, preparing fake agreements and selling residential and commercial units to gullible and poor customers, the ED found. On the directions of the Bombay high court, all 41 buildings were demolished by the VVMC earlier this year, leaving around 2,500 residents homeless. The action was taken following a Supreme Court directive which denied any relief to the residents.
