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Kharghar Mangroves Under Threat: Forest Department Begins Probe Amid Inaction

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Caught between CIDCO and Forest Department, mangroves die a slow death.

The Threat

The mangroves near Sector 10 in Kharghar are under severe threat as debris dumping and systematic destruction continue unchecked. Following residents’ complaints, forest department officials inspected the area on Monday and found clear signs of construction waste dumping and deliberate attempts to choke the creek.

Despite the findings, officials expressed their inability to act immediately, citing the need to first confirm land ownership — whether it belongs to CIDCO, the forest department, or the revenue department.

A walk through the affected mangrove belt reveals extensive damage. Large patches have been cleared over the years, replaced by mounds of debris. Residents allege this has been a sustained effort to convert the mangrove area into open grounds. “After dusk, the area becomes a hub for anti-social activities,” a local resident said.

Further inspection showed man-made barriers, including brick sluice gates and cement bags, placed deep within the mangroves to restrict water flow, leading to the death of many trees.

Forest officials, led by Surendra Patil, visited the site and marked the GPS coordinates for further investigation. “We will verify the ownership before taking action,” said Santosh Pawar, Beat Officer, Panvel.

Locals, however, remain skeptical. “This is just an excuse. Similar surveys were conducted earlier, but no action was taken. Authorities are simply passing the buck,” a resident remarked.

The forest department has indicated it may take a couple of months to complete the ownership verification and submit its report.

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NMMC Cracks Down on Illegal Construction in Airoli

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Civic enforcement team partially demolishes unauthorized structure following ignored legal warnings.

The Constructions

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) carried out a partial demolition drive in Sector 2B, Airoli, targeting an unauthorized construction that persisted despite explicit legal warnings. The enforcement action focused on illegal developments across Plots 118, 119, and 120 under the G Ward administration, involving developers Sanjaykumar Dubey, Pratibhakumari, and contractor Santosh Halse, who had previously been served a formal statutory notice under Section 54 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966.

When the party ignored directives to voluntarily dismantle the unapproved framework and continued building, the encroachment department intervened under the direction of the Municipal Commissioner, deploying an 18-member labor crew armed with heavy demolition equipment, concrete breakers, gas cutters, and generators to bring down the structure. Local police personnel were stationed throughout the site to maintain order, and civic officials emphasized that this operation is part of an intensified, ongoing citywide effort to curb illegal developments across all administrative wards in Navi Mumbai.

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Retired Pensioner Duped of Rs 1.57 Crore in Fake Digital Arrest Scam

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Cyber fraudsters hold a 90-year-old Nerul resident and his wife under virtual captivity for six weeks by posing as government authorities.

The Scam

A 90-year-old retired Central Government pensioner and his wife residing in Nerul fell victim to a massive cyber fraud, losing Rs 1.57 crore after being held under a terrifying “digital arrest” for nearly six weeks. The ordeal began when the victim received a phone call from an individual posing as a telecommunications officer who claimed the elderly man’s mobile number was linked to illegal activities in Bengaluru, before handing the video call over to accomplices impersonating officers from the CBI, Supreme Court, Karnataka Police, and Reserve Bank of India.

To trap the couple in complete isolation, the fraudsters presented forged arrest warrants over WhatsApp, invoked strict legal threats under the Official Secrets Act, and ordered them to stay confined inside their home without informing family or friends. Operating under the guise of an urgent financial audit by the RBI to clear their names, the scammers manipulated the terrified couple into transferring their lifetime savings across multiple transactions, even sending fake Supreme Court receipts to maintain the illusion of an ongoing legal procedure.

The couple finally realized they had been tricked after coming across newspaper reports describing identical scam tactics, prompting them to approach the Navi Mumbai Cyber Police, who have now registered a formal case and urged citizens to remember that no legitimate agency ever carries out arrests or demands fund transfers over video calls.

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Daily Commute Turns Hazardous on Turbhe Flyover

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Potholes, poor visibility, and aggressive swerving endanger motorists navigating the vital Navi Mumbai corridor.

The Flyover

Traversing the Turbhe flyover has turned into a perilous daily ordeal for thousands of commuters as decaying road conditions and inadequate lighting create severe safety hazards along one of Navi Mumbai’s busiest transit routes. Motorists report that deep potholes, uneven asphalt patches, and loose gravel have compromised overall vehicle stability across the elevated stretch, placing two-wheeler riders at an exceptionally high risk of skidding during peak rush hours or sudden rainfall.

The deteriorating infrastructure frequently forces drivers to slam on their brakes or make sudden, erratic lane changes to dodge deep craters, triggering frustrating traffic bottlenecks and constant minor rear-end collisions. Making matters worse, non-functional streetlights across key segments leave long stretches of the flyover shrouded in darkness at night, hiding severe road defects from oncoming traffic and making temporary, low-quality patch-up jobs wash away rapidly.

Fed up with piecemeal fixes, local residents and motorist associations are urgently demanding that civic authorities and traffic police intervene by executing full-scale asphalt resurfacing, restoring missing street illumination, and deploying officers to strictly curb reckless lane-cutting during rush hours.

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