Latest News
Lotus Lake Protection Emerges as Key Poll Issue in Nerul’s Panel 25
With the 2026 Municipal Corporation elections approaching, the long-pending demand to protect and rejuvenate Lotus Lake in Sector 27, Nerul, has emerged as a central election issue in Panel 25, drawing attention from multiple political parties.
Members of the Save Lotus Lake group, who have been campaigning for years against encroachments and illegal debris dumping allegedly by CIDCO contractors, say their electoral support will hinge on firm commitments to safeguard the waterbody. D.K. Jain, a founding member of the group, described Lotus Lake as the “lung of the area” and said the collective agenda was clear. “We will support the political party that comes forward to protect Lotus Lake—the lung of this node,” he said.
The sustained campaign appears to have struck a chord, with several political parties now highlighting the protection and beautification of Lotus Lake as a key promise in their election manifestos. Panel 25, which stretches from Nerul to Seawoods, includes Sectors 13, 17, 19, 19A, 21, 23, 25 and 27, along with Dharave Gaon. The panel comprises a mix of older residential pockets and fast-developing areas, and houses landmarks such as Wonder Park, PSU colonies, educational institutions and hospitals, besides a large educated population.
Residents, however, say multiple civic issues remain unresolved. “Poor internal roads, broken or missing footpaths, encroachments, hawker congestion near D-Mart, theft incidents, parking shortages, traffic congestion and rising air pollution need urgent attention,” said Sunil Honrao of Sector 23.
The BJP, which has a strong organizational presence in the panel, has expressed confidence in retaining control. Four-time corporator Ravindra Ithape said reclaiming and beautifying Lotus Lake and developing Dharave Gaon would be top priorities, along with addressing civic concerns. Several other parties and independent candidates are also in the fray.
Latest News
NMMC Cracks Down on Illegal Construction in Airoli
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.
Latest News
Retired Pensioner Duped of Rs 1.57 Crore in Fake Digital Arrest Scam
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.
Latest News
Daily Commute Turns Hazardous on Turbhe Flyover
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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