CM to review BMC’s development work today

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will conduct a review meeting of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) development and administrative work on Friday, with civic commissioner Praveen Pardeshi and other top officials. Some of the work which will be reviewed by CM includes initiatives for pedestrian safety such as footpath repairs and beautification, road repair work, maintenance and upgradation of public spaces such as open spaces, parks, and BMC’s policy on display of hoardings, posters and banners in the city.

“CM will review all the existing development work in Mumbai, and conduct a status check of big projects. Some issues from last meeting’s agenda are also planned for discussion,” a senior civic official said.

This is the second such review meeting by Thackeray with the civic body, since he took charge on November 29. On December 5, CM had visited the disaster management room at BMC headquarters. In a four-hour meeting, he had discussed the civic works related to infrastructure such as the Coastal Road, the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, the drinking water project of Gargai dam, BMC’s finances, revival of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and affordable housing for a slum-free city.

Siddhivinayak Temple Trust to donate ₹10 crore for vaccines

The Siddhivinayak Temple Trust has decided to donate ₹10 crore towards the pneumococcal vaccine programmes for infants in five tribal-dominated districts of the state. In a decision taken on Thursday, the trust announced that this fund will be utilised toward vaccinating 1.41 lakh infants up to 1 year, from tribal families in the Nandurbar, Palghar, Gadchiroli, Amravati and Nashik districts.

Pneumococcal vaccines are given to infants in three parts. Each vaccine costs about ₹800.

Aadesh Bandekar, the trust’s chairman said, “Pneumonia is one of the chief causes of infant deaths and is most prevalent among children from tribal families. Siddhivinayak Temple Trust wants to finance these vaccines for infants in the five tribal-dominant districts. The money will be donated to the state government, which can organise medical camps to administer these vaccines. If the state wants the trust to help with the medical camps, we can get experts and doctors on board for it.”