From traffic snarls to app for kaali-peeli: Top 5 stories from Mumbai

Mumbai city news: Here are the top five stories from Mumbai you shouldn’t miss

After 55 students got stranded near a waterfall in Raigad on Sunday, trekkers from across the city have come up with a list of 15 spots that are unsafe for vacationers, amateur trekkers and picnickers till September. Sick of surge pricing on Ola/Uber? You can now book a kaali-peeli on their new app that launched today. While traffic snarls made driving a nightmare on the Sion-Panvel highway, make sure you don’t honk needlessly, as you could soon be fined Rs2,000 under the Maharashtra Transport and Road Safety Act, 2017. Also, jailed former media entrepreneur Indrani Mukerjea on Thursday filed a complaint against jail officials, who allegedly assaulted her after the death of an inmate.

HT Photo

Here are today’s top five picks:

1. Monsoon trek over the weekend? Don’t go to these 15 dangerous sites in Maharashtra till September

After 55 students got stranded near a waterfall in Raigad on Sunday, trekkers from across the city have come up with a list of 15 spots that are unsafe for vacationers, amateur trekkers and picnickers till September. The group of 55, stuck at Devkund between two streams of the Kundalika river, was rescued after a six-hour operation. According to the Raigad and Navi Mumbai police, there have been 15 deaths and 50 injuries at various waterfalls, hilly areas around Mumbai this monsoon over the past two weeks .

2. Like Ola, Uber, you can now book Mumbai’s kaali-peelis on mobile phone app

Mumbaiites on Thursday got an app – Amachi (Our) Drive – to book black-and-yellow AC and non-AC cabs as easily as Ola and Uber, without surge pricing. The new app will allow lakhs of taxis commuters to book black-and-yellow cabs without dealing with fare refusal. Also, the taxi drivers will pick up passengers from their doorstep. In the absence of transport minister Diwakar Raote, the taxi unions launched the app by the hands of deputy RTO Sanjay Sasane and other dignitaries.

3. Indrani Mukerjea files complaint against Mumbai jail officials who beat her up after inmate’s death

Indrani Mukerjea at JJ Hospital for a medical check-up on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Jailed former media entrepreneur Indrani Mukerjea on Thursday filed a complaint against jail officials, who allegedly assaulted her after the death of an inmate, Manjula Shetye. Six jail officials allegedly beat Shetye, a murder convict, to death in Byculla woman’s prison because she complained some food items were missing from the morning ration. According to the police, Mukerjea filed an application with the Nagpada police, but an FIR hasn’t been filed yet. The police will first conduct an inquiry into the allegations.

4. Get ready to pay ₹2,000 every time you honk needlessly or in silence zone in Maharashtra

Soon, needless honking and honking in silence zones will be punishable offences in Maharashtra. The state government on Thursday informed the Bombay high court it was awaiting presidential nod for implementation of provisions of the Maharashtra Transport and Road Safety Act, 2017 which penalises needless honking and honking in silence zones.

5. Potholes, traffic snarls make commute on Mumbai’s Sion-Panvel highway a nightmare

Potholes on the Sion-Panvel highway made the route a nightmare for commuters on Thursday. Severe traffic congestion was reported near the Vashi toll naka for the second day in a row. Traffic officials attributed this to craters on the highways. “Owing to potholes, vehicles cannot pass through the area smoothly. People are driving slowly and carefully to avoid potholes, which has led to traffic crawling.