Maha Govt announces toll waiver for light motor vehicles entering Mumbai
Mumbai, Oct 14: Maharashtra Government on Monday announced a complete toll waiver for light motor vehicles entering Mumbai at all five booths, with effect from October 14 midnight.
“There was a demand for the toll waiver due to the traffic jams at the toll booths,” Chief Minister Eknath Shinde told reporters after the state cabinet approved the toll waiver decision at a meeting held in Mumbai Monday morning.
The move comes ahead of the upcoming state assembly polls, likely to be announced in a day, an official said.
The toll waiver is expected to bring relief to people travelling in and out of Mumbai ahead of Diwali. Commuters will be able to travel without paying toll at the five booths - Dahisar, LBS Road-Mulund, Eastern Express Highway-Mulund, Airoli Creek Bridge and Vashi.
Light motor vehicles include cars (hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs), jeeps, vans, auto-rickshaws, taxis, delivery vans and small trucks.
More than six lakh vehicles cross Mumbai daily, of which 80 per cent are light motor vehicles, the official said.
The toll waiver move would save time, fuel and reduce pollution, Shinde said. “It was a long pending demand to waive toll at Mumbai's entry points. Many activists had approached the court demanding the toll waiver.”
“Just like we implemented Laadki Bahin, Laadka Bhau and Laadka Kisan, now we have taken this “masterstroke” decision for the commuters,” he said.
Maharashtra’s Public works (public enterprises) minister Dada Bhuse said between Rs 45 and Rs 75 were charged for light motor vehicles at any of the five toll booths.
There are around 70,000 heavy vehicles travelling to and from Mumbai daily, he added. Heavy vehicles are categorised by their gross vehicle weight exceeding 7,500 kg and include trucks, trailers, tankers and other goods carriers' vehicles.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called the toll waiver decision a "desperate measure" before the state assembly elections.
"Desperate measure just hours before the election code of conduct shows that Mahajhoothi government knows their days are numbered, so try and salvage whatever little they can to save themselves from the public’s wrath. Also because it has been under severe fire for the absolute and total collapse of law and order," she posted on X.
"Just like Ladki Bahin (Yojana) came at the back of a defeat, this toll decision comes at the back of an impending defeat," Chaturvedi said.
MNS chief Raj Thackeray, whose party workers have on many occasions vandalised toll booths, welcomed the Maharashtra government's decision to waive the toll for light motor vehicles.
"Congratulations to my “Maharashtra” soldiers. We fought hard for the demand for transparency in toll transactions. We were criticised for vandalising the toll booths but now every Mumbaikar can travel toll-free," he said. He hoped that the decision was not taken keeping in mind the upcoming assembly polls.
The toll waiver is among the more than 150 decisions taken in a spate of state cabinet meetings over the past fortnight, an official in the Chief Minister’s Office said.
The state cabinet on Monday also approved a proposal to name Maharashtra State Skills University after the late Ratan Tata.
The industrialist died in a Mumbai hospital at age 86 on 9 October.
Maharashtra State Skills University, located in Mumbai, was established in 2022. It offers a wide range of degree and diploma programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
The Maharashtra cabinet also expressed shock over the killing of former state minister Baba Siddique and adopted a condolence resolution to this effect.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
