One dead, one rescued after 'dangerous and dilapidated' building collapses in Dombivali
Thane (PTI): A 55-year-old man died and a woman was pulled out alive from the debris after a four-storey residential building that was dilapidated and declared dangerous by civic authorities collapsed in Dombivali East in Maharashtra's Thane district on Friday, an official said.
The building 'Adinarayan Bhuvan', located at Ayre village in Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation limits, had 44 tenements and occupants were being evacuated since Thursday after some part of the structure started sinking, he said.
At round 5:40 pm on Friday, it collapsed, and search and rescue teams pulled out the body of Sunil Birja Lodaya (55) from the debris at around 8pm, he said.
At 9:15pm, 54-year-old Deepti Sunil Lodaya was pulled out alive from the debris and was rushed to a nearby hospital, TMC disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi told PTI.
The rescue operations are underway since one more person is feared trapped, he added.
KDMC chief Bhausaheb Dangde said two persons, who are believed to be unwell, were feared trapped while all other occupants had been evacuated.
"The 50-year-old building was declared dangerous and a notice had been issued asking occupants to vacate. Many had vacated but some had returned to the building," Dangde told reporters.
The structure was sinking and the process of evacuating occupants began on Thursday evening and was underway at the time it collapsed, he informed.
"It was an unauthorised building and tagged as a dangerous structure by the KDMC earlier," another official said.
The search and rescue operation of the fire brigade and local disaster management cell was underway at the site under the supervision of Dangde and other senior officials.
Another civic official at the site said there were 40 buildings in the ward that had been declared dangerous, while there were 602 such structures under various categories in KDMC limits.
Replying to a query on civic action on such structures, Dangde said the immediate priority was the search and rescue operations at the site of the collapsed building.
Earlier, Thane Municipal Corporation disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said a team of the Thane Disaster Response Force had also rushed to the site after it got an alert about the building collapse.
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TN govt reaffirms 21-yr age limit for liquor sales
Chennai (PTI): Seeking to curb rising alcohol consumption among minors in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has reinforced the legal age requirement of 21 for all liquor purchases and consumption.
The government has also ordered the closure of 717 liquor outlets across the state and warned of strict action against those who violate the new directives.
The state-owned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), the agency which holds a monopoly on sales of liquor, will be shutting 276 outlets near places of worship, 186 near educational institutions and 255 outlets near bus stations.
A senior TASMAC official on Thursday said that the staff at liquor shops have been instructed to check identity proof, including Aadhaar card, for all customers whose age is in question.
The official also said that the state government is considering a reduction in operational hours.
Currently, the liquor shops across the state operate from 12 noon to 10 pm.
"They are weighing a proposal to move the closing time to 8 pm," he added.
At present, the TASMAC operates a total of 4,765 liquor shops across the state. After the closure of 717 shops, it would come down to 4,048 outlets.
In 2025, the revenue from liquor sales stood at Rs 48,344 crore, which is the second highest after the registration department.
