Pune Mar 28 PTI Maharashtra education department has stated that schools for classes 1 to nine and 11 of the state board will function full day till April 30 to compensate for the academic loss caused to students due to COVID-19 a decision that will affect the summer vacation schedule of students Generally annual exams of classes 1 to 9 get over by April 15 and vacation starts thereafter The GR issued by I M Kazi joint secretary Maharashtra government has directed schools to function full day on Saturdays instead of half-day and voluntarily on Sundays It also stated that exams of classes 1 to 9 and 11 should be taken in the third week of April and results declared by May Harishchandra Gaikwad president of the Pune District Principals Association said the government should have issued this GR by February-end Schools have already completed preparations for conducting exams and released a timetable he said adding that many parents have planned their summer vacations accordingly In this GR the education department has asked schools to declare results by May but no date has been given Had there been a deadline it would have been easy for schools to plan Gaikwad said In the normal course exams for schools under the Maharashtra state board get over by April 15 and thereafter vacations begin Now with this new GR students will have to come to schools till the end of April he added Terming the GR ambiguous Gaikwad said that instead of issuing a GR the state education department should have advanced school opening dates to June 7 or 8 instead of June 15 for the new academic session PTI SPK NSK NSK

Mumbai Mar 19 PTI Maharashtra on Saturday reported less than 100 new coronavirus infections for the first time since April 2020 the beginning of the pandemic The state recorded 97 new cases and one death taking the case tally to 7872300 and death toll to 143766 a health department official said On April 3 2020 the state had reported 67 new infections The new daily cases then climbed into three digits and more So far 7723005 people have recovered from the infection in Maharashtra including 251 during the day leaving the state with an active caseload of 1525 The states recovery rate is 9810 per cent and fatality rate is 182 per cent With 23710 samples being examined since previous evening the number of coronavirus tests carried out in Maharashtra so far went up to 78909115 The Mumbai Metropolitan Region comprising Mumbai and satellite towns reported 37 new cases during the day while the Pune circle which covers Pune Satara and Solapur districts saw 33 new cases The lone death took place in Satara district Coronavirus figures of Maharashtra are as follows Total cases 7872300 fresh cases 97 death toll 143766 total recoveries 7723005 active cases 1525 total tests 78909115 PTI ND BNM KRK KRK

Mumbai Feb 24 PTI The Maharashtra government on Thursday formed a Special Investigation Team SIT to probe the cases of attacks and threats against public representatives registered across the stateMumbais Joint Commissioner of Police Crime Milind Bharambe will head the SIT said a senior official hereA Government Resolution order in this regard was issued by the state home department during the day he saidThe issue of threats and attacks against public representatives had come up for discussion in the state legislature last year The government had then assured that an SIT will be formed to probe such cases and also study related issuesJoint commissioner Bharambe has been empowered to invite members and experts to be part of the SIT the official saidAs per the government order the SIT will also submit a report in three months suggesting measures to complete the probe of such cases within a fixed period and preventive measures PTI DC KRK KRK

Thane Jan 28 PTI The Maharashtra food civil supplies and consumer protection department and the Food and Drug Administration FDA conducted a series of raids at edible oil manufacturing units in the Mumbai metropolitan region an official said on Friday The raids were conducted over the last few weeks to check the quality and hygiene standards being followed by the oil manufacturers in the region he said The state department had raided a factory in Vashi area of Navi Mumbai on Tuesday while the FDA conducted operations at units in Bhiwandi and Mira Road the official said The raids were conducted based on information about adulteration of sunflower oil which was allegedly being mixed with palm oil and sold in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra such as Panvel Alibaug Raigad among others said Kamlesh D Kedare of the Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department PTI COR ARU ARU

Pune Dec 21 PTI The Maharashtra education department has relaxed the minimum age criterion for admission to classes from the nursery to class 1 for the academic year 2022-23 officials said on Tuesday As per the government resolution GR dated September 18 2020 the cut-off date for the minimum age for school admission has been December 31 Due to this cut-off date children born in October November and December faced issues while securing admission in schools Considering this issue the education department has changed the minimum age criteria for admission for the academic year 2022-23 a government circular stated on Monday As per the new rule children born between October 1 2018 and December 31 2019 and completed the minimum age of three years as of December 31 2022 can take admission to nursery The children born between October 1 2017 and December 31 2018 and who have completed the minimum age of four years as of December 31 2022 can take admission to junior KG kindergarten Similarly children born between October 1 2016 to December 31 2017 and completed the minimum age of five years as of December 31 2022 are eligible for senior KG admission it said For class 1 admission the minimum age criterion is the completion of six years as of December 31 2022 The children should have been born between October 1 2015 and December 31 2016 The circular also states that the age limit can be flexible for pre-primary admission No school should deny admission to children by citing any age issue The circular says no upper limit is decided for admissions and it can be kept flexible PTI COR NSK NSK

Aurangabad Nov 23 PTI The Maharashtra government plans to construct 5000 kilometres of access-controlled roads in the state and a consultant to study the region-wise benefits has been appointed state PWD minister Eknath Shinde said here on Tuesday These greenfield roads will bring about savings in time and fuel he said adding that a detailed project report would be made after a study of the benefits He said the Nagpur to Shirdi stretch of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway will be completed by the end of this year or January next year and the remaining part would be completed in a year after that PTI AW BNM BNM BNM

Mumbai Nov 19 PTI The Maharashtra government has slashed excise duty on imported scotch whiskey by 50 per cent to bring its price on par with that in other states a senior official said here on FridayThe excise duty on imported scotch whiskey has been brought down from 300 per cent to 150 per cent of the manufacturing cost the official told PTIThe notification in this regard was issued on Thursday she saidThe Maharashtra government earns revenue of about Rs 100 crore from the sale of imported scotch annuallyThe revenue is expected to increase to Rs 250 crore as the sale is expected to go up from one lakh bottles to 25 lakh bottles the official saidThe reduction in duty would also curb smuggling of scotch from other states and sale of spurious liquor she added PTI ND KRK KRK KRK

Mumbai Nov 18 PTI The Maharashtra government on Thursday allotted land to set up a permanent base of the National Disaster Response Force NDRF in Raigad districts Mahad town where over 100 people were killed in landslides in July this yearThe dairy development department issued an order allotting over two hectares of land for the permanent NDRF base in Mahad according to a government resolution GRThe NDRF currently does not have any facility of its own in coastal Raigad Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts which receive heavy showers during the monsoon every yearThis year the downpour was so heavy that it led to flooding and landslides killing more than 200 people in various incidents in these districts and other parts of the state in late July Raigad was the worst-hit district As there was no NDRF base in Raigad district rescuers from Pune could not reach in time to help peopleAccording to the GR the dairy development department order says 257 hectares of land in Mahad town be handed over to the revenue department so that the NDRF can set up its permanent base there PTI ND RSY RSY

Mumbai Sep 29 PTI Maharashtra had demanded assistance of Rs 7700 crore to deal with the damage caused by various natural calamities this year but the Union government has sanctioned only Rs 1100 crore so far a state minister claimed on WednesdayExcess rains floods and other natural calamities have caused damage to the tune of Rs 7700 crore in Maharashtra since January 2020 said Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation Vijay WadettiwarBut the state has so far received assistance worth Rs 1100 crore from the Centre he told reportersHe also alleged that no central team had yet visited to review the damage caused by the floods in July The loss was estimated at Rs 1659 crore Wadettiwar saidHe also claimed that the Union government rejected the states request that it be allowed to use funds from the National Disaster Response Fund and State Disaster Response Fund to help those affected by natural calamitiesCrops over 17 lakh hectares of land have been damaged due to heavy rain and floods this monsoon and the downpour on September 27-28 would have damaged crops over another four lakh hectares in Marathwada region the minister saidIn September alone 71 people have died due to natural calamities including floods and lightning Another 26 were injured he saidSince June 1 this year 436 people lost their lives due to natural calamities including 196 who died in incidents of lightning Wadettiwar saidSeven out of 10 districts of Marathwada received 180 per cent of their average rainfall the minister said PTI ND KRK KRK KRK