Thane Jan 24 PTI The Shiv Senas unit in Ulhasnagar town of Thane district came out with an unusual incentive to encourage people to donate blood on the occasion of party founder Bal Thackerays birth anniversary - donate blood and take home one kg of chicken A total of 65 bottles of blood from as many people were collected during a donation camp on Sunday which was the 96th birth anniversary of Bal Thackeray said Dhananjay Bodare the Sena leader in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation UMCHe said party workers gave away one kg of chicken to each of the donors who participated in the camp organized in association with a blood bank PTI COR RSY RSY

Thane Jan 24 PTI A 10-year-old girl from Thane city who cycled a distance of more than 3600 km between Kashmir and Kanyakumari to spread awareness about hazards of vehicular pollution and saving the girl child was given a warm welcome when she arrived here at the end of her expeditionSai Patil a resident of Balkum accompanied by her father started the cycling expedition last monthThe girl was given a warm welcome by city residents when she arrived here on Sunday evening The local residents took out a procession with Sai Patil sitting on a decorated chariot and felicitated her at a functionThe girl pedaled at least 100 km a day and visited schools and other places during her journey to spread the message of saving the girl child and highlighting hazards of vehicular pollution her father saidShe completed her expedition in 38 days and has qualified to enter record books he claimedTalking to the media Sai Patil said through out the route of her journey she received love and affection from peopleThey took care of me like their family member and provided us whatever we needed Shelter was also provided by those whom we came across At some places we found it difficult to communicate but eventually overcame that barrier with the use of sign language she saidThe Thane girl said people everywhere appreciated the causes for which had undertaken the arduous journeyWhen we explained to them the purpose of our tour they were delighted and wished me good luck said Sai Patil who was accompanied by her parents at the function PTI COR RSY RSY

Thane Jan 24 PTI Hundreds of villagers from Panvel various nodes in Navi Mumbai and surrounding areas on Monday held a protest demanding that the upcoming international airport be named after the leader of the project-affected people late DB Patil The agitators held flags in their hands and beat drums during the protest held in a village near the location of the upcoming airport in Navi Mumbai Similar protests were also held by villagers in the past for their demands Speaking on the occasion leaders of the agitators said they will stop the work of the airport if their demand is not accepted by the Maharashtra government The airport was already named after Shiv Sena chief late Bal Thackeray A police officer said cases will be registered against agitators for violating COVID-19 norms by gathering in large numbers PTI COR NSK NSK

Thane Jan 24 PTI Thane Municipal Corporation TMC has so far collected Rs 48050 crore in taxes while the target for the current year is Rs 740 crore an official said on Monday This comes to 65 of the targeted collection of property tax and water tax TMC commissioner Vipin Sharma on Monday directed officials to ensure that they achieve the target of tax collection set up for this year He also directed officials to identify properties on which taxes have not been levied until now and bring them under the tax net within a week A total of 1087040 properties had been issued the demands for the payment of taxes The commissioner ordered special drives for collection of taxes in all the 176 blocks in the civic corporation limits PTI COR NSK NSK

Thane Jan 24 PTI A 36-year-old married man from Bhayandar in Thane district of Maharashtra was forced to pay the ransom of over Rs 6 lakh after he was held captive by a woman who had befriended him through a dating app and her associates police said on Monday An FIR was registered at the Shree Nagar police station on charges of extortion robbery and other sections of the Indian Penal Code IPC after the victim approached the police this morning but no arrest is made so An officer said the victim who manufactures and sells furniture had come in contact with a woman last July through a dating service app- Quack Quack The woman invited him to Thane city and when he arrived at the scheduled location in the Shree Nagar area she took him to her house the officer said quoting the FIR The man was held captive in her house by the woman and other accused-one of them a woman- who thrashed him and demanded Rs 10 lakh for releasing him They threatened the victim to defame him if he fails to pay up They snatched credit cards of the victim and his wife and withdrew Rs 632100 before allowing him to go the officer said adding that further investigation is underway PTI COR NSK NSK

Thane Jan 24 PTI The crime detection rate of Mira Bhayander Vasai Virar police commissonerate which covers parts of Thane and Palghar districts in Maharashtra has gone up from 67 per cent in 2017 to 75 per cent in 2021 Commissioner Sadanand Date said on Monday Addressing a press conference to present the annual performance report of the units under him Date said the rise has come up about with the available manpower in the commissionerate that was formed in 2017 The crime detection rate has increased from 67 per cent in 2017 to 75 per cent in 2021 There is an increase of 134 per cent in action against illegal activities during this period The statistics will improve further After all Rome was not built in a day he said Of the 1341 cases registered in MBVV police limits 849 resulted in convictions the commissioner said The value of property stolen stood at Rs 2534 crore and recovery of loot stood at 46 per cent or Rs 1174 crore while cases under 498A of IPC had gone up from 88 in 2017 to 270 in 2021 Date informed As many as 84 foreign nationals were held for illegal stay and 21 have been deported this year he added PTI COR BNM BNM BNM

Thane Jan 24 PTI An unidentified person allegedly attacked a woman doctor at her private clinic here in Maharashtra and fled with her mobile phone gold jewellery and Rs 5000 cash police said on Monday The 53-year-old doctor was injured in the incident that took place in Bhayander area on Sunday The accused allegedly barged into the clinic and attacked the doctor with a sharp weapon He then snatched her mobile phone gold jewellery and cash all collectively worth around Rs 93000 and ran away an official from Bhayander police station said The doctor suffered a severe head injury he said adding that some people in the neighbourhood rushed to the clinic on hearing the commotion and took her to a nearby private hospital Based on the victims complaint the police registered a case against the unidentified person under relevant provisions he said The police were checking the CCTV footage of the area to trace the culprit the official said PTI COR GK GK

Thane Jan 24 PTI With the addition of 2234 new cases of coronavirus the infection count in Maharashtras Thane district has gone up to 692835 an official said on Monday These new cases were reported on Sunday he said Five more people also succumbed to the viral infection raising the death toll in the district to 11713 he said adding that the COVID-19 mortality rate in Thane was 169 per cent In neighbouring Palghar district the COVID-19 case count has gone up to 160260 while the death toll stands at 3358 another official said PTI COR GK GK