City

A 62-year-old Shiv Sena (UBT) polling agent, Manohar Nalge, was found dead in an unconscious condition on the premises of a polling booth in Worli, South Mumbai on Monday, during the fifth and last phase of the Lok Sabha polls, the police said.

Nalge, a resident of BDD chawl, was rushed to KEM hospital and declared dead around 5.45 pm, they said.

Police said he had complained of uneasiness and discomfort before going to the washroom. “His post-mortem is being conducted to ascertain the exact cause of the death,” a police officer said.

Following criticism from taxi operators and passengers, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has reversed its decision to impose a fee on private and commercial vehicles entering the arrival area of Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru.

According to BIAL officials speaking to The Indian Express, the charges for vehicles entering the arrival lane have been rescinded and are currently under review by airport authorities. The reversal came after the Karnataka Cab Drivers Association, led by Narayanaswamy, staged a protest at the airport in response to BIAL's implementation of arrival lane fees for certain private cab operators.

Initially, BIAL had introduced a new rule imposing a Rs 150 entry fee for commercial vehicles (yellow board), such as Ola and Uber taxis, for up to seven minutes. A charge of Rs 300 would be levied if the vehicle exceeded seven minutes. Private vehicles (whiteboard) would incur a Rs 150 charge for stays between seven and 14 minutes.

Over 30 flamingos died after a flock was struck by an Emirates aircraft over Laxmi Nagar area in Mumbai's Ghatkopar, on Monday night.

The Emirates flight, EK 508, reported the bird hit on arrival at 9.18pm. The flight, which suffered damages, landed safely at Mumbai airport, the Hindustan Times reported. The chief conservator of forests (Mangrove protection cell) SY Rama Rao said 36 flamingo bodies were found in the area, and a search has been launched for more affected flamingos.

The wetlands along the coast of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai are a well-known habitat for flamingos. The migratory birds arrive on these shorelines around December and are spotted till March and April.

A day after the Juvenile Justice Board in Pune granted bail to a teenager involved in a car accident that killed two people while asking him to write a '300-word essay', police on Monday said they will seek a higher court's permission to try him as an adult.

Police has also registered a case against his father, a real estate developer, a senior official said. The Porsche allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, who the police claim was drunk, knocked down two persons on a motorbike in Kalyani Nagar area in Pune around 3.15 am on Sunday, causing their death.

The youngster was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board which granted him bail hours later. 

It also directed him to visit the Regional Transport Office and study traffic rules, and submit a presentation to the Board within 15 days.  “The CCL (Child in Conflict with Law) will write an essay of 300 words on the topic of road accidents and their solutions,” the order read.

The board also directed the youth to be referred to an alcohol deaddiction centre for counselling. 

The quick bail in a case, however, has drawn criticism. According to police, a case has been registered against the youngster under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

A group of friends were returning on motorbikes around 3.15 am on Sunday after a party when a speeding Porsche hit one of the motorcycles at Kalyani Nagar junction. 

The two riders - Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa, both 24-year-old IT professionals and hailing from Madhya Pradesh - died of their injuries. Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said his blood report was yet to be received but preliminary probe showed that the juvenile was drunk at the time of the accident, he said.

“The CCTV footage of the bar clearly shows that the juvenile was consuming alcohol. There is no doubt that the juvenile was driving the car after consuming alcohol. We will be submitting all these facts to the court,” commissioner Kumar said.

“We have also registered an offence against his father under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and against the proprietors of the bar establishment for serving alcohol to an underage person. We have transferred the probe of these cases to the crime branch,” he further said.

Around 24 lakh passengers travelled in the newly launched underwater stretch of Metro Railway connecting the twin cities of Kolkata and Howrah in past two months, a railway statement said.

Commercial metro services from Howrah Maidan to the Esplanade stretch of Green Line 2 and Kavi Subhash (New Garia) to Hemanta Mukhopadhyay (Ruby More) stretch of Orange Line started on March 15. During the period 24 lakh commuters travelled in the Howrah Maidan – Esplanade corridor (Green Line 2) of East-West Metro, a part of which runs under the river Ganga.

The Metro Railway earned Rs 3.40 crore in that section during the period, the statement said. Howrah Metro station has been the busiest station during the last two months in the corridor. This station has recorded 11.67 lakh passenger count which has been the highest passenger count among all the stations in this corridor.

In Orange Line, more than 55 thousand passengers travelled in the last two months and Metro has earned Rs 11.64 lakh.