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By:

Minal Sancheti

2 May 2026 at 12:26:53 pm

Mumbai to face mega blocks on the weekends

Mumbai: On June 28, passengers travelling between Matunga and Mulund stations, as well as between Thane and Vashi, are likely to face inconvenience due to a mega block. There will also be a jumbo block on the weekends between Bhayandar and Borivali stations. Central Railway On Sunday, train services will be suspended due to a mega block between Matunga and Mulund stations. The services on the Trans-Harbour Line between Thane and Vashi stations, will also be suspended. This action will be...

Mumbai to face mega blocks on the weekends

Mumbai: On June 28, passengers travelling between Matunga and Mulund stations, as well as between Thane and Vashi, are likely to face inconvenience due to a mega block. There will also be a jumbo block on the weekends between Bhayandar and Borivali stations. Central Railway On Sunday, train services will be suspended due to a mega block between Matunga and Mulund stations. The services on the Trans-Harbour Line between Thane and Vashi stations, will also be suspended. This action will be taken by the Mumbai division of Central Railway because of various engineering and maintenance works. The block on the main line between Matunga-Mulund stations on the up and down slow lines will be from 11.05 am to 3.55 pm. Down slow line services leaving CSMT Mumbai from 10.14 am to 3.32 pm will be diverted on the down fast line between Matunga and Mulund stations, halting at Sion, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Vikhroli, Bhandup, and Mulund stations, further re-diverted on the down slow line at Mulund station, and will arrive at the destination 15 minutes behind schedule. Up slow line services leaving Thane from 11.07 am to 3.51 pm will be diverted on the up fast line at Mulund station, between Mulund and Matunga stations, halting at Mulund, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Kurla, and Sion stations, further re-diverted on the up slow line at Matunga and will arrive at the destination 15 minutes behind schedule. All up and down locals leaving and arriving at the CSMT between 11.00 am to 5.00 pm will reach their destination 15 minutes later than the scheduled arrival time. The Trans-Harbour line block will operate between Thane, Vashi, and Nerul stations on the up and down from 11.10 am to 4.10 pm. Up and Down Trans-Harbour line services will remain suspended between Thane, Vashi, and Nerul stations during the block period. Down line services for Vashi, Nerul, and Panvel, leaving Thane from 10.35 am to 4.07 pm, and up-line services for Thane, leaving Panvel, Nerul, and Vashi from 10.25 am to 4.09 pm, will remain cancelled. Dr. Swapnil Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer, Central Railway, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, said, “These maintenance mega blocks are essential for infrastructure upkeep and safety. Passengers are requested to bear with the Railway Administration for the inconvenience caused.” Western Railway To carry out maintenance work of tracks, signalling, and overhead equipment, the Western Railway will also operate a mega block, which will be undertaken during the intervening night of June 27 and 28, 2026, between Bhayandar and Borivali stations. During the block period, all fast line trains between Virar and Vasai Road and Borivali will be operated on the slow lines.

Unrest within Mahayuti

Updated: Jan 21, 2025

Mahayuti

Mumbai: The state administration on Sunday stalled the appointments of guardian ministers in Raigad and Nashik districts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had cleared the appointments before he left for Davos in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum on Saturday. They are believed to have been stalled on behest of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who heads the state in absence of the Chief Minister.


NCP’s Aditi Tatkare and BJP’s Girish Mahajan were entrusted with responsibilities of guardian minister for the Raigad and Nashik districts respectively, where Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale and Dada Bhuse had staked claims. Gogawale is a first-time minister while, Bhuse had been the guardian minister of the district during previous government under Eknath Shinde.


Shiv Sena, NCP and BJP all the three constituents of Mahayuti have strong roots in both the districts. However, the Shiv Sena and the NCP had been particularly on loggerheads there. The Shiv Sena, which had been demanding the guardian minister’s post in Nashik district has managed to win only two assembly seats in the district where the NCP has Six and the BJP has Five MLAs. On the contrary, in Raigad the NCP has won only one seat while the Shiv Sena and the BJP both have Three MLAs each in the district.


Sunil Tatkare, MP from Raigad Lok Sabha constituency and the stat unit president of the NCP and father of Aditi Tatkare, had been the guardian minister of Raigad between 2004 and 2014. Gogawale had always been his political opponent before Tatkare joined the Mahayuti government under Ajit Pawar’s leadership in 2023. Gogawale claimed that all the Six Shiv Sena-BJP MLAs in the district had opined in his favour to be the guardian minister of the district and after the decision to appoint Aditi Tatkare was announced, his supporters resorted to violent protests. They burnt tyres in bid to stall traffic on highway in the district. Reacting to the developments, Tatkare said that the issue should be pondered over after CM Fadnavis returns from Davos on Saturday and settled amicably.


In Nashik Girish Mahajan had been the guardian minister of the district between 2014 and 2019 when Fadnavis was the Chief Minister.


The post of guardian minister doesn’t have any constitutional mandate and is considered to be a political appointment. Guardian ministers head the district planning and development councils (DPDC) that control the funds for development works being carried out in the particular district. This control wields much of political power to the minister in that district whereby spreading the party in the district becomes much easier. This is the reason why the grass root politicians seem to be very sensitive to such appointments.


While Gogawale and Bhuse are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian ministers, some others like NCP’s Hasan Mushrif and BJP’s Pankaja Munde are unhappy about not being appointed as guardian district in their home districts of Kolhapur and Beed respectively. DCM Shinde is learnt to have gone to his ancestral village Dare in Satara district after the decision and BJP’s firefighters Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Girish Mahajan are expected to meet him there to try finding a way out of the issue.

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