S Sreesanth (right) is escorted in a police vehicle on his way to court in New Delhi on May 21, 2013. He and two others were allegedly involved in spot fixing matches. Pic/AFP

What we seem to forget though is that, gambling has been illegal in India only for 150 years or so, ever since the British government introduced the Public Gambling Act in 1867. Historical evidence shows that the ancient Indian kingdoms gambled regularly. Gambling during Diwali is still considered a harmless tradition by many Hindu families. The transformation into its current illegal form of cricket betting and spot fixing can be traced back to the 1960s.

Suresh Kalyanji Bhagat during his arrest in 2000. File pic

In the 1960s, punters would bet on the opening and closing rates of cotton transmitted to the Bombay Cotton Exchange in Sewree by the New York Cotton Exchange via tele-printers. On April 1, 1962, Kalyanji Bhagat, a grocery shop owner from Worli, floated the idea of declaring opening and closing rates on single digit numbers.

Ratan Khatri at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in 2005. File pic

The numbers would be written on pieces of paper and put in a big matka (pot). That is how the word matka became a part of gambling parlance. This gathering, held at Bhagat’s Vinod Mahal residence, inadvertently gave birth to the multi-crore Mumbai Matka of the twentieth century.

Transparency Kalyanji’s son Vinod Bhagat recalls, “Everyday, results were declared at noon and 2 pm. While there was a debate on whether the business is legitimate, the results were declared in front of hundreds of people, mostly punters. My father used to step down to the ground floor of Vinod Mahal exactly at 11:55 am. From the crowd, three people were called on the dais to pick up three cards.

Kalyanji Bhagat

The numbers on these cards were declared as the numbers of the day. The business was that crystal clear then.” Things have changed now, he adds, “Nowadays, since the bets are computerised, gauging profits is just a click away for matka operators. That’s the reason why no matka operator maintains transparency.” 

Profit During Kalyanji’s time, the bazaar was called Worli Bazaar (named after the area from where it operated). In just six months, the business made huge profit.

Vinod Bhagat. File pic

The possibility of making a quick buck lured more punters into the business and several small time matka dens spread in the south and suburban areas of the city. The Worli Bazaar came to be known as the Main Bazaar, and a branch called Kalyan Bazaar was established. Apart from these two, several small time matka bazaars were run by Lakhubhai, Jayantibhai Jaipur, Manek Moochwala and Ratan Khatri. Khatri later became a big competitor for Bhagat.

Spread Ratan Khatri came to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan. He started his business in August 1962. Khatri was then a high-profile, honest and reputable player in this business that had astounding odds. Just like Bhagat, Khatri too opened his numbers in the presence of business persons and illustrious personalities from the film industry, many of whom were ardent matka players. Khatri is also said to have ventured into Bollywood financing for some time. One such film is Rangeela Ratan, which he co-produced with Ramchandra Bhikubhai and even acted in. It is also widely believed that Premnath’s titular character in the film Dharmatma was loosely based on Khatri. Khatri, who now lives in Tardeo, is no longer involved in the matka business.

Mills By the end of the 1960s, matka dens were widely spread in the city, its outskirts, in other parts of Maharashtra and in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Unemployed youth found jobs in matka dens, but at the same time, large numbers of middle class men got addicted to it, which ruined families. During the textile mills’ prosperous times, lakhs of mill workers got attracted to matka and bookies opened shops near the mills. That is how Central Mumbai became the hub of the gambling business.

Setbacks At the height of the matka business in the 1980s and 1990s, over Rs 500 crore would be laid as bets every month. The business got a serious blow once the police began its crackdown after 1995. Till 1995, there used to be more than 2,000 big and medium-time bookies in the city and neighbouring towns, but now the number has reduced to below 300, according to sources. In the last few years, the average monthly turnover has remained around Rs 100 crore.

The Mumbai police’s massive crackdown on the matka dens forced dealers to shift their base to the city’s outskirts. Many of them moved to Gujarat, Rajasthan and other states. With no major source of betting in the city, the punters got attracted to other sources of gambling such as online and zhatpat lotteries. Meanwhile, the rich punters began to explore betting on cricket matches.

The business received another setback in 2008 with the murder of Suresh Bhagat, son of Kalyanji Bhagat. Suresh and Pappu Saula are both said to have had ties with Mumbai gangster Arun Gawli. “In the age of spot fixing and cricket betting, matka has lost its charm in the city. But in remote areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, where bets as low as R10 can be placed, it still attracts the youth from poor families,” said a matka operator who functions from the city’s outskirts.

Underworld The reason that the police try to bust these betting rings is because the money made in gambling has sponsored underworld activities many times. The illegal gambling thus funds other forms of criminality which pose a danger to society.

Legalisation Matka operators claim that if gambling is legalised it would stop the flow of illegitimate money to criminals and the same amount could get diverted to the government in the form of taxes. In the current scenario, the government loses hundreds of crores of rupees in revenue to illegal gambling through hawala. Gambling in India has a very real association with criminality and this has created scandals such as spot fixing and match fixing in cricket.

In particular, the cricket fixing allegations are especially harmful to the country’s reputation and work to perpetuate a belief amongst foreigners that India as a whole is corrupt. As a former matka operator points out, “By legalising gambling, it would become far easier to eliminate these types of scandals from the game of cricket and punish the culprits, which would, in turn, better the state of both the nation’s pride and its economy.”

Mumbai connect with cricket controversy Though players of Rajasthan Royals are the ones who have been caught spot fixing, the Mumbai connect with the controversy is not difficult to find. Vindoo Dara Singh, who was also arrested in connection with the spot fixing, is a Mumbai resident and a Bollywood actor. S Sreesanth was arrested at a five-star hotel in the city. Raj Kundra, who cops claim has confessed to betting on matches, also shares a home with wife Shilpa in the city.

Around 500 illegal hutments spread over 10 hectares in Borivli national park were demolished by the forest department this month. Now, the department has started planting trees in the clearing. File pic

Earlier, the decade-old illegal structures along the boundary of the park were to be razed in the first week of May to make way for planting the saplings. However, that could not take place due to strong local and political resistance. So the forest department started planting trees on the 10 hectares, which were cleared of 500 decade-old structures at Sanjay Nagar Malad, Akurli, and Damunagar in the forested areas in Malad (E) since June 1.

“The demolition of illegal structures inside the forest boundary at Dahisar was going to start in May but leaders of political parties had a meeting with officials,” said a senior forest department official, adding, “They demanded that demarcation of forest and non-forest lands be done again. As the process will take a long time, we have begun the demolition in the core forest area.” Officials also stated that demolition work has stopped during the rains, and plantation of trees in the newly-cleared area is being carried out. 

Change in demolition plans In May, over 2,000 people from Dahisar (East) protested in front of the National Park’s gate, demanding that the scheduled demolition drive be postponed. Bit in a meeting between the representatives of political parties and forest department in May, it was decided that the collector would again begin demarcating the forest and non-forest lands in SGNP. But no time period was stipulated for the task.

Residents of Dhar Kadi Ravalpada, Dahisar (East) have been alleging that the survey wasn’t conducted properly. In the meeting, the forest officials made it clear that those living in illegal structures on rent will have to evacuate. The department had also planned to take action against illegal structures from May 2.

500 The number of illegal structures cleared in SGNP since the beginning of June

The society hall (pictured) was never painted, but the members submitted bills claiming otherwise and named the resident of the society, who owns a paint company, as having carried out the job. Pic/Sameer Markande

The society sits on 82 plots (a total of 15 lakh sq ft) and comprises 1,500 families. It has its own hospital, temple, school and garden. The flat owners include a former BJP councillor, a sitting BJP ward president, a few lawyers, and the owner of a paint company. Following a complaint by society member Damji Momaya, registrar of societies in Pune appointed a special auditor for the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. A number of abnormalities were unearthed in the accounts, and serious irregularities in the workings of the managing committee came to the fore.

“Lots of distortions and transgressions were discovered that had been carried out in the name of repair, maintenance and office renovation. We caught committee members red-handed. We will approach higher authorities,” said Momaya. Another society member said on condition of anonymity, “The scam is in crores. We are planning to file an FIR soon.” According to audit reports (copy with MiD DAY) the managing committee purportedly purchased vast quantities of cashews, erasers and pencils to validate the outflow. Once committee members bought dry fruits and distributed them among 11 associates, but paid the bills at the society’s expense.

The society hall was never painted, but the members submitted invoices claiming otherwise and named the resident of the society, who owns a paint company, as having carried out the job. Surprisingly, at one time, the complex’s cleaning contract was given to a Chandigarh-based company. At another time, the society allegedly purchased substantial quantities of plywood, but records show the consignment was never delivered.

“I was a committee member, but was never called to meetings. I was always kept in the dark. The registrars of societies have penalised our association. Further action in the matter is in process,” said Deepak Shah, BJP ward president. On October 31, 2012, one of the committee members, Dinesh Chheda, tendered an affidavit (copy with MiD DAY) to the registrar of societies, stating that he had noticed that the quantity of materials purchased for myriad purposes was usually far more than required, of substandard quality, and priced higher than prevailing market rates. When contacted Sudhir Gandhi, secretary of the society, refused to comment on the issue. 

Shiv Sena executive president, Uddhav Thackarey, and RPI Chief, Ramdas Athawale from last year’s Shiv Sena Foundation Day celebrations at Shanmukhanand Hall. This year the party has decided to mark the day with a meeting instead of celebrations. File pic

According to Sena functionaries, the event has been turned into an internal meeting of party leaders. One of the party’s spokespersons said, “We have decided not to hold any programmes as it’s hardly been six months since we lost Balasaheb. So this time, we can’t think of any form of celebration.”

The party commemorates its foundation day at Shanmukhanand Hall every year. The first or the second half of the programme invariably has a drama performance. The tradition is very old: the party would sell tickets for the play and use the proceeds to fund the function. The same custom has been co-opted by the MNS, which has included the theatre component in its foundation day festivities.

A letter from Sena’s head office categorically mentions that the party has decided not to host any entertainment events this year. Instead, there would be a meeting with party leaders from all corners of Maharashtra, including MLAs, MPs, mayor, corporators and others. Earlier this week, both Yuva Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray and MNS’ Raj Thackeray, who had their birthdays on June 13 and 14 respectively, asked respective party workers not to put up banners wishing them.  

The deadline had been set soon after renovation for a makeover started on the three floors. However, a deferral now seems inevitable. At present, work is only nearing completion on the fifth floor. The sixth floor, which will house spacious chambers for the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister along with conference rooms and a visitors’ hall, will not be ready before next month.

“We hope to occupy the fifth floor in the first week of July,” said PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who inspected the work along with senior officials of the department on Tuesday. The state has already spent Rs 113 crore on the makeover of the fourth, fifth and sixth floors that were reduced to ashes in the fire last year, in addition to renovations on the seventh floor, which housed offices of the home, public health, cooperation and planning departments.

The floors that were gutted last year in a fire, which are undergoing renovation now. The structure will boast of a state-of-the-art fire-fighting system with smoke detectors and sprinklers

The seventh floor will now host the cabinet meeting hall, which was earlier located on the sixth floor, in addition to some conference rooms, an executive dining hall and a terrace garden. It will also have a glass roof, to help with the central air-conditioning system for the entire structure. For the first time in the building’s history, a separate entrance and a dedicated elevator are being made for VVIPs, on the western side of the state headquarters. Provisions are also being made for ministers’ chambers on the west side of the building and chambers of secretaries on the east side.

Fireproof The structure will boast of a state-of-the-art fire-fighting system with smoke detectors and sprinklers. A water tank with the capacity of nine lakh litres is being constructed eight metres under the existing garden in order to help fire-fighting. Pressursied staircases are being constructed to prevent smoke from spreading through floors. Toughened glass in the corridors on each floor will provide sunlight to the atrium.

An underground parking lot will be constructed for 542 vehicles during phase II work of the makeover. Department offices currently located on the ground floor have been asked to vacate the premises, so that the second phase of work can begin. The state government is in the process of acquiring five floors in the Air India building to shift these offices. 

Part of a third-floor balcony in a building in Mahesh Nagar, Bhayander collapsed yesterday. Officials and locals have blamed the mishap on the ageing structure and the heavy rains. Pic/Pramod Dethe

The fire brigade arrived in a matter of minutes and began to evacuate residents. The person who suffered severe head injuries was taken to Ravi hospital where he received 15 stitches. Locals have stated that MBMC had earlier issued notices to tenants concerning the potential danger from the building, but these went unheeded.

The fire brigade rescued a couple from the second floor. The other tenants of the building were away and hence survived the collapse. The building was cessed property but did not feature in MHADA’s list of dangerous buildings

The staircase of the three-storey structure crashed, unable to hold the weight of a water tank just above it. A fire official said, “The water tank was very heavy, and because of incessant rains, the structure had become weak, due to which the staircase came crashing down. We rescued a couple from the second floor, and there were no casualties.” The tank above the staircase provided water to a spa on the building’s ground floor.

Albert Henriques, an occupant of the building, was rescued along with his wife. The other tenants of the building were away and hence survived the collapse. Due to the collapse, the rear part of a bungalow adjacent to the building, also called Rail View, got damaged, rendering its kitchen, bathroom and toilet unusable. Water gushing out of the broken tank flooded the bungalow.

The Dias family, which owns bungalow, alleged that they have complained about the deplorable condition of the building to the BMC, but no action has been taken. The ward officer of G-North ward, Sharad Ugade, said, “The building is cessed property and actually belongs to MHADA.” However, it does not feature in the dangerous buildings’ list issued by MHADA.

Mohan Thombre, CEO for Mumbai Repairs and Reconstruction of Buildings Board, said, “We have a transit camp ready for the tenants in case they wish to vail of the accommodation. Our engineers are inspecting the building to ascertain if it is dangerous. The report will be out by today. If it is found to be dangerous it will have to be demolished.”  

“The bodies of two people were removed by early afternoon. However the last body was removed only around 4.30 pm. Around 12 to 14 officials of the disaster management team and several fire brigade personnel were involved in the rescue operation,” added Sinnarkar. “All five workers were doing stone crushing work when the accident took place. The heavy rains seemed to have caused the landslide,” said Suresh Bhosale, senior inspector, Turbhe MIDC police station.

The torrential rains last week in the city flooded many areas in south Mumbai and other low-lying regions, leading to power cuts. File pic

Mumbai saw torrential rains last weekend, which flooded many areas in south Mumbai, namely Hindmata, Parel, Chor Bazaar, Pydhonie, Dongri, Chinchpokli and other low-lying regions. Due to this, there were power cuts in these areas that extended to over 10 hours at some locations. BEST committee member Yakub Menon said, “There were power outages for nearly 8-12 hours. People were frantically calling the BEST’s helpline but there was no response. The situation was the same even when I called the number.”

Menon claimed that he made over 10-15 calls which went unanswered. Meanwhile, since morning until late evening, he was flooded by a slew of calls from locals from Byculla and neighbouring areas. He claimed that after 9 pm, he had to make a call to senior officials from the power and transport undertaking to check the status. “Finally I got calls from the local customer centre, asking for our location. They stated there were several complaints so the rectification was taking time,” Menon added. There were issues with the transformers and underground power lines that led to the outage. 

BEST chairman Sanjay Ambole also said he received several complaints about power failures. “I received over 150 complaints from people and when I tried calling on the helpline no one picked up,” said Ambole. BEST officials claim that due to the spate, water seeped through the potholed road and affected the cable lines, which are laid at least 3-4 feet below.

“We didn’t expect the rains to arrive this early, going by last year’s record. This (not answering the helpline number) shouldn’t have happened and I will look into the reasons behind it,” said OP Gupta, general manager, BEST. Sources said many might not know the helpline number. Also the meter boxes were drenched due to the waterlogging, making it difficult to repair faults. Officials added that as a preventive measure they had to cut power lines at many locations across island city to avoid electrocution.  

The taxi came in contact with a cable, causing a short circuit. The cab driver, and later two traffic cops sustained electric shocks

When traffic cops came his way, the man stubbornly sat in the back seat of his car, in the company of the alcohol bottle he had been drinking from. He sulked there, refusing to emerge, with an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.

A tug of war ensued on the rain-drenched flyover, with traffic police struggling to force the man out of the vehicle. The inebriated chauffeur was on the verge of pelting some blows on his captors, but was restrained somehow and packed off to Kalachowkie police station.

This is the fourth delay for the escalator, which was first supposed to be opened on March 31. Pic/Sameer Markande

All thanks to an absurd oversight by the authorities, which claim they didn’t expect it to rain so heavily ‘in the beginning’. The escalator, which was scheduled to be inaugurated in the first week of June after missing three earlier deadlines, is yet to see the light of day, owing to the lack of an overhead shed, which exposed the brand new installation to the elements, causing it to experience problems.

The escalator, built at a cost of Rs 75 lakh at Thane railway station, is the first on the suburban rail network. CR officials have already missed three deadlines to inaugurate it. Pic/Sameer Markande

A Central Railway (CR) official said, “We had thought about the monsoons, but we did not expect such heavy rain in the beginning. The contract for the shed and the installation was given simultaneously. But the escalator was installed first, and then it started to rain. We had some problems with the escalator since it was kept exposed to the rains, but we are repairing it.” Work on the shed is yet to start, but railway officials are busy deciding on the new dates for the inauguration. 

Even though they are yet to iron out kinks in the first escalator, they have started work on a second, which is between platforms five and six. The escalator, built at a cost of Rs 75 lakh between platform number 3 and 4, was originally to be inaugurated on March 31. The deadlines were pushed to April 15 and then to April 30. Further delays ensued, and a final date was set for the first week of June.

This too was missed. Venu P Nair, the divisional secretary of Northern Railway Men’s Union (NRMU), slammed the mismanagement of the railway officials, saying, “It’s a failure on the part of the administration. Before announcing the dates of inaugurating the project, the authorities should have made all other necessary arrangements. They knew of the impending rains but yet decided to install the escalators first and then build the shed. This is very irresponsible behaviour on part of the CR authorities.”

Officialspeak Atul Rane, chief public relations officer, CR, said, “Earlier, we had planned to throw open the escalators without the shed but considering the rain and the convenience of passengers, we have decided to build a shed and then start the escalators for commuters.”

The makeover plan Thane is the first ever station in the city to have escalators, as a part of the makeover plan to transform Thane station into a ‘world-class’ station. The escalator 1.7 metres in width has a capacity to carry around 6,000 passengers per hour and 100 passengers per minute. Authorities have also planned to install 31 escalators at various railway stations including Dadar, Kurla, Vikhroli, Ghatkopar, Thane, Dombivli, Kalyan, Andheri, Goregaon and Borivli, by July 2014. These escalators will cost Rs 75 lakh each, including maintenance for three years.

Rs 75 lakh The cost of the escalator

6,000 The number of people the escalator can carry per hour

1.5 lakh The number of commuters at Thane station everyday, making it the busiest suburban station

Apart from Furniturewalas, the FIR, registered on June 15, named Iqbal Ibrahim -the owner of the shop and the basement on the north side, Sandeep Bafna - the lessee of the shop and basement on the south side, officials of the G/North Ward and officials attached to the BMC head quarters in connection with the collapse.

The portion of Altaf Manzil had caved in on June 10, apparently due to incessant rains and illegal alterations. All the accused have been booked under sections 288 (negligent to conduct with respect to pulling down or repair building), 304 (culpable homicide), 336 (act endangering life or personal safety), 338 (grievous hurt), 34 (common intention) and 120b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

In their bail application, Furniturewalas alleged the FIR was registered by prominent lawyer Rizwan Merchant, who lost his mother, wife and son in the mishap, under media pressure and with a malafide intention to grab their prime property.

"The police have deliberately added wrong sections in the FIR with an intention to detain them for long period", the bail application said. Furniturewalas contended they were not even remotely connected with the incident which is "purely an act of nature".

"The applicants (Furniturewalas) are not responsible for any offence as alleged against them or for loss of 10 persons who are unfortunate victims of the tragic incident," the bail application said. 

Senior counsel Venkatesh Dhond, appearing for Best Oasis, said the company was willing to finance the towing of the vessel. "The towing will be done by another company which will provide two tug boats," he said. Oil tankers MT Pratibha Tapi and MT Pratibha Indrayani, belonging to the Pratibha Shipping Company Limited, had been anchored 11 nautical miles from the Mumbai shore since December last after the owner firm ran into financial crisis.

The oil tankers had been put under arrest following the Bombay high court order after the owner company failed to settle the maritime board's claims.

Last week, Pratibha Tapi dragged anchor at a slow rate and started drifting towards the city coast. The vessel has drifted to a position at 2.3 nautical miles from the nearest coast line which is Mudh Island while Pratibha Indrayani is maintaining its position. With a view to avoid grounding or further drifting of the ship, the DG Shipping yesterday deployed tug boats to keep Pratibha Tapi afloat.

Best Oasis today informed the court that it would provide fuel and adequate crew to Pratibha Indrayani for it to sail to another port. Both the vessels are likely to be taken to Alang port in Gujarat. 

The elephant is overweight and not able to bear her weight. She is presently being supported by a crane and is standing on her legs outside a garage in Mulund.

Bijli's condition hasn't impoved despite a week having passed since she collapsed in Mulund.

“A shade of approximate 40 x 20 feet has been made for the elephant. The aim of the shade is to save Bijli from the rains. The outer wound of the elephant may become worse if they are exposed to rain,” said Pawan Sharma from NGO RAWW (Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare).

Bijli has been constantly facing health challenges since 2005, when she was believed to be returning from Alibaug, having been taken there for entertainment purposes by her owner.

According to some reports, Bijli has worked non-stop for the past over four decades, hired out to attend special functions, inaugurations, weddings, and other events in and around Mumbai.

Speaking with MiD DAY veterinarian Dr. K K Sharma, who was called from Guawhati to treat Bijli, said, “The elephant is very obese and is suffering from degenerated joint pain and so it cannot stand on her leg without support. We have kept her under observation but her disease cannot be cured.”

“She is already undergoing treatment and if required we will shift her to the animal hospital in Parel. She is under observation now and we are trying our best to treat her,” said R.K.Pole Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) Thane.  

One of the lifts of New Delhi House building situated at Barakhamba Road slipped from the fourth floor to the third at around 2.50 pm.

"The lift suddenly malfunctioned and slipped from the fourth floor to the third. Nine people received minor injuries in the incident. They were taken to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital from where they were discharged after first aid," said a fire department official.

A road damaged by rains in Uttarakhand (Pic - AFP)

Accordingly, a team led by the additional resident commissioner at Delhi, has left for Dehradun, he said.

A helpline has been started in Mantralaya, he said. The state government has asked people and travel agencies to coordinate before hand with concerned district disaster management authorities before planning a trip to that state, the official said. 

Normal life has been paralysed by continuous rains in Dehradun and other places like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Haldwani and Udham Singh Nagar towns. Those stranded include tourists and pilgrims on their way to Chardham Yatra.  

Jiah Khan

Jiah committed suicide June 3 and before her death she reportedly wrote the letter in which she talked about her doomed relationship with alleged boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi, the son of actors Zarina Wahab and Aditya Pancholi.

It is being speculated that Jiah's handwriting does not match that of the letter.

Kavita, Jiah's younger sister, said, "This is all speculation. The letter was written by her only. Why would anyone do this for no reason?"

Sooraj was arrested June 10 in connection with the suicide of the 'Nishabd' actress is in judicial custody. His bail plea hearing is June 21. 

Representational pic

He said that marriage formalities of tying a mangalsutra, garlands and rings were only for the satisfaction of society.  Either party could approach a family court for declaration of marital status by producing documentary proof for a sexual relationship.

The judge also said once such a declaration is obtained, the couple can establish self as each others' spouse in any government records.

Justice Karnan made these observations in his order Monday while modifying an April 2006 judgement of a family court in a maintenance case.

A family court in Coimbatore had ordered a man to pay Rs 500 maintenance per month to his two children and Rs 1000 as litigation expenses and had held that the woman's wedding with him did not have any documentary proof.

In his judgement, Justice Karnan directed the man to pay her maintenance of Rs 500 a month from the date of petition (September 2000) and that the arrears be paid within three months. 

The cracks between the BJP and JD-U appeared when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar opposed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP's decision to make Modi its public face for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

An angry BJP is observing Tuesday as 'Vishwasghat Diwas' in the state.

Nearly half a dozen workers of BJP and JD-U workers were injured after they clashed and attacked each other with bamboo sticks and iron rods in Patna during the shutdown.

According to police officials here, JD-U spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan and three other party leaders were injured when BJP workers attacked them following the clash.

The clashes took place after the BJP workers raised slogan against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and JD-U workers countered them by raising slogan against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a police official said.

The BJP workers stopped half a dozen trains, including long route trains, at different railway stations across the state.

"Several trains were halted...," a police officer told IANS.

Roads, including the national highway, were blocked at various places across the state.

"The strike supporters, mostly BJP workers, blocked important roads including the national highway and state highway at various place," said a police official.

Authorities have "made elaborate security arrangements in view of the shutdown", assured a senior government official.

In Patna, shutdown evoked mixed response with busy roads like Ashok Rajpath, Bailey Road, Patna-Danapur Road and Fraser Road being blocked.

"Shops and markets were also closed in some areas".

Soon after the JD-U ended its alliance with the BJP, it was declared as a black day by BJP that accused JD(U) of `vishwasghat' (treachery).

The JD-U has 118 seats in the 243-member assembly, four short of a majority, while the BJP has 91 members. There are six independents, while the Congress has four members. 

Advani, however, later withdrew his resignation following a telephonic talk with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and persuasion by BJP leaders. Modi is in Delhi primarily to meet Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and finalize the state's annual plan. 

Officials continued with the rescue operations in rain-hit areas as the toll in the two states climbed to 58. While 40 perished in the torrential downpour in Uttarakhand, 18 people died in Saharanpur district of UP.

Sources say more than 58,000 people are stranded at different places on the route of the Chardham Yatra - Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath.

Fast moving water from the Alaknanda river destroys building during heavy monsoon rain in Govindghat town of Uttarakhand. Pic-AFP

The onward trip to Hemkunt Saheb - the sacred pilgrimage for Sikhs - has also been abandoned for now, officials say.

At many places while the gushing rivers have washed away roads and caused landslides, flood waters has entered several villages on banks of the Alaknanda river.

The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has also been stopped for now.

The Ganga is flowing two metres above the danger mark and an alert has been sounded and people have been asked to desist from bathing in the holy river.

Army officials say bases have been made for rescue operations in Bareilly and Sarsawa.

Members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are however unable to move further from Dehradun owing to inclement weather.

Fourteen choppers of the Indian Army have also been put on standby for rescue operations.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna while admitting that the situation was "grave", told IANS that the government was working swiftly to rescue people stranded at different places and providing relief to the flood effected areas.

The public works department (PWD) of Uttarakhand has confirmed "serious damage" to 450 roads in the state.

Regional Met director of Uttarakhand Anand Sharma said the situation might slightly improve from Tuesday evening onwards as the rains are likely to subside.

Several trains, including Sriganganagar Express, Hemkund Express and Janshatabdi have been cancelled due to flooding of tracks, a railway official told IANS.

Incessant rains in Nainital since Monday has raised the level of the lake by five feet and most tourists were forced to spend their holiday indoors.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Malan and Ganga rivers are in spate in western parts of the state and the army has been called in Mandawar and Rawli areas of Bijnore.

Several houses collapsed in Sardhana area of Meerut while 18 people were killed in Saharanpur in roof collapse and a car was washed away by rain water.  

The minor, identified as Lado Gupta, was run over allegedly by the vehicle of Raunak Desai, son of former Congress corporator Sameer Desai. Desai is the nephew of the former Union Minister.

Hypercity mall, Goregaon. File pic

The girl died on the spot following which Raunak surrendered before Goregaon Police and was placed under arrest. A case has been registered against him under section 304 (A) of the IPC.

Police are awaiting the girl's autopsy reports and also the medical report of Raunak to ascertain whether it is a case drunken driving.  

Also stranded was Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who was electioneering for the Mandi parliamentary by-poll slated June 23. In Uttar Pradesh, 15 people were killed in heavy rains and floods in Saharanpur and a flood alert was sounded in several districts as the Ganga, Ghaghra and Sharda are in spate, officials said.

The situation in Uttarakhand led to suspension of the annual Kailash Mansarovar yatra owing to the relentless rains and consequent landslides. Rescue operations are being carried out in the hill state by the army, para-military Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and disaster management authority. According to information from state officials, the deaths have been reported from Rambada (13), Gaurikund (2), Harshil (1), Vikas Nagar (4), Dhanaulti (1), Dehradun (3), Chamoli (1), Patal Ganga (1) and three deaths in other places.

Hundreds of pilgrims enroute to the Char Dham Yatra - Badrinath, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Yamunotri- continued to be trapped between landslides and gushing waters of several rivers which are in spate. Officials informed IANS that more than 5,000 people were stranded in Uttarkashi, 1,000 in Joshimath, 10,000 in Govindghat, more than 10,000 in Badrinath and 6,000 in Ghaghria. The state government has asked officials to barricade the route before Rishikesh and ask pilgrims and tourists to go back. 

The rains, which began Saturday night, have continued for the past two days. The Met department said the rains in the month of June have since broken an 88-year record. Between Saturday and Sunday, Dehra Dun received 220 mm of rains and by evening, another 220 mm of rains. The worst-hit areas include Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi, where Mandakini river is in spate. In Rambada, the river water entered the market area. With the met department having forecast more thunder showers, the already grave situation may worsen with more landslides as the hillsides have become weak following incessant rain, said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

In Himachal, five members of a family, including three children, were buried alive early Monday when boulders fell on their house at Chagaon village near Tapri, some 220 km from Shimla, Superintendent of Police G. Shiva Kumar told IANS over phone. The entire Kinnaur district has been experiencing heavy rain for the past two days, while Pooh block experienced over one feet of snow, which locals said was untimely. Shiva Kumar said five other people died in various landslide and rain-related incidents in the district since Sunday.

All the deaths in Uttar Pradesh were in Saharanpur, where many pilgrims are trapped in the Shakumbhari Devi area following the rain and floods. Among the dead were a chief medical officer from Punjab and his family of five, who drowned after being caught in raging river waters. Flooding has been reported from Saharanpur, Bijnore, Muzaffarnagar, Gorakhpur, Siddharthanagar, Azamgarh, Lakhimpur Kheri, Ballia and Varanasi.

Delhi saw heavy rains over the weekend and intermittent showers continued Monday morning. The city received 58.5 mm of rain from 8.30 p.m. Sunday to 8.30 a.m. Monday, leaving roads inundated and traffic snarls in the morning rush hour. In Haryana, rescue teams Monday evacuated 52 villagers, including 15 children, from a riverine island in Yamunanagar district while rescue operations were on in Karnal district where nearly 200 people were stranded in Shergarh Tapu and Chandrao villages.

The Yamuna river, which enters Haryana from Uttarakhand at Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar district, had swelled since early Saturday after over 800,000 cusecs of water was released Monday morning through the Hathnikund barrage. With the water expected to reach Delhi Tuesday, the city government Monday began evacuating people from low-lying areas along the banks of the Yamuna. The monsoon this year had set over Kerala on schedule June 1 and advanced fast, covering the southern, eastern and central states within two weeks.

Two of the four SUV occupants died upon impact with the truck, and the truck’s cleaner and driver were also killed, as they were standing beside their parked vehicle when the SUV hit them. Two of the SUV occupants have sustained serious injuries and are battling for their lives at a hospital. One of the three college girls died on the spot, while the other two are critically injured, police said.

According the police, the SUV was on its way from Ahmednagar to Pune and the four occupants of the SUV included the Amravati Deputy Superintendent of Police Dinkar Mahajan, his wife Meenakshi, father-in-law Rajaram Dyandev Gaikwad (73), and brother-in-law Sunil Gaikwad.

Meenakshi and Rajaram died in the accident while the top cop and his brother-in-law are seriously injured. Police have yet to ascertain who was behind the wheel when the incident occurred.

The container driver and cleaner have been identified as Kisanlal, and Manindar Kanharam, while the deceased student has been identified as Varsha Bhanudas Gaikwad (18). The two other injured college students are Rupali Ghule (18), and Kamal Kokre (18).

Additional Superintendent of Police Ravindra Singh Pardeshi said that prima facie the person driving the SUV might have lost control and rammed into the stationary container truck, and then knocked down the three girls crossing the road.

“When the vehicle rammed the container truck, the driver and cleaner also died on the spot due to the heavy impact of the collision,” added Pardeshi. Pardeshi said that they are not sure who was in the driving seat when the incident took place and details would only emerge after an investigation. DYSP Mahajan has been rushed to Ruby Hospital is undergoing medical treatment.