Mumbai City

Mumbai itching to settle scores with Punjab

musiclover — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:55:01 +0000

Mumbai Indians travel to Mohali, the backyard of Kings XI Punjab, on Wednesday for the return leg of IPL 5 between the two teams and will hope to turn the tables on their north Indian rivals to avenge their defeat at home last weekend. The last meeting between the two teams ended with Punjab prevailing in a last-over finish by chasing down a target of 164 in a match that saw Munaf Patel being slapped with a fine after losing his temper and going eyeball to eyeball with Punjab opener Nitin Saini. So Mumbai will not only want to settle scores with Punjab but also show that the Patel incident was just a one-off and the team has learned from that mistake.

Mumbai Police to probe CAG report leak

musiclover — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 01:02:42 +0000

Maharashtra Home Minister RR Patil on Tuesday ordered an investigation by Mumbai Police into the alleged leak of some portions of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report which reportedly indicted some ministers, while the opposition Shiv Sena demanded a CBI probe into the lapse.

The development came a fortnight after a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator Devendra Phadnavis present a CD to assembly Speaker Dilip Walse-Patil and Shiv Sena member of legislative council Ramdas Kadam named the ministers indicted in the report.

Mumbai Is World’s Least Affordable Home Market

musiclover — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:46:06 +0000

The average Indian would need to work for three centuries to pay for a luxury home in Mumbai, making that city the least affordable in the world for locals, according to an analysis of real estate and wages.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows a 100-square-meter luxury residence in Mumbai costs about $1.14 million, or 308 times the average annual income in India, based on calculations from a housing index compiled using 63 markets by Knight Frank LLP and income estimates of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency for purchasing-power parity in 2011.

Tendulkar quits as IPL Mumbai captain

musiclover — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 00:15:46 +0000

Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday stepped down as Mumbai Indians skipper on the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL), saying he needed a “break from the responsibility of captaincy”. The batting superstar, who led Mumbai in all of the previous four editions of the IPL, will be replaced by off-spinner Harbhajan Singh as captain in the Twenty20 tournament that starts on Wednesday. “The Mumbai Indians is more than a team. It is like a family to me. At this point of time, I feel I need a break from the responsibility of captaincy,” Tendulkar, who turns 39 this month, said in a statement.

Tendulkar, who smashed an unprecedented 100th international century during the Asia Cup in Dhaka last month, said the new captain would have his “wholehearted support”. “After due consideration, I discussed my intention to hand over the captaincy of the team to Harbhajan Singh,” he said. Tendulkar, who has brushed aside any speculation about his retirement, holds four batting world records – most runs and centuries in Tests and one-day internationals. Mumbai, who lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in the play-off last year, will clash with defending champions Chennai Super Kings in their opening match in Chennai on Wednesday.

Harbhajan said he was looking forward to leading the team. “Mumbai Indians is a great team with explosive talent and promising youngsters,” said Harbhajan. “I am committed to do the very best and look forward to leading the team to play to its full potential during the season.” Harbhajan is not new to captaincy, having already led the Mumbai Indians to the Twenty20 Champions League triumph last year.

Priest sodomised men after offering jobs

musiclover — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:54:43 +0000

Two 26-year-old men who were promised jobs in Dubai by a priest and later sexually abused by him, have conducted a sting operation to bare the man of God in rather unbecoming circumstances. MiD DAY has a copy of the CD in which the priest – identified as Kanak Kubdiya, resident of Dadar – is allegedly seen sodomising one of the victims at the quarters of a temple in Shahpur, Thane. The two youths, whose identities have been concealed, have submitted the evidence to Indore police.

AI pilot in Mumbai runway mishap had poor record

musiclover — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:40:24 +0000

The Air India commander who piloted the aircraft that had a tail strike while landing at Mumbai airport on Monday was, by all accounts, not proficient enough for the job. Promoted a few weeks ahead of Women’s Day despite a poor track record, there are allegations that this was a gender-related concession.

On Monday, Air India’s Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight AI614 was seconds away from touchdown when its tail hit the runway, causing considerable damage to the aircraft. That the tail of an A319 aircraft should hit the runway when landing has come as a shock to the aviation industry.

Rahane, Jaffer power Mumbai against Karnataka

musiclover — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:41:44 +0000

There were two reasons for the hype around the Mumbai-Karnataka game in the Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day tournament on Tuesday. The sides were evenly matched but it was expected to give Rohit Sharma an opportunity to bat before leaving for the Asia Cup, having sat out most of the games in
Australia. But neither happened as Mumbai chased down 179 with nine wickets in hand, which meant Rohit’s services weren’t needed.

It was another game where the side that won the toss fielded first and chased easily. Mumbai skipper Ajit Agarkar struck first blood in his third over, trapping Mayank Agarwal in front.

FIR against ex-Mumbai Cong chief Kripashankar

musiclover — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:33:25 +0000

The Mumbai Police on Tuesday registered an FIR against senior Congress leader Kripashankar Singh under anti-corruption law in connection with a disproportionate assets case, nearly a week after the Bombay High Court had directed it to prosecute him for “criminal misconduct”.

“An FIR under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the IPC has been registered against Singh at Nirmal Nagar Police Station at suburban Bandra,” a top police official said.

Mumbai slips in rankings of most pricey office markets

musiclover — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:44:46 +0000

No Indian city figures among the top 10 most expensive office space markets for the first time in six years, according to an annual report by property advisory Cushman and Wakefield. The listing is based on rental rankings.

Mumbai’s Nariman Point is the 15th most expensive central business district (CBD) office location on the list, dropping seven spots from its eight position in the 2011 rankings. Hong Kong retained its top spot followed by London and Tokyo, and Beijing and Sydney entered the top 10.

Asia-Pacific recorded the highest regional prime office rental increases in 2011, according to the report, with rentals across the region rising by an average of 8%. Beijing recorded the highest jump at about 75%.

As fears of a slowdown grip India’s realty sector, fresh office space supply declined by 40% to 30 million sq. ft in 2011 on the back of delays in project completion, piling up of vacant stock and weak global economic cues, according to a January report by property consultancy CB Richard Ellis. Lease rental rates declined by 10-20% in some markets.

Office rentals in Nariman Point declined by about 8% in 2011 owing to higher prices and other factors—a trend visible in recent years, said the Cushman and Wakefield report.

The decline of rentals at Nariman Point follows the strong growth of other micro markets in Mumbai in relation to the CBD and a correction in rentals in prime locations that saw an unprecedented rise in 2007-08, said Ravi Ahuja, executive director, Cushman and Wakefield, India.

Relatively newer office space hubs in Mumbai’s suburbs such as the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) have seen rentals rising sharply. Rentals at BKC rose to about Rs.275 a sq. ft in December from about Rs.260 a sq. ft a year earlier, whereas in Nariman Point, office rents fell to Rs.275 a sq. ft from Rs.300 a sq. ft in the same period, placing both areas in the same bracket.

Among other Indian cities, Kolkata saw the sharpest rise in rentals at 24-28%, followed by suburban Hyderabad’s 18.8% increase. The New Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) saw only a marginal increase in office rentals. Demand for office space in the region was largely skewed toward information technology special economic zones, where rentals rose by about 4%.

Office rentals across the country are correcting to attract new tenants and retain existing ones, according to property analysts.

Oberoi Realty Ltd, for instance, faces pressure during renewal negotiations to reduce the rent at its office property in suburban Mumbai, its chairman Vikas Oberoi told analysts during a conference call after announcing the company’s December quarter results.

Ajit Agarkar to lead Mumbai in one-dayers

musiclover — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:03:21 +0000

They say everything’s fair in love and war. May we add, in sports too! TOI had reported that Ajit Agarkar, who was recalled into the list of Mumbai probables for the West Zone One-dayers, was a front-runner for the post of captaincy.

On Tuesday, Agarkar was indeed named Mumbai captain, with Ajinkya Rahane chosen as his deputy, as the selectors named a 15-man squad for the limited-overs tournament for the Vijay Hazare Trophy, which runs from February 22-26.