Latest news with #VJTI
Indian Express
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Indian Express
Carnac Bridge opening further delayed over Railways NOC
The opening of Carnac bridge has been delayed as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is yet to receive clearance from the Central Railways. Civic officials said that since the bridge passes above railway tracks, it will need clearance from the Railways. The bridge's construction work concluded early this month and the BMC had initially set up a deadline of June 10 for the bridge to be opened. However, owing to a delay in the arrival of girders, civic authorities had to postpone the deadline. The revised deadline was set at June 23, but civic officials said that it will take some more days for the authorities to open it. 'The NOC from the Railways is expected to arrive in the next two days, following which the bridge will be opened. Last week we carried out a load test on the bridge, which was followed by a visit from VJTI experts and an inspection by the traffic department. After we get the clearance from the Railways, the bridge will be opened immediately,' said an official. The old Carnac Bridge was a 154-year old structure that was pulled down by authorities in November 2022 after a structural audit declared the bridge to be unfit for daily usage and said it needed to be reconstructed. After the bridge was pulled down, construction of a new structure was immediately initiated by the authorities. The new bridge runs between Masjid and CSMT stations in south Mumbai and provides direct connection to motorists travelling towards P'D Mello Road. The new bridge is being built at a cost of Rs 60 crore and will be a superstructure made of steel that will be 70 metres long and 9.5 metres wide. It will have four vehicular lanes allowing for the smooth flow of traffic, compared to the two-lane traffic in the previous bridge. This means that the new bridge would hold double the traffic volume. Besides, the new bridge will be equipped with modern-day signage and lighting. Once operational, the Carnac Bridge is expected to decongest South Mumbai roads significantly. Civic officials on Monday said the new Sion Bridge will be opened for traffic by May 31 next year. On Tuesday, a delegation of senior civic officials led by Abhijit Bangar – additional municipal commissioner (projects) — carried out a progress inspection for the ongoing bridge works. In August last year, the 112-year old ROB was closed to road traffic in order to demolish and reconstruct it. The authorities had flagged multiple reasons that were necessary to pull down the entire century-old superstructure that passed above railway tracks. The primary reason being a structural audit finding out the girders of the bridge were in a dilapidated state. While the bridge has remained closed for nearly eight months, the progress of work has been slow. The delay in work is attributed to several structures and utility linesm which included a toilet block and power cables that came in the way of the new superstructure. The cost of constructing this bridge is being pegged at Rs 50 crore. On Tuesday, Bangar said demolition of the southern part of the main bridge will be started in September and at the same time, the demolition of the old bridge wall will also be carried out. 'The girders will be installed in the northern portion of the bridge by November and in the southern portion of the bridge, girders will be installed by January, 2026. Following this the work on the existing approach roads will be initiated and we are aiming to finish this work by March end, next year,' Bangar said.
Indian Express
16-06-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Maharashtra CET results for PCM announced
Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell declared MHT-CET result on Monday for Physics Chemistry Mathematics (PCM) group. 22 students have scored 100 percentile in the entrance exam which determines admission to engineering colleges in Maharashtra. Among the toppers, most (14) have already moved on with admission to the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) such as Arnag Nigam from Thane, who was All-India Rank (AIR) 11 in JEE-Advanced. Out of remaining eight candidates, four of whom are from outside of Maharashtra are yet undecided, whereas four students are keen on joining engineering colleges in Maharashtra. Among them is Vaishnavi Sarje from Nanded district. Daughter of a farmer, Vaishnavi is keen to take admission to Mumbai's VJTI for Computer Science Engineering. 'I always wanted to study engineering. Last year I appeared for NEET, the medical entrance test because my father wanted me to pursue medicine. But my score was low and I would have gotten admission to BAMS which we did not want. So I took a year's gap and studied for CET on my own with support available online through YouTube tutorials. My class 12 teachers helped with doubts,' said Vaishnavi, who did not appear for JEE or the National level entrance exam for engineering admissions, as she wanted to focus on just the one exam. Anil Patil who is also from Nanded and has scored 100 percentile, has a similar story. A farmer's son, Anil had appeared for CET last year. 'But my score was around 90 percentile. So I decided to take a gap and study harder for a better score,' said Anil who also took help of free online tutorials to study, after having attended a local CET-coaching class for his first attempt. He is delighted to have taken another chance at CET. 'Now I will get admission to COEP for Computer Science Engineering,' said Anil whose dream is to eventually appear for civil service exams to become a government officer. Chinamy Chavan from Pune, another student with 100 percentile, decided to appear only for MHT-CET. His father Vikas Chavan, said, 'Generally engineering aspirants appear for both entrance tests JEE and CET, to try their luck. But we suggested to Chinmay that it is better to focus on one test and excel there. And he really has made us proud.' Chinmay stayed in Kolhapur for two years, away from family in Pune to prepare for CET at Zenith Academy. He is now looking forward to getting admission to either VJTI or COEP. A total of 4,64,263 candidates had registered for the MHT-CET (PCM) and 4,22,663 appeared for the exam. There are 43,299 students in the 90 to 99.99 percentile bracket. Whereas the highest number of students 44,788 are in the bracket of 70 to 79.99 percentile. Out of 22 students who scored 100 percentile, six are from Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), and all of them have already secured admissions to different IITs, based on JEE-Advanced score. These students are Meer Bhuva, Pranav Mitri, Siddhant Ghate, Gandhar Vartak, Anirudh Iyer and Arnav Nigam. 'As engineering aspirants, joining IIT is the ultimate dream. I had appeared for CET as practice and back-up,' said Mitri who sort of summed up the emotions of most of these six IIT aspirants from Mumbai. AS MHT-CET result was declared, some parents and students complained of inaccurate marking. One of the parents said, 'Despite 152 marks, my son has scored 89 percentile. With no negative marking in MHT-CET, this calculation is unbelievable.' Parents of aggrieved students said that they are individually approaching CET Cell with their issues. An official from the CET Cell however said, 'This confusion happens because candidates are not aware of the normalisation formula which is required to declare percentile as CET is held on multiple days and in different shifts.' There were similar issues raised last year too following which CET Cell had provided clarification on the formula used for normalisation.
Time of India
15-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Cracks on 1 arm, residents demand audit of entire GMLR
Mumbai: Residents have demanded a structural audit of the entire Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road flyover and that the report be made public after they noticed damage to the crash barriers on its Deonar-bound arm. Senior BMC officials, however, claimed that there is no cause for concern as they are carrying out rectification work, which will be completed within a month. On April 10, a VJTI expert team conducted an inspection of the arm after some panels of the flyover's reinforced earth (RE) wall were found to be destabilised, and cracks seen on the RCC crash barriers. The VJTI report had stated that a jacketing pit, excavated for an underground network adjacent to the RE wall by BMC's sewerage project department, had led to the bridge foundation being damaged, resulting in destabilisation of the RE wall panels and cracks on the crash barriers. VJTI had then recommended that BMC prohibit heavy vehicles on the arm until rectification work is carried out. It had also advised iron reinforcements for the foundation to prevent further erosion. Following a VJTI expert team inspection of the destabilised RE wall panels and cracks on the crash barriers on the GMLR, the report had recommended that BMC prohibit heavy vehicles on the arm and advised iron reinforcements to prevent further erosion. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo According to BMC officials, the SP department's contractor has started rectification works and the arm is temporarily closed for heavy vehicles. The contractor said the work is expected to be completed within a month. But residents are not convinced. Expressing concerns about the cracks on the Deonar dumping ground arm, the Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum has demanded a full structural audit of the flyover. "And the audit report should be made public," said Shaikh Fayyaz Alam, convener of the forum. The 2.9km flyover connecting Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Marg and Sion-Panvel highway was inaugurated in Aug 2021. Motorists from Eastern Express Highway, Eastern Freeway, and Santacruz-Chembur Link Road use the flyover to head towards Navi Mumbai, Western Maharashtra, Karnataka, and the Konkan region. — Sanjeev Devasia
Hindustan Times
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
City colleges join hands to offer students more electives
Mumbai: From the coming academic year, students in Mumbai will be able to enrol for electives outside their chosen stream and institution as many colleges have signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to share resources and offer elective courses to students from other institutions. This move is aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which encourages multidisciplinary learning and allows students to choose a minor subject from any department, including outside their own stream. The minor subject will account for 18-20 credits spread over three years. As part of implementation of the NEP, many colleges located in the same neighbourhood or managed by the same entity have signed MoUs to enable students to step beyond traditional academic boundaries. For example, the principals of Ramnarain Ruia Autonomous College in Matunga and Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), a premier engineering college, recentlt signed an MoU which allows Ruia College students – mainly from arts and science backgrounds – to enrol for courses in artificial intelligence and machine learning at VJTI. Reciprocally, VJTI students will be able to enrol in the critical thinking course taught by Ruia's faculty. Sachin Kore, director, VJTI, said the MoU with Ruia College would open up exciting opportunities for academic and research exchange. 'It's a perfect example of how the NEP can help institutions work together to benefit students,' he said. Students at Ruia College will also be able to enrol for a course on food and nutrition offered by the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT). Meanwhile, three colleges in Thane and Mulund have come together to launch a joint MSc in information technology programme. Students from any of the three colleges – Vaze-Kelkar College in Mulund, Mulund College of Commerce, and BN Bandodkar College in Thane – can enrol for the course while lectures will be held across the three campuses based on a shared timetable and rotation of students and teachers. The setup will not only expose students to a wider range of subjects and teaching styles but also utilise existing resources in a better way. Institutions under the same management are also signing MoUs for collaboration. For instance, Sathaye College, Dahanukar College, and Mulund College of Commerce – all run by the Parle Tilak Vidyalaya Association – have signed an agreement to offer students a broader range of elective courses. 'Under the NEP, colleges must offer students more elective choices alongside their main subjects,' said Madhav Rajwade, principal, Sathaye College. 'With this collaboration, we can now offer over 100 electives designed by our three colleges.' Until now, students could only enrol for electives offered by their own college, Rajwade said. 'No single college can offer everything. These collaborations solve that problem and make sure students get the choices the NEP promises,' he said. The University of Mumbai welcomed these collaborations and encouraged more colleges to follow suit. 'These colleges have taken a highly commendable step,' said Prof Ajay Bhamare, pro-vice-chancellor of the university. 'Under the NEP, colleges are expected to collaborate for the benefit of students. We are happy to see institutions moving in that direction. Many more colleges have signed similar agreements and the university fully supports such efforts.'
Hindustan Times
04-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
IIT-B to helm centre's ‘Pushpak' drone mission
MUMBAI: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) has been appointed to lead the central government's 'Pushpak – National Mission on Drone Technology', which promotes the development of indigenous drone technology across various sectors. The mission, launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has a grant-in-aid of ₹82.7 crore and includes seven premier institutes, each with a specific focus area relating to drone technology. The mission officially commenced a few weeks ago and will span four years. In addition to IIT-B, the other participating institutions include: CDAC-Thiruvananthapuram, CDAC-Bengaluru, IIT-Gandhinagar, IISER-Bhopal, Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) Mumbai, and Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education in Tamil Nadu. Designed to boost India's self-reliance in drone capabilities, Pushpak will integrate advanced Research and Development (R&D), strategic partnerships with industry, real-world testing facilities, and rapid commercialisation of drone technologies. The mission will operate under the guidance of a National Steering Committee (NSC), comprising senior government officials and domain experts. IIT-Bombay's focus area in the mission will be the development of hybrid drones, indigenous processors and unmanned aerial systems tailored for disaster management, coastal monitoring and other specialised uses. The institute will also facilitate the collaboration between academia and industry to build next-generation drone solutions. VJTI Mumbai has been tasked with developing secure embedded systems and drone communication security. According to sources, VJTI is in the process of establishing a dedicated drone security lab, which will also serve as a forensic unit for drones. This lab is expected to work closely to develop strategic applications to track drone flight patterns within India's aerial boundaries and enhance drone-related threat detection. The lab will also contribute to long-term solutions for drone cybersecurity, which could play a vital role in both civilian and defence applications. This marks a significant step in building a comprehensive drone security framework within the country. Kedare said the drone mission will help reduce dependency on foreign technologies, create jobs and enhance safety and security standards. He added that the programme would also focus on the development of core capabilities in AI integration, UAV traffic management, and indigenous drone manufacturing, suited specifically to Indian requirements. Pushpak is designed to fast-track technology transfer from labs to the market. It will also offer start-up incubation support and advanced training opportunities for students and researchers in drone-related fields.
