Mumbai: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, BMC on Tuesday launched a citywide cleanliness competition —Mumbai Clean League— aimed at driving civic participation and improving urban hygiene across Mumbai. The initiative was unveiled at the civic headquarters by actor Akshay Kumar, who will also serve as the competition’s brand ambassador.The league will span multiple categories, recognising the cleanest wards, residential complexes, slum clusters, commercial establishments and public amenities, including hospitals, schools, toilets, roads, gardens and markets. Register for it on sba.mcgm.gov.in/bmc/. The prize money ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, with the highest award reserved for the cleanest ward, signalling a push for large-scale, community-driven engagement. The competition will be evaluated by an independent third-party agency to ensure fairness and credibility, said BMC. The prize distribution ceremony will be held in Dec.So far, similar competitions were largely limited to BMC’s garden department, which annually recognises housing societies for best podium gardens, rooftop terraces, kitchen gardens and vertical bio-walls. The new initiative significantly expands that scope, bringing the entire city into the fold.BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani said the solid waste management department has been implementing various initiatives to improve public places’ upkeep across Mumbai and in this context, Mumbai Clean League aims to ensure cleanliness and enhance citizen participation. Kiran Dighavkar, deputy municipal commissioner in charge of solid waste management, said registrations were opened on Tuesday. “To ensure transparency, real-time evaluation of registered participants will be available online,” he said.Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam, who welcomed Kumar at the launch, said the idea stemmed from the party’s outreach campaign. “During my interaction with the actor, he suggested neighbourhood-level cleanliness competitions. We are pleased that the concept has now taken shape as Mumbai Clean League—a name he coined—and that he has come on board as its face.”Following the launch, Shiv Sena’s Amey Ghole flagged alleged protocol violations. In a letter to Gagrani, he objected to the seating arrangement, saying in the mayor’s absence, deputy mayor Sanjay Ghadi from Sena should have been accorded the top protocol status. Ghadi was reportedly assigned the fourth seat, an act Ghole termed “inappropriate and unethical”.

Fact check: Did Big Show die? Viral rumor takes over WWE talks as Paul Wight truth feels unexpected (Image via Getty)

Paul Donald Wight II, better known as Big Show, is alive. A viral Facebook post recently claimed that the former WWE star had died, and it spread quickly, leaving many fans confused and worried. But there is no truth to this claim. No news outlet has reported his death, and there is no official confirmation from any reliable source. This is not the first time this has happened. A similar rumor went around years ago, and it turned out to be false as well. Back then, WWE even stepped in to clear things up. Right now, Big Show is simply away from wrestling for health reasons. He is still active in the entertainment world and continues to work outside the ring while focusing on recovery.

The latest rumor started on Facebook, where a post falsely claimed that Big Show had passed away. These kinds of posts often spread fast, especially when they involve well-known names. But in this case, there is no real evidence behind it.In fact, Big Show has been open about his health in recent months. In an interview with SiriusXM’s Sam Roberts, he shared that he had undergone back surgery and was still recovering. He explained that he is working with top medical professionals in South Florida to get back into shape.He also made it clear that he is not ready to retire. Speaking honestly, he said, “The last thing I’m gonna do is go out in the ring and have people go, ‘Aw, poor Paul. They should just kill him like Old Yeller or something… If I’m not out there humping and bumping and getting after it and slapping people’s souls out of their chests and carry that presence, then it’s time to hang up the boots. I’m not ready to hang up the boots yet.”Right now, Big Show is signed with AEW but is taking a break from in-ring action. His last match took place in 2024. AEW President Tony Khan has been very supportive during his recovery.Even though he is not wrestling, he is still working. He voiced a role in the 2024 animated film No Time to Spy: A Loud House Movie and also appeared in a small role in the sitcom Ghosts.Looking back, a similar false death rumor spread in 2016. At that time, WWE spokesman Chris Bellitti told AP News that the claim was completely fake and confirmed that Big Show was healthy. So, to be clear, Big Show is alive. The viral post is just another hoax.

Mumbai: Maharashtra legislative assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to repeal roughly 80 of 100-odd, outdated laws that remained on the statute book despite constitutional changes, state reorganisation, and enactments of new laws. Laws struck down include The Maharashtra Opium Smoking Act 1936, The Bombay Abolition of Whipping Act, 1957, The Lepers (Bombay Unification) Act, 1959, The Bombay Abkari Act, 1878 and The Borstal Schools Act, 1929. Starting with a law dating back to 1799, there are many in the statute book that were enacted before independence. Under colonial rule, Bombay was a Presidency and the Governor as well as the pan-India Governor General had legislative powers over it. In 1861, the provincial legislature was set up to make laws for Bombay. This legislature, which is the predecessor of the legislative assembly, enacted several laws for the Bombay Presidency. A report by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy recently found 125 such laws still in force in Maharashtra.The bill was introduced by BJP minister Ashish Shelar who said obsolete laws were being repealed on recommendations of a good governance committee. The panel set up in 2022 comprised former chief secretaries led by Suresh Kumar.Congress MLAs Nana Patole and Nitin Raut opposed the bill saying ‘wholesale’ repealing of laws could affect rights of communities that these laws govern. Raut demanded that the bill be sent to a joint select committee for review. Many laws being repealed are from the former Central Provinces and Berar state, which affect Nagpur and Vidarbha, said Patole.Shelar said, “Laws specifically from periods of 1799 to 1947, and 1947 to 1960 are being repealed. Following the formation of the state in 1960, we enacted our own laws; and under the framework of these laws, all existing rights remain fully intact,” Shelar said. The bill said the state has decided to repeal the Bombay enactments, Bombay Regulations, Bengal Regulations, Central Provinces and Berar Acts, Hyderabad Acts and Madhya Pradesh Acts which are not in use. However, certain obsolete laws dealing with hereditary titles, honours and privileges such as the Baronetcy Acts and the Bombay Hereditary Offices Act of 1874 are yet to be repealed. ‘Baronets’ were awarded by the British Crown to commoners and the Hereditary Offices Act dealt with ‘watandars’ who enjoyed special land rights in Maratha territories.

Kayla Nicole Admits Past With Travis Kelce Altered Her Dating Life as He Heads Toward Wedding With Taylor Swift.(Image via Getty Images)

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have always kept things private even as they flaunted their love and commitment to the world.As the two gear up to get married in the next few months, Travis Kelce’s ex girlfriend, Kayla Nicole, has continued to be in the news for her controversial remarks. Amid all this, Kayla Nicole’s comments on dating a famous man has raised a few eyebrows.

Kayla Nicole shares what type of a man she will date after her past with Travis Kelce as he gears up to get married to Taylor Swift

A few months ago, on her popular podcast, The Pre Game, Travis Kelce’s ex girlfriend, Kayla Nicole, opened up about how she wants her future boyfriend to be after dating the Kansas City Chiefs’ star player in the public.Kayla Nicole said, “I don’t think that I ever want to publicly date another man until I am absolutely sure that they are my long-term person…”The popular social media influencer added, “I want to protect the things that mean most to me, and sometimes when you’re a little too open and you’re a little too transparent, you open yourself up to a world of opinion, a world of entitlement.”Kayla Nicole continued, “People want answers. People think that you owe them an explanation about every single thing in your relationship, every up and down and happy or sad moment.” Over the last few years, ever since Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce went public with their high profile romance, Kayla Nicole has sparked outrage with some of her controversial remarks at their relationship.While Kayla Nicole has gotten brutally trolled over the last few months, both Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have avoided speaking about her in the public eye.

Has Taylor Swift trolled the relationship Travis Kelce had with Kayla Nicole in the past?

A few months ago, many fans felt Taylor Swift’s hit track, Opalite, had some lyrics hinting at the mistreatment Travis Kelce felt in his relationship with Kayla Nicole.However, neither the billionaire pop star, Taylor Swift, nor Kayla Nicole has commented on it yet.At this point in time, it seems both Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are focused on their upcoming wedding and the star player’s return to the field for his 14th season with the Kansas City Chiefs.Travis Kelce’s return to the field is highly anticipated as fans look forward to a successful season for the Kansas City Chiefs.

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: Continuing its administrative and police shake-up in assembly poll-bound states, Election Commission on Tuesday replaced additional directors general (ADGs) of South Bengal and North Bengal regions, four police commissioners, a deputy commissioner and a dozen SPs in West Bengal. In Kerala, it directed the appointment of an IAS officer and two Kerala Administrative Service (KAS) officers as district election officers (DEOs), and two IPS officers as district police chief and DIG.The changes in Bengal, including that of chief secretary, home secretary, DGP and Kolkata Police commissioner earlier, prompted CM and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to say, “Remember, every officer ultimately belongs to the system. Even after the election is declared, an elected govt continues to remain in place and they will ultimately work for us.”“You have changed everyone. What will happen if a disaster strikes now? Chief secretary, commissioners of police and others who had experience and an understanding of the ground situation have been removed. If there is any breakdown in law and order, then the responsibility will have to be borne by EC,” she told reporters while announcing TMC’s candidate list. EC was operating from the shadows to help BJP, she alleged, saying, “Is there an intention to incite unrest? Is there any plan to trigger something ahead of Eid?”EC has said that it has carried out the transfers in pursuance of its objective to ensure elections free of intimidation, violence and inducements. It said the shunted officers had been barred from poll-related assignments.The poll panel on Tuesday also deployed 1,111 central observers for the assembly polls in Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry as well as bypolls in eight seats. Among them was Bengal’s former home secretary J P Meena, who was replaced by Sanghamitra Ghosh on Sunday.Meena will oversee Tiruchirappalli (West) constituency, which was won by AIADMK in 2011 and in a subsequent bypoll, before DMK secured it in 2016 and 2021, according to an EC note.These central observers include 557 general observers, 188 police observers and 366 expenditure observers.While Bengal will have the highest number of general observers (294) – one for each assembly constituency – and 84 police observers, the highest number of expenditure observers (151) are headed for Tamil Nadu, given its history of circulation of unaccounted cash as poll inducement. The observers must reach their respective constituencies by Wednesday.In Bengal, 17 IPS officers were posted across different police districts and regions. Rajesh Kumar Singh and K Jayaraman – both 1997 batch IPS officers – were posted as ADGs of North Bengal and South Bengal regions, respectively. Similarly, EC ordered that Akhilesh Kumar Chaturvedi be posted as commissioner of police (CP) of Howrah; Amit Kumar Singh as CP of Barrackpore; Pranav Kumar as CP of Asansol-Durgapur, and Sunil Kumar Yadav as CP of Chandannagar.At the district or division level, new SPs were posted in Barasat, Coochbehar, Birbhum, Islampur, Hooghly Rural, Diamond Harbour, Murshidabad, Basirhat, Malda, Purba Medinipur, Jangipur and Pashchim Medinipur.IPS officer Yeilwad Shrikant Jagannathrao was appointed as deputy commissioner, central division, Kolkata, replacing Indira Mukherjee, who had drawn EC’s ire for repeated protests by BLOs and others at the Bengal’s CEO office.TOI had reported on Tuesday that more transfers at the district level in Bengal were in the offing.In Kerala, bureaucratic changes were made in Kozhikode, Thrissur, Alappuzha and Kannur districts. T Narayanan was posted as district police chief, Kozhikode; Thomson Jose as DIG range, Thrissur; Inbasekhar as district collector-cum-DEO, Alappuzha; Vandana S as returning officer, Irikkur; and Sachin Krishna as returning officer, Dharmadam.