PALGHAR: A container truck carrying electronic goods worth around Rs 9 crore caught fire on the Mumbai–Ahmedabad highway in Maharashtra’s Palghar district on Tuesday night.The incident occurred around 9. 30pm near Vasai, briefly disrupting traffic on the busy stretch, news agency PTI reported.According to the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) fire services, the truck was en route to Ahmedabad when the blaze broke out. Firefighters rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control after sustained efforts, preventing it from spreading further.The truck driver and cleaner managed to escape safely, and no injuries were reported in the incident. However, the electronic goods being transported were completely gutted in the fire, PTI reported.Vehicular movement on the highway was affected for over two hours before the charred vehicle was removed and traffic restored.The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, and an investigation in this regard is currently underway, officials said.(With agency inputs)

KALYAN: The Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) on Tuesday launched a major drive against illegal hoardings across the twin city area after a committee appointed to investigate the issue identified 380 unauthorized structures. BJP corporator Dipesh Mhatre, who had repeatedly raised the issue, said the civic body had initially given hoarding owners an opportunity to legalize their structures by submitting the required permissions and supporting documents. The move was aimed at bringing the hoardings into the legal framework and enabling KDMC to recover revenue. “However, most hoarding owners failed to produce any valid documents. It was found that a large number of these hoardings had been erected on government land without permission, resulting in substantial revenue losses to the municipal corporation,” Mhatre said. He further alleged that some of the hoardings were linked to political leaders, raising concerns over whether action would be taken impartially. Following the committee’s findings and the failure of owners to furnish the required documents, KDMC Commissioner Abhinav Goel decided to initiate action against all illegal hoardings. Acting on the commissioner’s directions, the Encroachment Department led by Prasad Borkar began the demolition drive on Tuesday. Despite intermittent rain, civic teams carried out action against several unauthorized hoardings during the day. Mhatre said the pace of the drive was affected by weather conditions but KDMC officials have assured that all 380 illegal hoardings will be removed in the coming days. He also urged the administration to prioritize dangerous structures before the monsoon intensifies. “I have requested KDMC to immediately remove unsafe hoardings to prevent an incident similar to the Ghatkopar hoarding collapse,” he said.