THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 67 No. 233 | MONDAY | JUlY 1, 2024 | 24 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only www.freepressjournal.in NATION Pradhan addresses Stalin’s contention, says NEET not unfair to rural students EDITIONS: MUMBAI INDORE PUNE Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 BHOPAL NASHIK KONKAN E-paper WORLD Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023) Cinema 'I have finished reading five books on fatherhood' Donald Trump puts murdered child centre stage to target Biden Edit For how long will ‘chalta hai’ be tolerated? GENDER-BENDER | Sujata Saunik’s appointment coincides with Rashmi Shukla holding the post of DGP, the first time two top positions are being held by women State gets 1st woman chief secy Rucha Kanolkar MUMBAI nce a narcotics user himself, Eldred Tellis has provided very successful de-addiction services in Mumbai for 41 years. Turn to Mumbai page to read about him. O For the first time in the state’s 64-year history, Maharashtra has a woman chief secretary -Sujata Saunik -- a bureaucrat with a distinguished career spanning over three decades. An IAS officer of the 1987 batch, Saunik succeeds Dr Nitin Kareer, who retired from the post on Sunday. The ceremonial handover took place at Mantralaya, where Saunik officially assumed charge amidst commendations for her extensive experience and dedication to public service. Prior to her elevation as chief secretary, Saunik had served as the additional chief secretary in Maharashtra’s home department, bringing invaluable insights and leadership to critical governance areas. Her tenure is until June next year. Sujata Saunik Saunik’s career is adorned with multifaceted achievements, including pivotal roles in healthcare, finance, education, disaster management, and international peacekeeping. Her expertise has been honed both at the district and state levels, as well as through significant contributions to global organisations like the United Nations. Notably, her appointment coincides with Rashmi Shukla holding the post of Director General of Police, marking the first time in Maharashtra’s history when two top civil service positions are held by women. This dual leadership underscores the state’s commitment to gender diversity and inclusive governance. Born in Punjab, Saunik has a Takemi Fellowship from the Harvard School of Public Health. 4Contd on | Nation Woman, 4 kids swept away TMC names Ayodhya Speeding BMW crashes into wall MP for Dy Speaker FPJ News Service PUNE Five persons, including a woman and four minor kids, were swept away and are feared to have drowned downstream at Lonavala on Sunday, a police official said. The tragedy occurred at around 2 p.m. when the picnickers were enjoying a shower in a waterfall in the hilly forest area near the Bhushi Dam. As per preliminary information, the bodies of a 40-yearold woman and two girls -- a 13-year-old and an 8-year-old - have been retrieved. A search is on for a nine-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl. The Ansari family is from Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW Picnickers caught in the fast-flowing rivulet Sayyed Nagar in Pune. Locals said that they may have slipped on the mossy stones at the base of the fall and got carried away by the force of the water and drowned in the reservoir downstream; exact details are awaited. 4Contd on | Nation The Opposition will be testing the consensual waters yet again on the post of deputy speaker. This time Mamata Banerjee’s TMC has taken the lead by recommending Faizabad/Ayodhya MP and Samajwadi Party leader Awadhesh Prasad for the post. The decision comes on the heels of the internal squabble during the Speaker’s election, when internal differences between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress became a sticking point and an embar- rassment for the INDIA bloc. Until now, the Centre has not released the schedule for the election of Deputy Speaker, a post that remained vacant during the 17th Lok Sabha. Sources indicate that the top leadership of the Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party have held informal discussions in the matter and they hope to reach an understanding behind the scenes, so that there is no reason for bickering at the eleventh hour. By choosing Awadhesh, who was responsible for the 4Contd on | Nation of Coastal Road; 2nd such mishap Aishwarya Iyer MUMBAI A speeding BMW car crashed into the wall inside Coastal Road on Sunday at around 11 am. According to traffic police officials, the driver was speeding beyond the permissible limit of 60 kmph since there little traffic inside the tunnel. The driver admitted that he was driving at high speed but claimed that he lost control because of some technical glitch. He was heading from Worli to Marine Drive/ Nariman Point.   Thankfully, when the accident took place, there were no vehicles in the rear; also the driver survived the impact because of the airbag. After the traffic police received the alert, they reached the spot and towed away the vehicle to avoid traffic snarls. “The wall on the carriageway has black scratch marks where the car had crashed; the car skid and swerved to the left after hitting the right wall,” said a police official. No FIR has been registered, the police said. The vehicle was handed over to the driver whose identity was not disclosed. This is the second accident inside Mumbai Coastal Road since it was thrown open on March 11.