36 TOLL NAKAS SCRAPPED

Those sharing and liking “objectionable” posts on social media sites, especially pertaining to communal references, will now be booked under the IT Act and Indian Penal code, Home Minister R R Patil announced on Monday.Addressing the media at Vidhan Bhavan, Patil said they now have the the IP addresses of those who put up morphed pictures of Hindu gods, Chhatrapati Shivaji and other great personalities on Facebook 10 days ago.“We have to confirm whether the IP address was hacked or whether it was used by the authorised person. Arrests will be made soon. But henceforth, those sharing and liking such objectionable posts will be booked, as they are equally responsible,” he said.On Sunday, somebody had put up “objectionable” remarks against Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Patil said it was a conspiracy to fuel communal trouble.Earlier, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar talked of banning social media for a few years and spoke about taking a delegation of ruling and opposition members to PM Narendra Modi. Later, he clarified that he will not seek such a ban.The morphed pictures of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Bal Thackeray and other well-known personalities sparked stray incidents of arson and violence across the state.Following immense criticism from the Opposition, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has announced scrapping of 34 PWD toll nakas and two Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation nakas. None of these toll nakas are near Mumbai.The MNS, which had started a massive campaign against the nakas, had alleged that lot of a malpractices took place while awarding contracts in and around Mumbai and Pune. Speaking in the legislative assembly, Pawar said the state has decided to close down 34 toll nakas on 31 PWD roads and two under the MSRDC.The government will face a burden of Rs 306 crore for the same. Officially, there are 73 PWD toll nakas, 53 MSRDC nakas and 40 National Highway Authority of India nakas.