Articles by Azkeya Tase

Mumbai, known for long as the city that never sleeps, is now that in the literal sense too. One of the first decisions that Aaditya Thackeray, the new state cabinet minister of tourism and environment, took to promote tourism, generate employment and revenue was a pilot project that allows select malls and eateries to stay open all day and night. With the experiment on for over a week now, the reaction of citizens and shop owners has been mixed. The criteria to stay open includes commercial establishments in non-residential areas, gated communities with CCTV surveillance, those with parking facilities, security…

Mumbai, known for long as the city that never sleeps, is now that in the literal sense too. One of the first decisions that Aaditya Thackeray, the new state cabinet minister of tourism and environment, took to promote tourism, generate employment and revenue was a pilot project that allows select malls and eateries to stay open all day and night. With the experiment on for over a week now, the reaction of citizens and shop owners has been mixed. The criteria to stay open includes commercial establishments in non-residential areas, gated communities with CCTV surveillance, those with parking facilities, security…

Take a walk around Bhiwandi. Much of what you will see are shuttered powerloom units gathering dust and rust. During its heyday, Bhiwandi, in Thane district, had the highest cluster of powerlooms in the country, and was a huge employment hub with workers hailing from other states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Today this once-thriving business is facing extinction, thanks to GST, demonetisation and cheaper competition, rendering thousands of workers jobless.  “More than half the karigars (workers) have returned to their native place as major textile units have shut down,” said Dilshad Sayyed Ahmed Ansari, who has been working…