Mumbai Buzz: Rs 1,705 crore for beautification | Online tickets to Byculla’s zoo …and more.

Weekly Mumbai news recap: Mohalla clinic opened in Dharavi; BMC wards get Rs 30.5 crore to beautify Mumbai; CNG and LPG prices hiked.

One mohalla clinic opens under ‘Mission Healthy Dharavi’, 12 more to come

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opened one mohalla clinic at T-Junction this week under ‘Mission Healthy Dharavi’ initiative. The civic body plans to open 12 more of such portable clinics in Mumbai and will keep them operational from 3 pm to 10 pm. The initiative aims to provide access to primary healthcare to working class population by ensuring the clinics are functional when they get home from work.

The portable clinics will be easy to dismantle and can be carried around to avoid congestion in the area.

Source: Times of India

Wards under BMC to get Rs 30.5 crore to beautify Mumbai

All the 24 wards in Mumbai will be getting Rs 30.5 crore each to beautify the city. The civic body issued a circular in this regard, it will disburse Rs 10 crore on priority to start the work immediately. The Mumbai beautification project will include illumination of popular junctions, better footpaths and road dividers among other things.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 1,705 crore and it is expected to be completed by March next year. Touted as the brain child of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the project partially utilises funds from BMC’s contingency money.

Source: Times of India

Byculla zoo tickets go online soon

Two elephants in a pond with crows around them
Elephants cooling themselves in a pond in the Byculla zoo. Pic: Elroy Serrao, Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

You may soon be able to book your ticket to Byculla’s Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan online. The BMC plans to start the facility in hopes of reducing crowds at the ticket windows.

The only zoo in Mumbai, it has seen an influx in visitors in recent times, with 30,000 people landing up at its gates in the last four days and earning the zoo Rs 11.88 lakhs in revenue. While these numbers can be attributed in part to the Dussehra holidays, the average footfall is 3,000 on weekdays, and 9,000 on weekends. Summer vacations also attract a record number of visitors, which have reportedly doubled after the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the credit also lies with the zoo’s star attractions: penguins, leopards, Bengal tigers, hyenas and varieties of birds. The entry fee, starting at Rs 25 for children, Rs 50 for adults, and Rs 100 for a family of four, have earned the zoo more than Rs 6 crore in the last ten months.

Source: Free Press Journal

Thane: SIT may investigate RERA irregularities involving 65 builders, police say

A Special Investigation Team will likely be formed to investigate a total of 65 builders in Thane’s Dombivali area who were allegedly in violation of Real Estate Regulation and Development Act (RERA). The Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation registered two cases against the builders in two different police stations; Manpada police station will be handling cases against 27 builders and Ram Nagar police station will be taking care of the remaining 38.

The builders have been accused of fabricating permissions for RERA registration and cheating the local civic body in process.

Source: Mid-Day


Read more: BMC budget 2022 highlights: Coastal road, Shiv Yoga centres, digital classrooms and more


CNG and LPG price hike in Mumbai

Just as auto and taxi fares increased to catch up with the price of CNG, gas prices have once again increased by Rs 6 per kg. The cost price of piped natural gas (PNG) has also had a boost by Rs 4 per SCM. Their retail prices are now Rs 52.50 per kg and Rs 86 per SCM for CNG and PNG respectively.

Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL), which increased the price, did so in response to the 10 percent supply cut and increase in input price by the government, which in turn has cited high global prices. Domestic gas prices were increased by 40 percent, while previously in April, they increased by a whopping 110 percent. The new numbers mean the cost saving between CNG and petrol has dwindled to 45 percent, and the difference between PNG and LPG to 11 percent.

Source: Livemint

[Compiled by Eshan Kalyanikar]

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