Mumbai Buzz: Rooftop indicator on Mumbai taxis | BMC’s door-to-door diabetes survey…and more

Weekly Mumbai news recap: Among other news, measles toll in city; QR code to curb illegal banners; Dadar water tank burst and more.

Mumbai taxi drivers asked to put a rooftop indicator

Mumbai’s kaali-peeli (black and yellow taxi) drivers, by March 31st, 2023, will have to put an indicator on its rooftop that tells passengers if it is vacant, hired or the driver wants to take a break. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) has made it mandatory for all taxis in the city to install this colour-coded indicator before the deadline.

The indicator will have green, red and white-coloured LED lights with writings in English and Marathi. Red will indicate that the vehicle is hired, green will signal if it is for hire and white will tell if the driver is off duty.

Source: Hindustan Times


Read more: High CNG prices: Mumbai taxi drivers, auto drivers demand fare hike to survive


More than 32k visit BMC’s NCD centres, success prompts door-to-door survey of diabetes

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation says the success at the non-communicable disease (NCD) centres in 15 hospitals under it has prompted the civic body to start a door-to-door diabetes survey in the city’s slums. This is another initiative under BMC’s NCD programme.

Up until now, a total of 32,096 people have been examined at NCD centres, of which around 12% had blood pressure above normal levels, while about 11% had random sugar levels above 140 milligrams (mg/dl).

Source: The Indian Express

A board for non-communicable disease centre at Parel's KEM hospital.
Non-communicable disease screening centre at Mumbai’s King Edward Memorial Hospital. Pic: Eshan Kalyanikar

Read more: A look inside BMC’s non-communicable disease screening centres


QR to be used in a bid to curd illegal hoarding menace in Mumbai

Maharashtra urban development department has issued an order directing all the urban local bodies, including BMC, to initiate a QR code that will be printed on all authorised hoardings, flexes, banners and posters.

The move is an attempt to identify illegal ones and take action accordingly. The order further directs the local bodies to identify dedicated spots where authorised hoardings, banners, posters and flexes can be put up.

Source: Hindustan Times

8 died due to suspected measles, disease incidence more in 2022 than 2021

Up until November 17th, eight people have died due to suspected measles in Mumbai. According to the state’s daily updates, confirmed measles cases rose nearly six-fold — from 92 in 2021 to 503 in 2022. There have been 26 outbreaks in the state this year compared to just one last year.

Meanwhile, the state’s chief minister Eknath Shinde said the outbreak appears to have been caused due to lack of immunisation.

Source: Times of India

Homes of BMC workers damaged after water tank bursts in Dadar

The overhead water tank of a ground-plus-four-storey transit camp at Gautam Nagar in Dadar burst earlier this week, damaging two homes on the topmost floor. The building is home to workers from BMC’s solid waste management department.

The residents are angry at the BMC for not addressing the issue even after several complaints, and are now left dealing with injuries. Meanwhile, even though the civic body replaced the tank after the incident, the cracks on the inside of the building are still visible.

Source: Mid-Day

[Compiled by Eshan Kalyanikar]

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