Articles by Hepzi Anthony

A day before the 19th anniversary of the 26th July deluge, Mumbai recorded the second wettest July ever. Needless to say, the city also witnessed multiple incidents of waterlogging, flooding and disruption in train services and traffic snarls. Some of the explanations for the floods included record heavy rains, climate change, inadequate desilting of drains. There were protests on the ground and outrage on social media.   Incidentally, floods — its causes and solutions in Mumbai — have been studied since 2005, when the biggest and most damaging flood struck Mumbai and claimed 1094 lives after the city witnessed 944.2 mm…

“Does Mumbai feel the need to conserve water?” asked Sanjay Ubale, executive board member of Mumbai First at a conclave about water in Mumbai. With easy availability of water from seven reservoirs, the city has the best per capita water ratio in India, and so, there is less incentive to conserve water or practise rainwater harvesting, he explained. Why would societies spend funds to store water for future use when they are getting water at highly subsidised rates round the year, he asked. Statistics too suggest the same.  Approximately only 3000 societies of the total estimated 20,000 societies in Mumbai…

Mumbai may have witnessed heavy rains but one must not forget that the city is still reeling under a 10% water cut since June 5, 2024. On the one hand water levels in the reservoirs are depleting, and on the other hand rainwater continues to flow out. In such a scenario, rainwater harvesting can be the game changer for Mumbai. If done right, it ensures water supply for individuals, fights larger water crisis and might help reduce floods too.    Urban local bodies (ULB) like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have been encouraging housing societies to set up rainwater harvesting…

As the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts an “above normal" monsoon for Mumbai, the marginalised residing in informal housing along the coastlines start anticipating and preparing for heavy rains. Citizen Matters visited the slums of Ganesh Nagar located on the rocks of Bandstand, Bandra to explore how the marginalised communities residing close to the sea, face the challenge of rising sea levels, heavy floods during the monsoons, worsened by climate change. Proximity to the high tidal waves — some of them have waves lashing right into their doors during the high tides — impacts their daily living. For the residents…

Imagine you are walking around Kala Ghoda, appreciating the heritage architecture, art galleries, food and fashion hotspots, and now imagine that it's a car-free road. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is considering declaring five streets around Kala Ghoda in Colaba car-free for specific hours on weekends. This proposal has come from the Kala Ghoda Association (KGA), which organises the popular Kala Ghoda Festival annually for the past 24 years.  At present, the Rampart Row Street, now officially known as the K Dubash Street, is closed for vehicular access for the nine days of the Kala Ghoda Festival. The KGA has…

The Thane Lok Sabha constituency is one of the fastest urbanising belts taking in the spilloffs of Mumbai’s growth. The constituency includes the Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayender, Thane city, Owala-Majiwada and Kopri-Pachpakhadi. The meteoric rise of the legislator from the Kopri Pach-Pakhadi constituency, Eknath Shinde as the chief minister has suddenly brought sharp focus on this area. Shinde has been taking a personal interest in Thane and has been fast-tracking developmental projects in this locality. Thane has undergone a major metamorphosis from being a green jungle to a concrete residential jungle with promenades coming up alongside rivers. Public transportation is a…

The Mumbai South constituency represents the vibrant best of our city and country, be it finance (the Reserve Bank of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange), banking (almost all leading banks have their headquarters here), history (Gateway of India) and heritage (art deco buildings, the CSMT railway station). Not surprisingly, this constituency continues to attract tourists in droves from across the country and world. It is also home to various agitations and movements that find space at Azad Maidan and also attracts various key sporting events at the Wankhede stadium and various sporting clubs. It is a constituency of the…

The Mumbai North West constituency spread from Goregaon to Andheri (east and west), is one of the fastest growing suburbs with commercial complexes housing the IT sector, the MIDC, the hub of the film industry including Film City. Moreover, it has the pristine Aarey forest that is slowly giving way to various urban infrastructure projects. About 800 acres were notified as reserved forests and is the last of the forest patch existing within the realms of this bustling commercial city. It also houses the international airport and is a hub of allied services like hotels, travel ticketing and airlines offices. It…

The Mumbai North constituency is located at the northern tip of Mumbai encompassing the coastlines of Gorai, Malad and tapers at the Dahisar toll naka leading into the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).  It is well connected with the Western Express Highway and the Link Road, which run parallel. The metro 7 and 2A line networks connect various locations. However, the terminal point of Borivali railway station struggles to accommodate new stations as it has emerged as the central point connecting the expanding localities of Vasai-Virar belt.  The challenges of housing in the koliwadas of the fishing…

Name: Rajan Vichare Constituency: Thane Rajan Baburao Vichare, 63, has been an intrinsic part of Thane becoming a political stronghold of the Shiv Sena. Vichare rose from the party ranks from being a local unit leader (shakha pramukh) of the Shiv Sena to corporator for four terms in the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) between 1992 and 2014. He also served as the mayor of Thane from 2007 to 2010.  Subsequently, he represented Thane in the legislature and in Parliament. He has been a member of Parliament (MP) from Thane for two terms in 2014 and 2019 and is now fighting…