Articles by Hepzi Anthony

When the pandemic broke, everyone feared Dharavi - with its dense population - could be tough to safeguard against the virus. However, consistent efforts by authorities and locals ensured that the area recovered drastically. The number of new cases emerging has been steadily vacillating for as low as  just 4-6 cases per day since the beginning of November.   Of the 3606 cases of COVID-19 registered in the area, about 3237 people have recovered and only 58 are undergoing treatment currently, according to information provided by the Assistant Municipal Commissioner (G-North ward) Kiran  Dighavkar.  While this may be good news on…

A few weeks ago, we explained how India’s most populous city, Mumbai, has the highest density of leopards in the country.   Unsurprisingly, wildlife experts have called for an increase in the number of leopard rescue centers in Maharashtra. With the increase in the leopard population in the state and human habitations closing in on the green forest spaces, the conflict between humans and leopards are increasing. Leopard rescue centers are a stop gap arrangement to deal with such conflicts.   Rescuing big cats  A leopard rescue center houses leopards that are injured, rescued or caught for attacking humans or they are…

Every year, some buildings give up the fight against Mumbai’s harsh monsoon rains. Why aren't the collapsing buildings repaired to save people who live in them? One answer seems to be lack of funds.  On 16 July, Bhanushali building in Fort collapsed, killing ten people. It was awaiting repairs since June 2019, when it was granted permission to be repaired from its own funds.  The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority shift the residents out of the buildings, pull them down and erect new structures in their place. Some residents are wary of such a strategy…

When some residents in Pune couldn’t get information about an upcoming commercial complex within their residential neighbourhood, they approached Right To Information (RTI) activist and journalist Vinita Deshmukh for help.  Deshmukh visited the government office with residents. But, the officials refused to share the information, claiming the loss of the requested file. The residents stayed put and insisted on seeing a copy of FIR about the missing file. Lo and behold, the missing file emerged within 15 minutes and the residents acquired the information they needed.  Most RTI activists have their own stories about being denied information and how they…

What use is it if Mumbai reduces lockdown restrictions but doesnt open up its main public transport system? Unlock - 5 started from October 1 but the local trains are still restricted to a select few.  Local trains can be accessed by ‘essential workers’ by using a QR code based electronic pass system, that can be availed only through their organisations.  Subsequently, personnel from private power companies and is now stretched to include private medical staffers, aircraft maintenance personnel, private bankers and even advocates were allowed on trains. More buses are being brought in to supplement the existing BEST bus networks,…

In the past three months, two buildings collapsed in Mumbai. At least 12 people died. These buildings were deemed unsafe for habitation. We wrote here about why tenants refuse to vacate crumbling buildings.  About 300 persons died and 1146 injured in the seven years between 2013-19 in building collapses across the city, as per information received through RTI by activist Shakeel Sheikh.   On September 21, about 40 people died, including 18 children, due to a building collapse in the neighbouring town of Bhiwandi. Thereafter the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation disconnected electricity of three dilapidated buildings to force residents to vacate those…

On August 9, a leopard made its way from Aarey forests to an abandoned warehouse in Andheri East. The animal was mapped, trapped and released back to the forests. This was one of the happier stories of man-animal interaction in a city like Mumbai. Six leopards have been rescued from Mumbai Metropolitan Region since 2017 and dozens have strayed into human habitats. In July 2018, a man was hurt by a leopard, when he tried to save his pet dog in Mulund’s Rahul Nagar, on the periphery of SGNP. In January 2018, a leopard had entered a ground floor flat…

On August 27, a portion of a three-storied building collapsed in Nagpada. Two people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed. The building was dilapidated and had long standing plans to be redeveloped. Despite the collapse, residents refused to vacate the building. “They kept saying that our part of the building is fine and we will continue to stay here. They didn’t want to shift to transit camps in distant suburbs. The fire brigade and the civic authorities had to disconnect their water and electricity connections to get them to vacate their building,” said Amin Patel, local legislator from Mumbadevi constituency,…

Both the Western and Eastern coastlines of Mumbai are in for a sea change. While a Rs 14,000 crore Coastal Road Project is being implemented on the Western coastline, different groups are proposing vastly varied ideas for the 21-km Eastern side that stretches from the Bombay Dockyard to Wadala. What Mumbai Port Trust wants to do The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), which oversees the planning for the Eastern Waterfront project has decided to commercially develop 25.63% of land, another 23.26% will be used for ecotourism and 10.76 % to rehouse local slum-dwellers. By ecotourism they mean cruises, a marina, promenades,…

Mumbai, they say, is the city that never sleeps. A good reason for that are the local train lines that connect distant places within the city and certain neighbouring districts as well. From 30 July, entry to the Mumbai suburban rail network will be regulated by a QR-based Electronic-pass system.Local trains were shut for 84-days until 15 June, owing to the lockdown to curtail the spread of COVID-19. After which, they began to function in some measure. Currently, the Central Railways and Western Railways of the Mumbai suburban rail network operate only 350 services each daily. These were allowed to…