Articles by Hepzi Anthony

Four persons lost their lives in 2022 in accidents caused primarily due to poor maintenance of lifts in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). About 25 instances of malfunctioning of lifts were reported. Around one lakh lifts are installed across the MMR and apart from the serious accidents. Elevators have become a crucial part of the housing infrastructure with buildings registering large-scale vertical growth to cater to the huge housing demand. Even the slum redevelopment buildings, that are being built, have 40-70 floors, which pose a different set of challenges. Despite the regulations, lift accidents are far too common. Pic: Adam…

On January 4, a lift accident at Vikhroli claimed the life of a 20-year-old labourer of a 25-story building at Vikhroli, when the lift crashed from the 21st floor. Two persons died when the cord of their lift trolley snapped from the 15th floor at a Worli tower on January 9. Three months ago, a 5-year-old child, Mohammed Huzifa Shaikh lost his life on November 28, 2022 when he got stuck between the wooden door and the grill door between the fourth and the fifth floor of his Dharavi building. Another child, 16-year-old girl Reshma Khairavi, lost her life, when…

A major urban planning course correction is underway in Mumbai in the form of the redevelopment of the Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls. While the large-scale redevelopment of the decaying century-old chawls is imminent, there are concerns about the plans to rehouse the 15,593 families living in 195 three-storey chawls spread across 86.98 acres in Worli, N.M. Joshi Marg and Naigaum in Central Mumbai. Though these families have been promised 500 sq ft housing units - two bedrooms, a hall and a kitchen - in skyscrapers, planners are sceptical about the development model chosen for them. The Worli residents will…

The weekly used clothes market at Marol is perhaps one of Mumbai’s best hidden treasures. Tucked inside Andheri’s Marol dry fish market, old, used clothes arrive here from across the city, especially western suburbs. These are brought by vendors who go door-to-door collecting clothes and exchanging them for vessels. They are traditional recyclers - people carrying baskets of vessels on their heads and a bagful of clothes dangling down their shoulders. What’s on sale The mainstay of the market is used clothes, but now it has expanded to a wide range of paraphernalia including used shoes, bags and suitcases, electronic…

The lion safari in Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) was always a major attraction since its inception in 1975. However, it was discontinued earlier this year due to old, ailing animals. Now, things are about to change. With the arrival of two lions from Gujarat, through an exchange programme, the safari is all set to reopen. After the death of 17-year-old Ravindra on October 17th and of 12-year-old Jespa recently due to old age ailments, there were no lions left at SGNP. Jespa breathed his last on 27th November 2022 within two days after the arrival of the new pair…

Mumbai’s biggest and oldest dry fish market at Marol, Andheri is struggling to maintain its distinct identity. Dry fish vendors at the market, where fisherwomen from across the state have been bringing dry fish to sell for almost 150 years, want authorities to retain the market exclusively for dry fish. Historically, the market plot of 2 acres and 24 guntas (113256 sq. ft) was officially categorised “weekly market for dry fish” in 1948 by Mumbai’s suburban district collector at the time.  Today, however, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) denies the market that identity, claiming that it cannot allocate a market…

Among the many vocations and livelihoods severely impacted by climate change is the dried fish processing sector in Mumbai. Unseasonal rains lashing the coastline directly affect the produce and yield, and ultimately the business itself. The trade, entirely dependent on sunlight for its drying process, has become extremely vulnerable to the unseasonal rains, a direct result of climate change. At Madh village, between resorts and bungalows lining the coastal backyard, lies a buzzing village trading in dried fish. As soon as a boat lands at the jetty with fresh catch in baskets, the fish are sorted by the women at the jetty.…

This is the second and final part in the series on skywalks in the city. Read the first part here. Fifteen years after they were commissioned in 2007, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now attempting to make skywalks more people-friendly in Mumbai, by installing escalators wherever required.  The BMC has now appointed a consultant to study if, where and how escalators could be installed in the 23 skywalks in Mumbai. The most recently inaugurated 24th skywalk at Jogeshwari (E) already has an escalator installed in it. Escalators have already been sanctioned at five skywalks on a pilot project basis.  The Mumbai…

As proposals of building new skywalks in the city meet with stiff public opposition, Mumbai faces the dilemma of whether to continue building skywalks or to gradually phase them out.  Skywalks are elevated pedestrian walkways connecting various heavily targeted destinations either to railway stations or to other high-concentration commercial areas. The purpose of the skywalks is the efficient dispersal of commuters from congested areas to strategic locations, such as bus stations, taxi stands, shopping areas, etc, according to the MMRDA website. But opinions are divided on whether skywalks as an infrastructure project are useful or not. While the government is convinced…

On September 23 2022, a seven-year-old boy was killed when the battery of the Electric Vehicle (EV), which his father had kept for charging, exploded on him at their Vasai residence. While this unfortunate incident led to the loss of an innocent life, electric vehicle fires have been regularly reported in newspapers raising concerns about EV safety. Exact figures of EV vehicles (cars and bikes) catching fire or their batteries exploding are not available for Mumbai. Earlier, fire in a Tata Nexon EV at Vasai on June 23, 2022 had prompted the Union government to issue notices to all EV…