Articles by Himadyuthi V Deshpande

Two young labourers, 25-year-old Ramkrishna and 30-year-old Sudhir Das died of drowning in June, when they were cleaning an overflowing manhole in Govandi. Normally, the cleaning and repairs of sewer lines are done before the monsoon begins and not during heavy rains. "Why did they make the two men enter the manhole? Why wasn't the sewer line treated on time, before monsoons?", asks Rukhsana Nazim Mohammed Siddiquii, the ex-corporator of Govandi. Rukhsana says one of the major reasons why an incident like this happened, was because of absence of corporators, when various measures for monsoon preparedness were planned and undertaken. She…

Mumbai's monsoon season is a spectacle of natural beauty and vibrant celebrations. As the dark clouds gather overhead and the first droplets of rain descend, the city undergoes a magical transformation. The monsoon showers bring respite from the scorching summer heat, refreshing the city with their cool embrace. Monsoon in Mumbai is not just a season, but a celebration in itself. Mumbaikars eagerly wait for the arrival of rains. Children are the most excited to drench themselves in the drizzle, their laughter blending with the sound of the rhythmic pitter-patter. "Clouds bring with them a lot of rain and I…

For the past three years, Anjana’s family of seven has had only one earning member. Anjana and her father, both workers at India United No. 5, a National Textile Corporation (NTC) mill in Mumbai, have been without work ever since the mills closed down during the COVID pandemic. Her brother works at a vegetable store. Expectedly, the income is not sufficient to run the household. “I dropped out after class 9 and started working at the mill in 2019 because the family needed more income. Once COVID happened, the mill closed down. We got full salaries for two to three…

Even as the Maharashtra government announced the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020 in the state, parents and educators are confused about age criteria for entry into primary schooling. One of the major concerns that parents have expressed is about the new age criteria. According to the old criteria, in order to be admitted to nursery class, the child should have completed 2 years and 6 months by the month of June of the academic year. But the new criteria requires the child to have completed 3 years for the same.  Similarly, for class 1, the minimum age for…