Articles by Prachi Pinglay-Plumber

Shaina NC, a fashion designer, prominent personality in Mumbai and daughter of former sheriff of Mumbai Nana Chudasama, was earlier with the BJP for several years. She joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and is now contesting against Amin Patel (Congress) from Mumbadevi constiatuency. Even before campaigning could gain momentum, she was the centre of a controversy where the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant, called her “imported maal.” She protested vociferously and the opposition tried to apologise and douse the issue.  Mumbai goes to vote on November 20th and Shaina NC is leaving no stone unturned to appeal to…

In 2022, with the world just recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it didn’t seem extraordinary when elections to the richest civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) were postponed. Though the reasons for postponement were a case in the Supreme Court about OBC seats and an earlier delimitation exercise, any aberrations to the existing systems were acceptable in the backdrop of two ghastly COVID-19 waves and Omicron.  But decisions that seemed fine at that point have outlived the concession. In Mumbai, as the city prepares for the state assembly elections, the elephant in the room is actually the BMC elections. Not to…

Amin Patel is a top-ranked MLA, representing the Mumbadevi assembly constituency, according to the report card brought out by Praja Foundation, an NGO that works on civic issues. Mumbadevi is one of the oldest and most diverse areas of Mumbai, where the incumbent Patel (Indian National Congress) has served for three consecutive terms. The area comprises Grant Road, Girgaum, Dongri, Tardeo, Umarkhadi, Bhuleshwar and Nagpada.  Maharashtra is all set to vote on November 20th in the Assembly elections. The state has 288 assembly seats and of these 36 are in Mumbai. Though the number is small, Mumbai remains significant as…

Maharashtra assembly elections are here and Mumbai, the financial capital of India, is witnessing tough fights between various parties for 36 out of a total 288 seats. With many political defections and splits in parties, the number of contesting candidates has gone up by 28% since 2019. A total of 4,140 candidates will contest the polls, including 420 candidates for Mumbai. Amidst this politically volatile atmosphere, in all likelihood, the focus will be on who forms the next government. Issues that need to be discussed and are of relevance to people, will remain on the periphery as the political campaigns gather…

As Maharashtra assembly elections draw closer, all one gets to hear about is political clashes, leaders switching parties, candidates promising the moon and more and an overall atmosphere of unreal declarations amidst unbelievably high decibel campaigns.  In this cacophony, Mumbaikars, who are notorious for lukewarm voting patterns, may feel more distant than ever. The city has been in a state of perpetual construction and redevelopment activities with several infrastructure projects such as the Coastal Road and Metro phase III going on. Pollution has worsened and so have condition of roads and overall quality of life.   Some of this may be…

After any major event, more often than not, the next day’s news is about how much waste was collected and cleaned up from the city. For example, after Ganpati Visarjan on September 17th around 550 metric tonnes of waste was collected. Few months before that, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cleared 11,000 kg of garbage after the victory parade at Marine Drive celebrating India’s T20 world cup win.  This is just to illustrate that Mumbai has a major garbage problem. But it is not only on such events that waste management is a challenge. With 6300 metric tonnes of garbage…

Every year, before the onset of monsoons, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) shares detailed information about preparedness and flood mitigation measures. This includes details such as the number of pumps installed to drain out excess rainwater from flood prone areas, the identification of hot spots and so on.  Throughout the rainy season that lasts four months, the civic body puts out information about high tides, amount of rainfall, weather alerts and detailed rain-related accidents such as building collapse, tree falling incidents. They also inform citizens about the plans to pump the excess water from low-lying areas and drain it into…

Dharavi has had many distinctions from being Asia's largest slum to being the subject matter of Indian and international movies such as the Oscar winning Slumdog millionaire and scores of fiction and non-fiction books. But amidst all these, it is the people of Dharavi who make it what it is - a settlement spread over 240 acres with countless micro industries from pottery, snacks to leather and garments and more. For decades, the settlement has housed migrants coming to the city to make a living. For decades the settlement has suffered from lack of basic amenities such as sanitation. Located…

The infuriating hit and run Porsche case in Pune, is still on people’s minds, and now another case of hit an run, this time in Mumbai’s Worli, hit headlines, raising serious questions about road safety. Mihir Shah, son of a Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader, is accused of hitting a couple on a scooter and dragging the wife on the bonnet of the car instead of stopping the car, resulting in her death. He has been arrested and sent to judicial custody. Victim’s husband, on a video, said that if the driver of the vehicle had stopped the car, his…

What does the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) mean to the 23.8 lakh students aspiring to become doctors? "Blood, sweat, tears, repeat" — this is how a second year MBBS student described her years of preparation for the NEET, while studying in classes 11th and 12th. At least a year before that is consumed by anxiety, decision-making, determination and planning for the preparation. And, all this does not include the financial aspect, which amounts to lakhs and sometimes even crores.   Shalmali (name changed) is a second-year MBBS student in the Government Medical College in Dhule. She recounts the long…