Articles by Shruti Gokarn

“It is something you will remember throughout your life,” says Archana Patney about the experience of making friends while riding the bus to school. She opted for the school bus for her older child, but not for her younger one. She is among the many parents in Mumbai who have to make this important decision come June every year. The Maharashtra Transport Department is set to introduce new regulations for school buses in the upcoming academic year, with a committee led by retired transport officer Jitendra Patil tasked with drafting these measures. This decision follows a series of crimes against…

On August 1, 2024, the Sion overbridge was closed for a two-year reconstruction project, disrupting traffic and daily commutes. The plan is to rebuild the century-old bridge — originally constructed across the railway tracks in 1912 — through a collaboration between the Central Railway and the BMC. However, to the dismay of citizens, the bridge has yet to be demolished. What are the reasons for this delay? Inconvenience to commuters The bridge connecting Sion East to Sion West serves as a vital link between Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg, Dharavi, the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), and the Eastern Express Highway.…

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed how BEST’s wet-leased buses — owned and operated by private contractors — are rapidly replacing its own fleet. In Part 2, we explore how this model is impacting the quality of bus services.Last December, nine people were killed and another 37 injured in an accident involving a wet-leased electric bus in Kurla. According to the police, the driver had not been adequately trained before being moved to an automatic electric bus from manual, geared buses. Under the wet-leasing model, introduced to cut BEST’s costs, a contractor owns and operates the bus, and…

The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST), considered Mumbai’s second-biggest public transport lifeline, is far from its glory days. The bus accident in Kurla last December that killed nine passengers has brought sharp scrutiny on its operations. The company is also battling losses and recurrent workers’ strikes, the latest one being a flash strike by drivers last week at Wadala depot. According to activists and the BEST Workers’ Union, the core problem is the wet-leasing model introduced in 2018, under which contractors own and operate buses on behalf of BEST. Since then, BEST has steeply reduced its own fleet,…

Air pollution is a silent epidemic killing people and chipping away at the quality of life the world over. “Not only long-term exposure, but short-term exposure to large quantities of particulate matter can cause an increase in mortality rate. Globally, the death rate due to air pollution is as high as 65 lakhs because of multiple causes, including pollution-related respiratory, cardiac and neuropsychiatric illnesses. Overall they are the outcomes of poor AQI,” explains Dr Snehal Jadhav, the Head of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at R. N Cooper Hospital, Mumbai. This is more than evident in a study published in…

Manvi Goyal, a PR professional, struggled to adapt to Mumbai's polluted air after living in the pristine hills of Kurseong, Darjeeling. “In two years, I have fallen ill several times,” she recounts. She suffers from breathing difficulties and constant dehydration despite drinking water. Manvi is one of many Mumbaikars affected by the city's worsening air quality. On December 30th, the BMC implemented certain sections of Stage IV of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in parts of Mumbai to improve air quality. Which GRAP IV measures did BMC implement?* Immediate stop to private and public construction in areas where the…

“Ek Akela Is Shehar MeinRaat Mein Aur Dopahar MeinAabodaana Dhoondta Hai Aashiyana Dhoondta Hai” (A single, solitary man seeks day and night for his fortune and a shelter in this city). These lines by Gulzar — sung in the rich, deep voice of Bhupinder for the movie Gharonda (1977) and mouthed by Amol Palekar wearing a haggard, defeated look on screen — resonate among many youngsters in Mumbai even today, as they look for a sanctuary in the city, a space they can call home. Mumbai, with its charm and promises of a better future, draws people from all over the…

I have to start with a confession — all my life I have never segregated my garbage. I had convinced myself that I was doing my bit for the environment by carrying a cloth tote bag, that ubiquitous flagbearer of environment conservation, that all-encompassing solution to multiple environmental problems. So, imagine my shock when I realised that carrying a tote bag everywhere — from the market to a meeting to a concert — wasn’t enough! I was hit by this revelation when I was assigned a story by my editor — an explainer on 'What happens to the garbage we…

“Panchhi nadiya pawan ke jhonke, koi sarhad na inhe roke…”  (Birds can fly where they want/ water can take its course/ the wind blows in every direction/ no barrier can stop them) — thus go the Javed Akhtar penned lyrics of the song from the movie Refugee (2000, J. P Dutta). As I read about the Panje wetlands in Uran, I wondered if these lyrics hold true today, when human interference is wreaking such havoc on natural environments, and keeping these very elements out. But then, I also wondered if I should refer to Panje, a 289-hectare inter-tidal zone, as…

Visitors to Mumbai are often surprised by the city's lax attitude towards household waste segregation. Despite being aware of the importance of segregating garbage at its source, many residents fail to practise it because of various reasons. Meanwhile, Mumbai's dumping grounds are overflowing, and the situation worsens every year. Proposed solutions like waste remediation and waste-to-energy plants come with their challenges.creative Achieving real, on-ground change depends significantly on behavioural shifts. Moreover, experts have repeatedly pointed out that source segregation and decentralised processing are crucial to addressing waste issues. Can targeted interventions help? One major issue of legacy waste in the…