City: Mumbai

On a Friday mid-morning in Bhim Nagar, a hillside settlement in Mumbai's Ghatkopar, a small community room is abuzz with activity. Families stream in, some with children in tow, all carrying sacks filled with dry waste. Volunteers weigh the waste and make a note of the quantity. This bustling scene is part of a waste segregation initiative that Green Communities Foundation (GCF), a non-profit organisation working in sustainable waste management, is running in partnership with the community.   The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is responsible for providing solid waste management services in Bhim Nagar, an informal settlement. However, there are major…

Dr Sanjeevani Rajwade (60) from Mumbai's Vile Parle fractured her foot this rainy season after stepping into a hidden pothole. She walks to her clinic daily, a 10-minute commute from home. “I’ve tried all kinds of footwear to avoid falling,” she says, “but with broken footpaths and uneven roads, nothing really works. Every day, just walking safely to my clinic is a struggle.” Earlier this month, Siddesh Narvekar (31) had his leg trapped in a 10-centimetre-wide drainage hole near Jogeshwari Metro station. The fire brigade took nearly four hours to free him using chipping hammers and cutters, working cautiously as…

The much-awaited elections to the richest civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), are expected to take place soon. Mumbai has not had elected representatives for over three years. The term of the previous corporators ended in March 2022.  As Mumbaikars ready themselves to cast their votes, Praja Foundation, an organisation working to hold governments accountable, has brought out a 'Citizens' Manifesto' for Maharashtra. The manifesto calls for improvement in core urban services, open and free access to municipal data, protection of the urban environment, and better citizen participation and accountability. The manifesto calls for urgent reforms and gives a practical roadmap…

Even as the Mumbai skyline changes with redeveloped buildings of vertiginous heights, towers of another kind loom large over the city's two dumping grounds. The Deonar landfill, in use since 1927, holds a mountain of garbage 40 metres high. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to shut it down by cleaning it up through bioremediation, leaving Kanjurmarg as the city's sole dumping ground. According to BMC’s Environment Status Report (ESR) 2024-25, 86% of Mumbai's daily waste, around 6,300 metric tonnes, goes to Kanjurmarg. However, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report flags discrepancies: while the BMC records 6,514 tonnes of…

The constant looking over one's shoulder, being followed on the street, inappropriate touch and harassment on public transportation — every woman is familiar with this narrative. It was these issues that were highlighted when groups of young women in Mumbai were asked to create tableaux, depicting their everyday experiences, during a  recent theatre workshop. While the workshop facilitators did not set a specific theme, something striking happened. Group after group independently chose to portray the same issues: street harassment, eve teasing, gender discrimination and domestic violence. These were no longer just abstract concerns but pressing realities shaping how young women…

Maximum City, Glamour City, City of Dreams, City of Struggles — Mumbai wears many names and identities. One of the world's most populous cities, it houses a staggering 2.17 crore people in just 603 square kilometres. Its carrying capacity in terms of accommodating a workforce was exceeded a decade ago, yet the daily inflow continues. Sky-high, artificially inflated real estate prices have pushed many to the distant suburbs, making the daily commute for work or study an arduous struggle. And yet the mobility solutions that the city administration and other powers that be come up with are not only inadequate,…

“For the last five years, I’ve only come to Govandi to report on crime or garbage,” admitted a reporter from a national newspaper during the Govandi Arts Festival 2023. “This is the first time I’m here to cover a story about art, and it’s one created by the youth themselves.” He went on to publish an article titled Govandi Arts Festival: Reimagining Inadequately Built Spaces Through Art and Creativity. It featured young artists who dared to tell their stories using their own voices and mediums. One might wonder why a place like Govandi, home to Mumbai’s largest resettlement population, burdened…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has released the draft Zonal Master Plan for the eco-sensitive zone of Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). The civic body is inviting suggestions and objections till October 17. However, environmentalists have raised concerns about potential ecological damage in the name of development, through the master plan. They allege that commercial activities are planned very close to sensitive ecosystems. Meanwhile, communities living in and around the park fear displacement, loss of livelihood and erosion of their cultural identity. They are also finding it difficult to submit their feedback, as the draft plan is in English. Background SGNP…

Anagha Satam's* son was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of six and a half, following a suggestion from his private writing tutor to get him evaluated. But Anagha's initial attempts to share the results with her son's school were dismissed. Though the school authorities eventually acknowledged her concerns, Anagha found that the special educators there lacked the right approach and were focused on the child reaching a certain rank in class. “He has ADHD,” she says, “and the special educator's job is to help him manage his symptoms and to teach him that it is…

Mumbai recently witnessed unprecedented protests that brought its road and rail services to a standstill, disrupting daily life. Around 60,000 protesters from across Maharashtra converged in the city between August 29 and September 2, demanding Maratha caste reservations under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. For five days, protestors blocked trains and roads, affecting lives and livelihoods across the metropolis. As the capital and political nerve centre of Maharashtra, Mumbai regularly draws protestors from all corners of the state. This is especially true around Azad Maidan, the city’s designated protest site. Those residing and working in South Mumbai, where the…