City: Mumbai

On 22nd January at around 9.00 pm, three employees of Western Railway, Vasu Mitra, Somnath Lambture, and Sachin Wankhede were mowed down by a train as they were attending to a point failure on the railway track between Vasai and Nalasopara. The repair work was almost completed, when a fourth employee, who was deputed to signal the arrival of a train was sent to Vasai station to bring some tools, thus leaving them oblivious to the train approaching them, says one Vasai Road Railway Police official. This accident comes close on the heels of a report released by the GRP…

Turf club agrees to hand over 120 acres to BMC for a theme park For years this possibility has been discussed and debated but finally the iconic Mahalaxmi Racecourse is set to have a theme park on its land. Out of 1718 members of the Royal Western India Turf Club, only 708 cast their vote in the extraordinary general meeting that was called for this purpose. “The proposal received 540 votes in favour and 168 against. In return, the BMC has offered to renew the turf club's lease until 2053 and provide concessions such as building new stables and assisting…

The lesser and greater flamingos of Gujarat that migrate to our wetlands are nothing short of a blessing. Every year a record number of juvenile waders and flamingos visit the TS Chanakya Lake, feeding on urban algae. When Navi Mumbai becomes a "Flamingo city." Pic: Seema Tania Read more: How a Navi Mumbai citizens group fought for the flamingos After strenuous breeding activities they fly to the flamingo city of Navi Mumbai to feed and roost in TS Chanakya and NRI wetlands in large numbers. While, the species is in an overall decline, the mudflats and mangroves of Navi Mumbai offer…

"I found it challenging to adhere to the doctors' instructions due to the constant rotation of different doctors during each visit. It led to confusion in managing my hyperactive daughter, who tends to become angry quickly," said Kavita Shinde, a resident of Dahisar in Mumbai. Kavita's 8-year-old daughter Hansika has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and has visited B.Y.L Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central in Mumbai for treatment for the past three years.  Kavita was relieved after she moved to the recently established Early Intervention and Rehabilitation Centre for Children at Byculla. She has been consistently meeting the…

Mumbai Marathon: Increased participation, tragic deaths Tata Mumbai Marathon 2024 saw a record participation of a total of 59, 515 participants, who ran in seven different categories. Held on January 21st , the prestigious Mumbai event, witnessed senior citizens, students and activists apart from athletes, running for various civic issues and fundamental rights. Hayle Lemin from Ethiopia defended the title while clocking a timing of two hours and seven minutes. Other winners in elite men's category and elite women's category were from Ethiopia as well. However, in a tragic turn of events, two participants died during the course of the…

Bandra, Mumbai’s most sought-after suburb, has attracted both Indians and foreigners alike for its historic forts and seaside walks, blend of cultures and food, and its celebrity appeal. Yet the charm of the so-called “Queen of Suburbs” is being threatened by the frenzied pace and volume of construction and infrastructure projects going on simultaneously.  As the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) approves luxury high-rises and initiates yearly infrastructure projects, residents of the locality have voiced a concern that these projects are more superficial than substantive.  Once-peaceful streets have been reduced to one-ways or blocked by one project after another, sometimes overnight.…

Renie Baptista, lives in a 100-old-legacy house in Matharpacady. The house, inherited by her father-in-law from his mother, invokes a mixture of legacy, emotional attachment to the neighbourhood, where people share similar cultural and social ethos. She also enjoys a sense of space in her 2000 sq ft bungalow, which, even now, is a sturdy house.  Shifting into a flat that could come with water and other infrastructural issues bothers her along with the worry of losing her link with her community spaces forever. Many others in Matharpacady share her anxiety. The quaint old charming bungalows and bylanes of Mazgaon village…

Promise of bigger flats to Dharavi residents According to the latest statement from the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL), the residents of one of the largest and unique slum settlements in Mumbai and in India, will get flats that are 350 square feet, bigger than any other slum rehabilitation project.  The project, which will be carried out by Adani Realty and Maharashtra government, is slated to be one of the largest slum cluster redevelopment projects. Dharavi, which has industries such as leather, pottery, snack-making employ thousands of people apart from residences. The plan is to build vertical towers to accommodate…

A ritual from my childhood involved going to a local co-operative store at the end of every month with my father. Buying and storing groceries, which would last the month or even the year, was the norm of the time. But consumption patterns are getting transformed — a part of a larger, systemic change. Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP), one of India’s largest co-operative consumer organisations has not escaped the effects of this change. “There is a significant change both in terms of the number of members and the number of goods ordered,” says Advocate Shrish Despande, the Chairperson of MGP. Both…

On the morning of December 13th last year, Seema Tania, a bird watcher spotted a few dead mangrove trees near Navi Mumbai’s Chanakya lake. These fully grown mangrove trees are usually seen in abundance on bunds created within the lake forming a forest along a small strip of land that divides TS Chanakya’s grassy wetland. The strip is popular among birders, who often hide between the trees– hoping to spot the usual migratory birds that settle on the water all through the year.  Initially, Seema thought that only a few trees were being cut down. The next morning however, she…