City: Mumbai

Longtime locals of Bandra west tell stories of a peaceful, sleepy suburb it once was. However, over the last couple of decades, they have seen a real estate boom transform the skyline into towering buildings, where once beautiful cottages stood. The same narrow roads accommodate thrice as many apartment blocks, causing a spike in population density, without any upgrade to the infrastructure. At the end of what used to be called Cemetery Lane, now Khadeshwari Marg, are two cemeteries facing each other. The lane is just off Hill Road, famous for shopping and eateries. Decades ago, this lane ended at…

On 12th July, I boarded the last train from Thane station to Koparkhairane, where I live. The train was scheduled to reach at about 12:30 am. I travel regularly by local train, but I still avoid catching the last train. However, the nature of my freelancing work makes it unavoidable sometimes. The train stopped between stations, just after Ghansoli station for almost 20 minutes. It was well past midnight. Only one more woman was travelling in the compartment along with her child.  We waited patiently for the first 10 minutes, but when we saw no signs of the train moving, the…

“A house is just an emotion,” says Rajesh Kumar. “Investing in mutual funds or stocks and getting your finances right should be the priority instead of being crushed under loans,” says the 34-year-old senior consultant working for an IT company in Goregaon. He has been against the idea of homeownership due to the surging EMI burden to realise the dream of buying a house in Mumbai, the most expensive city in India for real estate. His concerns are not unfounded. Earlier this month, a report by real estate consultant company, Anarock, revealed that affordable home buyers in India have been…

1200 chapatis, 45 kgs of rice, 95 kgs of vegetables, and 20 kgs of daal. This is just one meal cooked in the kitchen at KEM hospital every single day. Around 1700-1800 patients are admitted daily and the kitchen provides for their nutrition as they recover from various illnesses. People are often sceptical about the food provided by public hospitals because of concerns related to hygiene and quality. Especially in a city like Mumbai, thousands of patients visit public hospitals for treatment and are dependent on the facilities provided by the hospitals. Recently, the authorities at Mumbai’s largest, KEM hospital,…

Mumbai-Goa highway to be ready before Ganesh Utsav One lane of the Mumbai-Goa highway will be ready before Ganesh Utsav, chief minister Ekanth Shinde has said. The Mumbai-Goa highway has been in the works for a long time. Thousands of people travel from Mumbai to Konkan for the festival. If it becomes functional by then, this journey will be much better for the travellers. "Our public works department minister Ravindra Chavan is on a visit to ensure the work is started though the highway comes under the National Highway Authority of India. Preparations have been completed. Before the Ganesh festival…

Rahul Ramugade, a 33-year-old Mumbaikar, who is paralysed waist down, is a National Para Swimmer. He has been raising the issue of mobility for the differently-abled people. Rahul can recount countless instances of exclusion and rejection from various public places and institutions as they were simply not accessible for the wheelchair-bound people. Rahul's dedication and passion for his sport are unwavering. Yet, many swimming pools across the city remain off-limits to him. The absence of ramps and other facilities required for the differently-abled swimmers, deprives him of the opportunity to train well. This is just one of the many challenges…

After being confined within the four walls of her house all her life, Neetu Mehta, finally ventured out on her own, six months ago. “Basic transport accessibility is the bare minimum anyone can ask for, in the pursuit of growth and equal opportunities,” says Neetu, who has been travelling by Mumbai’s local train in her wheelchair, with great difficulty and help from fellow commuters. A fever during her infancy had left her legs with irregular development, a condition that changed her life. The risks and uncertainties while using public transport to reach places, and the pressure of being a burden…

Earlier, a single get together of about 200 parishioners of the St. Francis Xavier Church would generate heaps of plastic waste. One can only imagine the amount of waste generated at multiple gatherings held throughout the year. As an ecology enthusiast and an educator, I was concerned about how we were harming the environment. I have mentored students about biodiversity and ecosystem loss, climate change, sustainability as part of the curriculum. I realised it was time for us to take collective action as a community.  In the words of Pope Francis, "As stewards of God's creation, we are called to…

On the morning of July 29, after continuous overnight rainfall, Prashant Pawar, and his neighbours heard a loud noise along with tremors, which felt like an earthquake. Everyone rushed outside to find the upper floor of a ground+1 storey house adjacent to their residence had collapsed, sending debris crashing down. The upper floor was occupied by a couple, while a family with two children lived on the lower floor. The family from the lower floor managed to escape but Priya Raj, was at home and sustained a head injury and was bleeding profusely. Prashant jumped into the wreckage to help…

BEST bus drivers protest again Contractual bus drivers of Mumbai BEST service went on a strike again. The reason was once again various issues related to their salaries - delays, lesser amount compared to staffers. The strike affected the commute severely as only one-third buses were on the road. According to the BEST spokesperson, 500 private bus operators and employees of Daga Group stopped work and protested. “We shifted the buses from other routes and tried to salvage the situation in the best possible way,” said a BEST spokesperson. The BEST has decided to levy fines of ₹5,000 per bus…