City: Mumbai

The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) recently decided upon two projects that raise questions about its intentions. It rejected the proposal to build a school by Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) citing Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules but approved the proposal for a Golf Course by Mistry Construction Co Pvt Ltd within a day of receiving it. The Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority, regulates all developmental activities in Coastal Regulation Zones. It does so for “protecting and improving the quality of the coastal environment and preventing, abating and controlling environmental pollution in the Coastal Regulation Zone areas in the…

Mumbai and beyond catch the flu The recent spike in influence cases has taken the instances of H1N1 (swine flu) and H3N2 in the state to 425 and 264 respectively this year. Suspected cases in Maharashtra are over 3 lakh. Three deaths have been reported due to the former infection, and one is suspected of the latter. Doctors suspect the spread may be the see-sawing temperatures, going from hot in February to a cool spell in March. Precautionary measures are recommended, like wearing a mask, taking the influenza vaccine, and if elderly or with comorbidities, checking in regularly with physicians.…

With 45 lakh vehicles in Mumbai including 14 lakh cars till January-2023, the city has a vehicular density of 2250 vehicles per km, the highest in the country, says the Maharashtra's Economic Survey report. Not surprisingly, the city is teeming with parked vehicles on its streets, footpaths, building compounds, bylanes, even its parking lots and is struggling to make space for the ever-increasing number of private vehicles that are making their way in the city.  Current status of parking spaces in the city Currently, Mumbai has provision for parking 27,295 vehicles in its 31 functional parking lots.  Apart from this,…

A triplex penthouse in Malabar Hills, over 18,000 square feet, eight car parking spots, and a view of the Arabian Sea: all for the price of Rs 252.5 crore. A penthouse in Three Sixty West tower in Worli, 30,000 square feet, plus a terrace of 5,000 square feet and free sale land of 1.3 lakh square feet, 14 parking spaces: for the slightly lower price of Rs 230 crore. These are outliers in Mumbai's - and India's - housing market, one dethroning the other for the spot of the most expensive property deal in the country. But due to the…

A school in Andheri East has been requesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to shift the open metal garbage bin situated near their entrance to a different location for the last ten years. Up until now, Tridha school has sent about 20 letters to their local ward office in K east, they have written to the state's health department and the state's education department. "The situation worsens during the rains and creates a scarier health hazard," says Dilshad, a teacher from the school. The school is surrounded by a local market and further ahead is an informal settlement. For both,…

State Government to create SOP for under-construction sites after tragic accident in Mumbai Maharashtra government will be establishing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for under-construction buildings in order to prevent accidents in light of the one that occurred in Mumbai's Worli four weeks ago and resulted in the deaths of two pedestrians. During the Assembly session, Sunil Shinde, a legislator from Shiv Sena (UBT), brought up the issue of the February 15th accident by a calling attention motion. As per news reports, a concrete block fell from a crane of a 42-storey under-construction building killing two pedestrians. As a response,…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to build three underground parking lots at Flora Fountain (with capacity of 176 cars), Worli (640 cars) and under a section of Raosaheb Patwardhan Park (228 cars), Bandra (West). Overall, the underground parking lots, meant to accommodate 1044 cars, will be built at the cost of about Rs 300 crores.  However, citizens have opposed this move vehemently leading to withdrawal of another proposal of underground parking beneath Juhu's Pushpa Narsee park (PNP).  Citizens mobilised to protest after a BMC press note on February 2, 2023 announced plans for underground parking underneath Patwardhan Park in…

On February 7, 2023, 30 fishermen from Uran Koliwada were arrested for opposing work on the Uran bypass bridge. The grounds for the FIR against them was that the accused were causing "danger to the nation," as the project is of "national importance." While they were given bail, the arrests are emblematic of fisherfolk's fight to oppose the rampant and widespread destruction of their fishing areas by development far and wide. Fishermen from Uran Koliwada have been protesting against various projects carried out by Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO), Navi Mumbai Special…

A living will is a written document in which a person expresses their wishes regarding medical treatment in the event they become terminally ill or incapable of making decisions themselves. In a living will, an individual designates a proxy to make decisions on their behalf and instructs proxy as well as others about what he or she wants. The concept of a living will is based on the principle that every person has the right to determine the type of medical treatment they receive or discontinue when their condition requires it. Many others share the same view but the mere…

Back to summer heat After a respite from the scorching heat after Mumbai took the honour of being the hottest in the country on Monday (at 39.3 degrees Celsius), expect a very warm weekend. It is likely to reach between 36 and 39 degrees Celcius, which will be accompanied by poor air quality. Strong winds from the east are pushing back the sea breeze. Post-March 12th, the temperature may slightly dip again. Source: The Indian Express Air quality data may be fudged A leading scientist has expressed doubts over the air pollution data from most of the continuous ambient air…