City: Mumbai

On his 17 km walk along the Mithi, Abhijit Waghre observed the river’s water level, its flood protection infrastructure, and associated limitations in basic sanitation services. Read more: Walking along the 17-km long Mithi river: A look at the riverine ecosystem Most of Mumbai's stormwater systems depend on the Mithi river for drainage to the sea. However, systemic challenges abound, with settlements abutting the river, limiting the effectiveness of this approach during the problematic monsoon months. When high tides and heavy rainfall coincide, the city's stormwater flow to the river gets backed up resulting in Mumbai’s annual flooding woes. Household…

For a large part of October, the air quality in Mumbai remained passable. Not very good, but not very bad either. The downslide began in the last few days of the month. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was at 79 —considered to be satisfactory; on October 22nd, it jumped to 121, moderate, the very next day. Mumbai's AQI was 136 the day after that, and finally, on October 25th, the city's air quality further deteriorated and turned 'poor' with an AQI of 213. Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s (MPCB) sub-regional officer Achyut Nandavate says, "We are sure that Mumbai is never…

Mumbai taxi drivers asked to put a rooftop indicator Mumbai's kaali-peeli (black and yellow taxi) drivers, by March 31st, 2023, will have to put an indicator on its rooftop that tells passengers if it is vacant, hired or the driver wants to take a break. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) has made it mandatory for all taxis in the city to install this colour-coded indicator before the deadline. The indicator will have green, red and white-coloured LED lights with writings in English and Marathi. Red will indicate that the vehicle is hired, green will signal if it is…

Across the globe, numerous cities have reaped the benefits of citizen-led urban planning proposals. Such initiatives consider the needs and aspirations of citizens, ensuring the effective use of open spaces and resources. For instance, in 2013, the Metropolitan Government of Seoul designed an urban regeneration policy focused on improving public, open spaces within the city through active citizen engagement, collaboration, and participation. Today, it is the 3rd best city in Asia. In a similar effort to revitalise the Nepean Sea Road in Mumbai, the Nepean Sea Road Citizens’ Forum has put forth a proposal to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to redesign a 2.7-km…

Every woman in India has felt unsafe while accessing public spaces. Even though Mumbai is considered relatively safer for women when compared to other metropolitan cities, incidents of sexual violence are not uncommon in the city. To address women's safety in Mumbai, Citizen Matters Mumbai held an hour-long virtual discussion with researchers, legal experts, and activists. The discussion first shed light on the acts of violence that women and other vulnerable genders are subjected to daily and then turned towards the question of how they can be prevented. Speaking about her experience while researching for her book Why Loiter: Women &…

In a previous article, we followed the delayed rehabilitation of the victims of a 2019 landslide in Kurar Village, Malad. After three years of living in the same place that killed 32 of their neighbours, 72 families were finally shifted to an SRA building in the area on August 22nd, 2022. That was only part of the story - 86 families were shifted within two months of the tragedy 30 km away to Mahul. This is their side of the story. Inteyaz Ansari gestures to two buildings, Building 10 and 31, in a sea of nearly identical buildings numbered 1…

Gokhale bridge to be re-opened in Sept 2023 Despite all the delays and the danger it poses to the trains passing by below, there has been no headway as to who - the BMC or railways - will demolish the Gokhale bridge in Andheri, Mumbai. The Gokhale bridge was partially closed in 2018 and completely shut down this past week after structural audits revealed that the bridge was corroded and degraded. As the BMC claims to have no experience in demolishing bridges above railway tracks, it is banking on the Railways doing so in the next month. Tenders can then…

This is the second and final part in the series on skywalks in the city. Read the first part here. Fifteen years after they were commissioned in 2007, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now attempting to make skywalks more people-friendly in Mumbai, by installing escalators wherever required.  The BMC has now appointed a consultant to study if, where and how escalators could be installed in the 23 skywalks in Mumbai. The most recently inaugurated 24th skywalk at Jogeshwari (E) already has an escalator installed in it. Escalators have already been sanctioned at five skywalks on a pilot project basis.  The Mumbai…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be spending over Rs 10 crore on the beautification of the M-east ward in the first phase. The ward authorities also plan to construct a clock tower at Indian Oil Nagar in the second phase of beautification. However, residents in the area believe the money could be used more efficiently. 33-year-old Kailash Aran, who works as a driver and resides in the slums of Annabhau Sathe Nagar, contends BMC needs to focus on keeping the area clean and ensuring the ward remains mosquito-free instead of such beautification projects that don't do much for the…

In its annual report titled ‘State of Policing and Law and Order in Mumbai, 2022’, PRAJA Foundation revealed that 98% of the total cases in Class II serious offences, including murder, crimes against women and cases under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act are pending for trial. In cases where the trials were completed, 86% ended in an acquittal or discharge. The data was based on findings from applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and data published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Read more: Is Mumbai really safe for its women? Data suggests otherwise…