City: Mumbai

It is only after paying Rs 10 lakh as fees that one becomes an engineer from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In contrast to this, I completed my B Tech in 2013 from a government college in Kerala for Rs 26,000. IITs have turned into a gated community of the elites, serving those who can afford their exorbitant fees and filtering out those who can't. The fee hike by IIT-B in July is a testament to that. Soon after the fee hike, the deputy director assured us that all our questions would be answered in an open house…

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease on the rise in Navi Mumbai Out of about 100 cases in the OPDs across Navi Mumbai, 50 are of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). A sudden rise in cases in the city has concerned officials since HFMD cases could be confused with monkeypox, chickenpox and measles.  “The blisters look similar to those seen during chickenpox. So, it is important to sensitise the parents, general practitioners as well as school authorities about the difference in these blisters that could be largely HFMD. We do not have any monkeypox cases yet. Measles is also not found. Chickenpox,…

This is the second and final part in the series on the history of building regulations in Mumbai. This part continues where the first left off, at the turn of the twentieth century amidst the administration's efforts at slum clearance. The Development Plan Preoccupation with affordable rents and slum clearance remained the mainstay of urban planning and governance in the 20th century. At the same time, efforts to address issues such as access to open spaces, amenities and concerns of over-crowding, traffic on roads were formalised and debated upon. The very first Development Plan was introduced in 1964 and sanctioned…

This article is part one of a series looking at how the history of building regulations and development has shaped the built environment of Mumbai. Part two will delve into the changes in building regulations over the twentieth century, through suburbanisation, the development plans and liberalisation. Ask Mumbaikars about the housing problem in the city, and you’re likely to get a different take on the issue from each one. Some will be up in arms about the pervasiveness of slums, which they call ‘encroachments’. Others will point to the absence of affordable housing, laying the blame on either the gaps…

At the beginning of this year, the freshly minted electric Yulu bikes were taking their baby steps in Bandra West. The Bangalore-based company had just started branching out of its base in Mumbai, the commercial Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) district, hoping to become the vehicle of choice for app-based delivery workers. “Because of COVID-19, home delivery has become so common. There suddenly is an explosion of people saying ‘Why should I go out if I can order in with a few clicks on my phone?’,” Hemant Gupta, co-founder and COO of Yulu/the company had told us, explaining the pivot from last-mile connectivity to…

Viral infections engulf Mumbai This monsoon, severe bouts of illnesses have gripped the city. While COVID cases have dropped, there is an increase in cases of swine flu. Authorities have decided to reduce the prices of swine flu tests - currently standing at Rs 2500-3500. “It costs around ₹2,500 for the swine flu throat swab. For those who are not undergoing the test, we are clinically diagnosing with upper respiratory tract infection and high fever. The fever subsides as soon as we start the anti-viral (Oseltamivir),” said Dr Shekhar Shirvaikar, a family physician from Goregaon. Source: Hindustan Times Environmentalists oppose…

Water is an essential part of life and its abundance is necessary for food and livestock security. Safe, adequate and equitable water supply, therefore, is required to conserve biodiversity and the environment. But Mumbai is severely lagging in this. In Thane district particularly, situated next to Mumbai Metropolis, the area is abundant in only water supply issues, no water. For the past few years, Thane’s roughly 22-lakh strong population has struggled with adequate water supply. Many parts of Thane, namely Kolshet, Hiranandani Estate, Mumbra, Diva, Waghbil and Kasarvadavli, are either not receiving proper water supply, or are receiving impure water…

The recent formation of a new Maharashtra government and the appointment of a new chief minister has quickly led to abrupt policy changes for Mumbaikars. On June 29th, ex-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned from his post, and on the next day, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the new CM of Maharashtra. The new government, a coalition of BJP and rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, is set to bring in policy changes, especially in the face of the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.  The result of a widely publicised and unpredictable political conflict was sudden changes in government decisions, particularly the controversial reversal of Uddhav…

For over a decade now, residents of Indira Nagar slums in Mumbai's Sewree have been waiting for a road that would not be an invitation to diseases in their homes. But that has not happened yet. With the arrival of the monsoon, the road adjoining their makeshift houses gets waterlogged making their living conditions difficult and threatening public health.  "The water and mud accumulate when it rains heavily, even taxis don't come here. People here frequently fall sick in the rains. There have been so many people who have had dengue or malaria in the past," said 42-year-old Laxmi Harijan,…

Two years ago, the Bandra West railway station area used to be crowded, chaotic and messy. Commuters heading towards the trains jostled not only with those leaving, but also with the many rickshaws, share-rickshaw drivers, vehicles and occasional hawkers vying for their attention. Vehicles squeezed past each other narrowly, making it unsafe for pedestrians. “I used to take the train to work every day for eight years,” recalls Samir D’Monte, founder and principal architect at SDM Architects. “I realised then that there was a lot of scope for improvement.” Sketching out a few plans for reworking the railway station area,…