City: Mumbai

Wearing masks no longer mandatory in Mumbai On March 31st, Mumbai saw 42 news COVID cases and no casualties. The gradual decline in cases led the state executive comm to ease all COVID restrictions in Maharashtra. The state government has relaxed all curbs and checking for vaccination and social distancing will stop. Wearing masks is now voluntary and no longer a finable offence. For districts that still have a high number of cases and low vaccination rates, stricter curbs may be implemented as they do not meet the criteria to relax all restrictions. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has…

When I moved to my current apartment building in Kandivali in January 2018, I noticed a couple of malnourished dogs in the neighbourhood. I started cooking food to feed them and nurture them back to health. Soon after, I was tending to 12 dogs from the initial 2. As of 2022, I’ve been tending to 62 dogs and 9 cats every day, and during the COVID lockdown at least 75 dogs came to me since their original territories - restaurants, food stalls - were all shut. Now that things are back to normal, most of them have returned. I have…

Mumbai's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), is responsible for the civic infrastructure and administration of the city and its suburbs. One of the richest municipal corporations in Asia, its budget is bigger than some of the smaller states in India. For 2022, the civic budget is Rs 45949.21, a 17.70% jump from the previous year. With such a large budget and population to cater to, we must be aware of how our tax money is spent and communicate our expectations to the municipal corporation. Active citizen participation is the foundation of democracy.  Read more: Understanding Mumbai’s municipal corporation Why a…

Mumbai is rife with markers of its colonial past. One building emblematic of the British architecture, which we frequently come upon in South Bombay, is the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) building.  In 2021, this building was opened to the public for the first time in over a century, inviting the public to explore where the city is run from. We are guided through the building's architectural history and the foundation of the municipal corporation through a tour held every weekend by the heritage foundation Khaki Tours, in collaboration with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).  Built in 1893, the building was designed…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), also called the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), is India’s richest civic body. With an annual budget of Rs 45,949.21 crore for the year 2022-23, the BMC governs a population of over two crore people. Established in 1888, it is one of India's oldest municipal corporations with a vast administrative structure. Like any city corporation, BMC too consists of a deliberative wing comprising elected representatives i.e. the Corporators who represent the local wards, and the administrative wing composed of appointed officials. Officials including the Municipal Commissioner and Additional Commissioners, along with the staff of…

Sagir Qureshi, a hawker in Mumbai, has been selling clothes on Hill Road in Bandra for over 50 years. He does not have a shop, instead, he wheels in an assortment of t-shirts and tops on metal racks to his usual spot everyday. In a line on the footpath in front of the brick and mortar shops, he joins the other hawkers getting ready for the evening crowds. “Mai apne pitaji ke time se yaha hu. Elco Market 1965 me shuru hua tha, tab itne hawkers aur dukaan nahi the. (I’ve been here since my father’s time. The Elco Market…

Cases of tuberculosis decline, but vigilance high On March 25th, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that Mumbai reported 60,000 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in 2021, compared to over 43,000 in 2020. But, despite these numbers, there seems to be a marginal decline in cases of TB since before the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, when cases were at 60,440. The BMC was vigilant of TB cases during the pandemic since those suffering could have been overlooked despite their increased vulnerability to the virus. Services for TB patients were kept running through the pandemic years, and officials…

On March 21st, Citizen Matters hosted a tweet chat to discuss the recently launched Mumbai Climate Plan (MCAP) with Lubaina Rangawala, Tanmay Takle and Saurabh Punamiya. After its inception in 2021, the MCAP was opened up to suggestions and criticisms from citizens, environmental experts and other stakeholders. This creates an opportunity for the city to work with the government towards an effective climate policy, as we stand at a critical juncture in Mumbai’s climate history. The tweet chat addressed points from the Plan to understand whether the Mumbai government is truly prepared for the climate crisis, and where the city…

Mohammed Irshad, a garment worker in Dharavi, recalls being gripped by the fear of policemen lathi-charging him when he would step out in search of odd jobs during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. His garment unit was shut down. He wasn’t the only one, and many workers were suddenly faced with a crisis that appeared to have no solution ahead. Laxmi Kamble, co-ordinator with Acorn Foundation, which distributed food and ration kits during the lockdown, recalls the humiliation, desperation and embarrassment faced by workers, who were suddenly stuck with no tiffin service or hotels, no vessels to make food and no…

Modern lifestyles in cities often see most of us buying more, despite the acclaimed ‘Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Repurpose and Recycle’ mantra. When tired of the clutter, we repurpose pre-owned belongings like old clothes and toys by passing them on to domestic help. But, a step further could help support underprivileged communities throughout the country. There are many organisations in Mumbai supporting local communities in need by distributing pre-owned items in the city and rural Maharashtra. “We can’t say we’re solving the poverty crisis, but there’s a need and we’re filling it,” says Pradeep Tripathi, founder of Green Yatra, a foundation…