City: Mumbai

Mumbai schools reopening on January 24th Schools across Maharashtra are reopening on Monday, January 24th, after agreement from Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. According to Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra School Education Minister, schools have been instructed to follow COVID-19 protocols strictly. "After COVID cases rose, the government decided not to continue with the school (offline) sessions. But after discussion with the experts, it has been decided to start the sessions where the number of cases is low based on the local COVID-19 situation," Ms Gaikwad said. Source: NDTV BMC finalises ward boundaries for 236 seats, elections to be held in March On…

Every year, like clockwork, Mumbai floods after excessive rains that bring the city to a standstill, leaving behind severe damages to infrastructure, and throwing up new challenges for the city administrators to handle. This despite substantial annual budgets sanctioned for desilting storm water drains and attempts to rejuvenate rivers, including Mithi. So predictable and perennial is Mumbai’s experience with flooding, that political parties had included specific promises in their 2017 BMP poll manifestos to tackle the issue. However, five years down the line, as they face the electorate again in 2022, the ground reality is that the promises have remained…

The third wave of COVID-19 in Mumbai has mobilised another round of crowdsourcing for hospital beds, akin to the second wave, when citizen action kept the country afloat. Among them, one citizen, Vikram Tuteja claims multiple people have asked him for help in their hunt for ICU beds. Even Iqbal S Chahal, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)'s commissioner, acknowledged complaints about the shortage of COVID-19 beds in private hospitals. But, the BMC's daily updates have continuously shown ample availability of hospital beds. The percentage of occupied beds has not exceeded 22% (7,500), even when there have been over a lakh active…

Daily COVID-19 cases drop in Mumbai After January 12th, the city has seen a 17% drop in in its daily COVID-19 cases. The daily numbers in Mumbai have been a subject of debate, since doctors believe that the curve is flattening but authorities insist that the city is yet to experience the worst. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, said that the next three-to-four days will decide whether the third wave is indeed declining in Mumbai. Source: The Times of India Reporting home-test results for COVID-19 now mandatory Given the rise in home-testing in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has…

A population census is still far away. But the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to do a dog census in Mumbai in March 2022. For a start, the BMC is doing an awareness drive towards responsible pet ownership in Mumbai by getting owners to license their pets. “As part of this campaign, BMC officials visited housing societies to create awareness and register more pet licences,” said Dr K.A. Pathan, general manager of BMC’s veterinary health department. “Since the process is entirely online and can be done over a mobile phone, our staffers would register the pets on the spot, and…

It has never been easier for political parties to know what their cities need. On December 22nd, the NGOs Praja Foundation and Mumbai First released the ‘Ideal Public Health Manifesto’. Handpicking 10 areas of priority within the BMC’s public health department, the manifesto is making a case for reforms that could mean better healthcare for all. Elections for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) are expected to be held in February 2022, and the city awaits an influx of manifestos where health will compete with concerns of road, water, and environment, among others. Instead of the freebies political parties usually offer,…

Mumbai reports 20,181 new COVID-19 cases, positivity rate at 31.7% As of January 7th, Mumbai crossed the 20,000 cases of COVID-19 mark, which was the threshold for lockdown measures, as announced by Mayor Kishori Pednekar. Health Minister Rajesh Tope said a decision on lockdown in Mumbai will be taken by the Chief Minister. The total number of fresh cases, 20,181, is a 33 per cent spike over the previous day’s figures. Although 85% of the new cases show no symptoms, 1,170 patients have been hospitalised and 106 are on oxygen support. Four deaths were also recorded. BMC has issued home…

One night on a stroll through Santacruz, Mumbai, I noticed a tree with a larger than usual trunk right in the middle of SV road, a major road that connects the city’s suburbs. A friend I was with remembered the tree from his childhood; he would wait to pass by it every time he returned home on a scooter with his father. Another friend, an ecologist, identified the tree as a Baobab tree. Since I stumbled upon the history of the baobab tree, it made me look at trees around me differently. The Baobab is native to Africa, and was…

COVID cases surge by 45% in Mumbai. 3,555 cases, 190 omicron cases but zero deaths Daily COVID-19 cases in Mumbai rose by 45% on 30th December (3,555) in a day, though no fatalities were registered. Mumbai also reported 190 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, the highest single-day spike so far. Maharashtra's tally rose 40% to 5,368 while deaths remained steady at 22. The number of Omicron infections rose to 450. The Maharashtra government announced fresh restrictions with weddings, social, political, and religious events limited to 50 persons, and funerals to 20 persons. Source: The Times of India,…

On the face of it, the latest National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) data appears to tell a straightforward story about sanitation in Mumbai - that of progress. More than 90% of the population now have better sanitation facilities, drinking water access and menstrual protection, according to the survey. With the exception of 0.01%, nearly everyone (99.99%) gets their drinking water from an 'improved' source, which prevents external contamination. The situation did not require a huge leap, as the percentage in the NFHS-4 conducted in 2015-16 stood at 99.8%. Piped water taps (within premises, or in the neighbourhood, or public),…