City: Mumbai

Citizens deciding to take a walk on Mumbai's beach to enjoy the monsoon weather, need to beware of getting stung by Portuguese Man-of-War, a marine species that wash ashore on Mumbai’s beaches. Also known as Blue Bottle, they are usually found on Mumbai’s beach during the monsoon season every year. This year too, citizens have spotted hundreds of them at Versova and Juhu beach. Last year, due to lockdown, there were hardly any cases of residents getting stung by this marine species, reported in the city . A group of marine enthusiasts from Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM), posted an…

Mumbaikars have multiple avenues for lodging complaints to civic authorities. The toll-free number 1916, MCGM website, MyBMC 24*7 mobile application and even written complaints form the centralised complaint registration system (CCRS).  Through a SAP (a data management software for enterprise and resource planning) interface, the complaint gets routed to an officer in charge of the particular department in the complainant's ward. The complaint can then be tracked, escalated and given feedback on.  However, this process has faced several glitches in the recent past. So much so that residents have begun using social media instead to draw the attention of the…

As one walks into the infinitesimal lanes in Daulat Nagar, Borivali, the houses, one over the other, start to narrate the story of their occupants. The slum is primarily  home to the transgender community in the locality. Renting a 30meter square house costs anywhere between  Rs 5000- Rs 6000 per month. This is one of the biggest expenses for the transgender community, who mainly earn by begging. A 32-year-old transwoman lives in the slum of Daulat Nagar. Since the lockdown, she and other community members are not earning much as they can’t go begging in trains or in streets or…

Evicted GTB Nagar residents yet to be relocated Nearly 1,200 families who were evicted from their houses in Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Nagar last year have yet to see the redevelopment plan promised to them commence. While the BMC has been declaring houses in the area unsafe for the past two decades, residents were forced to finally leave last year amidst a raging pandemic. One of the residents told Mid-Day that for the past nine months, she and other women "begged BMC officials to make alternate arrangements for the poor families, many of whom are of taxi drivers." The assistant commissioner of…

On 17 June 2021, landslides in Chembur and Vikhroli killed more than 30 people, injured many others and destroyed several houses. Hanslal lost his entire family in the Vikhroli landslide. He lived in a one-room house, paying Rs 3,000 as monthly rent - a price he could thankfully afford in the absence of work and social security during the pandemic. He worked as a carpenter and was out of work in the past few months. Hanslal is aware that both the Union and the State Governments have announced compensation, but he is not hopeful of receiving the money because he…

Mumbaikars are demanding that the city, especially the suburban trains be opened up for all as numbers drop to 259 new cases as on 2 August.  Many delegations were taken to the government demanding more relaxations on commute, to save livlihoods and revitalize the economy.  On 2 August, the state government relaxed certain restrictions and extending working hours of all shops - essential and non-essential -  till 10PM in Mumbai. They also allowed private offices and sporting facilities excluding swimming, to be fully open. Salons, gyms were open earlier but their timings have been extended. However, the one demand the…

Residents of Mumbai are complaining about potholes via social media platforms like Twitter to the local civic authorities. This monsoon, it seems to have made some difference. Every year in the rainy season, BMC receives major complaints regarding potholes on roads via the control room helpline (1916) and mobile app. But now to reach out faster, the residents of various areas in the city are tagging BMC local wards’ Twitter handles and sometimes the Assistant Municipal Commissioners, local Municipal Corporators of the wards to report potholes in the area. Many times, a before and after photo of potholes complaints are…

Restrictions relaxed for Mumbai Maharashtra's government approved easing of curbs in 25 of 36 districts on July 29th. This includes reopening malls and multiplexes at 50% capacity, extending hours for restaurants and shops till 8 PM. Non-essential shops and dining out will now be allowed till 4 PM on Saturdays. The government will also relax the limit for gatherings at social and cultural events. All restrictions will continue to apply on Sundays until further notice. While malls and cinemas will be able to recover financial losses, no decision has been taken on allowing non-essential Mumbaikars on local trains to commute…

For the first time in the history of Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking is facing a huge shortage of buses. Once considered the pride of Mumbai and Asia’s best bus service, and often compared with London, it is now in poor shape. BEST bus passenger figures Back in 2004-05, BEST had 3,400 buses in its fleet and carried 45 lakh passengers every day. Priority was given to feeder routes catering to the nearest railway station, and long distance routes were fewer. Things went downhill from 2010, when the first fare hike happened. Subsequent fare hikes in…

Though the Union government claims that the Model Tenancy Act 2021 is meant to unlock more empty houses, many property owners in Mumbai are unsure.  Friction between the tenant and the landlord often result in long-drawn out legal battles. The new law is meant to govern the tenant-landlord equation through effective and faster dispute resolution.  Property owners fear legal disputes if tenants do not vacate their property on time. “....expensive legal costs deter landlords from giving their properties on rent in the first place. The risk of property litigations in cases of conflicts is a major deterrent which has made…