City: Mumbai

As fears towards an impending third wave – set to reveal itself in October according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – have set in the city, there is a deeper concern among parents of young children who are yet to be vaccinated. To ensure the safety of their wards, many parents have restricted their children from playing in common premises where they would normally interact with other children.  On September 13, only ten children were admitted in Mumbai hospitals (nine in the NESCO COVID-19 care facility and one in Seven Hills Hospital) with moderate or severe symptoms of the…

In 2010, journalist and activist Saumya Roy co-founded a non-profit organization called Vandana Foundation to support the livelihoods of Mumbai’s poorest micro-entrepreneurs by giving small, low-interest loans. By 2013, she started getting requests for loans from waste-pickers in Deonar. This year, she is out with a book about their lives, titled Mountain Tales: Love and Loss in the Municipality of Castaway Belongings, published by Profile Books. How it all began Saumya decided to write about the community of waste-pickers in 2016 when a fire began raging in the Deonar dumping grounds, however, her interest in the community was established in…

Mumbai schools to reopen post Diwali? At the last Pediatric Task Force meeting that local corporations should take the final decision of reopening schools in their areas. However, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar on September 23rd, said that the decision of re-opening of schools in Mumbai and surrounding areas will be taken after Diwali BMC Education Officer, Raju Tadvi was quoted as stating that they are "preparing a plan for safe reopening, which will be given to all schools in the city, irrespective of which board they are affiliated to.” Under this plan, schools will be required to have a medical…

I knew of the Baobab tree as a massive tree somewhere in Africa, but little did I know that for most of my life in Bombay, I had been living among these gentle giants. Both the colleges that I studied in had a Baobab tree within 300 meters, but I never noticed them.  "If a Baobab spoke, man wouldn't understand!" This phrase displays the profound nature of the trees and their existence that has surpassed centuries.Pic: Zico Fernandes Originally from Madagascar, Africa, the Baobab trees are defined by their swollen base - with a girth upto 36 ft - and height…

On the eve of 7th September, 11:00 pm, Aarti Aggarwal Gupta was alerted about a cat stranded on the parapet of the 4th floor of her building. For the next 3 hours, efforts to rescue the animal were in full swing. Shukri - the cat - had slipped into an open house and on being shooed, jumped out of the window. She landed on the ledge directly below. At first, Aarti, her husband and a watchman attempted to call the cat to safety. After several unsuccessful attempts, they decided to contact the BMC disaster management helpline, 1916. https://youtu.be/neaJCsIg7mM A fire…

On 27th August 2021, Minister for Environment and Tourism (Govt of Maharashtra), Aditya Thackeray, launched the first-ever climate action plan in Mumbai. Titled Mumbai’s Climate Action Plan (MCAP) it has been drafted by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) with technical support from WRI India, involved as a knowledge partner. “Mumbai is one of the high-risk cities to the worst impacts of climate change. There is a need to re-think the ways development is carried out in the current climate change scenario. Coordinated efforts for data monitoring and management, will help us make quick and informed decisions, ensuring the…

NGT admits petition to stop Versova beach construction Environmentalist Zoru Bhatena's petition filed against renovation of Versova beach has been admitted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Bhatena claims the developmental work violates clearances issued under the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) by Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA). Versova beach is also an important nesting site for Olive Ridley turtles. A two-judge bench found merit in the petition and ordered the Public Works Department (PWD), MCZMA, the state environment impact assessment authority, the municipal corporation and the district collector to respond to the notices served. Source: Hindustan Times Read more:…

In part 1 of the story, we wrote about how citizens partnered with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to create three new public spaces for the city, despite the limited framework available for doing so. And while these changes are a step towards greater change, Mumbai still has an abysmal 1.24 sqm of open space per person.  The Development Plan 2034, drafted by the BMC, aims to increase this from 3,798 acres to 8,710 acres. A big chunk of this - around 200 acres - is expected to come from the land reclaimed as part of the Coastal Road Project.…

When fishermen at Worli Koliwada tried to take their boats out to sea in the last week of August, soon after Narali Poornima - a festival that marks the onset of the fishing season - they found that reclamation work had affected the coastline used for docking boats. “They have left us with no space to dock our boats in the shallow waters," says Sanjay Baikar, secretary of the Vanchit Machimar Worli Haji Ali Sahkari Sansthan Maryadit, an organisation of fishermen. "Where earlier 35 boats would stand, today even 19 boats are finding it difficult to find space in the…

As Mumbai prepares for a third wave, housing societies watch closely as it marks the beginning of yet another harrowing time. The spike in COVID-19 numbers even before Ganesh Chaturthi festivities could begin, has rung warning bells in the city. As of 8 September, Mumbai had 50 buildings and only one informal settlement actively sealed with about 2,075 people considered high risk for having come into contact with a COVID-19 patient. Another 530 people had tested positive in a single day. The resurgence of the virus is being witnessed with nervousness, especially in large residential complexes where a number of…