City: Mumbai

The pandemic has deepened the difficulties and dangers faced by sex workers in gaining and maintaining clients. Lockdowns and lack of relief have wrecked any semblance of financial stability they previously had. Moreover, while sex work is not illegal in the country, police violence against women categorized as ‘prostitutes’ continues unabated.  Such public sentiments and aggressive policing are rooted in a long history of brutally criminalizing sex workers. In fact, it has resonance in various legal and medical regulations enacted during British rule of South Asia. Historically, British authorities painted sex workers not only as purveyors of disease but as…

Bombay’s pivotal role in the Independence movement and particularly in the Quit India movement has not been recognized enough, according to Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, who is also the Managing Trustee and Honorary Director of Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum in Byculla. What can be done about it? “We strongly feel that our museum should now take up this subject,” she added, recalling that institution was once a British museum and its origins are reflected in the collection. It was established in 1872 as the Victoria and Albert Museum. It got its current name only in 1975. Mehta was…

E-Pass facility launched for Mumbai's trains Maharashtra government launched an online e-pass facility on August 12 to enable fully vaccinated people to travel in suburban trains in Mumbai from Independence Day onwards. Officials said that the state's Relief and Rehabilitation Department had developed a web link to provide e-passes to employees and essential workers. Representative Image The same link will now make e-passes available to fully vaccinated citizens who have completed 14 days after their second dose, for Mumbai suburban railway travel. The digital process will not be a replacement for the offline ticketing system which will continue to be…

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…