City: Mumbai

Respected Sir,We, civil society organisations and activists from Maharashtra, who are engaged in human rights work with different communities and have also been extensively involved in relief work and advocacy throughout the pandemic and consequent lockdown, address this letter to you to put forth some of our pressing concerns regarding the new restrictions announced in light of increasing number of COVID cases in the state of Maharashtra. We also request for a personal meeting with you to discuss our below suggestions and explore possibilities of civil society collaborations through constructive engagement and consultation, with an aim to create an effective…

Any Kharghar resident who takes the local train to work, would have easily noticed what is going on across the creek as they leave or reach the railway station. Rivers, mangroves, wetlands, hills that mother nature has bestowed us are being ravaged — all for one purpose: building the Navi Mumbai International Airport. It is definitely a good thing to have an airport nearby as it will bring down airport commute times from hours to just a few minutes. It will also lead to general economic development for Navi Mumbai and surrounding suburbs. The scale at which works are being…

Hardik Joshi, Unsplash,Com Fire results in the death of 11 COVID-19 patients On March 25th, a fire rapidly spread in Dreams Mall Sunrise Hospital resulting in the death of 11 COVID-19 patients. Relatives of the deceased ran around the city for almost 10 hours searching for their bodies. Dreams Mall had been declared fit for housing a make-shift COVID hospital days before an audit last May claimed that fire-fighting systems of the building are non-functional. Despite this audit, Mumbai’s Fire Brigade granted a fire safety compliance report for the mall on July 22, 2020. Draft rules published in 2009 would…

In July 2003, I stepped out of Dadar station for the first time with two big bags worth of belongings, starry eyes and dreams of adventures. My heart sank when I saw the crowd of people buzzing around like there was some emergency. Did I land in Mumbai in the middle of a calamity? But soon, I realised this was the way of life here.  Growing up in laid-back Pune, where people believed that afternoon naps were an important part of their existence, my first impression of Mumbai was ‘what the hell is going on’.  Soon I learnt that this…

COVID-19 cases above 5000, highest ever Last Wednesday, Mumbai reported its highest-ever single-day spike with over 5,000 new cases for the first time since the pandemic's outbreak. The city's total tally increased to 3,74,611, according to Mint. The active containment zones in the city stand at 39 and a total of 432 buildings are sealed. The recovery rate of Mumbai city is 90% while the overall growth rate of Covid cases stands at 0.79%, the Livemint reported. In a random antigen test, seven hawkers at Dadar station were found to be positive in Mumbai, the Times of India reported. Source:…

Last week, the Bombay High Court asked the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to probe into irregularities in toll collection on the Mumbai-Pune expressway. Activists had filed a Public Interest Litigation to stop toll collection fee on the Expressway, claiming the capital costs was already recovered from it in the past 16 years since 2004.   This pushed us to ask, what do Mumbai residents pay toll for?  Currently, Mumbaikars have to pay a toll at five points. Dahisar on the Western Express Highway, Vashi on the Sion-Panvel Highway, Airoli bridge and two points at Mulund - Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg…

On 2nd March, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) started a vaccination drive for senior citizens and those over 45 years of age with comorbidities. Since then, over two lakh people have been vaccinated in the city. But due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai, where 3,260 patients tested positive just yesterday, BMC is trying to make the process of vaccination easier. On 20th March, BMC announced that those eligible can now simply walk-in to their nearest vaccination centre and get vaccinated. They don't have to wait for their scheduled appointment. But even if you don't have to wait…

Latest reports reveal that over two lakh people have been vaccinated in Mumbai, but the city's major population, citizens from its many bastis, are conspicuously absent from vaccination centres. Consider Cheetah Camp in Mumbai's M-East ward: conversations with multiple residents in Maharashtra Nagar, Cheeta Camp, Shivaji Nagar and other parts show that awareness about COVID-19 vaccination is minimal. "There is absolutely no discussion about vaccination in Cheeta Camp," Nawab Khan, a resident, says. Nawab is part of a community-based organisation formed under Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's Dattak Vasti Yojana or slum adoption scheme. His work is field-based, involving collection of garbage,…

My friend Arun, spends 20-30 minutes everyday, waiting in his car at the toll plaza to exit Mumbai so that he can reach his office in Thane. Like him, there are lakhs of vehicles that exit and enter the island city of Mumbai daily. I used to as well, but not since I switched jobs. Blessed with a seafront on most of its periphery, there are only 5 entry/ exit points for vehicular traffic in Mumbai: Dahisar (Western Express Highway)Vashi (Sion-Panvel Highway)Mulund East (Eastern Express Highway)Airoli (Mulund-Airoli Bridge)Mulund West (LBS Marg). Data compiled by Mumbai Vikas Samiti in Dec 2018…

COVID-19 cases surge in Mumbai Between February 15 and March 15, the city has recorded 31,106 new cases of Covid-19, of which 18,903 were reported in March alone, the Hindustan Times reported. Mumbai’s Covid growth rate shot up to 0.42% on March 15, from 0.15% reported on February 15. The doubling rate — the number of days it takes for the number of cases to double —was 165 days on March 15 compared to 455 days on February 15, according to the Hindustan Times. The surge is because of lack of precautionary means such as wearing masks or social distancing,…