City: Mumbai

The COVID-19 pandemic currently devastating the globe has infected almost 7 million people in India, resulting in over 100,000 deaths. The figure is comparable to the official reported deaths caused by Tuberculosis (TB) in 2019. Despite TB being a preventable disease, this is a yearly phenomenon. Big cities have seen the highest concentration of COVID-19 cases. A district-wise analysis conducted in July showed that a mere 10 cities (including Mumbai) accounted for 52.7% of all active cases in the country. The infection is more widespread now, but Mumbai continues to be among the worst hit cities. Its sprawling slum population,…

World Mental Health Day is observed on October 10, with the objective of raising awareness about mental health issues. According to World Health Organisation's (WHO) World Health Report of 2001, one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, dementia, etc) at some point in their lives. It is estimated that currently, at least 10 percent of the world’s population is affected. (Photo: Fernando on Unsplash.com) Citizen Matters caught up with Malathi to find out what prompted her to make a film about mental health, her experience as a first-time film…

In the mid 70s, when the Maharashtra Slum Area (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, was enforced in Bombay, Shabbir Qureshi, 60, witnessed a quiet evolution of his Wadala neighbourhood. His parents had immigrated from Gujarat and settled in the “jungle-like” village, from where they could observe the slow shaving of a nearby hill. All around, Qureshi remembers, were jhuggi jhopdis balanced with wood and bamboo. There were no community water taps or public toilets.   The new Act mandated that the government provide sanitary and hygienic conditions in slums. It called those with a “photo-pass” (government-issued identification cards) “protected occupiers” who…

What use is it if Mumbai reduces lockdown restrictions but doesnt open up its main public transport system? Unlock - 5 started from October 1 but the local trains are still restricted to a select few.  Local trains can be accessed by ‘essential workers’ by using a QR code based electronic pass system, that can be availed only through their organisations.  Subsequently, personnel from private power companies and is now stretched to include private medical staffers, aircraft maintenance personnel, private bankers and even advocates were allowed on trains. More buses are being brought in to supplement the existing BEST bus networks,…

Anyone without a hobby would have perished during lockdown! Hobbies are a diversion from our routine life, and help to unburden our minds from various problems. They result in networking, get us in touch with like-minded communities of people with whom we can discuss our common interests, and help one another in improvement. Our hobby is amateur Radio, commonly called ham radio. Ham Radio Club, IIT Bombay (Photo: Ham Radio Club, IIT Bombay) Ham Radio Club, IIT Bombay was founded in 2017. "We bring people, communication and electronics together."  Ham radio is a form of two-way wireless communication that uses the…

Blessings come in many forms. For the citizens of IC Colony, Borivali West, it is the chirping of birds, waking up to their melody, watching their daily routine and witnessing different species inhabiting amidst them. Before the lockdown, only crows, pigeons, and a few other birds were visible, but lockdown brought a welcome change. Lockdown restricted human movement and this encouraged birds to come out from their hidden spots, fly freely and enjoy the pollution-free environment. “Due to the lockdown, I could spend more time watching the birds around. It helped me remain calm. Bulbuls and mynahs frequently come to…

In August, two workers died when a suspended scaffolding they were standing on fell. They were at an under construction building in Vikhroli. Accidental falls from high rise buildings can happen not just during construction, but also during renovation and maintenance. When people work along the walls of buildings (like Spiderman) at heights of some 200 feet above the ground (for cleaning, painting, water proofing, netting or any other reason), it is expected that there would be something tied to them (such as a rope) and/ or something put below them (such as a net) that will save them if…

India’s richest Municipal Corporation was once a paradigm of a financially independent urban local body. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, mandates that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) never show a deficit budget. It never needed to, as a high inflow of cash through real estate premiums and octroi, a tax levied on the entry of goods in the city, was sufficient.  But in the past few years, the real estate sector has slowed and octroi is abolished. For its ₹33,441-crore budget of 2020-21, the municipal corporation had to dip into its Rs 78,669 crore reserves. These reserves or Fixed…

India's richest municipal corporation has found itself in a logjam. The pandemic has impaired its ability to meet expenses, even though its budget remains unspent year after year. In this series of articles, we will explore the Mumbai civic body’s financial might, the governance and procedural challenges in raising or spending money, and ways to finance expenditure due to the pandemic and the slowing economy. For the past few weeks, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has been reporting a severe cash crunch. It has slashed its capital expenditure by Rs 2,500 crore, imposed a 20% cut on its revenue expenditure, and…

Tanvi Desai, a 25-year-old resident of Borivali, who was protesting against Hathras gang rape admitted she was ignorant earlier when it came to caste based violence but, she can’t do that anymore. She was fuming with anger, along with a sense of responsibility to put an end to injustice against women and minorities in India. “We need to give it a platform. It is also for our future generations like my two-year-old niece to make our country safe for women,” she said. Wary of the media and their little no attention to social causes, Tanvi  doesn’t want the incident to…