City: Mumbai

As talks of vaccines acquire a shrill pitch, it is time to look back at some of the essential workers who saw us through the hard days of the lockdown in the past few months. The mortuary and ambulance staff of King Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital, one of Mumbai's biggest public hospitals, spoke to Citizen Matters about their life experiences in 2020 - an extraordinary year which was filled with fear and trepidation. But, they could not stop. The 'leader' Senior Mortuary Attendant, Kashinath Raghunath Mugdar, is an old hand. Having witnessed the mortuary overflow after the 1993 communal riots,…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is spending about Rs 1600 crores over a period of about three years to desalinate water from the Arabian Sea to make it drink-worthy or potable. In November 2020, Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced that Mumbai's first desalination plant should take care of the water shortage that the city invariably faces in the summer months of April- May, by accounting for about 10-15 % of its annual water needs. Similar proposals were planned back in 2005 but were rejected as they were considered too costly. This time around, the proposal has officially been approved despite being…

Many of us may have heard this short story about a little boy on the beach. Once upon a time there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. Early one morning, he saw a small boy on the sea-shore.  A big storm the previous night had littered the vast beach with thousands of starfish. The little boy bent down every so often to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. “May I ask what is it that you are doing” he asked the boy.“Throwing starfish into the ocean” the…

Once the Dahisar toll naaka starts using FASTag from January 1, the city would go completely cashless in toll collection. Although, there is still some distance to go before Mumbai becomes fully high-tech. Since electronic toll collection infrastructure is yet to be set up, the toll collection personnel will scan FASTags with handheld scanners.  Four other toll points - Airoli, Vashi, LBS Marg and Eastern Express Highway- had the option to pay both through cash and FASTag. Dahisar was the entry point, where only cash was being collected.   FASTag, a Radio-frequency identification technology-enabled electronic toll fee collection (ETC) system, has…

A few days before Christmas, we set up our tree, complete with ornaments and star, and decorated our house as we have done in the past. With the characteristic smells of Christmas season food, the festival was definitely in the air, but it was different. But, this Christmas was unlike any I remember in my life of 19 years. The Christmas tree at the Fernandes home in Mumbai. Pic: Krystel Fernandes Leading up to Christmas, there used to be days of partying, which continued until the new year. Church gatherings, group carol singing, guests in and out of our home…

During the scorching summer months of 2020, Indian TV media and websites broadcast visuals of migrant workers walking back to their villages. Commentators lamented how workers who shoulder the economic burden of the city remain tenuously compensated. Now - nine months after the lockdown was first announced - workers have returned to the city but the media spotlight has shifted. Details about available work, working conditions, and wages remain shrouded in mystery.  A city-based workers collective, Aajeevika Bureau, has mapped the informal workforce in Mumbai's Khairani road and nearby areas. Their research throws four broad findings: some returning migrants have…

Sometime in March this year the whole country went into a severe lockdown due to COVID-19. Life and the resultant travel came to a standstill for over a month. Most of our understanding of how travel in Mumbai has been since then, is largely empirical. Some key data points that we’ve seen published since the pandemic began are - bicycle sales have more than doubled since the lockdown began; automobile sales picked up after May; and as of early November, BEST daily ridership was back up to about 23 lakhs (almost 2018 levels).  For most of us, initial days of…

A quick mapping of urban reforms in India confirms that power largely still vests with the state and central governments. Despite the 74th Constitutional Amendment, no state has devolved all 18 functions mentioned in the twelfth schedule such as urban planning, forestry, or slum improvement to municipal corporations that run India’s large metropolises. Praja, a non profit, that advocates for policy changes in urban governance, released an Urban Governance Index which explores four themes to understand the extent of urban decentralisation in India. The themes are empowered city-elected representatives and legislative structure; empowered city administration; empowered citizens; and fiscal empowerment. The…

The coronavirus outbreak has shined a spotlight on the often overlooked underbelly of India’s ‘City of Dreams’ –– the slums and other informal settlements where about 49 percent of its population resides. Within these neighbourhoods, unusually high population densities - up to 350 families per hectare against the city average of 38 as per data from the 2011 Census - and poor drinking water and sanitation facilities give rise to unhealthy living conditions.  So what is the future of slums in a post-COVID-19 world? Can we formalise the informal? Migrating to urban centres Cities are envisaged as the hub of…

Sandwiched between the swanky Bandra Bandstand and posh Carter Road promenades lies the rocky patch of Chimbai beach, that continues to be a source of dirt and squalor. Though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) regularly cleans the narrow sandy stretch with dumpers and JCB machines, the beach continues to stay dirty and unattractive, unlike the promenades on both sides, that have become vibrant and popular community spaces. A survey by NGO ReefWatch Marine Conservation had named it to be the filthiest of the ten beaches of Mumbai. Photo: Hepzi Anthony 46-year-old Pravin Gohil who has been staying here since his…