City: Mumbai

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), like other places across the world, was forced to hit pause in late-March 2020 with the onset of COVID-19, putting a complete halt to life as it was. The lockdown caught people off-guard, with no food or income to fall back on for millions of the region’s poorest. With governmental support kicking in only weeks later and still leaving many people outside its ambit, uncertainty was high.  Looking back at those weeks, what stands out is how the city came together to support its own. While the pandemic unleashed a massive humanitarian crisis, it also…

Property prices in Mumbai—one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world—have remained constant since 2014. But home ownership has increased only marginally. Many aspire to buy homes in the city but they're forced to navigate the vast formal and informal rental market for housing. As high as 87% of respondents in a survey conducted by Noborker.com, a broker-free real estate portal, wanted to buy a house for end use, but prices, despite the stagnation, have remained forbidding. This is part two of the series where we try to explain why, despite the many unsold flats, prices don't…

Every year, property consultants produce reports that highlight the many unsold flats in Mumbai. The inventory is almost at 3 lakhs in 2020, according to a non-brokering real-estate research firm Liases Foras. The number prompts an inevitable discussion about the lakhs of vacant homes in plush, gated enclaves while at least half of Mumbai's 1.9 million people live in decrepit and squalid conditions. The average per sq ft price for homes in the city has risen from Rs 5,734 in 2009-10 to Rs 12,112 in 2019-20. The number of homes sold haven't caught up. Although the prices fell in 2020-21…

Mangrove Action Project recently announced the winners of their 2020 Mangrove Photography Awards. The intimate relationships between wildlife, coastal communities and mangrove forests, as well as the fragility of these unique ecosystems from both above and below the water line, were captured by amateur and professional photographers from nearly 70 countries. We are thrilled to find that two photographers from India are among the winners, both having captured the flamingos at Talawe, Navi Mumbai. There are also a few 'Highly Commended' photographs from India. In it's sixth year, the competition received over 1,100 entries in five categories - threats, conservation,…

A safe, convenient and joyous walking environment continues to elude the Mumbaikar. Reducing the stress in walking will enhance business competitiveness that is ultimately central to the city's existence. Benchmark for a good footpath within Mumbai at Veer Nariman (Photo: Walking Project) Residential areas, transit hubs like railway stations or business districts are the primary areas where a lot of walking happens in a short distances. 1-2 square kilometre areas or 1-5 kilometres of road stretches could see millions of people make walking trips, from straight line walking to crossing the street. Unfortunately, this is where there are worst experiences.…

On August 9, a leopard made its way from Aarey forests to an abandoned warehouse in Andheri East. The animal was mapped, trapped and released back to the forests. This was one of the happier stories of man-animal interaction in a city like Mumbai. Six leopards have been rescued from Mumbai Metropolitan Region since 2017 and dozens have strayed into human habitats. In July 2018, a man was hurt by a leopard, when he tried to save his pet dog in Mulund’s Rahul Nagar, on the periphery of SGNP. In January 2018, a leopard had entered a ground floor flat…

The pandemic has pushed our major parts of our lives online and the unintended consequence of it has been a subsequent increase in online scams and frauds.  Take the case of 28-year-old Charles Aphrem, who lives in IC Colony, Borivali West. Charles along with his friends decided to go for a weekend break to  Alibaug on 21 August 2020. He came across a post on Facebook, where a certain Harish Parmer had advertised a stay at Alibaug for Rs 2500 per person  (including all meals) for a day. The photos looked legitimate and upon further investigation, Charles saw that Harish…

It's that time of the year in Mumbai now. If you visit the mangroves of Mumbai these days, you will see clouds of dragonflies (Pantala flavescens) dancing above them. Dragonflies helicoptering above the mangroves at Thane Creek (Photo: Gopal) Dragonflies undertake one of the longest migrations known among insects. They fly all the way from the Deccan to South Africa riding the North-East monsoon winds. In Kerala, the dragonflies appear just around or after the festival of Onam in September, when the South West Monsoon loses steam and are called Ona-thumbi or the dragonflies of Onam. In Mumbai, we do not have a…

It's been three months since Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide but the swelling media coverage could deceive you into thinking that it was two days ago. In fact, there was an unfortunate death two days ago. (Actually, there were many, if you count the 300+ deaths Maharashtra has been recording all week. Its current total of coronavirus cases is more than a million. But we know you're bored of all that.) Anyway, back to the one death two days ago. A barricade on Western Express Highway fell on a pillion bike rider and killed him instantly. The incident resurfaced…

Tens of thousands of flamingos congregate annually in Talawe Wetlands, in Navi Mumbai on India's west coast. These annual visitors comprise Lesser and Greater Flamingos, the two varieties that migrate to India. Flamingo congregation at Talawe, May 2020 (Photo: Surabhi Agarwal) With India's coronavirus lockdown, this year saw a 25% increase in numbers of these migratory birds. Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), estimates that number this year may be more than 1,50,000 vis-à-vis 1,34,000 counted last year. Flamingos at sunset (Photo: Surabhi Agarwal) These wetlands, habitat of flamingos, are in danger of being taken over for development for a golf…