MUMBAI BUZZ

Section 144 in force from Nov 1st to 15th in Mumbai The Mumbai Police has issued several prohibitory orders, including Section 144, for the city between November 1st and 15th. As per the orders, gatherings of five or more people, processions, protests, loud speakers, bands, firecrackers, etc have been banned. Exhibiting or publishing any material leading to danger, governmental or moral trouble is also outlawed. The display and possession of weapons, arms and ammunition is also banned under a separate order from November 3rd to December 2nd. The restrictions are in response to information about the disturbance of peace, law…

Mumbai at a severe risk of plastic pollution A new study led by a researcher at Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) concludes that out of the total 496 cities in India, Mumbai is at more ‘severe risk’ of plastic pollution from landfills. The peer-reviewed study—‘Risk of plastics losses to the environment from Indian landfills'—states that the danger of pollution is high because of factors like wind, rain and floods, which leads to Mumbai’s waste dumps being “leaky”. Other ‘severe’ risk level cities included Kolkata and Chennai, and followed by Delhi. The study also notes that the COVID-19 pandemic increased plastic…

Art exhibition on Mumbai's monsoon Making a comeback after 16 years, the month-long Monsoon Festival has landed in Mumbai this year. The art exhibition is currently on show at two venues: at Method Bandra till October 16th, and the Tao Art gallery in Worli till October 23rd. Chock-full of art in diverse mediums, from paintings, drawings, photographs, to poetry, sculpture and vintage prints, the festival depicts the 'love-hate' relationship Mumbai has with the season. It attempts to capture the lived but un-documented aspects of the downpour, the relief and distress it brings, and the home-grown culture around it. The exhibition…

One mohalla clinic opens under 'Mission Healthy Dharavi', 12 more to come The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opened one mohalla clinic at T-Junction this week under 'Mission Healthy Dharavi' initiative. The civic body plans to open 12 more of such portable clinics in Mumbai and will keep them operational from 3 pm to 10 pm. The initiative aims to provide access to primary healthcare to working class population by ensuring the clinics are functional when they get home from work. The portable clinics will be easy to dismantle and can be carried around to avoid congestion in the area. Source:…

3,000 sq m of potholes filled this year, says the BMC In response to the numerous complaints about the state of Mumbai's roads, the BMC claimed it has filled 3,000 sq metres of potholes with rapid hardening concrete this monsoon. Prior to the monsoon, each ward is given Rs 1.5 crore to fix bad patches of roads. The BMC then gives them Rs 50 lakh for filling holes that appear during the rains with cold mix. The wards had asked for 3,004 metric tonnes of the mix earlier in March, but falling short of need, an additional Rs 5 lakh…

Vadhawan Port in Palghar will impact 20,809 fisherfolk According to a previously undisclosed survey by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), the proposed Vadhawan Port in Palghar district’s eco-sensitive Dahanu taluka, adjacent to Mumbai will impact the livelihoods of at least 20,809 fisherfolk living in 16 fishing villages within the 10 km radius of the port. The port will render approximately 72 sq kms of current fishing area inaccessible to fisherfolk during the construction phase and once the operations are underway, states the CMFRI report. The report also points out that only the area outside the harbour of the…

A new bridge to reduce travel time in Mumbai A new bridge, to be built over Mahim Causeway, will run between Fishermen Colony in Mahim and the Western Express Highway (WEH). It will pass from Dadar to Mahim via the Bandra end of Bandra-Worli Sea Link under the Coastal Road project. The bridge will have two arms, 512 metres and 319 metres. Currently, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has floated tenders for engineering, procurement and construction of the bridge. The last date for bidding is September 20th. Source: The Indian Express Fall in suburban train traffic since pandemic The Central…

Garbage dump at BKC school gets cleared after two years A mountain of garbage had begun to pile up over the past two years in a plot right next to Ascend International School, in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), which began to get cleared up on August 24th. The garbage pile posed serious health concerns for children and raised a stench during monsoons. “We have already fined the land owner ₹10,000 under the corporation’s Swachhta Abhiyan. The owner has been asked to find the source of this garbage, and ensure that the land remains clean henceforth,” said a BMC official from the H-East ward.…

Maximum pothole complaints reported from Western suburbs Data from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a day after a couple lost their lives to a pothole accident, at a carriageway flyover on the WEH opposite the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), showed that nearly 48% of total pothole-related complaints have been raised from Mumbai’s western suburbs in 2022. “The WEH is being maintained by MSRDC and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The WEH along with the adjoining service road is infamous for potholes, however, it’s not BMC’s responsibility to maintain them. Whenever we receive any complaint we forward it to the responsible agencies,”…

Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease on the rise in Navi Mumbai Out of about 100 cases in the OPDs across Navi Mumbai, 50 are of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). A sudden rise in cases in the city has concerned officials since HFMD cases could be confused with monkeypox, chickenpox and measles.  “The blisters look similar to those seen during chickenpox. So, it is important to sensitise the parents, general practitioners as well as school authorities about the difference in these blisters that could be largely HFMD. We do not have any monkeypox cases yet. Measles is also not found. Chickenpox,…