Series: Explainers and Information Resources for Mumbaikars

On an average in a year, around 2000 house break-ins and thefts (HBT) take place in Mumbai. A high concentration of these crimes occur in North Central Mumbai, according to a report on the state of law and order in Mumbai in 2020 by the Praja Foundation. Detection for these is below 50%. Cases have seen a 30% decrease since 2015, but reporting of these cases has also seen a drop. Here are the steps you can take to report a home burglary: Immediate Steps On discovering a burglary, the first step is to inform the police. This can be…

“The stray dog population in India is growing by the day and we need to evolve a strategy to control rabies in India,” said the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in a statement on World Rabies Day, September 28 this year. They further observed an urgent need for an effective municipal licensing of pet dogs, and better management and care practices. The Board felt that the sheer magnitude and logistics of catching, neutering, and releasing a number of stray dogs is a challenge…

Is it safe to donate blood? This is the first question that comes to mind when we see messages requesting for blood donors, especially when COVID-19, masking up and social distancing are still actively being talked about. During the COVID-19 lockdown, regular donors were avoiding hospitals and blood banks, fearful of catching the virus. There were understandably fewer blood donation camps organised. Most blood banks were running on reserves. April 2020 newspaper clip about blood shortage. Mumbai's daily blood requirement pre-COVID was about 1,000 units per day. During COVID, with fewer surgeries demand dropped but it's returning to those pre-COVID…

As fears towards an impending third wave – set to reveal itself in October according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) – have set in the city, there is a deeper concern among parents of young children who are yet to be vaccinated. To ensure the safety of their wards, many parents have restricted their children from playing in common premises where they would normally interact with other children.  On September 13, only ten children were admitted in Mumbai hospitals (nine in the NESCO COVID-19 care facility and one in Seven Hills Hospital) with moderate or severe symptoms of the…

Every local business in Mumbai needs a license from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).  BMC’s License Department issues trade licenses under various categories including food and beverage, wholesale businesses, medical stores etc. These licenses are issued in consultation and with advice from other departments like the Fire Brigade, Health, Engineering, Estate, to name a few. The application for the license must be received from the business establishment three months prior to starting the business. For a business owner to get a trading license in the city, he/she has to approach the nearest Citizen Facilitation Centre (CFC) set up by the civic…

Antibiotics left over in the strip after completing the 7-day course, capsules that cannot be consumed after the doctor decided that a different drug regimen was in order, vitamin supplements that are thankfully not required any longer. All of us have surely, at some point in our lives, found ourselves with medicines that we may not have a use for in the near future. On the other side, we have heard of people avoiding going to a doctor, fearing that they would not be able to afford the medicines that may be prescribed. "Discharge taken against advice" is a common…

The Mumbai civic body – Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) also known as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) provides municipal services to the city. Divided into 24 administrative wards, it is headed by the Mayor, who is the city’s first citizen and the ceremonial head; and the Municipal Commissioner, who works as the chief executive authority. While the 24 wards are decentralized for the convenience of the city's administration, each ward has its own ward office and ward officers (Assistant Municipal Commissioners). Presently, Mrs. Kishori Pednekar is the Mayor and Iqbal Singh Chahal, a 1989-batch IAS officer is the Municipal…

To report a criminal offence for the police to investigate, a person has to file a First Information Report (FIR) by visiting the nearest police station in the locality where the offence/crime has occurred. An FIR is a written document which is filed by the police. Under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (‘CrPC’), the law gives a choice to a person to give information orally or in writing. If the information is disclosed orally by a person, then the report must be produced in writing by the police officer herself or under her direction. In Mumbai city,…