Civic

On January 8th, a voice note on WhatsApp groups of civic organisations was making rounds in the areas of Borivali and Kandivali. Recorded by an unidentified woman, she claimed that her mother, who lives alone, was duped out of money by a man posing as a Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) agent. On 6th January, he arrived at her home on the pretext of checking the gas meter. On inspection, he allegedly found gas leakages and warned her of a possible fire. She was told that fixing the leakages would cost her Rs 1850 per valve, and in total, she was…

Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” But, what about systems that make it harder for groups to materialise and facilitate change? Let us imagine, as a thought experiment, that a group of like-minded individuals, wanting to transform a city, is established. These might be people who have the time, space, energy and intent to do this. Those with wealth and cultural capital could bring resources in, and those marginalised by the state could bring intent and a personal drive.…

More companies to hire freshers this year As India slowly unlocks from the COVID-19 pandemic, job searches by freshers might be easier in 2022. Around 47% of companies surveyed across the country are expected to hire freshers, way above the the global average of 7%. The top three sectors expecting to increase hiring are information technology, telecommunications and e-commerce and technology startups. Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi will have more jobs for freshers during January-June 2022. In contrast, Gurgaon, Pune, Chandigarh, Indore and Nagpur are seeing a decline in hiring. Reflecting the growth of the economy and its post-pandemic recovery, hiring…

Residents of slums decide to boycott civic polls Residents of slums in Perungudi and K.K. Nagar have decided to boycott the urban local body polls on Februrary 19th. Residents express a lack of faith in the elections and frustration with officials, as they have failed to bring any kind of effective civic amenities to their neighbourhoods. According to a member of the Kallukuttai Slum resident Welfare Association, residents have been living in the area for over 40 years. They have taken part in numerous elections, yet there has been no change. There are still no drains, drinking water facilities or…

Hijab row On Wednesday, the police resolved arguments related to hijab in a government college and a private PUC in Malleswaram. In some sensitive parts of the city, police told students to follow the interim court order banning all religious attire including hijab in educational institutions. Advocates for the petitioners questioning the hijab ban, told the court on Tuesday that the interim order has been “grossly misused” and amounts to the suspension of fundamental rights. On Thursday, Karnataka government ordered that students in schools managed by the minority welfare department, including the Maulana Azad Model English Medium schools should also…

Mumbai launches country's first water taxi India's first 'water taxi' was virtually inaugurated in Mumbai on February 17th by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Union minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbanand Sonowal. The taxi service will connect suburban Mumbai to South Mumbai. “Today is an important day as the country’s first water taxi is starting from Mumbai. The first railway service in the country was also started between Mumbai and Thane. The facilities which started from Mumbai were spread all over the country.” said CM Thackeray. The current routes of the taxi are from Domestic Cruise Terminal (DCT) to…

Knowing how to a register a flat in Mumbai is important for a person's legal ownership over a property. When you purchase or receive a flat, its agreement of sale, transfer, gift or lease needs to be registered with the government for the transaction to be considered valid and legal under The Registration Act, 1908. Rules in the state are framed under the Maharashtra Registration Rules, 1961. What is the significance of flat registration? Legally, a flat owner's name is not changed or transferred until the sale or gift transaction is registered with the government. Any unregistered transaction has no…

No mandatory RT-PCR for foreign arrivals The central government on February 9th removed the mandatory RT-PCR test requirements for travellers from other countries. The rule had been introduced due to the emergence of the Omicron variant, and appplied primarily to arrivals from 'at-risk' countries like UK, South Africa and Brazil among others. Now acknowledging a decrease in COVID-19 impact globally, the government felt there was a need to revive economic activities while paying close attention to changing trends of the virus. From February 14th, fully vaccinated international travellers can enter the country without a negative RT-PCR report, but will be…

Toxic foam caused by sewage flow into Marina Beach On Sunday, 8th February, snow-like foam appeared along Marina Beach from Napier Bridge to Kannagi Statue. People could be seen playing with the foam and going into the water. Researchers have pointed out that the foam is actually caused by toxic algal blooms when there is  free flow of sewage into water bodies. According to a report carried out by National Coastal Research Center, toxic algal blooms have appeared eight times in India over the last eight years or so.  In the case of Marina, researchers trace the sewage from the…

Mumbai University exams to be conducted offline Mumbai University will open its doors soon for undergraduate exams for this year's summer session. A detailed timetable is yet to be released, but the exam committee has devised a broad outline. Semester 2 will be offline for both regular and candidates with a backlog of exams, while Semester 4 exams will be entirely online for Arts, Science, and Commerce streams. Backlog candidates for Semester 1, 3 and 5 will appear for exams online.  A call on final semester exams will be taken based on data collected on vaccinated students and the public…