Infrastructure

Mumbai’s biggest and oldest dry fish market at Marol, Andheri is struggling to maintain its distinct identity. Dry fish vendors at the market, where fisherwomen from across the state have been bringing dry fish to sell for almost 150 years, want authorities to retain the market exclusively for dry fish. Historically, the market plot of 2 acres and 24 guntas (113256 sq. ft) was officially categorised “weekly market for dry fish” in 1948 by Mumbai’s suburban district collector at the time.  Today, however, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) denies the market that identity, claiming that it cannot allocate a market…

With the world’s attention on the FIFA Football World Cup being hosted in Qatar, one tends to wonder what Bengaluru has to offer budding sportspersons in terms of quality sports training facilities. Unfortunately, such exploration offers little hope that athletes from the state, especially women, can make waves on the international sports arena. Cricket in Bengaluru can boast of world class names like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and others, but what about other sports? What kind of sports policies and infrastructure are available for training and development of athletes more interested in games such as badminton or football, or even…

Monsoon is one of the oldest weather observations, an economically important weather pattern, and the most anticipated weather event and unique weather phenomenon. Yet, it is only partially understood and notoriously difficult to predict. Monsoon brings several difficulties, and events, which include, downgraded situations like heavy rainfall, flood, lightning, and cyclone which may demand safety precautions at high priority. Buildings are susceptible to weather conditions, and Bengaluru experiences rainfall throughout the year. A pre-monsoon safety plan helps mitigate some of the seen and unseen hazards. General safety precautions Provide preventive measures and guidance to Association management, employees, workers, and visitors.…

Rains pounded Chennai in the first week of November, reminding people of the horrors of the 2015 floods. But this time, the residents of Seethammal Colony were fast asleep, oblivious to the downpour. "When we woke up the next morning, we did not believe that it had rained the previous night," says A Sridharan, the vice-president of the Residents' Welfare Association of the colony, adding that the area used to be one of the hotspots of floods in Chennai until last year. However, this year, the newly laid stormwater drains (SWDs) were doing the job of keeping the roads free…

Every year there is news about the loss of limb and life due to potholes on Bengaluru roads. Politicians across the spectrum announce funds to repair them, but little happens on the ground. In 2015, a group of citizens led by Vijayan Menon filed a PIL in the High Court of Karnataka demanding accountability from BBMP who they held responsible as the “owner and custodian” of all roads in Bengaluru per Article 12 of the Constitution. Read more: Roads not completed, users overcharged — the many potholes in implementing highway projects After multiple deadlines given to fix the potholes, Bengaluru…

In a previous article, we followed the delayed rehabilitation of the victims of a 2019 landslide in Kurar Village, Malad. After three years of living in the same place that killed 32 of their neighbours, 72 families were finally shifted to an SRA building in the area on August 22nd, 2022. That was only part of the story - 86 families were shifted within two months of the tragedy 30 km away to Mahul. This is their side of the story. Inteyaz Ansari gestures to two buildings, Building 10 and 31, in a sea of nearly identical buildings numbered 1…

This is the second and final part in the series on skywalks in the city. Read the first part here. Fifteen years after they were commissioned in 2007, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is now attempting to make skywalks more people-friendly in Mumbai, by installing escalators wherever required.  The BMC has now appointed a consultant to study if, where and how escalators could be installed in the 23 skywalks in Mumbai. The most recently inaugurated 24th skywalk at Jogeshwari (E) already has an escalator installed in it. Escalators have already been sanctioned at five skywalks on a pilot project basis.  The Mumbai…

While social media lauded the efforts of the civic body and state administration in preventing widespread urban flooding during the initial spell of the Northeast Monsoon, the past week also saw parts of North Chennai's residents feel neglected in terms of response to the rains and overall flood mitigation efforts.  "If the Corporation can constantly keep vigil in core areas in Chennai like Nungambakkam, what about North Chennai? There may be so many people who are educated enough to raise complaints in the centre of the city. But North Chennai is predominantly made up of the working class, who are…

As proposals of building new skywalks in the city meet with stiff public opposition, Mumbai faces the dilemma of whether to continue building skywalks or to gradually phase them out.  Skywalks are elevated pedestrian walkways connecting various heavily targeted destinations either to railway stations or to other high-concentration commercial areas. The purpose of the skywalks is the efficient dispersal of commuters from congested areas to strategic locations, such as bus stations, taxi stands, shopping areas, etc, according to the MMRDA website. But opinions are divided on whether skywalks as an infrastructure project are useful or not. While the government is convinced…

The 10.58 km-long coastal road project has faced opposition from environmentalists, urban planners and fisher communities ever since the construction first began in 2018. The road, being built on the promise of effectively reducing city traffic, runs from Princess Street at Marine Drive to the Worli end of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. This under-construction part of the project is under the umbrella of the larger plan that stretches up to 29 km and connects Marine Drive to Kandivali. On October 7th, 120 architectural firms under the banner of Mumbai Architect Collective (MAC) wrote a letter to Ashwini Bhide, Additional Municipal…