Mumbai Musings

Dance Bar

For the longest time Manjit Singh Sethi was the face of the protest against closure of dance bars in Mumbai. Owner of Karishma Bar and Restaurant in Dadar, central Mumbai, Sethi was the happiest, busiest man when the Supreme Court vacated the ban on dance bars and hopped from one TV studio to the other defending the verdict. And all of a sudden, before the bars would operate normally once again, Sethi has resigned from his post as President of Dance Bar Owners’ Association. When asked he simply said he is no longer concerned with any of those issues. Reportedly, post verdict, the owners have been disagreeing over issues such as security measures to be installed, membership of those who do not have appropriate paper work etc. One can only hope that the bar girls’ union is going strong.

No Country for Women 

It never really lets up. A drunken man molested and attacked a woman in a suburban train last Saturday. The incident happened as early as 5:30 am at Mahalaxmi station, one station after a drunk 28-year-old boarded the train and spotted a woman alone in the second class compartment. Although it is mandatory for a cop to be present in women’s compartment during odd hours, the policeman on duty was missing. He was suspended later. The accused was arrested after the woman raised an alarm as the train reached the next station. Much has been written about women compartments not being manned by cops and one of the factoids that emerged in the coverage that followed reveals that around 700 posts remain vacant.

Sick City

Although the civic body has successfully controlled the spread of malaria in the city, other diseases such as dengue, cholera and tuberculosis seem to be rising. “Data collected from MCGM dispensaries/hospitals and other government hospitals shows that in 2012-2013 dengue cases touched 4867 from a low of 682 in 2008-09. Worse, last year, 36,417 cases of tuberculosis were reported, of which 6,921 patients died of TB,” said a statement issued by Praja Foundation. The report released by them has put BMC on a sticky wicket and the officials are busy refuting the data collected through RTI.

Who Will Fill the Potholes?

Finally, the Bombay High Court decided to take matters in its hands as it took suo motu cognisance of a letter about pathetic condition of Mumbai’s roads. The court has asked the civic body and the state government to file a reply and explain why contracts for repairs are awarded just before monsoon and why the criteria is price but not quality. The road menace has claimed lives of many bikers and is leading to several back and spine problems among citizens.

Take Off, Yes... But Landing?

That Mumbai is cramped in every way possible is well known. And several mega infrastructure projects are underway. One good news though. Last week the ministry of environment and forests gave its nod for the Navi Mumbai airport. CM Prithviraj Chavan was personally pursuing the matter with union minister Jayanti Natarajan and the decision paves the way for a much-needed airport. Although MoEF was a major concern, it is still not clear if all the villagers are on board. With at least 13 villages likely to be displaced by the project currently handled by City and Industrial development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO), which anyways has a rocky past with locals, it may still not be the smoothest landing.

Dry Drought, Wet drought

The assembly session seems to be marred by agricultural woes. After demands for irrigation scam debate, now Vidarbha leaders are asking the state government to declare wet drought due to excessive rains. Local media reported that heavy rains claimed at least 70 lives in Vidarbha over past month or so. And fears of rains destroying the crops have already grappled the suicide-stricken region. However, the furore over suspension of MLAs for unruly behaviour has taken up lot of the current session time, which gets over by Friday.

Patriotism is Compulsory

National Anthem is still played in all cinema halls in Maharashtra. It is the only state to have this regulation. While normally people do get up, some reluctantly some quite seriously, balancing their popcorn and coffee, last Wednesday was different at a cinema hall. As per a  Mumbai Mirror report, the wife of Puneet Issar, ( remember Duryodhan from Mahabharat, and other movies like Krrish) hit another member of the audience for not standing up for the national anthem. The man claimed he was an NRI and did not know about the custom. It only angered her further and she allegedly hurled a few verbal abuses as well. By the time the anthem was over, it was after considerable ruckus in the cinema hall that the show of Ship of Theseus could start. How ironic that a spiritual, philosophical and an intelligent movie like that should start with a smack on someone’s head.