Mumbai is an incredible city  

“Mumbai is an incredible city which is symbol of energy and optimism of India",   said US President Barack Obama saluting the spirit of Mumbai as he addressed the press at Taj on November 6, 2010. Obama mentioned that his visit to Taj is a clear message to terrorists while reiterating that India and US are working closely than ever in the battle against terror.     According to annual Citi/Knight Frank Wealth Report on April 2011, Mumbai has gained in importance as global business city by 118 percent followed by Shanghai (91 percent) and Sao Paolo (66 percent). It said almost 40 percent of the worlds most exclusive residential property markets increased in value during 2010: Of this six of the 10 biggest gainers were in Asia.  Mumbai  Adarsh Housing Society scam.   The Opposition on November 9, 2010  joined forces in Parliament to raise the Adarsh Housing Society scam. “The entire nation has been ashamed. Though Mr Ashok Chavan has resigned, mere removal of the chief minister is not enough. An independent probe of Adarsh Housing Society scam is required. The government owes an explanation to the people. Prithviraj Chavan nominated new chief minister of Maharashtra after the resignation of Ashok Chavan   India cannot abandon nuclear power programme at Jaitapur  India needs to learn appropriate lessons from the nuclear disaster in Japan and take additional safeguards, but the country cannot abandon its nuclear energy programme, even Jaitapur nuclear project in Maharashtra said the ex-Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh 

               Mumbai Marathon 2012      Mumbai monorail to integrate Metro, local  The opening of the 19.54km corridor between Jacob Circle to Chembur in Mumbai some time later this year will announce the arrival of monorail in the country. The 20-odd kilometre corridor, which runs through the city's most congested parts, is being taken up in two sections. The 11.28km Jacob Circle - Wadala section is likely to open first — some time in mid-2012.

  The air we breathe in Mumbai   The environment status report published by the BMC in September 2011 lays the blame of greater pollution levels on construction in Mumbai. The report reiterates what has been observed for the past couple of years. A report concluded by the National Environmental

  Crime on Mumbai trains up by 15% in 5 years  The CAG report in Jauanry 9, 2012 states that crimes in trains have increased by 15% in the last five years. This shows that passengers continue to be easy targets and that it was high time that rail security

Engineering Research Institute last year had blamed construction activity for contributing to the maximum amount of pollution.   The air that Mumbaiites are breathing may make them more susceptible to cancer. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s latest Environment Status Report (ESR) for 2009-2010, released on September 3, 2010 shows that the amount of cancer- causing particulate matter in the air has increased alarmingly compared to last year. On  14th July, 2010 Chlorine gas leak from the Sewri industrial area on land owned by the Mumbai Port Trust.  Nearly 76 people were treated in hospital  and 10 people were in intensive care after the gas leak Mumbai was poisoned by Chlorine gas leak from the Sewri industrial area.  .Again our beautiful sea is continued to poisoned by oil spill and chemicals. Two Panamanian cargo ships - MSC Chitra and MV Khalijia 111 - collided on August 7, 2010  off the Mumbai  coast causing an oil spill from one of the vessels. Oil continued to spill for several days even as anti-pollution operations are being carried out by the Navy and Coast Guard to  neutralise the oil. "Polluter must pay and polluter will pay," the Union environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha  on August 17, 2010. Also reported that nearly 100 containers that fell into the waters following the collision between two merchant vessels off the Mumbai coast.    Mumbai is in the middle of a huge transition. New towers are coming up every 500m, new modes of transport, like the

 Ship carrying 60,000 tons of coal sinks off Mumbai 

         Mumbai, August 8 , 2011:Oil leaking from sunken cargo vessel MV Rak Carrier was emerging as a major environmental hazard to the Mumbai coast Sunday afternoon. The oil spill had spread to over seven nautical miles around the area where the Panama-flagged vessel had sunk three days ago.  "Since Saturday night, oil has been leaking from the sunken vessel at an approximate rate of 1.5-2 tonnes per hour," a senior ICG official said.    

teams got their act together. Slamming the railways, the latest 2011 report states that there is a lack of security on part of the railway administration, despite recommendations by the high-level committee on Security Plan. 

         Mumai battered by heavy rains 

        Chlorine gas leak from the Sewri  industrial area on 14th July 2010. 

Monorail and the Metro are being laid, and mills and chawls are being brought down for multi-storied complexes. The key equipment for construction is heavier and faster modes of transport: excavators, trailer cranes, dumpers and rollers, a senior transport department official said.   Latest statistics from Maharashtra's transport department state that Maharashtra has made a jump from 3,78,873 of JCB vehicles (excavators, forklifts, cranes and diggers) in 2000 to 8,45,617 in 2009, which means an addition of more than four lakh vehicles in nine years. The machines are classified under the category of articulated and multi-axle vehicles.  In Mumbai, there are as many as 16,023 of these machines, with 9,196 in south Mumbai alone, 4,735 in the western suburbs and   A step to reduce pollution and ease traffic congestion in Mumbai   The first bridge built over the sea in India    

   Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the first bridge to be built over the sea in India  on July 1, 2009. in Mumbai. It  was built to ease traffic congestion and to cut traveling time between the western suburbs of Bandra with Worli  over the Arabian Sea. It has eight lanes and aims to reduce journey time from 45 to six minutes. The sea link is being hailed for reducing the travel time from Bandra to Worli to seven minutes from the current 40. This could help save fuel and reduce pollution. An estimated 50,000 vehicles are set to ply on the eight-lane wonder. The city has more than a million vehicles. Officials say the

bridge is a way to ease Mumbai's traffic problems. But the critics do not believe the bridge will help ease traffic congestion in a city which adds several hundred new vehicles to its roads every day.   Mr Jairam Ramesh  announced recently that the setting up of new private helipads would not be permitted infuriating many, but also earning the support of other citizens. The Maharashtra government had sought clearance for four helipads to be used in emergencies as well as for security purposes. Mr Ramesh has said he will give permission only for government-owned helipads but not privately-owned ones to be built on rooftops of highrise buildings. At present, some businessmen have their own helipads while many others are interested in acquiring them.    Mumbai's first monorail  One more step to ease traffic congestion and pollution is the trial run of Mumbai's first monorail on 61st Republic Day of India. The trial run of Rs 2, 460 crore monorail project will be done on a 108 metre track at Wadala. The proposed route of this monorail is between Jacob Circle and Chembur  will be ready by the year 2011, The Monorail Mumbai will be a substitute of local trains and other road transportation. According to the sources, initially, 14 Monorails with four coaches each with the capacity of 500 passengers .   

                         The Mono Rail is free of air and noise pollution. It will also help save all the fuel needed for public and private transport. And the vibration-free Mono will save Mumbaikars’ time too! Once completed, the Mono rail will soon take the city towards reduced pollution and carbon emissions. Since the Mono Rail does not require any fossil fuel for its operation it remains free of air pollution and as it runs on a narrow 0.8-meter beam with the help of rubber tyres it makes very little noise.   Monitoring bio-medical waste for disposal  Now all vehicles carrying hazardous bio-medical waste for disposal in Maharashtra will be monitored with global positioning system (GPS) devices fitted on them, vo/a pollution board official said. The system has been designed and implemented for the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) by TATA AutoComp.  Mobility Telematics. MPCB is the first state-level pollution control authority in India to use the sophisticated tracking device to check proper collection and disposal of bio-medical wastes to prevent environmental damage and health hazards, the official claimed. MPCB has fitted the GPS devices on more than 140 of its trucks to trace their movements online from a control centre.   Mumbai pedals for green cause   'Burn fat, not fuel' was the message that participants were trying to spread as Mumbai witnessed it's first ever Cyclothon on February 21, 2010. With over 7,000 participants at the Mumbai Cyclothon 2010, the event boasted of six different categories and each saw a decent flow of entries. "Finally, youngsters are inspired to take this sport seriously," said one of the senior participants.    

                                                              

  On World Environment Day on June 5, 2010, Mumbaikars too join citizens the world over in doing their two bits for  Mother Nature. With a series of activities and events, such as movie screenings, plantation drives and cycle rallies, being planned throughout the day and the weekend, organisers are hoping to create awareness about the environment and inculcate the green spirit among people.  Mahasrashtra colleges and university campuses  to go green   University and colleges in the state have been asked to replicate the "Green Campus" project started by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai that aims to reduce the environmental impact of large residential campuses. On October 26, 2010, university vice chancellors and college principals were told by the state environment department that they will get financial and technical help if they build green buildings in their campuses and create facilities to conserve energy and water. Northern coastline of Maharashtra has higher levels of pollution The northern coastline of Maharashtra, which, according to a recent study done by the Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) for the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), has higher levels of pollution than any other coastline in India. The major reasons for industrial, domestic and port-based pollution along the northern portion of Maharashtra's 720-km-long coastline are rapid industrialisation, urbanisation and a lack of control over the dumping of chemicals and pollutants into the Arabian Sea, especially in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, says the study.  "The higher levels of hazardous chemicals in inshore waters along the northern Maharashtra coast as compared to the southern coast suggest high organic inputs due to anthropogenic activities, such as sewage, leading to severe deterioration in environmental activity in many instances," says the survey.     Mumbai as top polluted city

     

  Mumbai is now the second largest coastal city in the world and India's premier port. The new Mumbai, located close to the largest chemical industry zone in Asia, is exposed to high levels of toxic and carcinogenic chemicals released by

  

these industries.  According to WHO, Mumbai is next to Kolkata and Delhi as one of the top ten most polluted cities in the  world  In India, the urban agglomerations are restricted to a selected few cities, which have attracted migration. Mumbai being the trade and commercial capital of India, has been the destination for all types of population groups such as literates, illiterates; skilled and unskilled; and persons from all walks of life. The population of Mumbai grew by 38 per cent during 1971-81 and, 20 per cent during 1981-91 to reach 10 million. Currently, the Mumbai’s population is standing at 18 million making it one of the most populous metropolises in the world. With this increase in population there has been an increase in number of vehicles and industrial activities aggravating of air pollution levels. With this growing peril of air pollution there is a serious threat to the health of its citizens (World Bank).   A recent report on air pollution and its sources in mega cities  by National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and sponsored by the Central Pollution Control Board  reveals just how deep the pollution in Mumbai is. Construction activity, including paved and unpaved road dust is responsible for as much as 38% of the emission load of particulate matter (PM) in Mumbai. Power plants are the second biggest culprits accounting for 20.99% of air pollution, followed by landfill open burning at 10.84%. In the vehicular category, heavy duty diesel (HDDV) vehicles contribute to 3.42% of emissions.  

  City's waste dumps sites Mumbai authorities have purchased 42,000 litres of perfume to spray on the city’s enormous waste dumps at Deonar and Mulund landfill sites after people living near the landfill sites complained of the stench. The Deonar landfill site, one of India’s largest, was first used by the British in 1927. Now festering pile covers more than 120 hectares and is eight story's high.   Everything gets dumped there; old food, rotten fish, rotten vegetables, plastic bags, glass and metal items. Around 500,000 people live near the two dumps, which were once beyond the city limits but have been caught up in the sprawl of one of the world’s fastest growing urban areas. The council has spent 4.8 million rupees on enough scent to last for 10 months, where more than half the population live in slums.   Most densely populated urban area in the world  Mumbai’s population of 18 million has more than doubled in the past 30 years, making it the most densely populated urban area in the world. In March, Mumbai was ranked seventh in a list of the world’s 25 dirtiest cities published by Forbes magazine, a worse rating than even Baghdad. India’s capital, New Delhi, was listed 24th.  Mumbai’s council now has plans to close part of the dumps and use the methane the rest generates to help solve the city’s power crisis.     The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is setting up 46 air quality monitoring stations in the state as

   

   Mumbai enormous waste dumps at Deonar and Mulund landfill sites. In Mumbai the population produces close to 8,500 metric tonnes of rubbish a day, most of which makes its way to the two sites.        

part of its campaign against air and water pollution. The programme, covering 27 urban centres, is called Pollution Assessment Monitoring and Surveillance (PAMS) and is aimed at helping MPCB take stringent steps while dealing with cases of water and air pollution, an MPCB official said.   MPCB operates 62 such stations. The proposed air quality monitoring centres would come up at Kalyan- Dombivali and Bhiwandi in Thane district, Mahad and Roha in Konkan region, Latur in Marathwada and  at Solapur, Sangli-Miraj and Ahmednagar.       Mumbai still has a very high incidence of chronic respiratory problems, arising from extreme air pollution. The causes of pollution are mainly industries in the eastern suburbs and New Bombay, garbage burning by the BMC, and insufficient control over emission levels from vehicles.    Firecrackers and noise pollution during Diwali   A 50-100% increase in pollution levels during Diwali days due to bursting of firecrackers, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB)  monitored the ambient air quality at five places in the city and noise quality at 20 spots. MPCB has banned manufacturing of crackers that make a noise of more than 125 decibels at four metre distance from the point of bursting.   The hazards of pollution caused by crackers include hearing loss, increase in blood pressure, heart attack and sleeping disturbance. Sudden exposure to loud noise could also cause temporary deafness or permanent relative deafness. Lung diseases register a sharp rise during Diwali due to the smoke emanating from firecrackers.   Disposal of e-waste  Mumbai generates about 23,000 tonnes of e-waste every year, but disposal has been very disorganised so far,” said Sanjay Khandare, member secretary, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board. Three years ago Mumbai generated only 11,000 tonnes of e-waste. It now generates the most E-waste in the country. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has come up with in its latest environmental status report (Sept. 2008)  indicates that the end of the rains will bring even worse times for people suffering from diseases of the respiratory tract.   Panel chalks out plans to curb pollution The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has launched a series of short- term  plans as well as long-term surveys to curb contamination in critically polluted regions of Maharashtra, including Dombivali and Navi Mumbai on Februray 1, 2010. This follows a study by the Central government which calculated a Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index

   Increasing emission levels from vehicles in Mumbai.     

  A 50-100% increase in pollution levels during Diwali days due to bursting of firecrackers    

wind energy

(CEPI) for 88 key industrial clusters in India. The study, conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board and the IIT, Delhi,  showed that industrial hubs like Chandrapur, Dombavili, Navi Mumbai and Tarapur in Maharashtra recorded alarming levels of pollutants in the air, water and land, exceeding a total CEPI level of 70. The Centre has named these regions as ‘critically polluted industrial clusters/areas’ and has recommended temporary restrictions on consideration of developmental projects in these regions.   Offshore wind power projects in Mumbai coastline  Wind power projects are the latest and among the fastest growing sectors within global energy today. A long coastline, low installation costs and ready local availability of key raw materials have all made Mumbai a favorite destination for offshore wind power, with global majors such as Areva, Siemens and GE queuing up to explore opportunities in the country.   High-profile investors such as Vinod Sethi, private equity major Blackstone and new clean technology funds have already invested in offshore wind energy companies planning for India, as this sector is expected to offer electricity tariffs at 40% less cost than that from traditional sources. “Offshore wind is the new growth area and has cheaper costs,” Areva Renewables global CEO Anil Srivastava said. Since offshore wind projects can be built close to big consumption centres that are typically located in coastal areas, the long western coastline will suit such a model as most large industries are situated along the country’s western coast. Mumbai is an ideal place for such wind power projects.

Acute malaria outbreak in Mumbai  There is battling record levels of Malaria a mosquito-born infection in Mumbai, health officials said on August 20, 2010, with as many cases in the first half of the year as in the whole of 2009. Authorities in the financial hub have drafted in experts from Medecins Sans Frontieres to tackle an outbreak which has seen nearly 4,000 cases this month alone, with the most virulent form of the potential killer   having struck 10 to 15 percent.  A lush green flamingos home reduced to a rubble   A 60-acre plot, one the most beautiful birdwatching spots in Phunde village, few km away from Uran around Mumbai reduced to a rubble in just two yeras. Once it was a lush green visual delight with flamingos and around 130 species of birds making it their home, is reduced to a rubble after the State approved its take-over under Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ) in 2005. Destruction of this wetland started around two years ago when truckloads of sand and cement and stones dumped here and  completely killing every blade of grass. 

                         

     

  BMC advises Mumbaikars not to store water for long  The local civic body has appealed to Mumbaikars on May 23, 2011 not to store water for days so as to prevent the spread of Malaria   . In order to curb the malaria menace, the BMC will run a dry day campaign once a week, where the civic administration will be appealing to people not to store water for eight days. "It has been observed that regular water storage provides enough space or mosquitoes to multiply. As the water is not used

  Suddenly on February 19, 2011, Government stalled the acquisition of the plot.This plot was acquired under the ambitious SEZ project promoted by India ’s top industrialists. However, State Revenue Department was unable to acquire nearly 16,900 acres of land spread across 45 villages of Pen, Panvel and Uran in the stipulated time due to protests from villagers, and hence, the project has been stalled. The State gained nothing, villagers are still not sure about the status of their land, and in that fight, Mumbai lost a beautiful spot in its neighbourhood.  Now the State has promised to revive the spot and recreate the wetland. Apart from doing everything it can, the Government wants corporate help for the project.  Mithi river has been reduced to a filthy nullah  Once a beautiful Mithi river of Mumbai is now reduced to a filthy nullah. Now a report of the Central Pollution Control Board shows that Maharashtra has the largest number of polluted river water stretches in the country. Environmental experts are worried that it is not only industrial pollution, which is responsible for degrading the quality of water in state rivers. The rapid urbanisation across the state is a major culprit as well. "Domestic sewage is a source of pollution besides industrial and other sources,'' said an official from the union ministry ofenvironment and forests.

      Mithi river of Mumbai is now reduced to a filthy nullah   Five years after the Mithi river overflowed and flooded parts of Mumbai, and claimed more than 500 lives during the July 26 deluge, the city is yet to receive any of the funds the Central government had promised tohelp widen and deepen the river, thus preventing a repeat of the disaster.

for weeks there are chances of mosquito breeding.       Mumbai Must Reclaim Its Mithi  Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh and former Union environment minister Suresh Prabhu released areport and documentary film titled Making The Sewer A River Again: Why Mumbai Must Reclaim Its Mithi on June 9, 2011.  The report and film deal with the dreadful condition of the city's river, which, along with its green estuary, works like a lung for a city choking on pollution.  "I think the collective apathy of the people of Mumbai, absence of political will, and administrative lethargy are all responsible for thecurrent oppressive state of the Mithi," Singh said. The report was released in the picturesque Maharashtra Nature Park along the Mithi.

Navaratri in Mumbai              

  The Brihanmumbai Muni-cipal Corporation (BMC) and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) recently sent a letter to the Centre, asking for Rs 1,300 crore, said Chandrakant Watve, BMC’s chief engineer for stormwater drains. After the 2005 deluge, the Maharashtra government had asked for Rs 1,300 crore from central government, under its urban renewal programme.  However, the Centre returned the proposal in 2008 on grounds that the proposal did not mention Mithi as a river, but as a drain, and urban renewal funds could not be used to clean a drain. The latest request from the BMC and the MMRDA is an attempt to get the funds under a special category. The BMC has already spent Rs 400 crore while the MMRDA has spent Rs 300 crore on reviving the river. A lack of funds would further delay the project say civic officials.

 Navaratri is celebrated nine days and in nine days  Goddess Durga is worshiped in her various forms. The traditional dances of Gujurat, known as "garba" and "dandiya raas".In Mumbai, dancing takes over stadiums and clubs throughout the city.While some of it has retained a traditional flavor, the introduction of "disco dandiya" has given Mumbais Navaratri celebrations a glamorous and modern twist. Nowadays, people unleash their dancing to a fusion of remixed beats and loud Hindi pop music. 

 Ganesh immersion in Mumbai

 Ganesh Chaturthi the most important festival honors to Lord Ganesha ( श्री� गणे�श )    was celebrated  ten days this year from  September 11, 2010  This festival culminates on the day of Ananta Chaturdashi when images  of Ganesha are immersed in  convenient body of water.

        The Ganesh idols, varying from gigantic ones measuring several metres tall to tiny, hand-held ones, around 150,000 was taken out for immersion into the Arabian Sea at various locations, creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds, reservoirs and artificially-created immersion sites dotting the city and suburbs. 

ENVIROMENTAL PROBLEMS

IN

MUMBAI

NIKHIL CHINDARKAR

FYBCOM

A ROLL NO - 85