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Pratip Acharya

Articles by Pratip Acharya

State mandates installing fire evacuation lifts in all high-rises

Mumbai: In order to speed up the evacuation process during fire incidents and emergencies in high-rise buildings, the energy department of the state government has issued an advisory that all high-rises in the state that are equal to or taller than 70 metres need to have a Fire Evacuation Lift (FEL) installed in the building for safety purposes

Mumbai, India - October. 22, 2021: Fire brigade trying to douse the fire in a high rise tower One Avighna Park at Curryroad in Mumbai, India, on Friday, October 22, 2021. (Photo by Pratik Chorge/Hindustan Times) (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

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Published on Jul 23, 2022 12:19 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

BMC gets land in Ambernath land marked for waste treatment in future

The civic body said that the primary objective for acquiring this land is to ensure scientific treatment of waste in the future, not to use it as a landfill.

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation building (HT PHOTO)

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Updated on Jul 21, 2022 11:45 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

BMC officials meet Marine Drive residents to allay vibration fears

On Wednesday, at the meeting held between the residents and the civic officials at Maharashtra Assembly speaker and Colaba legislator Rahul Narwekar’s office in Vidhan Bhavan

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Published on Jul 21, 2022 12:56 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Abhyas Galli gets a revision

As there is very little traffic movement in this lane, it is the lane of choice for students in the area, mostly from underprivileged backgrounds, who need some space to study in peace

What was so far a poorly lit stretch, with no proper seating arrangements for students, has now been transformed with special seating arrangements, modern street furniture with canopies and better lights (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

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Published on Jul 20, 2022 12:24 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Tetrapods back on Marine Drive

HT had carried a report yesterday in which residents of Marine Drive buildings complained that removal of tetrapods for Coastal Road work was causing their buildings to vibrate

BMC officials said the tetrapods were temporarily shifted ahead of monsoon to ensure there is uninterrupted flow of water from the Storm Water Drain (SWD) outlets during the monsoon season (Bhushan Koyande)

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Published on Jul 19, 2022 12:42 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Homes rattled by high tide due to coastal road work: SoBo residents

The tremors, they say, were especially felt inside Shree Niketan and Gobind Mahal buildings, located between the G and F roads in Marine Drive, which are near the Coastal Road work site

Mumbai, India – July 17, 2022: Tetrapods that have been removed adjoining sea-wall near Princess Street Flyover, in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, July 17, 2022. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

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Published on Jul 18, 2022 12:34 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

We’ll drink to that! Century-old pyaus in zoo to get renovated

Mumbai Four century-old pyaus (drinking water fountains) inside the Byculla zoo are set to get a new lease of life soon, marking the completion of the first phase of the Mumbai Pyau Project

Drinking water tap fountain restored inside Byculla Zoo, in Mumbai on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)

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Published on Jul 16, 2022 01:47 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

BEST readies 400 buses for monsoon

An emergency management meeting, chaired by Chahal, was held on Thursday afternoon to chalk out possible precautionary measures against adverse weather events that could occur during the monsoons.

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Published on Jul 15, 2022 12:17 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya, Mumbai:

South Mumbai waterlogging, rains and coastal road suspected

Residents and elected public representatives stated that waterlogging was intense at areas in Marine Drive where Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) construction work is ongoing.

Marine Drive waterlogged on Wednesday morning as a result of heavy rains and coastal road construction. (HT Photo)

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Published on Jul 14, 2022 12:15 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

BMC junks ₹402 crore tender to revamp Deonar abattoir

This is the fifth tender that municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has scrapped this year, which amounts to a total of ₹1,464 crore

The civic body had floated a <span class='webrupee'>₹</span>402 crore global tender in March this year with the aim to revamp the largest slaughterhouse in the country by setting up a food processing plant (Hindustan Times)

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Published on Jul 14, 2022 12:08 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

BMC says potholes declined by 30% in past one year

The officials also maintained that in the past six years, more than 600 km of roads have been concretised at an average of 100 km each year.

The officials maintained that to fill potholes in asphalt roads a component of dry cold-mix is being used. (Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO)

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Published on Jul 11, 2022 10:57 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

BMC scraps tender for ₹44cr aquarium at Byculla zoo

This came months after the civic body scrapped a ₹291 crore tender for constructing new animal enclosures inside the zoo, owing to cost escalation and allegations from the BJP

Municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal said the project was scrapped because the BMC has already received a go-ahead from the state government for building an aquarium and marine research centre at the Worli on a plot occupied by government dairy (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Jul 10, 2022 10:31 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Get well soon, write activists in postcards sent to BMC on pothole complaints

Citizen-activists, mainly from the western suburbs, have started sending postcards to the office of municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, with the message ‘Get Well Soon’ written

Pimenta said that on Sunday morning, volunteers from his organisation had gone to the ‘Save Aarey’ protest and handed blank postcards to the protesting members over there (Praful Gangurde)

cities

Published on Jul 10, 2022 07:12 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Mega block on Harbour line after part of 46-year-old wall collapses

Following this incident, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished the entire wall abutting the tracks and the periphery wall of a residential tower

BMC workers removing the balance portion of the wall of a dilapidated structure during a two-hour emergency block (Bhushan Koyande)

cities

Updated on Jul 08, 2022 12:33 AM IST

ByAroosa Ahmed and Pratip Acharya

229 pothole complaints in less than a fortnight as heavy rains batter the city, only 16 resolved

The civic body has received 229 pothole-related complaints in June and July this year through its “Pothole Fixit” mobile application, of which only 16 potholes have been fixed

Motorists navigate through potholes which resurfaced near Marol Naka at Goregaon (Vijay Bate)

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Published on Jul 08, 2022 12:31 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

12 buildings in Kurla to be torn down to avoid collapses

According to BMC data, there are 12 such private buildings in the entire Kurla area that are categorised as a ‘C-1’ structure, which means it is dangerous to inhabit

Ismail Manzil at Kurla in Mumbai (Pratik Chorge/HT Photo)

cities

Published on Jul 07, 2022 12:06 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Traffic disrupted on city’s heaviest rain day so far

Mumbai: Tuesday’s downpour brought large parts of the city as well as the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to a standstill with traffic needing to be diverted and slowing down to a snail’s pace on several arterial roads due to water-logging in chronic flooding spots, even as a landslide was reported along the Mumbra bypass road heading towards Panvel

Mumbai, India - July 05, 2022 : Vehicles slow Moving and People walk in a Waterlogging on S V Road at Vile Parle West, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday. (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

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Published on Jul 06, 2022 12:39 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya, Aroosa Ahmed, Megha Pol

BMC officer in Thackerays’ ‘good books’ transferred

Mumbai: Barely days after the new government took charge, assistant municipal commissioner Kiran Dighavkar, who is known for handling Dharavi’s Covid-19 crisis, has been transferred from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s ward office in Dadar to Byculla

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Published on Jul 05, 2022 12:41 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Maharashtra: Shakhas divided over rebellion, voice support for both camps

It is at these shakhas that the common Mumbaikar meets the Sainik, seeking help for everything from admission to colleges or hospitals to resolving civic problems. It is here that the party mouthpiece Saamana is read threadbare and discussed.

Shiv Sena workers (Shivsainiks) discuss the current political scenario inside a Shiv Sena Shakha (branch office), at Dadar, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, July 02, 2022. (Photo by Pratik Chorge/Hindustan Times)

india news

Published on Jul 03, 2022 03:22 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya, Mumbai

Back in the shakha, bow & arrow rules

HT visited three shakhas situated in the heart of where the city’s Marathi-speaking population resides

Mumbai, India - July 02, 2022: A branch office seen bustling with regular activity after the recent political twist in Maharashtra as party workers gather at Shiv Sena Shakha of Late Vitthal Chavan, at Parel, in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, July 02, 2022. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Jul 03, 2022 12:51 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

After 24 hours of incessant rain, water stock goes up by mere 1%

The total water stock of the city is calculated by observing the present quantity of water availability in each of these lakes

Earlier this week, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) implemented a 10% water cut in Mumbai along with adjoining districts like Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli. (Alamy Stock Photo)

cities

Published on Jul 02, 2022 12:39 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Several parts of city waterlogged after first spell of heavy rain

The first spell of heavy monsoon showers on Thursday left several parts of the city waterlogged, with the chronic spots in the western suburbs being the worst-hit

People wade through the waterlogged road near the Andheri subway on Thursday. Vijay Bate/HT Photo

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Updated on Jul 01, 2022 12:23 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya, Mumbai

Two more buildings collapse in Mumbai, three incidents in four days

Mumbai: On Thursday, the city witnessed two more incidents of buildings collapsing, taking the total number of such incidents to three in just four days

A portion of a vacated ground-plus-four storey building collapses while repair work was underway at Badam Wadi, Kalbadevi, in Mumbai on Thursday. (Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

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Published on Jun 30, 2022 11:48 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

BMC to demolish remaining buildings in Naik Nagar society

While the BMC had already declared the D-wing as ‘dilapidated’ and marked it for demolition in 2013, they said that all the remaining wings in that compound were also declared ‘dilapidated

The Naik Nagar Society has four buildings in its compound which are identified as A, B, C and D wings (Pratik Chorge/HT PHOTO)

cities

Published on Jun 29, 2022 09:03 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Building collapse raises questions of inadequate affordable housing

The collapse of a wing at Naik Nagar Housing Society in Kurla, which killed 18 residents, is the latest grim reminder of what the lack of affordable housing in a burgeoning city like Mumbai could lead to

Rescue operations under way on Tuesday after a four-storey building collapsed at Naik Nagar, Kurla (East), on late Monday night. Satish Bate/HT Photo

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Published on Jun 29, 2022 01:15 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya, Mumbai

It felt like an earthquake, say locals

Rahul Ramteke, a 17-year-old, who lived in a two-storeyed building across the road, said that the entire compound was engulfed in smoke and dust

Soon after the building collapsed, local residents rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

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Published on Jun 29, 2022 01:11 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

19 killed as 4-storey building collapses in Mumbai's Kurla

While at least 14 people have been rescued so far, search operations are underway as more people are believed to be buried under the debris, they added

The occupants of the building were mainly tenants who were working as daily wage labourers and security guards (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Jun 29, 2022 01:26 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

18 killed as building collapses in Mumbai, CM Thackeray announces aid

Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray visited the building collapse site.

4-storey building collapses in Mumbai(ANI)

india news

Updated on Jun 28, 2022 07:43 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Water cut in Mumbai may get worse if inadequate rainfall continues

Mumbai draws its water supply from seven lakes -- Bhatsa, Middle Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Tulsi and Vihar lakes

Currently, the overall water stock in all the seven lakes is around 1,31,770 million litres out of a total of 14,47,363 million litres, which is 9.10% of the total capacity. (Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

cities

Published on Jun 28, 2022 12:28 AM IST

ByPratip Acharya

Teesta Setalvad: Rights activists, students hit the streets to protest arrest

Many of the protesters also carried posters and shouted slogans condemning prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah

Residents and social activists of various group protest against the centre for arresting Teesta Setalvad at Dadar on Monday (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT PHOTO)

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Published on Jun 27, 2022 11:51 PM IST

ByPratip Acharya

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Pratip Acharya

The civic body said that the primary objective for acquiring this land is to ensure scientific treatment of waste in the future, not to use it as a landfill.

On Wednesday, at the meeting held between the residents and the civic officials at Maharashtra Assembly speaker and Colaba legislator Rahul Narwekar’s office in Vidhan Bhavan

As there is very little traffic movement in this lane, it is the lane of choice for students in the area, mostly from underprivileged backgrounds, who need some space to study in peace

HT had carried a report yesterday in which residents of Marine Drive buildings complained that removal of tetrapods for Coastal Road work was causing their buildings to vibrate

The tremors, they say, were especially felt inside Shree Niketan and Gobind Mahal buildings, located between the G and F roads in Marine Drive, which are near the Coastal Road work site

Mumbai Four century-old pyaus (drinking water fountains) inside the Byculla zoo are set to get a new lease of life soon, marking the completion of the first phase of the Mumbai Pyau Project

An emergency management meeting, chaired by Chahal, was held on Thursday afternoon to chalk out possible precautionary measures against adverse weather events that could occur during the monsoons.

Residents and elected public representatives stated that waterlogging was intense at areas in Marine Drive where Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) construction work is ongoing.

This is the fifth tender that municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal has scrapped this year, which amounts to a total of ₹1,464 crore

The officials also maintained that in the past six years, more than 600 km of roads have been concretised at an average of 100 km each year.

This came months after the civic body scrapped a ₹291 crore tender for constructing new animal enclosures inside the zoo, owing to cost escalation and allegations from the BJP

Citizen-activists, mainly from the western suburbs, have started sending postcards to the office of municipal commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, with the message ‘Get Well Soon’ written

Following this incident, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished the entire wall abutting the tracks and the periphery wall of a residential tower

The civic body has received 229 pothole-related complaints in June and July this year through its “Pothole Fixit” mobile application, of which only 16 potholes have been fixed

According to BMC data, there are 12 such private buildings in the entire Kurla area that are categorised as a ‘C-1’ structure, which means it is dangerous to inhabit

Mumbai: Barely days after the new government took charge, assistant municipal commissioner Kiran Dighavkar, who is known for handling Dharavi’s Covid-19 crisis, has been transferred from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s ward office in Dadar to Byculla

It is at these shakhas that the common Mumbaikar meets the Sainik, seeking help for everything from admission to colleges or hospitals to resolving civic problems. It is here that the party mouthpiece Saamana is read threadbare and discussed.

HT visited three shakhas situated in the heart of where the city’s Marathi-speaking population resides

The total water stock of the city is calculated by observing the present quantity of water availability in each of these lakes

The first spell of heavy monsoon showers on Thursday left several parts of the city waterlogged, with the chronic spots in the western suburbs being the worst-hit

Mumbai: On Thursday, the city witnessed two more incidents of buildings collapsing, taking the total number of such incidents to three in just four days

While the BMC had already declared the D-wing as ‘dilapidated’ and marked it for demolition in 2013, they said that all the remaining wings in that compound were also declared ‘dilapidated

The collapse of a wing at Naik Nagar Housing Society in Kurla, which killed 18 residents, is the latest grim reminder of what the lack of affordable housing in a burgeoning city like Mumbai could lead to

Rahul Ramteke, a 17-year-old, who lived in a two-storeyed building across the road, said that the entire compound was engulfed in smoke and dust

While at least 14 people have been rescued so far, search operations are underway as more people are believed to be buried under the debris, they added

Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray visited the building collapse site.

Mumbai draws its water supply from seven lakes -- Bhatsa, Middle Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, Tansa, Modak Sagar, Tulsi and Vihar lakes

Many of the protesters also carried posters and shouted slogans condemning prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah

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