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Harsh Goenka wants this vehicle to travel in his crowded city
Mumbai lockdown: Chembur couple's homemade snacks keep cops going
At a time when the city's police force is working day and night to ensure that lockdown rules are strictly implemented, a Chembur-based couple has taken up the responsibility to ensure they don't go hungry due to too much work pressure and also feel energetic through the day. For over three months now, Rosemond D'Souza, 48, and Sweety D'Souza, 45, have been distributing tea and snacks among officers on duty at nakabandi checkpoints across the city and they manage to serve at least 100 cops a day.
While Rosemond is a civil contractor, Sweety is a homemaker. Between 3 pm and 7 pm everyday they pack and take the snacks in their car to various nakabandi checkpoints, including Mankhurd, Chembur and Wadala.
Speaking to mid-day, the couple said, "Looking at the way the cops are doing their duty since the lockdown was imposed, we decided to help them out. Initially we thought of distributing cold drinks but then realised it would not be suitable in the current situation. So we decided to prep..
Harvard, MIT sue ICE to protect int'l students from 'illegal' rules
Mumbai lockdown: 'We have money only for a few weeks of groceries,' say lawyers
Mumbai lockdown: 'If parlours can open, why not gymnasiums?' ask gym owners
As several industries get the green light to open with certain guidelines, gym owners and top tier management of exercise studios, are searching in vain for any signs that they will be allowed to open, even partially. With salons being allowed to operate from last week, the All India Gym Owners Association and fitness professionals under the umbrella name 'India Active!' met with the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari, to push for their cause.
The meeting took place via a webinar on Wednesday.
Gym owners are afraid they will have to permanently shut shop if they are not allowed to open soon
Nikhil Kakkar, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Gold's Gym India said, "As an industry, we were one of the first to close down, and are sure to be one of the last to reopen. We need to open, of course with adherence to strict guidelines and provisions. We have just witnessed hotels being allowed to reopen with certain norms. If salons have been allowed to open with certain g..
Mumbai: 'Lockdown worse than Emergency for taxi drivers,' says Taximen's Union leader
COVID-19: Mumbai Metropolitan Region active cases doubled in 15 days; meet to decide on lockdown today
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) has doubled in the past 15 days with the number of active cases being 50 per cent more than that of Mumbai. While all the municipal corporations in MMR are under lockdown and four commissioners were replaced two weeks ago, the numbers worryingly continue to rise unabated.
Mumbai has been recording lesser daily numbers for the past month with 29,720 active cases on June 22, which came down to 23,359 on July 7. On the other hand, the number of active cases increased from 16,929 to 35,541 in the MMR during the same period.
SJ Kunte, additional chief secretary
Most of the cities in the MMR are currently under lockdown. "After the relaxing of the lockdown, people started wandering in public places or meeting in groups. It spread the virus rapidly. The lockdown helps to cut the chain of spread," said S J Kunte, additional chief secretary and in-charge of MMR for COVID-19 management.
"Even if a lockdown is there, employ..
Warna Herzog ho jayenge hum!
Stylistically an Indian film lately that's come closest to the master Werner Herzog's latest, Family Romance, LLC (that premiered on Mubi app) is Prateek Vats's Eeb Allay Ooo! (2019) — the title refers to the sound that the lead-character makes to ward off wild monkeys in posh New Delhi for a living.
This guy is an under-study of an actual veteran in the profession, who's been cast for the said role. Of course, there are many examples of Indian films with non-professional actors, right from Sairaat to Salaam Bombay; why, even Pather Panchali.
The lead character Ishii Yuichi in Herzog's Family Romance, LLC, though runs an agency that supplies stand-in human beings for anybody you want — from a father, work-mate, lottery-winning messenger, to the paparazzi. You could call them relationship equivalents of sex-workers, I guess.
In an ironic interpretation of acting that involves playing characters, Yuichi plays himself. He actually runs the agency the film in Japanese, set in J..
Mumbai Rains: Chembur teen drowns in swollen pond
Heavy rain and strong winds lashed the city for the fourth day in a row. Several tree-falls were reported on Tuesday and a boy, aged 16, was killed.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai, said rain activity was expected to lessen on Wednesday but will pick up pace again from Thursday.
Part of a house collapsed in Sharda Niwas, Bhandup West. Pic/Datta Kumbhar
According to IMD Mumbai, the observatory in Colaba recorded 49.4mm rainfall until 5.30 pm, while the one in Santacruz recorded 45.2mm. Though the rainfall recorded on Tuesday is lesser compared to Saturday's, when the IMD had issued a Red alert; there were strong winds and an intense spell of rains for a long time at different places in the city.
"Intense clouds around Mumbai and around as seen from the radar and satellite images. Intense rainfall was expected over Mumbai and around with pauses in between," tweeted K S Hosalikar, deputy director general of meteorology, India MET Department, Mumbai. "Due to active monso..
Mumbai Rains: Heavy downpour with gusty winds hit city, Thane
COVID-19 in Mumbai: Man who was made to move dead woman's body tests positive
Putting good sense above sentiment
Slam bang in the midst of the pandemic came the news of a conflict arising out of a pending border dispute with China. While this may seem sudden, the economic war for commercial supremacy has been fought continuously since China's liberalisation in 1976 and India's economic liberalisation in 1991, with China becoming much stronger than India today.
China became a $1 trillion economy in 1996 while India touched the same level in the year 2000. Today, 20 years later, India is still at $2.5 trillion, while China overtook this figure long ago, to create a huge gap and has touched $13 trillion now. This is a gap like Usain Bolt and his nearest rival in the 100m race.
According to the Indian Department of Commerce, it is very difficult to replace Chinese products immediately. Just some statistics will show that in the smartphone market, Chinese brands are very popular in each price segment and enjoy almost 72 per cent of the total market share, Smart TVs has 45 per cent, other home applianc..
Over 1 crore COVID-19 tests done so far, says ICMR as India becomes 3rd worst-hit country
After recording over 24,000 cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, India surpassed Russia to become the third-worst affected country by the global pandemic. India is now behind Brazil, which has over 15 lakh cases, and the US has more than 28 lakh cases.
A list of states with over 11,000 COVID cases. Picture/Twitter COVIDNewsByMIB
As India reels under the COVID-19 outbreak, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that so far, the country has conducted over 10 million (1 crore) tests to diagnose Coronavirus. An official from ICMR said that about 1,80,596 samples were tested on July 5 in the country with a total of 1,00,04,101 samples being tested till date.
Over 10 million COVID-19 tests done so far: ICMR https://t.co/JyovBUGH7I
— ICMR (@ICMRDELHI) July 6, 2020
A senior ICMR official said, in the last 14 days, average tests were 2.15 lakh (2,15,655) and in the last five days, one million tests have been conducted," reports ANI. So far, five states which h..
Chaos is a ladder, the climb is all there is
Coronavirus Outbreak: 1,400 Mumbai patients to get Remdesivir
After being caught up in the tendering process, medical equipment and supplies have finally reached some civic hospitals. A portion of the supply of Remdesivir, enough for 1,400 patients, reached them on Sunday, and the civic body could soon float another tender for more. While the rapid antigen tests started in the city two days ago, the testing rate is below 500 samples a day, and so far 40 quarantine patients have tested positive.
P Velarasu, additional municipal commissioner, said the civic body has ordered Remdesivir as per the requirement for 3-4 days.
"We have purchased Remdesivir that is sufficient for 1,400 patients. We bought it at competitive rates of R4,200 per unit from Hetero. However, after two weeks, we will test the market and if there are more players, we will float another tender to purchase it at a better rate," he said.
The BMC conducting swab tests in Mahim
Other drug to be procuredVelarasu added that a similar strat-egy is in place for purchase of Favi-pravir, th..
Let's forget about picnics till COVID-19 lasts
Five people, including one teenager, drowned at a waterfall, a report said in this paper. Their bodies were fished out after an hours-long search operation.
The report detailed that at least 13 persons went to a waterfall for a picnic. Two persons trying to take a selfie fell into the water, three others tried to save them, and eventually, all of them drowned.
Unfortunate reports like these crop up just as the rains begin to shower their bounty and the weather turns from hot and humid to cool and pleasant. The land turns green and beckons picnickers for breaks or getaways to recharge and go back to the routine.
This time though, there is a huge difference. Pandemic and picnics do not go together. The latter means a group — small or big, it does not matter — and travelling to the designated picnic spot together, so this totals to social distancing sent out of the window, anyway.
It will also be difficult to wear masks on picnics, there will be contact while taking pictures ..
Unbridled joy of thumkas and TikTok
It is a filmi coincidence, that the Bollywood choreographer Saroj Khan died in the same week that the government saw it fit to ban TikTok.
Growing up, to admit that you listened to 'Hindi music' was a social shame. Hindi films were infra dig, considered unsophisticated and vulgar, for the very things that made them pleasurable—songs, dances, melodrama, desi excess.
The 1990s changed that in many ways. One of them was Saroj Khan. Her choreography transformed Bollywood dance—more bhava, more vigour, more adaa, but most of all, more body. Women were sexual, androgynous, expressive, their body language frank. And, she had a secret sauce—the hook step, the dancing memes of the dancing queen.
The hook step did not just galvanise filmi fortunes, it transformed India. It gave us a key to unlock the dance, to replicate it behind closed doors or on dance floors, to absorb and express sexual frankness, libidinal exuberance, our human selves, common people's pleasures, which..
Sacred footprints and footwear
In the Mahabharata, there is the story that the sun-god invented the footwear, and the parasol, to protect people's feet from getting burnt on the ground heated by the summer sun. Sages were angry with the sun as their wives were complaining and were planning to take away the sun's heat. In art, the sun-god is shown wearing boots up to the knee. This was introduced to India by Kushan kings about 2,000 years ago.
When we talk of footwear, one of the most famous stories we get is of Ram. Ram goes to the forest in exile. His stepmother demands that her son should be king of Ayodhya instead. Ram goes to the forest without remorse or regret. His brother, Bharat, however, on learning that the kingdom has been given to him through his mother's political manipulations, rejects the kingdom. He goes to Ram, and insists that he returns and becomes king. Ram says that he has given his word to his father that he will live in the forest for 14 years. Therefore, Bharat insists that Ram should symboli..
Akshay Kumar's chopper ride to Nashik raises eyebrows
Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar's chopper ride to Nashik and his overnight stay in a resort amid Coronavirus restrictions, has landed him in a controversy. Four days after Kumar visited the holy town, Nashik guardian minister Chhagan Bhujbal has asked the district police and district collector to probe the permissions granted to the actor and violations, if any.
Bhujbal said in Nashik on Saturday that he did not know about the actor's visit on July 1, but he received complaints that the actor's travel could be in violation of the current rules. "Anybody can visit here. There should be no problem as long as it is a valid reason and they have permission. But I received complaints asking me about the permission granted for a helicopter landing and boarding at a luxury resort. I have asked the police and district collector to probe and find out violation, if any," said the minister.
When asked about the travelling permissions, Vishwas Nangre-Patil, Nashik Police Commissioner, replied, "H..
Coronavirus Outbreak: 18-year-old's DIY COVID-19-themed prom dress goes viral
Peyton Manker, a student from Illinois, has been making waves on social media for designing a one-of-a-kind prom dress. Her mum, Suzy, shared photos of a dress she created single-handedly, using 41 rolls of duct-tape for the Stuck at Prom contest. The competition challenges those graduating high-school to make their own prom attire using as much duct tape as possible. The winner gets a scholarship of $10,000 (about R7.5 lakh) and the results will be announced on July 21.
The 18-year-old decided to create her dress around the Coronavirus pandemic. "I decided to make the dress based on the pandemic because I knew no one in the competition was going to be able to re-create it. I knew it would stand out in that way, and wanted it to be based on what was happening in the world," she told Insider Magazine. The teen's prom was cancelled, so, she never got to wear it in front of her schoolmates. However, the whole world knows about it now as her mother's post has been shared over 2.5 lakh time..
Mumbai Rains: Mumbaikars share rain photos as heavy downpour continues in city
A one-sided test of loyalty
Mumbai Rains: Low-lying areas water-logged for over two hours
Heavy rainfall combined with a high tide led to water-logging in a number of low-lying areas of the city on Friday. Colaba and Santacruz received 317.4 mm and 174.6 mm of rain respectively, till 8.30 pm. A landslide took place on Worli Hill Road but no one was injured.
The 4.41-metre high tide took place around 10.50 am on Friday. The southern part and western suburbs of the city received heavy rainfall from 10 am to 11 am.
Sion became water-logged within hours of heavy rain on Friday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Areas like Hindmata, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Bindu Madhav Junction, Dhobi Ghat of Cuff Parade, Chira Bazaar, Byculla police station, E-Mozes Road, Sion Road, Gandhi Market and Andheri Subway remained water-logged for more than two hours.
Children seem to have made the most of the water-logged road at Null Bazaar near Kumbharwada on Friday. Pic/Bipin Kokate
Twenty-four tree fall complaints also came in from different parts of the city, of which 10 were from the southern part, five from th..
Mumbai rains: Heavy showers cause water-logging in low-lying areas
After overnight showers, Mumbai and its suburbs woke up to heavy rain on Friday, which caused water-logging in many low-lying areas and affected road traffic movement. Due to water-logging, traffic has been diverted in Parel, Hindmata, Gol Deul, and Sion. Flooding was also reported in Cuffe Parade, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Worli, Dadar, Chira Bazaar, Masjid Bunder, and surroundings.
In the suburbs, waterlogging was reported in Andheri forcing closure of the subway, and vehicle movement had slowed down in Borivali, Malad, and Jogeshwari areas.
Heavy Rains witnessed in Navi Mumbai. Twitter user @salishatalwar shared this visual from her location.Use #MumbaiRainsWithMidday and share with rain updates from your locality and we will retweet them. #MumbaiRains #RainUpdate https://t.co/cyrOLZ1QjB
— Mid Day (@mid_day) July 3, 2020
Heavy showers, often accompanied by thunder, were witnessed in Mumbai and the suburbs, besides Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts.
Most ..
Mumbaikars observe 30 min blackout to protest against 'crippling' electricity bills
FOR citizens who have been thrown into a tizzy with what they claim are high electricity bills, there seems to be no way out. Between 8 pm to 8.30 pm on Thursday, some groups of citizens called for a blackout, switching off all electrical appliances and lights as a silent statement against what they call "crippling" electricity bills, during the pandemic.
Godfrey Pimenta, trustee, Mumbai's Watchdog Foundation, which is leading this movement, said, "It is a symbolic gesture to register our protest with electricity services. Ideally, we would have taken to the streets and held a demonstration outside the service provider's office. But because of restricted mobility, one way to showcase the larger sentiment sweeping across the city is this."
Pimenta added that he "was taken aback when I got a bill for Rs 29,000 for May and June for my home." He usually gets a bill of approximately R10,000 a month during summer and lower in the other months. "I asked Adani Electricity how it had arrived at..
Mumbai Diary: Friday Dossier
COVID-19 in Mumbai: How officials are tackling the spike in Bandra
After a spurt in COVID-19 cases especially in residential areas last month, apart from the civic body's regulations, officials of the H West ward have taken up measures to deal with the pandemic more efficiently. While vendors have been asked to maintain health certificates that are updated weekly, the ward is remotely updating COVID-19-related data on a software that is accurate and less time-consuming.
The software, 'H West COVID 19 Information Centre', implemented last month, allows ward officials to upload and update information about every COVID-19 patient, including details of high-risk contacts. Vinayak Vispute, assistant municipal commissioner of the ward, said, "There is a lot of fieldwork involved and ward officials also have to report the data collected. This was taking a lot of time and led to repetitions. Through the software, officials fill up a form through an app to upload data." He added that while most of the software is functional, linking with hospitals and a couple..
Mumbai: Two months on, last Shramik train chugs out
Lockdown: Vasai owners offer relief to tenants, waive off lakhs in property rent
With the shutters down and no income for over three months due to the lockdown over COVID-19 pandemic, several businessmen took a massive blow, and appealed for a rent waiver. Even the state government had asked the owners of commercial and housing properties to provide relief to their tenants by deferring the rent collection.
A few people in Vasai heard the requests and have waived off lakhs in rents for those who could not afford. The proprietor of KT Builders, Rakesh Shah, has waived off more than Rs 80 lakh in rent for several of his properties in Vasai and Boisar.
"We had given our properties on rent to various businessmen who ran their shops, like bakeries, beauty product stores, ready-made clothes shops, etc. But they were all shut during the lockdown. Though a few of them resumed businesses after Unlock 1.0, it was only for a few hours. So we have waived off 50 per cent rent," Shah told mid-day.
Rakesh Shah, the proprietor of KT Builders, has given massive relief to all his ten..
Stacky tales before his big day
COVID-19: Family finds Thane man still in ICU three days after cremation
In a case of gross misman-agement that has caused two families unnecessary grief, a civic-run COVID-19 hospital, Thane Global Impact Hub in Kalwa, handed a body wrapped and taped in a PPE suit to a family saying their relative, Janardhan Sonawane, 67, had died. However, a few days later, the family got to know that Sonawane is alive and the body they cremated was of Bhalchandra Gaikwad, 71.
Sonawane's son Sandeep received a call from the hospital at 6.30 am on July 3 informing him that he had died of COVID-19. "We reached the hospital immediately. The body was wrapped in a PPE suit and the face was not visible. We could not tell the hospital staff to show us the face as it was not advisable," said Sandeep.
Sandeep Sonawane shows the document he was made to sign by the hospital after he was told that his father is alive. Pic/Sameer Markande
"We were advised to wear a PPE suit to conduct the last rites. We followed the instructions given by the hospital staff. The last rites were conduct..
Navi Mumbai, Panvel under full lockdown: Except milk, medicines get supplies delivered home
Mumbai: 'Staggered office timings, a welcome move,' feel experts
Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 'Come early and self-quarantine,' say Konkan villagers to Mumbaikars
Thin rasam, according to Neerja
It's all about pattern recognition. For instance, you can tell the difference between a pizza and an uthappam without spraining your brain. One is based on dough, the other has batter. One is baked, the other is fried.
There's wonderful melted cheese on one, but if the other has cheese, it's a fake. There's stuff under the cheese in one, there's chopped onions on the other.
Once you understand the pattern, you're on firm ground. You know that only someone living in Khargar Node would eat an uthappam and pay for a pizza without feeling like a yap.
But take the wonderful south Indian concoction called rasam and suddenly you will be in a quagmire where rules collapse unpredictably and identities change casually. Even if you know where rasam begins, you'd have to be a genius to know where it ends.
Rasam, for those new to the concept, means essence. Some say its origin dates back to 16th century Madurai, but you know, who knows? Rasam scholars agree on just one thing — it is a thin so..
Mumbai Rains: Thundershowers to continue for 24 hours in moderate intensity
After torrential rains for the past three consecutive days caused havoc and brought Mumbai to a halt, the private weather agency Skymet on Monday said that on and off rain and thundershowers will continue over Mumbai and suburbs for at least next 24 hours in moderate intensity. Thereafter, the intensity will go down further and temperatures will rise, leading to sultry weather conditions.
According to Skymet, one of the rainiest spell for Mumbai has come to an end. During the last 24 hours, central and northern suburbs received heavy to very heavy rains however, there was a significant decrease in southern suburbs.
In the last 24 hours, Santacruz recorded 116 mm rainfall, Thane 213 mm, and Colaba recorded 12 mm.
During the last 24 hours, Santacruz recorded 116 mm, Thane 213 mm and Colaba recorded 12 mm of rain. #MumbaiRains #MumbaiRain #MumbaiMonsoon #MumbaiRainWithSkymet @SkymetWeather
— Mumbai Rain (@MumbaiRainApp) July 6, 2020
“The cyclonic circulation which was respon..
Mumbai Rains: High tide, flooding pile on to city's misery
With incessant rain lashing the city on Saturday and Sunday, there was inevitable waterlogging in low lying areas across Mumbai. Hindmata, TT Junction, King's Circle and Dharavi were submerged and flooding was seen in Veera Desai, Amboli, Andheri Subway, Goregaon, Aarey Colony. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has given a Yellow alert for Monday as the city is expected to receive light to moderate rainfall. According to IMD, because of the continuous rainfall over the weekend, Mumbai recorded its second-highest 24-hour rain in the month of July in the last five years.
A yellow alert is the least severe warning but means the weather is likely to have some impact, llike travel disruption.
According to a tweet by KS Hosalikar, deputy director-general of IMD's western region on Sunday, "Mumbai recorded 70-100 mm rainfall in last 6 hours since morning 8.30 am, July 5. But its intensity slightly reduced in last 3 hours."
Waterlogging at Kalachowki. Pic/Ashish Raje
Several parts of t..
More than 86,000 active COVID cases in Maharashtra
The state reported 6,555 new cases on Sunday, while the city had 1,287 fresh cases, and Mumbai's count of COVID cases is now nearly 85,000. There were 151 COVID-related deaths in the state taking the death toll to 8,822 cases, and as a first, no backlog of deaths factored into the count. Among the total cases in Maharashtra, 86,040 patients are currently being treated and on Sunday, 3,658 patients were discharged after a full recovery.
Besidesthe nearly 1,300 cases in Mumbai, 596 new cases were reported in Kalyan-Dombivali, 358 new cases in Mira-Bhayandar and 600 cases were reported in Thane. In Pune alone, over 1,000 new cases were reported. Officials said that the recovery rate of the state stands at 54.08 per cent while the city's recovery rate is 66 per cent.
A file picture of a doctor documenting a swab test in a quarantine centre for people who came in contact with patients at Dharavi Transit Camp. Pics/Suresh Karkera
Civic officials said that the overall growth rate of the city ..
BJP's claims over line of thought
China's unilateral decision to alter the status quo on the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh has distressed all Indians. Our distress arises from the realisation that China, displaying the arrogance typical of a superpower, believes it can prevail over India regarding its claim over the LAC.
Humans are distressed every time a superior power, whether at the village or the international level, refuses to adhere to the rules of the game. This it does because the superior power seeks to have its domination accepted, the proof of which is to refashion an existing order in accordance with its own imagination. Our distress over Ladakh is a subliminal recognition of this fact.
Our distress should, however, also have us introspect. In India, there has always existed a line of thought, a line marking the boundaries between different ideologies. However, over the last six years, the Bharatiya Janata Party has deployed state power to push the line of thought farther and farther, and claim as much o..
Baran and the tricky art of giving
In my last column, I had written about Majid Majidi's Baran (Rain, Iran, 2001). The novelty of this quiet masterpiece was watching the film in Farsi, with Marathi subtitles. But, revisiting it after nearly 20 years (it is freely available online), I was reminded why it is still so sharply relevant worldwide, especially in today's India which, through the government's handling of the Coronavirus pandemic, has reduced us to a nation of millions of 'refugees'; only, they are from and in our own nation. According to thewire.in, India's internally displaced persons because of COVID-19 is "at least double" that of "Partition, (when) 15 million people were uprooted from their homes."
There are so many layers to Baran. It's a refugee story. It's a wordless romance. It's a political comment on the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in 1979 and rise of the Taliban, that caused 1.5 million Afghan refugees to flee to Iran. It's a gender-bender story, about a woman who dresses as a man to get a job i..
Doctor on the street
As Dr Anita Borges pulled out of the compound of Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel, a rash motorist almost hit her car. Belligerently, he posed in Hindi every Bombayite's oft heard question, "You think this is your father's road?" Sweetly pointing to the signboard right there, announcing Dr Ernest Borges Marg, the eminent histopathologist retorted, "Of course." And drove off, leaving behind what Dr Sunil Pandya describes as "a puzzled, but steaming individual".
A veteran neurosurgeon from KEM and Jaslok hospitals, Pandya balances such chuckle-worthy episodes with weighty nuggets of information, in collaboration with Dr Sanjay Pai, consultant pathologist and Head of Pathology at Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Bengaluru. Their unusual compilation offers a record of roads named after city physicians and surgeons.
Kashibai Navrange Marg in Gamdevi honours Dr Kashibai Navrange, the first Indian woman doctor to open her ownclinic in Bhuleshwar. She floated a Milk Fund in 1916 for pregnant an..
Nanorobot technology might soon be India's new cancer weapon
A team of cancer scientists in Pune are researching a unique nanorobot technology that can specifically target a tumour without damaging healthy cells of other organs. Unlike chemotherapy, which affects the healthy organs and cells of cancer patients, the nanorobot will be able to deliver the anti-cancer drug right inside the tumour and prevent any damage to the rest of the body.
The research has been funded by the Department of Bio Technology (DBT), Government of India, and is being spearheaded by Dr Shashwat Banerjee, 43, who heads the Central Research Laboratory at Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research (MIMER) in Pune, and Dr Jayant Khandare, professor in school of pharmacy, MIT-WPU, Pune. The team has already applied for patent rights.
The idea to research this technology came about, when Dr Banerjee witnessed first-hand the harrowing experience of two of his relatives in Kolkata, who were battling intestine cancer and brain tumour, respectively. The side-effects ..
Mumbai Diary: Sunday Dossier
Kurla's Ismaili community distributes 35,000 litres of drinking water to patients, migrants
Mumbai Diary: Saturday Dossier
Central Railway, Western Railway lose crores on cancellations, refunds
Central and Western Railway on Friday said they have sustained losses to the tune of around R3,000 crore ever since the lockdown began in March 2020. The losses are due to train cancellations, revenue earning from regular means, refunds and compensation to passengers. "The total loss of earnings over Western Railway (WR) on account of COVID-19 has been R1,567.98 crore, which includes R227.99 crore for Mumbai suburban section and R1,339.99 crore for non-suburban," a senior WR official said.
"In spite of this, following cancellation of tickets till now, WR has ensured refunds of R381.69 crore. It's worth mentioning that in this refund amount, Mumbai division alone has ensured refunds of more than Rs 181.19 crore," a WR spokesperson said.
Till now 59.33 lakh passengers who have cancelled their tickets on WR have received their refund amounts.
On the CR, too, the overall losses are to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore at the zonal level. "From March 23 till June end, more than 54 lakh passe..
Holiday horror! 13 go for picnic to Kalmandavi Waterfall, five drown
Five people, including a teenager, drowned at the Kalmandavi Waterfall in Jawhar city on Thursday afternoon. After hours of search operation, the rescuers fished out their bodies in the evening, said the police.
A total of 13 people, all residents of Ambika Chowk in Jawhar, went to the Kalmandavi Waterfall for a picnic. They reached there around 2.30 pm and about half an hour later, two of them tried to take a selfie when they slipped and fell into the water, said Jawhar Police Inspector Appasaheb Lengre.
Three others jumped into the water to save the duo, but they also drowned, Lengre added. The deceased have been identified as Devendra Wagh, 28, Prathamesh Chavan, 20, Devendra Paltankar, 19, Nimesh Patil, 28, Rinku Bhoir, 22.
Kalmandavi waterfall, where the drownings happened
Lengre and other officers rushed to the spot after being informed about the accident and launched a search operation. The rescuers found the body around 7 pm, the police said.
Catch up on all the latest Mu..
COVID-19: Malad has 10 per cent of Mumbai's active cases
Malad has emerged as the suburb with the most COVID-19 cases in the city — more than 10 per cent of the total active cases across the 24 wards. Andheri East and West, Parel, Bhandup are also among the top five areas with active patients. These five wards collectively have one-third of the total patients of the city. As per the count of active patients on July 1, P North ward (Malad) has 2,816 positive cases.
While it is clear that COVID-19's centre has shifted to the Western and Eastern suburbs from southern Mumbai, many wards like G North, L and N have the most cases due to cumulative numbers.
To avoid further spread, the ward office has declared 31 Containment Zones (CZ) in the suburb, mostly in slum pockets, where 6.96 lakh people are staying. There are 497 sealed buildings in which 43,585 people stay. The population of the ward is 9.64 lakh. Which means, more than two-thirds of the population in P North is currently in CZs.
Sanjoy Kabre, the assistant commissioner of P North ..
The art of practising kindness
On Sunday, as we trekked through Pfelders, in the Passeier Valley, gaping in awe at sweeping vistas of Alpenrosen in bloom, I found myself veering towards the subject of kindness. It was the first time in my life that I was pursuing a somewhat strenuous outdoor activity with decent footgear.
I've gone hiking many times before, but usually, along the way, the soles of my shoes would fall apart, or, because my toes were strangled by consistent tightness, my nails would be miserable for days. My left big toenail still suffers the trauma of years of ill-fitted shoes.
As I walked at a comfortable pace, I thought about how we have been conditioned to think of kindness as a practice that is performed externally. We are told to be kind to others. Not once in my entire life, until therapy, had I been told that the beginning of real empathy is kindness to one's self.
Some weeks ago, while catching up with Partho, I began to evangelise about how kindness towards others is almost hypocritical if i..
When Andy was more than handy
National Doctor's Day 2020: Here are some beautiful portraits of doctors from across the globe
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Amazon Bestseller: The Power of your Subconscious Mind - Dr Joseph Murphy
Radio tech to the rescue of Central Railway in ghats and tunnels
Mumbai Diary: Thursday Dossier
Beat the blues
These skateboarders make the most of a rainy evening at Carter Road, Bandra West, on Wednesday. Pic/Shadab Khan
Now's the time for change
Nearly two years since the reading down of Section 377 by the Supreme Court, the LGBTQIA+ community continues to grapple with basic civic liberties. To demand for equal rights in every sphere of life, Mumbai-based The Humsafar Trust recently launched an online petition on change.org.
Their demands include recognition of same-sex marriage, adoption rights for community members, inheritance rights for LGBTQIA+ people who are cohabiting with their same-sex partners but cannot inherit their property, right to jointly own property, take housing loans, insurance, and employment benefits for same-sex spouses, among other things.
"The petition was an outcome of the International Pride Month celebrations. We wanted to start a dialogue with this petition because social acceptance is still a big challenge for us," said advocacy manager Tinesh Ch..
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Amazon Bestseller: The Warren Buffett Way - Robert Hagstrom
Mumbai lockdown: Door-to-door screening failing in Malad hotspot
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) ambitious door-to-door screening drive in slum pockets to find symptomatic COVID-19 patients, seems to have fallen flat on its face in densely populated Malwani, Malad West. While local residents are not cooperating with the civic teams, some of them claimed the latter are not implementing the drive strictly.
This reporter, who accompanied them for few days, found volunteers appointed by the civic body were merely asking the slum dwellers if they wanted to get screened for symptoms associated with COVID-19, and if they got 'no' in response, they would go onto the next dwelling.
But both sides can be blamed, for on learning about the civic team's visit in the area, a few slum dwellers were also seen locking their houses on the pretext of going to the market, to escape getting screened for COVID-19. In most of the slum pockets in Malwani, the residents have been putting off screening to avoid getting admitted to COVID hospitals in case they..
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Amazon Bestseller: Beat the Crowd: How You Can Out-Invest the Herd by Thinking Differently - Kenneth L. Fisher
Mumbai Diary: Wednesday Dossier
In deep waters
As heavy rain lashed the city, two boys were stranded on a water-logged road in Chembur on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje
A new chapter
Former New York Times journalist and administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, American Dana Canedy has been appointed senior vice-president and publisher of Simon & Schuster (S&S), one of the world's marquee publishing imprints.
"With God's Grace, I am looking forward to this new "chapter" of my career! Sorry, couldn't resist [sic]!" Canedy tweeted, while Rahul Srivastava, MD, S&S India, shared, "In our 96-year history, the S&S imprint has been led by only a dozen publishers, starting with Richard L Simon. Dana Canedy is the youngest person, first woman, and first person of colour to serve as administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes. We believe Dana will be an agent of change who will bring new voices."
Picking up the creative pieces
It's been repeated ad nauseam that the pandemic has brought the creative industry down to its knees..
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Mumbai Diary: Tuesday Dossier
He's hair to stay
A roadside barber attends to a customer at Mahim on Monday, after being allowed to resume services in the city. Pic/Shadab Khan
Inside scoop
The Dalai Lama crossing into India with his brother-in-law Phuntok Tashi Taklha
The Dalai Lama is one of the greatest living religious leaders, and a new book sheds light on the more unknown facets of his life. His Holiness The Fourteenth Dalai Lama: An Illustrated Biography (Roli Books) features hitherto unpublished photographs, documents, archival material and memories of the people closest to the man.
One of his longest-serving aides, Tenzin Geyche Tethong, has put it together, having lived in close proximity to the spiritual leader for four decades, including the time that he was exiled. Pick the title up for a deeper insight into the life of the modern-day icon.
No one like MS Sathyu
Award-winning stage designer, and film and art director MS Sathyu turned 90 yesterday. Recalling the film and theatre icon's role, thespian Do..
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Our bank balance is zero, say the owners of restaurants with SHI staff
"It is difficult for a mother to kill her child. If a foster parent is going to take care of it, we are okay with that," Raja Sekhar Reddy, who co-founded Squaremeal Foods with Shishir Gorle, said after the team announced the closure of their restaurants Mirchi & Mime and Madeira & Mime since they opened in 2015 and 2017 respectively, last week.'
Both restaurants won hearts and appetites for the warm service by 50 speech-and hearing-impaired (SHI) staff in the front house and created an inclusive environment of warm hospitality and an impeccable modern-Indian menu.
Madeira and Mime opened in 2017
The lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic brought their revenue down to one-tenth and in April, they decided to vacate the Powai spaces located in Transocean House, Hiranandani Gardens.
From day one of service, the restaurants were running full. "We were making Rs 70 lakh at Mirchi and Rs 60 lakh at Madeira. In March, when our expenditure for the month was already done, we were down to..
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Mumbai Diary: Monday Dossier
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Lobo Lobo and TikTok
Lobo Lobo was upset. Very upset. He called me.
"Dikuna men, I'm upset. Solid upset. My life is turned upside down, chhe!"
"What's upsetting you, Lobo Lobo?"
"Boss de government has banned all dese Chinese apps, 59 of dem to be specific men."
"Okay. So, are you upset because you were an avid user of TikTok?" I asked jokingly.
Lobo stunned me with his response.
"Yes men. Ezzactly. My rascal 'lukha' son Ronaldo, shoots short videos of my better half Myrtle and me."
"You make videos, of what?"
"I give English classes men. I teach people how to speak wid a perfect accent and pronunciation. See, I know de Queen's English men. So, I tought, why not impart knowledge?"
"And, what about Myrtle?", I enquired fearing the worst.
"She teaches 'Etiquette & Grooming'! Togedder we had hundred tousand followers till dey closed down TikTok."
"Okay. So I can see why you're angry, you've lost income and followers."
"No no Dikuna men!. I'm not 'maha gussa' about TikTok closing, but moe angry because dey..
Mumbai Rains: Uddhav Thackeray asks BMC to be extra alert during monsoons
India records highest single-day spike of over 22K COVID-19 cases
India on Saturday recorded the highest single-day spike of 22,771 cases, pushing the total tally to 6,48,315, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said. The country recorded a spike of 20,903 cases on Friday. The death count rose to 18,655, with 442 people succumbing to the deadly virus in 24 hours. A total of 3,94,226 people have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
The recovery rate is 60.73 per cent among the COVID-19 patients. With a spike of 6,364 cases, Maharashtra remained the worst-hit state in the country. The state has a total of 1,92,990 cases, including 8,376 deaths. Tamil Nadu is on the second spot with 1,02,721 confirmed cases, of which, 1,385 people have died, 58,378 recovered and 42,958 are active. Delhi with a total of 94,695 cases, is on the third spot.
A businessman wears a facemask made of gold worth R3 lakh. Pic/AFP
Fresh surge in AgraWith 14 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths in the last 24 hours, alarm bells have begun to ring in the Taj city. The ..
Mumbai Rains: Hindmata, King's Circle and other low-lying areas in city get waterlogged
TikTok Ban: City's TikTokers hope for Made in India platform
Low-cost smartphones and the Chinese app TikTok had helped millions of Indian youngsters, some of whom could not make it in the film and TV industry, taste stardom. The recent banning of the app, among others from China, by the Indian government amid the face-off with the country, has upset TikTokers, but they are hopeful for an Indian-made app. "I welcome the government's decision as tensions on the Indo-China border are rising. We are living in the Internet age and I am hopeful that an Indian application, similar to TikTok, will soon come," said Mohit Tandon who used to earn R17,000 through TikTok videos promoting products and services. "I had come to Mumbai to become an actor but could not get a break So I turned to TikTok where my videos were liked by millions. I had a following of one million people," said Tandon, who has also appeared on reality shows as a face dancer. He returned home to Jaipur a month ago to be with his family.
TikTokers used to throng the public park in BKC,..
COVID-19: In-transit pregnant woman forced into quarantine
What was to be a happy journey for a pregnant woman on her way home to Kerala from Angola, turned into an ordeal when she was forced to stay in quarantine in Mumbai, when she landed here in transit. Though quarantine is exempt for certain categories of people including pregnant women, Amrutha Sreejith, 26, was put in quarantine in a luxury hotel near the international airport where she had to pay R18,500 for five days stay. The swab was taken three days later, even though she had no symptoms, and when the report came negative, she was hurriedly allowed to board a flight for Kerala, even before the seven days quarantine came to an end.
On Friday afternoon, Amrutha reached her parents house at Trichur and has been kept in home quarantine as per the protocol, informed her husband Sreejith Venugopal, speaking to mid-day from Luanda, Angola.
"My wife was illegally sent to a quarantine centre in Mumbai, though since she is pregnant, she could be exempt as per Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporati..
COVID-19: 21-year-old told to wrap his mother; family alleges negligence at Shatabdi Hospital
The son of a COVID-19 victim from Borivli has alleged that Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli, forced him to wrap the body of his mother, Pallavi Utekar, on July 2, himself and did not even provide him with safety equipment, the mandatory PPE kit. Recalling the ordeal, Kunal Utekar said, "I was waiting outside the hospital when a hospital staffer came and told me about my mother's demise. I was then told to come in to wrap her body in a plastic bag. When I asked for a PPE kit, they refused to give me one, so I had no choice but to walk into a COVID ward without any protective gear."
The 21-year-old had to call his cousin to the hospital for help in moving his mother's body from the ward to a stretcher. "My cousin and I along with two other hospital staffers brought the body till the ambulance," the son added.
His 50-year-old mother was admitted to hospital on June 30, and father, Pandurang Utekar, 55, was moved to an isolation centre in Borivli. Following the incident, one of Utekar's socie..
Mumbai: Palghar residents walk 1.5 km to get water for drinking, 8 km to wash clothes
mid-day's front page report, 'Palghar tribals hit by acute food shortage,' on Thursday caught the attention of the government, with the Secretary, state Tribal Development Department, Vinita Vaid-Singhal taking cognisance of the issue. "We have taken note of the report. It is good that the issue has been raised. We are extremely sensitive to the needs of the tribals. Whatever corrective measures are required, we will take them," said Vaid-Singhal
But while the government has assured action regarding the food problem, it also needs to look at the other issues the tribals face. The interior hamlets of Palghar District record high rainfall during the monsoon, yet the tribal communities suffer due to acute shortage of water for drinking and cleaning purposes. mid-day witnessed many women, young girls balancing pots on their heads to fetch water from a well located miles from their villages.
The chairman of a government-appointed committee to look into the status of schemes for tribals in M..
Mumbai: From worst-hit to best performer, here's how Govandi is fighting the battle against COVID-19
After Dharavi offered a beacon of hope in the fight against COVID-19, M East ward that constitutes Govandi and Mankhurd, and has a large slum population, has followed suit. While the fight is far from over, the ward, which was in the top three in the city for rising cases, is now at number 13 and the doubling rate here has also improved from eight to 10 days to 68 days. Over 300 volunteers were involved in high-risk contact tracing here.
According to ward officer Assistant Municipal Commissioner Sudhanshu Dwivedi, who is the force behind the successful curbing of COVID-19 here, intensified surveys, high-risk contact tracing with 300 volunteers, sanitisation of public toilets every two hours, alert Containment Zone leaders and observers have played a very important role in achieving this.
Sudhanshu Dwivedi, Asst Municipal Commissioner
The M East ward has one of the biggest slums after Dharavi and more than 80 per cent of the population lives in them. In April and May, the COVID-19 posit..
Be ready for more COVDI-19 surges: WHO
COVID-19 impact: Barely 3 hours from Mumbai, Palghar tribal mom suicide points to acute food shortage
The lockdown due to COVID-19 not only left migrants out of work and starving, but also hit local tribals in Palghar hard. The tribals, many of them whom worked in brick kilns, are jobless and forced to fetch plants from the jungle to survive on. But the biggest impact has been on pregnant women, lactating mothers and children, as the Amrut Ahaar Yojana has stopped. The yojana was launched in November 2015 in 16 tribal-dominated districts of the state.
It aimed to improve the health of pregnant women, lactating mothers and children between seven months and 6 years of age. Such women in Washala village of Mokhada Taluka complained that aanganwadi workers have stopped distributing nutritious foods since May 22.
The locals show some of the plants from the jungle that they now survive on. Pics/Hanif Patel
"Earlier we used to get nutritious foods including rice, chapati, pulses, one egg, etc. six days a week. But the aanganwadi workers have stopped this since May 22. They said ration is not ..
National Doctor's Day 2020: Mimi Chakraborty, Tina Ambani thank real 'saviours' for saving the world
On the occasion of National Doctor's Day 2020, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mimi Chakraborty took to Instagram to honour the doctors who have been leading India's fight against COVID-19. The 31-year-old politician shared a heartwarming post in her Instagram story.
A screengrab of Mimi Chakraborty's Instagram story
To express gratitude and thank doctors for their relentless service, Mimi Chakraborty shared a photo featuring several superheroes, including Spiderman, Superman, Hulk among others, bowing their heads as doctors armed with face masks walk in what seems to be a hospital corridor. Sharing the picture, Chakraborty wrote, "To the saviours of real world."
View this post on Instagram
. Every day is Doctors' Day! And the world has realized this now more than ever before. A heartfelt salute to every doctor, in every village, town, city and country, for all that you do, despite the tremendous personal risk to you and your families. We owe you. ðÂÂÂðÂ..
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