Tag: Andheri

Categories
Deal with it

When a biker chased me…

A Mumbaikar describes her ordeal when a biker chased her autorickshaw on Link Road earlier this week.

by Rachel Tseng

I faced a rather unpleasant incident in the morning of Monday, September 2. I tried my best not to think about it as I was determined not to allow it to affect my work, my day.

chased by a biker Yesterday, as I collected my newspaper from the front door, I read the headlines of a leading English daily and was in for a rude shock – “Bikers harass fashion stylist in auto at Malad”.

I read the article on the front page, quickly turned over to page 2 to read the rest of the article which contained a picture of those pervert bikers and no, I did not recognise them – have never seen them before.

As the details of the article began to sink in my mind I recounted the unpleasant incident I faced the previous day.

What happened on Monday Between 11:30 to 12, I was travelling alone in an auto from Malad to Andheri and took the Link Road (the busy main road). On the stretch of road between Hypercity and Mega Mall, I noticed a lone biker with a helmet and sunglasses whistling at me and trying to get my attention. I simply ignored him and he went out of sight due to the traffic.

Suddenly, just as I was crossing Mega Mall, he emerged from the left hand side, again started whistling at me and started saying something to me, which I could not hear due to the noise from the moving vehicles around me. He was mouthing something with a disgusting, cheeky smile on his face. By now I was fuming and was apprehensive as to what should I do if he followed me and nobody comes forward to help me on a “busy road”.

I got my phone camera ready to take his picture and that of his number plate. Luckily, because I had to take a U-turn at the following signal – Patliputra Signal – the auto driver stopped in the second lane whereas the biker was way ahead of my auto in the third lane. From where I was, I could see the biker but he could not see me. As he halted at the signal, I saw him frantically looking for me in each and every auto around him – not once, but he peeped in every auto a couple of times. His sheer disappointment

mumbai by nightwas clearly visible from his body language and the frustrated manner in which he accelerated his bike, broke the signal and huffed off. At that moment, I was just relieved that the sick creature lost me. As my day passed and I went about with my work, the experience of being chased and troubled by a disgusting man lingered at the back of my mind.

Almost every day I read about how unsafe Mumbai has become, increase in the number of crimes against women and children, etc. I am aware that just like other women, I too can be a victim some day, but I have never been able to imagine or think beyond that. I have no words to express the numbness in me. Being born, raised, educated and worked in Mumbai, I consider myself a blue blood Mumbaikar. Mumbai is not just where I have lived all my life but this city is my home, my identity! All my life I have boasted about the cosmopolitan life in Mumbai, the availability of transport at any given time and the freedom of an independent woman to move around freely and fearlessly. My barrage of praises is not based on statistical reports but purely on personal experience.

Not too long ago when I was in Fashion School, after college I used to work as a backstage helper at fashion shows. I still recall the days after a fashion show at the Taj, I would board a local train at 11:30 pm, alight at Andheri and hop into an auto for home without a hint of fear. My parents never came to pick me up, never called to check on my safety nor did they nag me about working late. Somewhere at that time they were just confident that their girl was okay.

With the drastic change in the social situation – a surge of perverts, mentally sick and frustrated people with regressive thoughts, my city, my Mumbai is infested, threatened and troubled by these social thugs who are sometimes under disguise or just pop out of nowhere to make your life miserable for no fault of yours.

Whoever you are, whatever you may be – I will not allow you to bog me down. I still do and will continue to move around freely but (sadly) not fearlessly!

Rachel Tseng is a fashion designer and she lives in the suburbs in Mumbai.

(All pictures are used for representational purpose only. Pictures courtesy timesofindia.com, dnaindia.com)

Categories
Big story

Mumbai’s suburbs have better sex ratio than island city

This, and other important Mumbai-specific snapshots, emerged from the Economic Survey 2012-2013, released in ongoing Maharashtra State Legislature Session today.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

At a time when crimes against women rise in Mumbai, and the question of how we treat our girls and women becomes increasingly significant – especially in the context of how many girls are allowed to be born – the Maharashtra State Economic Survey 2012-2013 throws light on the subject of sex ratios recorded for Mumbai.

As per the Survey, released today while the State Legislature continues to be in session, and prior to the presentation of the State’s Budget tomorrow, the sex ratio recorded for the Mumbai suburban region is a robust 910 (that is, 910 girls to every 1,000 boys born). However, the sex ratio for Mumbai city is 874; this means that the suburbs exhibit a healthier sex ratio as compared to the island city. The figures arise from Census 2011.

Meanwhile, the Survey points out other statistics for Mumbai:

– 67 per cent people in Mumbai city have latrines within their houses, while only 54.7 per cent of the suburbs have latrines inside their homes.

– Also, 90 per cent of city homes have bathrooms inside the house. The figure is 87.2 per cent for the suburbs.

– The Mumbai/Thane rationing area has the largest numbers for rationing cards issued in the State, at 40,76,000. A total of 7,31,413 are White Ration Card holders in Mumbai, also the highest number in the State

– Phase I of the Mumbai Metro Rail Project (Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar), a total of 14 km, will be completed this year. 95 per cent of this phase is already complete.

– 85 per cent of Phase I of the Mumbai Monorail Project (Wadala-Chembur) is complete.

– A multimodal corridor from Virar to Alibaug will be completed in 2016. This corridor consists of freeways having eight lanes for vehicles besides dedicated lanes (spanning 140 km) for buses.

– Of all the vehicles in the State, about 21.60 lakh vehicles (10.4 per cent) are in the Brihanmumbai region.

– 210.44 lakh domestic passengers travelled by the Mumbai domestic airport in 2012, while the figures for the international airport are 94.93 lakh passengers.

– There are 61.2 per cent houses in Mumbai city with mobile-only phone connectivity, while for the suburbs, this number is 63.6 per cent.

– The most pollution in Maharashtra was seen in Mumbai, at Sion. The measured levels of Respirable Soluble Particulate Matter (RSPM) at Sion recorded from December 2011 to January 2012 were 124.49 µg/m3; the permitted level is 100 µg/m3.

(Picture courtesy indianmuslimobserver.com)

Categories
Big story

Student stabbed for mistakenly kicking co-passenger

Simmering city is increasingly ready to fight back and pull out its weapons and attack, sometimes at the slightest provocation.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Call it the stress of living and struggling to get through the day in a city becoming increasingly unfriendly to its citizens. Or call it plain intolerance. Whatever the reason, we’re sure not able to keep our tempers under check as much as we need to.

Yesterday, a student was stabbed and grievously injured when he happened to kick a person by mistake. The incident occurred in broad daylight, with several people present.

16-year-old student, Sushil Nihal Maurya, was travelling to his home in Powai in BEST bus no 195 at about 5 pm. Alighting from the crowded bus, and being slightly jostled by those behind him, Sushil inadvertently kicked his co-passenger, Dinesh Soni (20), who was alighting before him.

Dinesh was enraged and swung around to confront Sushil. The latter is said to have told cops that he tried to reason with the man, telling him that he had kicked him by mistake. However, Dinesh pulled out a knife he was carrying and stabbed Sushil just below his ribs, seriously injuring him. Even as shocked passengers rallied around to save Sushil and drag Dinesh away from the boy, the latter reportedly kept issuing threats to him.

The attacker, a mechanic and a resident of Vakola, was later arrested by cops from Andheri police station. Sushil is recuperating at Cooper Hospital.

In recent times, incidents of stabbing have gone up dramatically in Mumbai, the most famous one being the attack on Keenan Santos and Rueben Fernandez, two youths who were stabbed to death after they protested against a boy misbehaving with their female friend.

(Picture courtesy mid-day.com. Image used for representational purpose only)

Categories
Trends

Kharghar is most-searched home destination

Whether buying or renting homes, Mumbaikars are increasingly zoning in on Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar, says a real estate website survey.

Buying a home in Mumbai or even in its surrounding areas is becoming a prize-worthy feat. Impossible real estate prices, home loans that squeeze the life out of one for years, and houses that tick only some of the boxes for buyers looking for ideal homes, all combine to make the home-buying experience a nightmarish one for Mumbaikars.

Naturally, people are seeking newer avenues. As per a survey released three days ago by website 99acres.com, Kharghar (Navi Mumbai) was the most-searched localities in 2012 in both the buying and renting categories. The survey, titled ‘Real Estate Search Trends of 2012, says, “Increased connectivity, new project launches and affordable rentals could be one of reason for the growing popularity of this area.”

The second most-searched locality by users looking for property purchase in Mumbai, as per the survey data, is Mira Road. Panvel, Borivali (west), Malad (west) are other popularly searched localities in the city. “The real estate market of Mumbai has always been an attractive destination for buyers because it provides high return on investments and even if there is slowdown in the market the purchase transactions in the city has actually moved up in the last four to five months,” the report reads.

Traditionally, rental values have been high in Mumbai due to the overall demand and supply imbalance in dwelling units. “Detailed analysis of the search trends for renting property shows that localities of Navi Mumbai and Andheri to Dahisar area have been most searched for by people looking to stay on rent. While Kharghar takes the first rank in the rental space as well,  Andheri (east), Andheri (west) and Powai have also emerged as popular localities for renting purposes,” the survey says.

(Picture courtesy photos.tarunchandel.com)

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