RoRo service for Mumbai soon
Recent court decisions have finally done away with some of the hurdles delaying the Roll On, Roll Off (RoRo) services along the Mumbai coast. The RoRo services, which have remained in the planning stage for around three decades, can now start any time within the next month or so, the authorities have said. Among the water transport projects planned around Mumbai so far, the RoRo services have the top priority as it is expected that they will help decongest traffic on roads leading to Mumbai. The services may also decongest Mumbai suburbs by providing a fast and hassle-free mode of transport to the people.
Shiv Sena’s U-turn on coastal road?
Mumbai’s city politics has started heating up again. This was evident last week when Shiv Sena, the largest party in the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, chose to keep in cold storage the proposal for its dream project—the coastal road. The road along the western coast of Mumbai promises development of the seafront into a recreational area, apart from turning it into a mode for rapid transit. The Shiv Sena had been touting it as its pet project. However, it was pushed into the cold storage at the stage of appointing project management consultants. The BJP was quick to ask whether the consultants couldn’t be ‘managed’.
Smart traffic management
Road accidents are on the rise in Mumbai. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed concern about this while inaugurating the road safety fortnight earlier this week and announced implementation of a smart traffic management system. The system would use artificial intelligence to understand the habits of commuters and then suggest smarter ways to manage traffic. The government has identified 55 black spots in terms of traffic in the city. But, with around 10 per cent of all the vehicles in the state in the city, their sheer number is the problem and no one, not even the Shiv Sena minister in charge of the transport portfolio, spoke about it.
Psychiatric disorders
ail Mumbaikars
In the first ever exhaustive analysis of ailments for which the people of Mumbai visit municipal hospitals, dispensaries and health centres, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation has came to the conclusion that the majority of them do so for psychiatric disorders, followed by lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. The study has proved wrong previous assumptions that mental health problems such as anxiety disorders are common only among the upper middle class and the rich. Also, area-wise health needs have become clear from the study, and this is expected to help the authorities change the focus of the health care system accordingly.