Mumbai diary

After the arrival of Humboldt Penguins, the footfall at the Jijamata Zoo has grown manifold.
Mumbai diary

Mumbai slips on quality of life index
The latest Deutsche Bank Research survey of global prices and living standards from various countries and cities around the world shows that Mumbai has slipped to the 51st place among the list of 56 cities across the globe in terms of the ‘quality of life index’. Delhi and Bangalore, the only other two Indian cities to feature in this report fared slightly better, securing 46th and 33rd rankings respectively. Purchasing Power Index, Safety Index, Health Care Index, Cost of Living Index, Property Price to Income Ratio, Traffic, Commute Time Index and Pollution Index Climate Index are the criteria on which the cities are assessed and ranked.

Bid to check waterlogging begins
While several parts of Maharashtra are battling acute water shortage, Mumbai’s civic administration has started preparations to avoid waterlogging in low-lying areas of the city this monsoon. According to experts, super high tides are likely this monsoon on as many as 18 occasions. And, the city has been known to go under whenever a downpour follows a super high tide. Besides de-silting the storm water drains and taking action against people living along such drains and dumping waste in them, the civic administration has proposed to cut at least 36 trees in central Mumbai to facilitate quick drainage of rainwater.

Key infra projects back on anvil
The BJP governments at the Centre as well as the state have set sights on giving the city’s transport infrastructure a leg-up and had rolled out several ambitious projects over the last five years. The Mumbai-Ahemdabad Bullet Train and Mumbai-Pune Hyperloop are two much-discussed projects that were put on the backburner in the face of opposition from ally Shiv Sena. However, the Modi government, on the back of a huge mandate, is likely to put these projects on fast track.

City zoo to get pair of lions
After the arrival of Humboldt Penguins, the footfall at the Jijamata Zoo has grown manifold. And soon, a pair of lions is likely to join the brood. The penguins were brought in as part of a zoo renovation project. Under this projects, 23 new species of wildlife creatures are to be brought to the zoo. A pair each of leopard and fox have already arrived from Mangalore zoo and the lions are likely to arrive from Bhavnagar soon. Leopard cat, Mouse deer, Hyena are among the species likely to arrive.

abhijit mulye

Our correspondent in Maharashtra

abhijit.mulye@gmail.com

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