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By:

Minal Sancheti

2 May 2026 at 12:26:53 pm

BMC under fire over tree cutting plan

Mumbai: On May 29, the BMC decided to cut 1900 trees for Versova-Bhayandar Link Road. The decision saw a massive uproar by the opposition as well as the environmentalists concerned about the city’s rising temperature and unpredictable climate. The BMC has claimed that Mumbai’s civilisation is growing rapidly, and to keep up the pace, the city needs more roadways. This is important as current infrastructure is lacking capacity to handle the traffic. “To create this infrastructure, we will have...

BMC under fire over tree cutting plan

Mumbai: On May 29, the BMC decided to cut 1900 trees for Versova-Bhayandar Link Road. The decision saw a massive uproar by the opposition as well as the environmentalists concerned about the city’s rising temperature and unpredictable climate. The BMC has claimed that Mumbai’s civilisation is growing rapidly, and to keep up the pace, the city needs more roadways. This is important as current infrastructure is lacking capacity to handle the traffic. “To create this infrastructure, we will have to cut 1900 trees. We will replant 700 trees, and 1200 trees will be cut,” said Ganesh Khankar, the BJP group leader in the BMC. “We will plant 3000 plants in Panvel. We are also planning to implement the rule to plant at least one tree in the 45000 housing societies of Mumbai.” Bansari Kothari, an environmentalist, claimed that this infrastructure may not be the best plan for the city. “The trees that will be compensated will be in Panvel. But the trees will be cut between Versova and Bhayandar. So the citizens of Versova and Bhayandar will lose their tree cover. Thus, it does not give proper justification. For the development of the coastal road that benefits only two to three percent of the population, we cannot cut trees that benefit 100 percent of the population,” she said. The environmentalists have claimed that these trees are precious and invaluable. The age of some of these trees is 35 and 60 years and more. The authorities have promised to plant 3000 trees in Panvel, but these are just small saplings and will take at least 25 to 30 years to grow and become a tree. Former mayor and opposition leader Kishori Pednekar said development is important but not at the cost of the environment. “Mumbai will become a desert. How will they stop that? Development is important but not by destroying nature. Development is necessary. We need metros and monorails but not at the cost of the environment,” she said. Environmentalist Stalin D, president of an NGO Vanashakti, warned that the consequence of cutting trees at this rate can create many problems for the citizens of Mumbai. “India will be badly affected by the climate crisis; despite that, if we don’t take action, then it will be too late. They are planning to make the city like Dubai. The same heat in the afternoon where nobody can get out of the house. Everything is barren. People dying for water.”

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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