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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Shinde dilutes demand

Likely to be content with Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai Mumbai: In a decisive shift that redraws the power dynamics of Maharashtra’s urban politics, the standoff over the prestigious Mumbai Mayor’s post has ended with a strategic compromise. Following days of resort politics and intense backroom negotiations, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has reportedly diluted its demand for the top job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), settling instead for the Deputy Mayor’s post. This...

Shinde dilutes demand

Likely to be content with Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai Mumbai: In a decisive shift that redraws the power dynamics of Maharashtra’s urban politics, the standoff over the prestigious Mumbai Mayor’s post has ended with a strategic compromise. Following days of resort politics and intense backroom negotiations, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has reportedly diluted its demand for the top job in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), settling instead for the Deputy Mayor’s post. This development, confirmed by high-ranking party insiders, follows the realization that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) effectively ceded its claims on the Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC) to protect the alliance, facilitating a “Mumbai for BJP, Kalyan for Shinde” power-sharing formula. The compromise marks a complete role reversal between the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Both the political parties were in alliance with each other for over 25 years before 2017 civic polls. Back then the BJP used to get the post of Deputy Mayor while the Shiv Sena always enjoyed the mayor’s position. In 2017 a surging BJP (82 seats) had paused its aggression to support the undivided Shiv Sena (84 seats), preferring to be out of power in the Corporation to keep the saffron alliance intact. Today, the numbers dictate a different reality. In the recently concluded elections BJP emerged as the single largest party in Mumbai with 89 seats, while the Shinde faction secured 29. Although the Shinde faction acted as the “kingmaker”—pushing the alliance past the majority mark of 114—the sheer numerical gap made their claim to the mayor’s post untenable in the long run. KDMC Factor The catalyst for this truce lies 40 kilometers north of Mumbai in Kalyan-Dombivali, a region considered the impregnable fortress of Eknath Shinde and his son, MP Shrikant Shinde. While the BJP performed exceptionally well in KDMC, winning 50 seats compared to the Shinde faction’s 53, the lotter for the reservation of mayor’s post in KDMC turned the tables decisively in favor of Shiv Sena there. In the lottery, the KDMC mayor’ post went to be reserved for the Scheduled Tribe candidate. The BJP doesn’t have any such candidate among elected corporatros in KDMC. This cleared the way for Shiv Sena. Also, the Shiv Sena tied hands with the MNS in the corporation effectively weakening the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s alliance with them. Party insiders suggest that once it became clear the BJP would not pursue the KDMC Mayor’s chair—effectively acknowledging it as Shinde’s fiefdom—he agreed to scale down his demands in the capital. “We have practically no hope of installing a BJP Mayor in Kalyan-Dombivali without shattering the alliance locally,” a Mumbai BJP secretary admitted and added, “Letting the KDMC become Shinde’s home turf is the price for securing the Mumbai Mayor’s bungalow for a BJP corporator for the first time in history.” The formal elections for the Mayoral posts are scheduled for later this month. While the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA)—led by the Shiv Sena (UBT)—has vowed to field candidates, the arithmetic heavily favors the ruling alliance. For Eknath Shinde, accepting the Deputy Mayor’s post in Mumbai is a tactical retreat. It allows him to consolidate his power in the MMR belt (Thane and Kalyan) while remaining a partner in Mumbai’s governance. For the BJP, this is a crowning moment; after playing second fiddle in the BMC for decades, they are poised to finally install their own “First Citizen” of Mumbai.

‘Anatomy’ of a Landfill: Open Dumping Ground

Updated: Nov 25, 2024

Landfill

The open dumping grounds are the depots of all different kinds of germs….mostly the ‘bad’ ones! Bad because those germs have tremendous potential to spread dreadful diseases in the human population, causing deadly epidemics at times! Remember 1994 Pneumonic Plague episode in the city of Surat in Gujarat? This type of plague is due to infection by a bacterium called Yersinia pestis which is transmitted into human bodies through the bites of very tiny insects called the fleas, which grow on the body of rats and the rats very happily and vigorously breed adding to their rapid population growth when they find such ‘wonderful’, ‘nutritious’ garbage ecosystem. Precisely, that was the situation in Surat in the 90’s. Practically, all the streets were The Dumping Grounds.


Anyway, more about this in some other article in future. Such incidences are of common occurrence across India. But again, in a dumping ground, if only the biodegradable waste, i. e. kitchen waste is disposed off, it will attract the population of ‘good’ germs which will eventually release all the precious nutrients form this natural waste and, in the process, will enrich the soil with the best quality natural fertilizer.


Anyway, will write about this at length in my subsequent articles. Now, coming back to the perils of open dumping. Another extremely dangerous situation that can occur at the open dumping is occasional fires. Fires at the dumping ground can be caused by various factors.


Sometimes, the heat generated by the garbage itself is so much, that the inflammable articles in the garbage dump can easily catch fire. Fire can be lit by humans either accidentally of purposely. This also applies to all those people who are seen collecting dry leaves, branches, plastics as the waste and everything that they find on the roadside, making a small heap and setting it up on fire. This is seen very commonly particularly during winter so that people can keep themselves warm enough. But fires to the dumping grounds result in release of highly toxic fumes in the air which, when inhaled by the people living in the vicinity, will certainly cause severe ailments of the respiratory passage which may further lead to chronic bronchitis, asthma and even cancer of the lungs.


Once such an incidence of fire occurs, it may keep burning for a few days to several weeks or even months.


Chances of explosions are very high as there are batteries and similar types of electrical and electric articles in that heap of garbage. Rubber tires burn adding to the obnoxious and toxic fumes. I remember one such incidence at Deonar dumping ground in Govandi area in Mumbai.


In January 2016, this very large dumping ground caught fire which eventually enveloped a stretch from Chembur to Navi Mumbai with thick smog cover.


Such recurrent fires at the dump pose grave health hazards to residents who have complained of everything from acute asthma and skin rashes to higher infant mortality rates. Even the average life span of such people gets significantly reduced.


(The author is an environment specialist. Views personal.)

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