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By:

Prithvi Asthana

20 August 2025 at 5:20:30 pm

‘Just the beginning of the new revolution’

Gen Z says their next target is Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman Mumbai: Dancing on the tunes of ‘Zinghaat’, the Gen Z at Dadar, was celebrating Dharmendra’s Pradhan’s resignation. The ‘Tiranga’ rally called up by Thackeray brothers on Thursday for protesting was turned into a celebration rally after Pradhan’s resignation. ‘The Perfect Voice’ went on ground to know the real reaction of the Gen Z at the rally. A NEET student who gave the NEET and re-NEET exams this year, said that she...

‘Just the beginning of the new revolution’

Gen Z says their next target is Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman Mumbai: Dancing on the tunes of ‘Zinghaat’, the Gen Z at Dadar, was celebrating Dharmendra’s Pradhan’s resignation. The ‘Tiranga’ rally called up by Thackeray brothers on Thursday for protesting was turned into a celebration rally after Pradhan’s resignation. ‘The Perfect Voice’ went on ground to know the real reaction of the Gen Z at the rally. A NEET student who gave the NEET and re-NEET exams this year, said that she feels very happy that he has resigned now, and today all the students have won this battle. “I felt quite devastating when I heard about the paper leak. After the leak it was very tough to study again because I am in 12th standard as well. I was de-motivated and did not want to study again but I had no other option. I was continuously studying for seven months. It took a lot of toll on my mind, I was not able to focus on my 12 th standard. ” Talking about the results she said, “ I was not satisfied with the marks I got in re-NEET, and will take a drop. Looking at the sad state of Indian education system, I will go to study abroad.” A commerce student, present at the site, said, “ Now they know what will happen if they continue to repeat mistakes like this.” New Revolution A law student, Pranjal Khatu, said that this resignation will act as a deterrent for the government. She said, “This movement has established fear in government’s mind. This punishment given by the Gen Z will now actually send a message that the ministers should work responsibly, while listening to its public. I want to say thank you to PM Modi, because of him people from all religions have come together to hate someone.” Saying that this is just the beginning. This is just the beginning of the resignations, we are going to demand more resignations, the new revolution has just begun.” Sampada More, a graduate, said that it will definitely establish fear, but the government should have listened to us earlier, they should not have stretched this matter so long. “The next number is of Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman,” she said. A MBBS doctor in Nutraceuticals, joined the rally as well. She said, “He was supposed to resign way before. The government has clearly failed, because as Gen Z we were standing with the Truth, we are standing for what India’s stands as democracy. This is the reason we won the and the government lost. We are going to demand resignation of the Punjab minister responsible for Pharmacy exam paper leak. We will also demand the resignation of corrupted ministers like Nitin Gadkari and Nirmala Sitharaman next.” Fighting for Justice A class seven student rallying with his parents said, “We have finally got justice. I am very proud taking part in the rally and standing for my future. I supports this movement because when I grow up, I do not want any paper leaks happening at that time. I want to see some better minister who actually also focuses on the security of the examination system.” Another student currently in fourth year engineering said, “ This was the tipping point and we actually tried protesting before this as well but we were supressed a lot of times, but this time the government was not able to supress us because it was large. The CJP has done a commendable job in uniting youth of this country, and I am glad that he has taken the accountability and resigned.” Jay, a MBBS student said, “This is a celebration of togetherness, I have never seen such celebration in long time. This is a new sort of Independence.” Demanding more resignations, he said, “This will continue, the stars have aligned with us. This is Inqualab Zindabaad.”

Choking Mumbai

For decades, Mumbai was perceived as a rare urban oasis, where the saline sweep of the Arabian Sea blunted the worst ravages of India's air pollution. That illusion has now been dispelled. A meticulous four-year study by Respirer Living Sciences (RLS), using data from its AtlasAQ platform, reveals the bleak truth that the city’s air is thick with pollutants all year round, with no ‘clean season’ left.


Mumbai’s annual average levels of PM10 (particulate matter ten microns or less in diameter) have consistently breached the national safety threshold of 60 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m³). This is not merely a seasonal malaise tied to cooler winter months, as once assumed. Alarmingly, the city’s pollution levels persist even through the hot season, a time when improved atmospheric dispersion should offer natural reprieve.


Across the city - from Chakala in Andheri East to Deonar, Kurla, Vile Parle West and Mazgaon - pollution has become an unrelenting, ubiquitous presence.


The culprits are well known: traffic emissions from a burgeoning number of vehicles; unregulated dust from frenzied construction; industrial activity in and around the ports; and a conspicuous lack of dust control measures. Mumbai’s ceaseless growth now risks becoming a chronic liability.


Worryingly, the regulatory response remains sluggish. Mumbai’s urban planning continues to treat clean air as a peripheral concern, not a foundational necessity. Development plans rarely integrate environmental impact assessments in a meaningful way.


A sharper, citywide strategy is urgently needed. Dust suppression rules at construction sites must be enforced strictly, with financial penalties for violators and incentives for best practices. Traffic management systems should be overhauled to ease congestion and encourage the use of public transport. Expansion of clean, reliable mass transit network needs to be urgently prioritised. In addition, comprehensive real-time air monitoring at the ward level should be deployed, enabling authorities to respond to localised pollution spikes swiftly rather than relying on citywide averages that conceal dangerous hotspots.


Longer-term, clean air targets must be hardwired into the city’s master planning and transport policies. Green buffers along major traffic corridors, stricter emission norms for commercial vehicles and incentives for rooftop gardens and urban afforestation could all play a part. Industrial zones near port areas should be subjected to rigorous air quality compliance measures, not token self-certifications. Private developers and large infrastructure firms, often among the worst offenders, must be made stakeholders in the clean air mission through binding regulations.


Mumbai’s commercial dynamism - as a magnet for migrants, entrepreneurs and investors - depends not just on glittering skyscrapers but on something far more basic: the ability to breathe. Unless clean air becomes an unshakeable priority, the city risks suffocating its own future. For a metropolis that prides itself on its resilience against terror attacks, monsoon floods and economic shocks, the real test will be whether it can muster the will to fight an invisible, pervasive enemy slowly corroding the lives of its 20 million citizens.

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