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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.

How Hospitals Safely Handle Biomedical Waste

Biomedical waste handling is now hi-tech, with the MPCB pioneering real-time tracking of over 140 GPS-fitted trucks across the state from its control centre.

In my previous article, we discussed how hospitals must segregate waste according to the prescribed colour-coding system to ensure safe disposal. Building on that, the next step is its transportation to a common treatment facility for further processing and final safe disposal. Before this can take place, the waste must be stored temporarily within the hospital. Hospitals generally have a designated central waste-collection room located within their premises. This room should be away from public or visitor access.


A water supply should be available adjacent to the central waste-storage area to allow for cleaning and washing of the room and its containers. Drainage from the storage and washing area must be directed to the Effluent Treatment Plant. Signage displaying relevant details—such as the emergency contact number, the name of the person in charge, and a biohazard logo—should be clearly posted. No general waste should be stored in this room, and access must be restricted to authorised personnel only.


Biomedical waste generated in wards, laboratories, operating theatres, and other areas should be transported to the central storage room in covered trolleys or carts. These should travel along a route isolated from public areas. This ensures that patients and visitors are not exposed to the waste. The trolleys or carts should be dedicated solely to biomedical waste collection. Patient trolleys must not be used.


The operator of a common facility for the treatment of waste is responsible for transporting the waste collected in the hospital’s central storage. The most commonly used vehicles are four-wheeler tempo trucks. These must be modified according to specifications from the state pollution control boards under the Motor Vehicle Act of 1988. The vehicles must be covered, have proper labelling, and display biohazard logos on all sides to show that infectious biomedical waste is being transported. Sometimes, the vehicle may need refrigeration if the ambient temperature is high, and the waste has to travel a long distance. The Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules (BMW Rules) mandate the use of GPS for tracking vehicles transporting biomedical waste. A tracking system has multiple benefits, such as:


Monitoring and control: GPS allows authorities to monitor vehicle movements in real-time and calculate the number of trips made by vehicles from the pickup source to the common facility.


Accountability and transparency: GPS tracking provides a record of vehicle routes and disposal locations, increasing accountability and transparency in the waste management process.


Preventing environmental and health hazards: By ensuring proper waste disposal, GPS tracking helps mitigate the risks of environmental contamination and public health issues associated with improper biomedical waste management.


The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) was among the first to implement this. It is monitoring the movements of more than 140 trucks online from a control centre through such GPS devices.


Now, what happens to the waste after it reaches the common facility? Please hold on until next Saturday.


Until then, have a good weekend!


(The writer is an environmentalist.)

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