Mumbai Masala: Meet Zoru Bathena, City’s Best Environmental Activist

Zoru Bathena is easily one of the finest environmental activists in Mumbai. He jumps into an issue only after doing due diligence. His research is thorough and he will argue his case with maps, drawings, plans, etc. He is always on his toes when it comes to issues concerning the environment. His love for trees is inspiring. Often he files cases before Bombay High Court if he fails to get justice from the authorities. Currently, he is spearheading the fight against the BMC’s proposal to chop down over 300 full grown trees to make way for the new water reservoir at Malabar Hill. Zoru has been arguing on the basis of reports from the IIT, Mumbai, VJTI, etc, to prove how the issue can be tackled without damaging Hanging Gardens. He is receiving tremendous support from the residents of Malabar Hill. The state government has not been very forthcoming with the facts and appears to be in a mood to go ahead with the proposals despite several objections from citizens. But Zoru is not one to give up easily. It won’t be surprising if he files a PIL with all facts and figures in place. More power to apro Zoru.

Officials Catch Up With Citizens

Looking at the scene outside Mantralaya post 2pm, one wonders when do government officers work and meet citizens? Outside Mantralaya, for nearly a month now, government officers (non-Mantralaya staff) have been standing in queues that move at a snail’s pace. It takes them more than an hour to just get inside the gate. Earlier, they could just show their government IDs and get in. Now they have to take out a pass like normal citizens who stand in different, longer queues, spending more time to get in. A security personnel said that rule kicked in after protests inside Mantralaya. There were even a couple of attempts at suicide recently within Mantralaya. Anyway, nice to know that the babus are catching up with the aam admi. (Ashutosh M Shukla)

Victory Over Evil

Congress Becoming More Media Savvy

In the past, the BJP was known for its proactive media policy. Now the Congress seems to be coming closer to the saffron party in this respect. The state unit of the Congress has a very articulate spokesperson in Atul Londhe. His handling of the Mumbai media has so impressed the All India Congress Committee that it has appointed him as the spokesperson for the party for the assembly election in Rajasthan. He is known for doing his homework before reacting to any development. He is very measured in the choice of words. President of the Mumbai Congress Varsha Gaikwad had hired a media professional called Ambrish, who is very fast with detailed press notes in Marathi and English. In this respect, he is similar to Prashant Digankar, who is the PRO of Ashish Shelar, Mumbai president of the BJP.

FDA Keeping City’s Restaurants On Their Toes

It is nice to know that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is carrying out regular inspections of the city’s restaurants. If you have a ‘dekho’ at the kitchens of some of the restaurants you will avoid them like the plague. A prominent hotel like Papa Pancho was found to be serving rat’s meat! But surprisingly, even restaurants at some of the five-star hotels were found to be wanting. Recently, a customer found hair in pav bhaji served at Classic fast food joint opposite Don Bosco High School, Matunga. None of the staffers had covered their heads. Some time ago, a woman found a small cockroach in sambar at a city restaurant. Hotel associations should proactively ask their members to maintain high standards. Hope the FDA continues with its inspections on a regular basis so that patrons suffer from fewer stomach upsets.

Tailpiece

Why do Israelis like Narendra Modi so much? Well, someone told them that he is a Gujjew!

(Compiled by S Balakrishnan)

Published on: Monday, October 23, 2023, 10:55 AM IST