19 October,2026 08:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
Pics/Piyush Gudka
Recently, three child labourers were rescued from a construction site at Ghatkopar when an alert citizen complained about them working at the site. There is a need for government authorities to conduct regular surprise checks, like the FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe does, at construction sites to ensure children are not exploited. Just fining the employer or the contractor is not the solution, but measures must be taken to ensure education for these children when their parents are out at work.
Cajetan Peter D'Souza
The pictures accompanying this letter are from two days last week on the Dudh Naka road in Kalyan. One lane of this road is perennially shut owing to some function or the other at the Durgadi Fort that leads to this road. Sometimes it is a fun fair, sometimes some religious function, and last week it was Navratri festival. The traffic on this road during the morning and evening peak hours is unbearable. The residents are getting increasingly fed up of non-stop functions that hinder local residents' movement almost every other week.
Piyush Gudka
Pics/Yogesh Sawant
You can see the status of footpaths in Thane West Lazarus Road. Complaints raised to Thane civic authorities since last week have elicited no action. Pedestrians, especially schoolchildren, are affected by this lack of footpaths.
Yogesh Sawant
This is a problem that I have seen across the city, so please don't ask for specific instances, geo-tags, bus route numbers or addresses. The authorities escape with cheap bandaid whereas serious systemic changes are required. Many BEST buses skip halts at designated bus stops and to make matters worse, the buses stop a yard away from the footpath of the bus stop as sometimes vehicles are parked near the bus stops, forcing drivers to stop away from the designated spot. The BEST authorities should display notices informing vehicle owners not to park their vehicles, at least 15 feet around bus stops. Repeat offenders should be penalised. The BEST authorities, should seriously think of implementing much needed rules, in the interest of the general public.
Ravi D Baliga
A few questions for BMC:
1 Why does it take 25-40 days for ordinary citizens to get a birth certificate these days, with the advances made in technology, when in 2018 I got my birth certificate on the same day? And howcome agents are able to furnish birth certificates on the same day while ordinary citizens are made to run from pillar to post?
2 Why do citizens need to first buy a new format birth certificate to even request a correction in an existing birth record? Why can't citizens be allowed to directly request a correction to a birth record on the basis of supporting documents, and then go to buy a corrected copy of their birth certificate?
3 Who authorised the new policy to make citizens wait 25-40 days to get a new copy of the birth certificate and when was this new policy authorised?
4 Who ordered that the number of birth certificates to be issued every day be limited to 10-50 and why?
5 When other cities allow citizens to buy and download birth and death certificates online, why did BMC stop this facility?
This smacks of corruption being aided and abetted by the powers that be at the civic body. BMC, under Ms Ashwini Bhide, must put a firm end to this.
A concerned citizen
After Mumbaikars sent in their questions and woes to mid-day last Monday, some of the authorities concerned responded. We haven't given up on the rest. We shall continue to hold authorities accountable for the state of the city.
Cajetan Peter D' Souza
BMC response: The due process to propose a project like this can be initiated by municipal councillors. Citizens can provide their suggestions to them. Municipal councillor chairing the N Ward Committee, Ashwini Mate said she is yet to receive any such skywalk demand from residents.
Chetan N Mehta
WR Response: The work for providing assistance to Divyangjan and the elderly is in progress at various locations in suburban railways. Railings and ramps have been provided at Virar, Nallasopara, and Vasai. At Borivli, work is in progress, and it will be attended to shortly at the mentioned Andheri location as well.
Ravi D Baliga
BMC Response: The said regulations are already in place and BMC also penalises operators who don't follow the norms. If citizens have a specific complaint, they are requested to file it on https://marg.mcgm.gov.in/MARG/welcomePage.html with details such as location, with name of road, geotagged photo, and precise nature of grievance. These complaints are closed within 24 to 48 hours as is mandated.
Ravi D Baliga
Traffic police response: Abandoned vehicles are assessed by a joint team of BMC and the traffic police and once identified, a notice is pasted on the vehicles for the owners to take action within a stipulated time failing which such vehicles are towed away and auctioned for metal scrap. Residents must complain of all such vehicles to the local municipal ward office or the local traffic police division.
