New criminal laws will be kicking in soon. It needs to be seen how much they streamline the justice system. Meanwhile, can’t something be done to improve court infrastructure? Take the case of the Mumbai city civil and sessions court. You enter it and you are greeted with the smell of urine emanating from toilets. The otherwise beautiful British-era building is in dire need of cleaning.
The courtrooms themselves are poorly lit and piles of legal papers are dumped alongside the walls. The transparent plastic barriers erected in front of the judges to shield them during Covid are still there. Small square holes have been cut into these barriers and lawyers are expected to address the judges through these holes.
As for the canteen, less said the better. The tables are not cleared in time and the cooking is not done hygienically. Hope, the bar association will take up these issues with the principal judge.
Flamingo Sanctuary
Flamingos, whose habitats and lives are at risks due to shrinking wetlands and manmade issues, spotted in a Navi Mumbai lake | Salman Ansari FPJ
Graft Stalls City’s Makeover
Mohit Kamboj, the high-profile BJP leader, recently accused a BMC assistant commissioner of massive corruption, asserting that the malpractices may damage the state government. He did not name this officer or provide details. Still, he has succeeded in turning the public attention on large-scale corruption of certain assistant commissioners. If hawkers are not removed and illegal structures not demolished, it is principally because of corruption of these gentlemen.
Earlier, one could see these officers tour their wards and inspect things for themselves. Most times, when the citizens go to meet them even during visiting hours, the peon says ‘saab meeting mein hai’ or ‘head office gaya hai’. Activist Kamlakar Shenoy says this is a violation of rules. Officials are required to make themselves available to the public. If the assistant commissioners are made to perform their duties, Mumbai will be a vastly different metropolis.
Eco-Friendly Celebration
When a senior citizen, NA Ayyappan, decided to hold the sacred thread ceremony for his two grandsons, he made sure that the food was vegan and there was zero use of plastic. For example, he did not serve sheera with breakfast since that would have involved the use of milk. Instead he opted for badam halwa. The filter coffee had oats milk and there were options of black coffee and green tea. Water was poured into stainless steel tumblers from jugs. There was no bottled water at all.
At most functions, mineral water is given in hundreds of small plastic bottles, which end up damaging the environment. Keeping in tune with the spirit of the function, some of the women even wore ahimsa silk sarees which are made without killing silkworms. Hope, this trend set by Ayyappan is followed by others.
Tailpiece
The arrival of southwest monsoon in Kerala is a much-awaited event in Mumbai. The joke is that it travels by Netravati Express and enters Mumbai in all its splendour!
(Compiled by S Balakrishnan)
