Manoj R Nair is part of Hindustan Times’ nationwide network of correspondents that brings news, analysis and information to its readers.
Articles by Manoj R Nair
When Mumbai ‘photo-shamed’ terror suspects
In 2013-14, posters with photographs and names of wanted terror suspects appeared in public places like railway pedestrian bridges and markets in Mumbai.
Updated on Mar 16, 2020 12:27 AM IST
BMC’s plan for air-conditioned general wards needs to be studied
Some doctors, who have opposed the proposal, have said that the installation of a ventilation system in general wards might spread hospital-acquired infections
Published on Mar 09, 2020 12:37 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
School education shouldn’t be fatality of political spite
The decision to dissolve MIEB has not come as a surprise. Last year in December, soon after the new political coalition took over the government, the state education commissioner had said there will be a review of the education board’s feasibility
Published on Mar 02, 2020 12:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
The environmental tragedy in Mumbai’s hinterland
In 2017, this newspaper reported about industrial effluents being released in the Kasadi river in Taloja, an industrial town in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The news was picked up by the international media, not because industrial pollution in India was a cause for concern in the West but because the story provided striking visuals of dogs with blue fur.
Updated on Feb 23, 2020 11:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Resettlement colony at Aarey will test environment groups
The resettlement colony at Aarey will be a test for environment groups that had carried out some of the most sustained public protests in the city against tree felling at Aarey Milk Colony
Updated on Feb 17, 2020 12:03 AM IST
It’s time to stop releasing sewage water into rivers
Thane district public health laboratory has found the water of the Ulhas river to be unpotable, odorous and contaminated with industrial pigments and chemicals like chlorides
Updated on Feb 09, 2020 11:43 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
A disappointing week for those who want to save Aarey
There is very little hope of Aarey being preserved for posterity unless the area gets statutory protection
Updated on Feb 02, 2020 11:52 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Policy to control school bag weight has been a failure
A few years ago the municipal corporation had looked at the idea of having locker rooms where students could leave their books after class without having to cart them from home and back. The idea was never implemented.
Updated on Jan 19, 2020 11:34 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Govt to explore pvt partnership to raise learning standards
The BMC has a ‘public private partnership programme’ for its schools. If the municipal corporation extends the programme to more schools it will be a revival for an idea that has implemented half-heartedly, if not apologetically.
Updated on Jan 12, 2020 11:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Data on Mumbai’s trees is inconsistent and suspicious
The BMC, which plants saplings along roads during the monsoon, has been planting fewer trees in the last few year
Updated on Jan 06, 2020 06:31 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Future of civic schools is bleak
A recent report from education think tank Praja Foundation says number of students at municipal schools continue to decline.
Updated on Dec 29, 2019 11:36 PM IST
Mumbai needs to walk an extra mile to curb air pollution
Mumbai has had a lackadaisical attitude towards air pollution, believing that sea breezes will sweep away the murk, but the CSE study has shown that the city needs more than the sea to clean up its air.
Published on Dec 23, 2019 01:06 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
15 years since plan for sewers, Mithi remains polluted
While it has been 15 years since the sewer lines were planned, the Mithi revival project is moving at a snail’s pace.
Updated on Dec 16, 2019 07:47 AM IST
HT | Manoj R Nair
Sindhis get a TV programme, but say it’s not enough
Sindhi Sangat, a Mumbai-based cultural group, filed a case in the Delhi high court more than a decade ago, petitioning the government to start a television channel in their language.
Published on Dec 09, 2019 01:27 AM IST
HT | Manoj R Nair
Aarey green cover decimated by city’s development plans
Over the decades, a substantial portion of Aarey Colony’s green cover has been lost to new construction projects
Updated on Nov 25, 2019 07:38 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Better learning outcomes will bring students back to municipal schools
The number of students in municipal schools in Mumbai has dropped from over four lakh in 2014 to three lakh in 2018
Updated on Nov 18, 2019 12:31 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Mumbai has been slow in adapting it’s infrastructure to tackle climate change
Mumbai’s record in adapting to climate change has been abysmal
Updated on Nov 10, 2019 11:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Petition in HC is another hope to save Aarey
Attempts by citizens’ groups to get the government to shift the Metro-3 rail depot from Aarey Milk Colony have not been successful so far, with the courts allowing the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) to cut trees at the site. In the past, this column has pointed out that protests by citizens were focused on the 33-hectare depot for the underground SEEPZ-Colaba Metro at the 3,160-acre (1,281 ha) Aarey Milk Colony.
Published on Nov 03, 2019 11:13 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
There is nothing ‘green’ about firecrackers
“Green” firecrackers will produce 70% of the emissions that a regular specimen releases.
Updated on Oct 20, 2019 11:47 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
After Aarey, threat to another green area
The Manori-Gorai-Uttan area has regularly erupted in protests whenever the government makes plan to bring construction to the area
Updated on Oct 13, 2019 11:59 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair, Mumbai
Swachh Bharat Mission has not reached Mumbai’s sewage workers
The country banned manual scavenging in 1993. In 2013, employing workers for the job became a criminal offence. Though there are laws that prohibit manual cleaning of dangerous drains, death continues to stalk workers
Updated on Oct 07, 2019 12:31 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Efforts to promote RTE school seats are half-hearted
Around 39,000 seats, including 4,000 in Mumbai, set aside for students from financially distressed families, remain vacant
Updated on Sep 30, 2019 12:47 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair, Mumbai
Shifting the Metro depot alone will not save Aarey
Aarey’s fate is precarious: the car depot will take away 3% of the area; even if the car depot is shifted out, 97% of the area has no protection
Updated on Sep 22, 2019 11:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Mumbai’s municipal schools need ideas beyond national education boards to stop decline
The BMC has been desperately trying to stop the flight of students from its schools. However, cosmetic efforts to increase enrolments won’t work. The solution is to monitor and improve education outcomes
Updated on Sep 15, 2019 11:15 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Mumbai should not give up on its monorail project
On Wednesday, when one of the highest rains for a September day paralysed Mumbai’s roads and suburban trains, the monorail provided relief for commuters
Updated on Sep 09, 2019 12:07 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Despite advantages of underground MRT, cities prefer a mix of elevated and underground Metros
While elevated lines cost less than a third of an underground network, savings in traffic congestion, pollution and maintenance make an underground system cheaper in the long run
Updated on Sep 02, 2019 12:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Vasai-Dahanu area: A cradle for Mumbai’s environment movement
In 1988, residents of the villages in the Vasai-Virar region, located between Mumbai and Dahanu, started a campaign to stop the state government from appointing Cidco as the planning agency to convert the agricultural area into planned towns
Updated on Aug 18, 2019 11:58 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Mumbai’s forest areas finally get protective buffers, but not as envisaged
The Supreme Court had issued a directive to the Union environment ministry to declare ESZs around 21 national park and wildlife sanctuaries
Updated on Aug 12, 2019 12:34 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair
Has India joined the war against car ownership?
In India, it will be tougher to restrict car ownership but regulations discouraging vehicles with internal combustion engines and squeeze on free parking will make it tougher to own cars.
Published on Jul 29, 2019 07:04 AM IST
New data rubbishes population doomsday scenario
Population experts have said that while India’s large population presents challenges in providing food, housing, jobs and other essentials, the country has entered a demographic stage when a plateauing of population and a subsequent decline in numbers is just decades away
Published on Jul 07, 2019 11:27 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Manoj R Nair