News / Columns / Manoj R Nair

Manoj R Nair

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.

Lucknow administration put up hoardings with photographs, names, and addresses of 57 people who have been issued recovery notice for their alleged involvement in violence during anti CAA protest last December.(ANI)

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Updated on Mar 16, 2020 12:27 AM IST

ByManoj R Nair

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

In 2018, a study commissioned by the BMC and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one in ten municipal clinics need major structural changes to prevent transmission of airborne diseases.(HT File)

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Published on Mar 09, 2020 12:37 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

The MIEB was supposed to look at ‘concept-based’ and ‘application-based’ learning rather than the rote learning system offered by the state education board.(HT FILE)

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Published on Mar 02, 2020 12:32 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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.

Waldhuni river in Ambernath turned black on Thursday due to chemical effluents released into the water.(HT Photo)

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Updated on Feb 23, 2020 11:46 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

The protestors said they were not against the project but were opposing the cutting of more than 2,000 trees in the Metro car shed plot.(HT File)

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Updated on Feb 17, 2020 12:03 AM IST

ByManoj R Nair

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

Data reveals that the KDMC produces 126 million litres of sewage daily, but treats only 30% of it. The rest pours into the Ulhas river(HT PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Feb 09, 2020 11:43 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

Aarey Milk Colony is spread over 3,160 acres (1,281 ha) which is owned by various government departments(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Feb 02, 2020 11:52 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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.

Maharashtra is struggling to implement its five-year old policy on school bags.(HT photo)

cities

Updated on Jan 19, 2020 11:34 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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.

Municipal schools face issues like low learning levels, truancy by students and teachers, high drop-out rates and falling enrolments(HT File)

cities

Updated on Jan 12, 2020 11:47 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

There has been a 65% increase in the number of permissions issued for tree cutting in 2019 compared to the previous year .(HT PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Jan 06, 2020 06:31 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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.

A survey found that 87% of parents whose children studied in municipal schools, want to shift their children to private schools.(HT File)

cities

Updated on Dec 29, 2019 11:36 PM IST

ByManoj R Nair

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.

The state government’s response to the pollution emergency has been half-hearted.(HT Photo)

cities

Published on Dec 23, 2019 01:06 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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.

File photo of the Mithi river in Mumbai.(HT)

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Updated on Dec 16, 2019 07:47 AM IST

HT | ByManoj 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.

In July 2011, Prasar Bharti, which runs Doordarshan, said that they did not find the idea of a Sindhi language channel feasible due to financial and staff shortage.(HT FILE)

cities

Published on Dec 09, 2019 01:27 AM IST

HT | ByManoj 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

Aarey Milk Colony was established in 1949 as a government dairy farm on 1,287 hectares of land.(HT File)

cities

Updated on Nov 25, 2019 07:38 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation runs the largest network of schools in the city, but enrolment has been falling.((FOR REPRESENTATION/ HT FILE))

cities

Updated on Nov 18, 2019 12:31 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

Mumbai witnessed record-breaking rains this year due to the unusual cyclonic conditions in the Arabian Sea.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Nov 10, 2019 11:41 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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.

Work on the Metro 3 car shed at Aarey Colony(HT Photo)

cities

Published on Nov 03, 2019 11:13 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj R Nair

There is nothing ‘green’ about firecrackers

“Green” firecrackers will produce 70% of the emissions that a regular specimen releases.

In October, the Union government announced the use of eco-friendly crackers across India.(Representational photo)

cities

Updated on Oct 20, 2019 11:47 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

Mangroves at Gorai make up part of the green stretch dividing Mumbai and Mira-Bhayandar municipal corporations.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Oct 13, 2019 11:59 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

The National Commission for Safai Karamacharis estimates that in India, one person dies every five days while cleaning sewers or septic tanks.(HT File)

cities

Updated on Oct 07, 2019 12:31 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

The number of students enrolling in RTE schools has witnessed a decline.(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Sep 30, 2019 12:47 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

The construction of a car depot at Aarey Colony for the Metro project has been opposed by environmentalists, local citizens, students and politicians.(HT FILE)

cities

Updated on Sep 22, 2019 11:41 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

If current trends continue, the number of students at Mumbai’s municipal schools will drop below 1,50,000 in 2022-23.(FOR REPRESENTATION/ HT FILE)

cities

Updated on Sep 15, 2019 11:15 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

Monorail differs from elevated Metro, as the train moves on a single rail, beam, or tube, with the coaches using rubber tyres for support and movement guidance.(HT FILE)

cities

Updated on Sep 09, 2019 12:07 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

When completed, Mumbai Metro-3 will be the city’s first underground metro.(HT FILE)

cities

Updated on Sep 02, 2019 12:03 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

Picture for representation only.(HT FILE PHOTO)

cities

Updated on Aug 18, 2019 11:58 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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

Sections of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) will also get a ecologically sensitive zone(HT Photo)

cities

Updated on Aug 12, 2019 12:34 AM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj 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.

Mumbai has restricted free parking on public places and expensive parking charges can make us look at cars in the same way as the West — an expensive inconvenience.(PTI)

cities

Published on Jul 29, 2019 07:04 AM IST

ByManoj R Nair

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

cities

Published on Jul 07, 2019 11:27 PM IST

Hindustan Times | ByManoj R Nair

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Manoj R Nair

Manoj R Nair is part of Hindustan Times’ nationwide network of correspondents that brings news, analysis and information to its readers.

In 2013-14, posters with photographs and names of wanted terror suspects appeared in public places like railway pedestrian bridges and markets in Mumbai.

Some doctors, who have opposed the proposal, have said that the installation of a ventilation system in general wards might spread hospital-acquired infections

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

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

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

There is very little hope of Aarey being preserved for posterity unless the area gets statutory protection

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.

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.

The BMC, which plants saplings along roads during the monsoon, has been planting fewer trees in the last few year

A recent report from education think tank Praja Foundation says number of students at municipal schools continue to decline.

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.

While it has been 15 years since the sewer lines were planned, the Mithi revival project is moving at a snail’s pace.

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.

Over the decades, a substantial portion of Aarey Colony’s green cover has been lost to new construction projects

The number of students in municipal schools in Mumbai has dropped from over four lakh in 2014 to three lakh in 2018

Mumbai’s record in adapting to climate change has been abysmal

“Green” firecrackers will produce 70% of the emissions that a regular specimen releases.

The Manori-Gorai-Uttan area has regularly erupted in protests whenever the government makes plan to bring construction to the area

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

Around 39,000 seats, including 4,000 in Mumbai, set aside for students from financially distressed families, remain vacant

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

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

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

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

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

The Supreme Court had issued a directive to the Union environment ministry to declare ESZs around 21 national park and wildlife sanctuaries

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.

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

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