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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.

Articles by Manoj R Nair

Mumbai pioneered ‘urban forests’ and then abandoned the idea

Creation of urban forests has been part of the agenda of India’s environment departments

Maharashtra Nature Park is an example of an urban forest(HT Photo)
Updated on Jun 30, 2019 11:36 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai

With no official nod for halal funds, money scams arise

Some finance experts have been campaigning for the formal recognition of Islamic banking, arguing that it will bring more Muslims into the financial mainstream

Investors register their complaints against IMA (I Monetary Advisory) jewellery fraud at a temporary police post set up at Shivajinagar, in Bengaluru on June 12.(PTI)
Updated on Jun 23, 2019 11:57 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Juvenile fishing: Eating ocean fish into extinction

Research by the Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Conservation Foundation of Maharashtra says illegal fishing methods such as using banned nets are killing juveniles that have not had a chance to breed

Eating fish that are caught from sustainable stocks will tackle overfishing and juvenile killing, which is threatening marine species to extinction.(HT File)
Updated on Jun 17, 2019 12:54 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By

A story of failed restoration plans

There are demands that the building, which was once the fashionable Watson’s Hotel, should be saved. The building is an important architectural landmark.

The building’s fate is undecided. A report from Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay, which inspected the structure, says that the cast-iron frame is irreparably damaged and the building will have to be demolished.(Kunal Patil/HT Photo)
Published on Jun 10, 2019 04:34 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Mumbai | By

Mumbai’s 2nd-largest natural area Thane Creek needs to be saved

Thane creek, located between Mumbai harbour is 26 km long and its narrower upper areas have mudflats, salt pans and diversity-rich mangroves forests which urgently need to be saved.

The wetland and the adjacent Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary are globally significant, serving as a stop for migratory birds using the Central Asian Flyway.(HT File Photo/Praful Gangurde)
Published on Jun 03, 2019 12:05 PM IST
Hindustan Times, Mumbai | By

Thane creek wetlands need to be saved

The wetland and the adjacent Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary are globally significant, serving as a stop for migratory birds

The number of flamingos decreases at Thane creek due to illegal dumping.(HT Photo)
Updated on Jun 02, 2019 11:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai

Waterhole census: Should Mumbai worry about the health of its forest?

Is the waterhole census report worrying? Should Mumbai be worried about the decline in the number of animals reported in its forest?

The animals counted by the forest officials and volunteers included leopard, spotted deer, monkey, boar and peacock among others.(HT FILE)
Published on May 26, 2019 11:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai

Now focus on SGNP after Tungareshwar ashram eviction

Tungareshwar, which is around 85.70 sq. km in area, is connected to other protected natural areas like the Nagla block of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) and Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary

Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP)(HT Photo)
Updated on May 19, 2019 11:40 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Why we need a policy on light pollution

Light pollution does not raise the alarm that air or water pollution does and this is the reason why there are no guidelines or safety standards in most parts of the world

Light pollution is considered harmless, or sometimes even desirable, as neon-spangled Las Vegas and New York becomes the template for other aspirational cities.(Pic for representation)
Published on May 12, 2019 11:11 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Why sewage workers continue to die: No prosecution of accused

Municipal agencies have to provide equipment such as pumps at dangerous sites like clogged sewers. But contractors do not want to spend on the safety equipment

People die even though India has special laws mandating safe working conditions for sanitation workers.(Representational photo)
Updated on May 05, 2019 11:45 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Construction is eating into the protective buffer around Mumbai’s forests

The ban on construction in a 1-km radius, had been removed in the final ESZ notification

Forest areas inside Aarey Milk Colony are at risk because the government is yet to stop construction at these sites.(HT Photo)
Updated on Apr 28, 2019 11:09 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Measles vaccine: Mumbai, unlike NY, takes softer approach against refusers

Vaccination is not mandatory in India and, unlike New York, Mumbai’s public health department has not imposed punitive actions against refusers, but it has been forced to crack the whip occasionally

While the measles vaccine has side effects, like fever, rash and joint pain, most people who take the vaccine do not have any serious problems with it.(AFP)
Published on Apr 21, 2019 11:55 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Why no Sindhi TV channel? DD says it is too expensive

Sindhi speakers want the government to set up a television channel in their language since private broadcasters, which operate in all the major languages of the country, have not been successful in sustaining services

The government broadcaster told the delhi court that channels were not aimed at linguistic groups but showcased the cultural heritage of those regions.(HT file photo)
Updated on Apr 14, 2019 10:44 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai

Ban on Parsi newsletter shows an old press tradition

The ban on the distribution of the newspaper in community housing estates, which houses nearly 5,500 families, was ordered by the BPP’s chairperson Yazdi Desai

A man touches the wall of a Parsi fire temple. A newsletter of the Parsi community has been banned by the Bombay Parsi Punchayet after it published reports on alleged corruption in property deals linked to the BPP.((Reuters File)
Updated on Apr 07, 2019 11:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Thane church breaks law, shows lack of burial land

Two weeks ago, in an act of civil disobedience to protest against the municipal corporation’s failure to provide them with more burial land, church members buried the body of a 95-year-old in a plot that is not demarcated as a graveyard in municipal records

By burying the body in the church yard, members of the Our Lady of Mercy Church violated municipal and town planning rules. Church members said they had no option but to break the law.(HT Photo)
Published on Apr 01, 2019 12:29 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Lessons for Mumbai from the American measles outbreak

Two counties along the Washington-Oregon border in the USA have reported 72 cases of measles, mostly among unvaccinated children

Mumbai’s measles rubella vaccination programme, which began on November 27, is meeting resistance.(FOR REPRESENTATION/ HT FILE)
Published on Mar 17, 2019 11:06 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

‘Man-animal conflict’: Is it time to drop the term?

Ten days ago, a leopard was rescued from a Thane shopping mall, nearly four km from the boundaries of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). News reports mentioned the incident as a ‘ man-animal conflict’, but ecologists and forest officials want us to discard the term.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) has an area of 103 square kms and it is estimated the forest has between 35 and 40 leopards.(HT FILE)
Published on Mar 04, 2019 12:46 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Parsi prayer hall at Mumbai crematorium: Success or failure?

The traditionalists, who are called the orthodox, say the facility has failed to convince community members to adopt unconventional funerals.

Traditional Zoroastrian funerals, which are called Dokhmenashini - a system of sky burials that relies on the sun and carrion birds to dispose of bodies - is in peril because of the near-extinction of India’s vulture species.(AFP)
Published on Feb 24, 2019 11:02 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Jews in Mumbai find new ways to keep religious traditions alive

In 2016, Maharashtra recognised Jews as a religious minority, but since the Indian census does not identify them as a distinct group, there is no data on their population

The Knesset Eliyahoo Synagogue in Mumbai.(HT FILE)
Updated on Feb 18, 2019 08:33 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Population control: Not the panacea for all states

A Member of Parliament has drafted a law that proposes to restrict the number of children per couple to two

Better enforcement of laws, which requires the government to ensure free and compulsory school education, will help states where fertility is still above replacement rates to make the transition to low population growth.(Photo for representation)
Updated on Feb 04, 2019 12:28 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Before pet trade ban we should regulate the cruel business

India has no rules to regulate the business and has just set up standards for animal housing and care

Inhumane practices at pet farms are a cause for concern.(REUTERS)
Updated on Jan 13, 2019 11:11 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By, Mumbai

Why states should focus on improving living conditions and worry less about population decline

A demographic group, after reaching replacement rate, will continue to grow for the next few decades, mostly because the proportion of people in the reproductive age – born during the periods of fast population growth - is still high

India's population tops 1.2 billion making it the second most populous country in the world after China.(AP)
Published on Jan 06, 2019 10:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

The decades-old dispute over Jain guru worship

Followers of Shwetamber Tapgachha said they believe in the performance of Navangi Pooja of their living monks and observance of certain rituals, which they were prevented from doing by a temple trust run by another sect

Devotees of Digambar Jain community perform rituals on a statue of Lord Mahavira on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti.(PTI)
Updated on Dec 23, 2018 11:23 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Mumbai should ban open burning of garbage

After Delhi’s air quality in Diwali reached levels that required emergency interventions, the city started enforcing a rarely-used order from the National Green Tribunal that makes burning of garbage in the open an offence punishable with a fine. Last week, factories in the city’s outskirts were forced to shut down after it was found that the industrial units were resorting to open burning of waste.

Mangroves have been destroyed by dumping and burning garbage near Vashi railway station.(HT Photo)
Updated on Nov 18, 2018 11:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Mumbai’s urban heritage conservation movement is winning accolades

This year, two restored architectural landmarks from Mumbai – the Ruttonsee Muljee Jetha Fountain and University of Mumbai’s Rajabai Clock Tower – won the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

Restoration of The Library and Rajabai Clock Tower at University of Mumbai earned it the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation.(HT Photo)
Updated on Nov 11, 2018 10:52 PM IST
Hindustan Times | By

We need to expand the reach of the manual scavenging law

According to the National Commission for Safai Karamacharis, one person dies every five days in the country while cleaning sewers or septic tanks

Safety measures are non-existent, or at their best, basic.(HT FILE)
Updated on Nov 05, 2018 12:03 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Entire Aarey needs protection, not just the trees in the Metro car-shed area

The tribunal has asked the petitioners to go to higher judicial authority, either Bombay high court or the Supreme Court.

Updated on Oct 22, 2018 12:52 AM IST
Hindustan Times | ByManoj R Nair

Now that sanitation rates have improved, can sewage treatment get attention?

While sanitation has received attention, the country is struggling to safely dispose of the contents of its toilets and industrial effluents.

Untreated sewage released by rivers has disastrous consequences for marine life.(HT file photo)
Updated on Oct 08, 2018 12:12 AM IST
Hindustan Times | ByManoj R Nair

Why community is a tense subject at Bandra Gymkhana

The resolution moved by members to permit the annual event was passed with 568 votes in favour and one dissenting voter.

Influenced by Portuguese missionaries, much of the East Indian community converted to Roman Catholicism around the 16th century.(HT PHOTO)
Updated on Oct 01, 2018 12:01 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By

Spending money on garbage

Mumbai is expected to spend around ₹280 crore in the current financial year – almost 1% of its municipal budget – on disposing of its garbage

A garbage pile outside Ram Mandir Railway station in Mumbai in August, 2018.(HT Photo)
Updated on Aug 06, 2018 12:18 AM IST
Hindustan Times | By
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