The Brave Pedestrian

Mumbai, 12 November, 2018: If Lodha New Cuffe Parade were a movie, it might get a one-star rating out of five from its present occupants; and it would be "A" rated, because it is scary and unsafe for children. If Lodha New Cuffe Parade were a car, it would have to be recalled. Lodha NCP Wadala is touted as a super-luxury real estate project, and each flat is sold at between Rs 2.5 to 7 cr. But customers are not just disappointed, they are shocked to discover that these super-expensive flats flats are poorly designed, made of poor-quality materials, substandard, defective, prone to damage and seepage. Basic design flaws in the flats, the towers, and the entire layout, make it dangerous for occupants, maintenance staff and passersby.  Lodha NCP towers like Dioro, Enchante and Evoq have got part-OC (Occupation Certificate) from MMRDA, but they are unfit for habitation. The part-OC appears to be due to MMRDA officials' negligence or corruption, or both. MMRDA appea...

Mumbai, 8th November, 2018: At about 5.40 pm on Sunday, 4th November 2018, one of the two Tata Consultancy Services offices in Borivali, a western suburb of Mumbai near Sanjay Gandhi National Park, released a large amount of an unknown gas. The noisy emission was audible and visible from neighbouring buildings. I took this video of the gas emission .   I took the video with my cellphone from my sitting room window on the fifth floor, of Raheja Green building. And then I dialed 100 and called the police control room when the emission was still in progress.  A large quantity of white gas being released in TCS compound in Raheja Estate, Borivali East, Near Sanjay Gandhi National Park, on Sunday evening. In the presence of police officers from Kasturba Marg police station, TCS gate security personnel claimed that they had just discharged some expired CO2 (carbon dioxide) fire extinguishers, and that it was an innocuous and harmless release. But they could not provi...