Fuel Conservation

Oil has crossed $130/barrel and is not looking back. High fuel prices and global warming has given a new life to economic transportation options. Here comes Shoppers Stop -- a super-store in Mumbai with its own contribution to addressing this problem.

Wear a short skirt.

Hitchhike.

Reduce fuel consumption.

Bombay Dyeing

Mumbai used to be called Bombay till 1996. Shiv Sena changed the official name back to Mumbai as the city is called by the native Marathi people. Everything that had Bombay in was changes to Mumbai.

Bombay Dyeing is an apparel manufacturer in Mumbai. The company has kept its original name. That does not sit well with some people. A group of 15 people stormed into the company showroom, breaking down the signs in protest.

Bandra Worli Sealink

The 5.6 km long Bandra Worli sealink is progressing to be ready to take traffic from January 2009. Here is a stunning picture of the cables used to support spans of the bridge. The total length of the cables and wires used to construct it is equal to the circumference of the Earth.

That is good news for the Mittals and Tatas -- the steel barons.

SEEPZ

Subjected to liberal economic laws, SEEPZ - special economic zone in Mumbai is situated in Andheri east area. The goal is to attract foreign investments and technology by providing tax and business incentives. It was created in 1973.

SEEPZ mainly houses software companies and jewellery exporters in India. More than 40% of India's jewellery exports in 2006-07 came out of SEEPZ.

SEEPZ stands for Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone. Patni Computer Systems and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have buildings in SEEPZ.

Mumbai Airport Rated the best in the country

Mumbai international airport was voted to be the best in the country. The same survey which looked at 100 international airports also predicted that the Mumbai airport was on its way to become world class.

The airports were rated on the following criteria as rated by the passengers.

Navigational Facilities
Connectivity to other flights
Service facilities
Delivery services
Environmental factors
Airline factors

The aiport received 3.57 on a scale of 1 to 5. The overall industry average is 3.88. Delhi airport, which is the country's second businest airport stands at 2.6. Kuala Lumpur was rated at 4.84 -- the highest.

Landfills of Mumbai

New people moving into Mumbai will do well to keep track of the landfills. It is not clear how clean the soil over the landfills would be for some time to come. The same caution applies to residences as well as workplaces. Mumbaikars spent more time at work that at home anyway.

There is a science to the landfills.
Landfills are usually lined with several feet of dense clay and then sealed with thick layers of plastic to prevent leaks of hazardous chemicals. The garbage is dumped in rows or piles from 10 to 20 feet high. Bulldozers are used push the garbage into rows and squash large objects. Compactors with 5 foot wide studded rollers are also used to squash the garbage. Squashed garbage takes up less space extending the life of the landfill. Each day, soil, glass, or plastic foam pellets is spread over a landfill to reduce odors and pests. The soil covering also reduces the amount of rainwater that seeps in. Invading rainwater carries water-soluble chemicals out of the garbage to form liquids called leachates. When leachates pool in the bottom of the landfill, they are pumped out, collected and treated. The treated leachate is handled like sewage. The particles, called sludge, are separated from the liquid and burned, or used as fertilizer, or dumped in the ocean or back into the landfill. If the sludge is considered hazardous, it is shipped to a hazardous waste disposal site.

Here are the current large landfills.

Deonar

132 hectare plot is the oldest dumping ground and it receives 4000 tonnes of refuse every day.

Mulund

25 hectares of landfill accepts 600 tonnes of waste each day.

Gorai

1200 tonnes of waste is dumped here each day.

Kanjur Village

141 hectare plot is the newest of the landfills.

Kolshet and Shilphata

These landfills get 1000 tonnes of garbage from Thane civic authority.

Aadharwadi and Telkoswadi

These landfills get 2300 tonnes daily.

Turbhe

Gets the garbage from navi mumbai.

Mumbai getting ready for monsoon

With the monsoon just weeks away, much remains to be done to prevent Mithi river from spilling over its banks and inundating surrounding areas. The state has also proposed erecting a wall so the airport runway can remain clear during monsoon. The river runs right below the runway.

Antilia -- still underway

Antilia, the under-construction 27-storey dream house of industrialist Mukesh Ambani at Mumbai’s Malabar Hill, is safe, at least for the time being, as the Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere with an interim order of the Bombay high court. The HC, in October last year, had stayed a Maharashtra government decision to cancel sale of the land—a 4,500 sq metre plot on which Antilia, considered to be the world’s largest and most expensive home with a speculated price tag of $2 billion, is being constructed—on the ground that it was Wakf property which could not be sold.

The state government wanted the Wakf Board to repossess the land which originally belonged to Currimbhoy Orphanage Trust. The HC, while staying cancellation of the sale by Wakf Board, had directed listing the matter along with other cases relating to repossession of Wakf properties. Dismissing the appeal against the HC order, an apex court bench comprising Justices H K Sema and Markandey Katju said it was only an interim order and it would be proper to await the final decision in the case.

It was alleged that the land was bought by Reliance group company Antilia Commercial for Rs 21.05 crore as against a market price of Rs 400 crore. The land, given to Maharashtra State Wakf Board in 1957 by Jivaji Raje Scindia, was used by a trust set up to look after destitutes and orphans belonging to the Khoja Mohammedan community.

The gigantic building plan has the world gaping. According to Forbes magazine, which tracks billionaires and their obsessions, the new Ambani residence will be over 550 feet high with 400,000 sq feet of interior space. After four years of feverish construction, the project scheduled to be completed in January next year.

“The only remotely comparable high-rise property currently in the market is the $70 million triplex penthouse at the Pierre Hotel in New York, designed to resemble a French chateau, and climbing 525 feet in the air,’’ Forbes said in its report titled ‘Inside the World’s First Billion-Dollar Home’. The sale of the land in 2004 to Antilia Commercial and developed by Saphire Realtors, Rockline Constructions and Baun Foundation had raised vociferous protests from the Muslim community leading to the state asking the Wakf Board to cancel the deal.

Harbhajan slaps Sreesanth

Harbhajan Singh pet named Bhajji in a disgraceful act of slapping India teammate S. Sreesanth in the opposite team after Indian Premier League cricket match at Mohali, India - May '08. Harbhajan has been suspended for the entire season. Amul butter is having a field day. Harbhajan is part of Mumbai Indians team. Harbhajan was accused of calling Symonds a monkey duting Indian team's visit to Australia.