Uran residents demand the resumption of NMMT bus services.

The Service

Students, workers, and business people’s daily commutes have been significantly hampered by the several-month-long suspension of Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) bus services in Uran. Residents have been forced to rely on expensive and unreliable private transportation due to the lack of public transportation, which has caused major delays and inconvenience.

Private vehicle drivers are harassing local commuters and charging exorbitant prices, especially for those going to Navi Mumbai for business or school. Given these difficulties, Uran City Congress Committee members, Morning Katta leaders, and senior residents met with Dr. Kailas Shinde, Commissioner of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), to insist on the immediate restoration of NMMT bus services.

The group emphasized how the lack of dependable public transportation has interfered with daily routines and the general annoyance of Uran locals. To further encourage the return of bus services, a signature drive was launched as a gesture of support.

In response to the citizens’ worries, Commissioner Dr. Kailas Shinde gave them his word that action would be done to promptly resume NMMT bus service in Uran. Prakash Patil, the president of the Uran City Congress Committee, Abhay Ved Pathak, former corporator Afsha Mukari, and other local leaders attended the gathering and emphasized the importance of the service for the welfare of the community.

Navi Mumbai International Airport Committee launches indefinite hunger strike over pending demands.

The Issues

The Navi Mumbai International Airport Committee has begun an indefinite hunger strike outside CIDCO Bhavan, protesting against unresolved issues affecting those displaced by the airport construction. For the past four to five years, the committee has engaged in multiple meetings and agitations, but their efforts have been ignored, leading to this drastic step.

Key demands include naming the airport after people’s leader D.B. Patil, compensating fishermen whose livelihoods have been destroyed, and providing employable training and job placements for unemployed youth from the 10 affected villages. Additionally, they demand housing plots for victims from Waghivali village, which was demolished without compensation, and the continuation of house rent allowances at market rates for displaced families.

The committee has also called for increased financial aid for homeowners in Talao Pali and Chinchpada, who have received insufficient support. A Dhadak Morcha scheduled for July 1 was canceled after government assurances, but no significant action has been taken in the two months since.

In response, the committee’s leaders have begun the hunger strike, urging the government to address these pressing concerns and seek justice for the victims of the Navi Mumbai International Airport project. The situation remains tense as the protest continues.

Maharashtra State Teachers Union urges NMMC to address key issues.

The Issues

During a recent meeting, the Maharashtra State Teachers’ Union formally urged Dr. Kailas Shinde, the Commissioner of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, to give priority to important requests that impact secondary school teachers. The Teachers’ Union Provincial President and several officials, including MLA J.M. Abhyankar, attended the meeting.

Madhukar Varbhuvan, a union office bearer, told sources that the talks with Commissioner Dr. Shinde were fruitful and that they focused on a number of urgent problems that the teachers at the 23 secondary schools run by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation were facing.

Restoring morning sessions for secondary schools, recognizing teachers hired in 2011 as full-time teachers with those hired in 2006 and 2023, and offering salary differentials for the time spent serving as Shikshan Sevaks are some of the main demands made by the teachers. Additionally, the union has called for seniority-based promotions and approvals for supervisors and other positions, in compliance with government legislation, as well as instant senior pay scales for instructors with 12 years or more of service.

The sympathetic appointment of Vanita Dilip Kadu, the widow of the late instructor Dilip Kadu, to a position with the municipal corporation was another topic of discussion during the gathering. The Education Department has been instructed by Commissioner Dr. Shinde to act quickly on these issues.

Hitendra Choudhary, Maruti Padalkar, Jalandar Sarode, and Jagdish Bhagat were among the union members who attended the gathering, emphasizing the teamwork required to guarantee the well-being and acknowledgment of educators in Navi Mumbai.