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Mumbai Weekly VOL 6. ISSUE 1 | FRIDAY 09 JUNE, 2017
RUN BY THE PHOTOJOURNALISM STUDENTS OF UDAAN SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAPHY
News in brief
People
Metro
Entertainment
Sports
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Pg 3
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Trees hacked for Metro project amidst protest
GDP knock-out punch to Indian economy
According to Moody’s global rating agency, the Indian economy will grow 7.5% in the fiscal year 2017 and 7.7% in 2018 and it will grow to 8% in three to four years. There will be very less impact of last year demonetization on the economy. Idrees Mohammed/ Mumbai weekly.
Pollution levels rise drastically in Mumbai People hug a tree as a worker walks past with a chainsaw at Churchgate in Mumbai on 25 May 2017. Thousands of trees, some over a hundred years old, are going to be cut for underground metro work that is being constructed amid protests from citizen’s group. Chitral Khambhati/Mumbai Weekly Mumbaikars lament the axing of several old trees to make way for
the metro 3 (ColabaBandra-SEEPZ) project near Churchgate. Ear-
lier, the Bombay high court on 05 May gave a a green signal to the
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation limited (MMRCL) to start
hacking trees for the metro3 project. The high court refused
all pleas against cutting of trees and stated that a middle ground has to be
arrived at between the city's development work and the environment.
Fire breaks out at a factory in suburban Mumbai Mumbai has been declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the fifth most polluted megacity in the world. It is an indication of the poor health of the city’s air. Since humidity levels have been high for the past few days and day temperatures are high, pollutants have made the air heavier. WHO statistics show that pollution has increased by 8% in last five years. Four out of five people in Mumbai are exposed to levels that exceed WHO limits. Hemanshi Kamani/ Mumbai Weekly
A maj or fire broke out at a commercial complex at Vij ay Industrial Estate, behind Evershine Mall at Malad Link Road, in Mumbai on 23 May 2017. According to media reports, no casual ties or inj uries have been reported in the fire. The fire took place at around 8.20 pm. at first floor of the complex which housed a toy factor y which is considered to be the source of the fire. In no ti me it spread on all the floors of the building. The fire bri gade reached the spot at around 8.30 pm. Ei ght fire engines and seven water tankers were
used to douse the fire. Many residents and onlookers had gathered at the site. The Bangur Nagar police rushed to the spot to control the crowd. The fire incident caused traf fic j am along the Link Road for t wo straight hours which resulted in commuters been stranded for a long time. Traffic was diverted near Ever shine Mall and commuters were advised to use S V Road till the fire was brought under control. The fire was brought under control by around 10 p.m. but police could control the crowd till around 10.30 p.m.
Firemen try to douse the fire at a toy factory in Mumbai on 23 May 2017. “There is no major casualties or fatalities have been reported in the fire " said senior police inspecter Santosh Bhandare, Bangur Nagar police station. Mohammed Shaikh/Mumbai Weekly
GST to bring down FMCG prices, selective goods only: E&Y
A customer shops at a supermarket in Mumbai on 24 May 2017. According to a local daily, overall price of FMCG products might reduce but certain products will show increase in rates due to the newly introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST). Mukesh Amaran/Mumbai Weekly
As we approach July 1st, the authorities are busy working out the details related to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The central and state Finance Ministers met in Srinagar to finalize GST rates. Following this, the government has indicated that to monitor prices of various items it may set up an anti-profiteering au-
thority. The GST council has various items under five different tax rates ranging from 5% to 28%. There is also an additional GST compensation cess. Implementation of GST would simplify all the indirect taxes and would reduce tax on taxes. However, since some tax rates such as VAT currently vary across states, the real impact of
GST rates on prices may only be revealed after the roll out. Laws like the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 controls the price of certain necessary items including the products that fall under the FMCG category. The Fast Moving Consumer Good sector of India comprises more than 50 percent of the food and beverage industry and anther 30
percent from personal and household care. Reports suggest the sector contributes a significant USD 6.5 billion in direct and indirect taxes. From an efficiency perspective GST will have a lot of benefits for the FMCG industry, claims Harishankar Subramanian, National Leader – indirect tax, Ernst and Young global solution.