Mumbai: The ongoing strike by Ola and Uber drivers in Mumbai has now entered its fifth day. Thousands of people across the city are feeling frustrated and stuck, with many struggling to find other ways to travel. The companies have not shared enough information or support, which has only made things worse for commuters.

People have taken to social media, especially X (formerly Twitter), to share their anger and problems. One commuter posted about their early morning struggle, saying: “Struggled to get a cab in Mumbai for airport drop this morning. You booked and the guy says, it’s strike! What’s up guys?”

Another frustrated commuter tagged the Maharashtra Chief Minister on X, asking for urgent help and wrote: “Sir, please resolve the Ola, Uber strike of Mumbai. There is no alternative mode to reach airports or train stations. Please take it seriously, people are frustrated.”

Many others are also sharing their disappointment, saying there are no proper updates from the cab services and no easy transport options available. The strike has caused a lot of trouble, especially for those who need to catch flights or trains.

“Ola and Uber drivers are on strike, and for all the right reasons. Day 5 and still no response. Funny how the govt and aggregators stay rigid when it comes to basic rights for the very people their business runs on.” A user mentioned. Talking about the empty roads in Mumbai, a user stated, “Because of the strike in Mumbai, I was able to reach Andheri in like 25 minutes, woah. Eastern Expressway was literally empty.”

Mentioning about the notifications by Ola-Uber, the user mentioned, “Can’t you guys at least put a notification that drivers are on strike and please kindly look for other transportation”. The user added, “I totally didn’t have idea that drivers are on strike and I waited and kept booking the cab straight for 4 hours!!”

Why Ola-Uber Is On Strike?

Drivers working with Ola, Uber, and Rapido are on strike in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, demanding higher pay, reduced commission cuts, and better working conditions. The strike began mid-week and has taken nearly 70 per cent of cabs off the roads, severely disrupting daily travel especially around airports, railway stations, and during school commutes.

The driver unions, now planning a sit-in protest at Azad Maidan, are calling for a complete shutdown of app-based taxi services to press their demands further. The striking drivers, organised under various unions, are emphasising a complete shutdown of app-based cab services to amplify their demands.

Mumbai: Mumbaikars have objected to the new proposed regulation in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)’s iconic buildings policy alleging that it is built on an aesthetic of spectacle, a logic of commercialisation, and a structure of centralised control.

The proposed regulation has been alleged to be exclusionary towards Mumbai’s known heritage buildings and the lack of a mechanism to regulate the policy’s impact of overwhelming the surrounding.

On June 24, BMC invited suggestions and objections from Mumbaikars on a new regulation 33(27) to the iconic building policy that aims to shape the city’s skyline. BMC claimed that once implemented, the policy will regulate and encourage the development of structures with distinctive architectural styles, aimed at reinforcing Mumbai’s global image as a city with unique and diverse architecture.

While Mumbaikars have acknowledged the ambition of the policy, they have claimed that the policy warrants serious reconsideration. In an online petition marked to the chief engineer of the development plan (DP) department, an anonymous citizens’ group with the name ‘Save Mumbai’s Iconic Buildings’ has raised significant concerns relating to equity, heritage, governance, and sustainability claiming that it warrants serious reconsideration.

The petition, launched on Friday, alleged that the proposed policy defines iconic as exclusionary and biased towards commercial spectacle. It highlighted that the requirement of minimum 40% of the building to be open to the public for a fee, disqualifies the city’s vast stock of residential heritage buildings, including the chawls of Girgaon, the bungalows of Gamdevi and the art deco apartments of Marine Drive.

It also raised concerns against the encouragement of commercialised access alleging that it will turn public engagement into a paid experience, deepening social exclusion.

“These are structures that define the everyday life and cultural identity of the city. They are iconic not because they contain cafes or galleries, but because they are repositories of memory, community, and architectural lineage. By privileging fee-based access and high-visibility aesthetics, the policy effectively erases living heritage from our urban imagination,” read the petition.

The letter alleged that the governance framework of the policy is deeply inadequate, elaborating that the scrutiny committee lacks defined membership criteria, transparency mechanisms or a process of public accountability. It suggested the framework like Mumbai’s heritage committee, which includes civil society experts, architects, and historians

It also added that along with reshaping the city’s skyline, the policy also needs a mechanism to regulate its impact. It suggested that Mumbai urgently requires a New York-like skyline review process that evaluates how proposed structures affect sightlines, scale, and heritage precincts. It also raised concerns about applying the same rule to the entire city and bypassing of the wards in the decision-making process.

“It is a critical fact that this policy, like many others before it, continues to treat Mumbai as a monolith, applying the same rules to vastly different neighbourhoods. The new proposed regulation imposes a uniform citywide framework, ignoring the fact that decentralised planning is essential to a city as diverse and layered as ours. Planning must be devolved to the ward or precinct level, allowing for area-specific review and genuine citizen participation. Without decentralisation, heritage will always be at the mercy of distant, disconnected authorities.”

Urging the civic body to withdraw the draft, the petition alleged that the policy is environmentally unsound as it promotes illuminated facades and high-rise construction with no requirement for environmental review or sustainability standards.

It added that these iconic buildings risk generating increased heat, carbon emissions, and pressure on coastal microclimates while there is no mention of tree protection, energy efficiency, or carbon offset.

Mumbai: A heated argument erupted aboard a Mumbai local train over the Marathi language. In a viral video, several women are seen engaged in a verbal clash in the ladies’ compartment, where a disagreement over a seat quickly escalated into a language dispute.

According to a video that has since gone viral, the confrontation started when one woman criticised another passenger for not speaking in Marathi. What began as a simple disagreement escalated into a larger argument, with several women joining in.

In the viral video that surfaced online, it is seen that the woman is forcing the commuters to speak in the Marathi language. One woman in the video is heard saying, “This is our Maharashtra. Speak in Marathi or get out.”

In a separate news story from Mumbai, a shopkeeper in Mumbai’s Vikhroli area was allegedly assaulted and paraded through the market by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers after he posted a controversial WhatsApp status perceived as disrespectful towards the Marathi language and Maharashtra on July 16.

A video of the incident has since gone viral. The shopkeeper, reportedly a native of Rajasthan, has now returned to his village. Vikhroli police have launched an investigation into the matter.

The shopkeeper, identified as Prem Singh Devda, had been running Lucky Medical Shop in Tagore Nagar Market, Vikhroli. On Wednesday, he allegedly posted a WhatsApp status containing derogatory comments against the Marathi language and the state. The post reportedly came to the notice of Santosh Desai, a local MNS leader.

Following this, another MNS leader, Vishwajit Dholam, along with a group of party workers, confronted Devda around 3 PM. They allegedly assaulted him, forced him to apologise publicly outside his shop, and then paraded him around the market area.

Devda was later taken to the Vikhroli Police Station, where he issued a formal apology before being handed over to the authorities. The video of the incident has sparked widespread public reaction on social media platforms.