A Dawoodi Bohra family enjoys Yemeni food and its iconic coffee

After a walk down the wide streets, shopping and eating piping hot payas, naans and kebabs, sitting down for some Yemeni coffee can be a nice way to wrap up the outing.Located near Raudat Tahera, the iconic mausoleum housing revered tombs of Dawoodi Bohras’ spiritual leaders Syedna Taher Saifuddin and Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin in Bhendi Bazar, is a small coffee shop that resembles a piece from Yemen in West Asia of the Arabian Peninsula. Besides coffee, it also serves a mission.Its wooden window frames, stained glass engravings, rustic look of the walls, ceiling and floor, poems in Arabic calligraphy decorating a wall with English translation eulogizing coffee, all help transport you to a Yemeni home.Part of an upliftment project to help Yemeni farmers give up growing qat or khat, a plant whose leaves locals consume as a recreational stimulant, and cultivate coffee instead, the establishment brews hope.Concerned at the deleterious effects of widespread consumption of qat among Yemnis, late Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, the 52nd Dai or spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohras, suggested coffee plantations replacing qat. Haraz, a mountainous region around 90 kms from Yemen’s capital Sana, was initially chosen for the pilot project.“Here farmers were told about harms of qat to their health and economy (the plantation consumes plenty of water and drains resources) and benefits of coffee cultivation. In a few years, the locals’ health improved and economy boomed,” says Shabbir Jabeli, a member at the Aqeeq Haraz Bunn, the company which runs the coffee shop as part of the upliftment project for the Haraz farmers. Jabeli adds that Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the current spiritual head, has blessed the project as it weans Yemen’s farmers away from harmful qat and provides a healthy and profitable alternative cash crop, the Yemeni coffee, considered one of the best in the world.Since Bhendi Bazar is being redeveloped into a clean, traffic-free, infrastructurally rich locality by SBUT, this coffee shop connects the Dawoodi Bohras to Yemen which remained seat of the Dawat (community headquarters) from the time of the first Dai for nearly four hundred years. The spiritual leadership had moved to Yemen following the collapse of the Fatimid rule in Egypt in 1171.How did Bohras’ bond with Yemen grow? The 23rd Dai Syedna Mohammed Ezzuddin appointed Syedna Yusuf Najmuddin as the 24th Dai in 16th century in India, which marked the shift of the Dawat from Yemen to India. With Syedna Jalal Shamsuddin (25th Dai), the headquarters firmly established in Ahmedabad in Gujarat. After moving to many cities in West and Central India, the Dawat eventually settled in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the late 19th century.If Dawoodi Bohras have such a strong bond with Yemen, this coffee shop which also serves several authentic Yemeni dishes, helps strengthen the ties. The café manager Taha Petlawdaawala orders some of the dishes for us. Soon comes shafoot, a savory, chilled yogurt-based salad layered with spongy, fermented flatbread and spicy green herbs, bint al-sahn (daughter of the plate) Yemeni pastry, lahsa, a rich creamy egg dish cooked with spiced tomato base and a Yemeni stew.“Lahsa is a breakfast staple served hot with warm pita and flatbread,” explains Ibrahim Ismail Furniturewala, the chef who studied Culinary Arts in Singapore. “I have read up the recipes, watched videos and prepares authentic Yemeni cuisine,” claims the chef. “We have another branch opposite Al Jamea Tus Safiyah, the community educational institution, in Surat.”With the joint’s popularity growing, it attracts both Bohras and non-Boharas. “As I sat there, sampling authentic Yemeni dishes and drinking coffee which came with dates, I thought I was hosted at a Yemeni home. The ambience is very appealing with its sofa, low tables and an adjoining gift and souvenir shop making the experience memorable,” gushes local MLA Amin Patel after a recent visit.

Mumbai: One hundred days’ worth of freshwater supply in volume — that’s approximately how much rainwater landed on Mumbai in the first week of July. Enough, for those inclined to measure it differently, to fill 166,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.It’s a hot irony that the city continues to face a 10% municipal water cut, and hundreds of Mumbaikars were forced to wade where they ought to have walked. In neighbouring Palghar district, floods marooned people for three to five days without electricity or drinking water.Of the estimated 386-445 billion litres of precipitation Mumbai received within its municipal limits, an estimated 85-90% was surface runoff — between 332 and 400 billion litres washing out to sea. But only after forcing people to reckon with it on the streets first.Every monsoon, people demand better flood management, and the govt recently came up with a Rs 13,000-crore ‘sponge city’ plan that promises to soak up rainwater through bioretention parks, detention-infiltration tanks and permeable pavements.Rainwater harvesting (RWH) — the collection, storage and use of rainwater that would otherwise be lost as surface runoff — has long been viewed as a water conservation strategy. It is now also being championed as a decentralised flood mitigation measure. A network of thousands of such systems across the city could soak up water in situ and prevent runoff from accumulating in low-lying areas.“Water percolation and flood prevention are two faces of the rainwater harvesting coin,” says Rashneh Pardiwala, founder-director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), which has installed more than two dozen RWH systems across Maharashtra, including at fire temples in Mumbai and Pune.Inquiries have doubled in the past three years — none, though, for flood mitigation, which Pardiwala hopes will change.“It’s when water is allowed to percolate directly into the ground — because you can never have a larger tank than the ground itself — that RWH works as an anti-flooding mechanism,” she says.A 2024 paper in the journal Water Supply titled ‘Mitigating flash flooding in the city: Drain or harvest?’ recommends treating RWH systems not just as solutions to water scarcity, but as mechanisms that reduce urban flooding by preventing runoff from accumulating on streets and easing the load on drainage infrastructure — a load that has grown considerably heavier in recent years.Gripped by a grey rush to concretise its land surface, Mumbai lost 81% of open land, 40% of its green cover and 30% of its water bodies between 1991 and 2018. At the same time, monsoon patterns are becoming increasingly erratic, with rainfall concentrated into shorter, more intense bursts. In July alone, a single week brought 1,000 mm of rain — more than the month’s typical average of 768-920 mm — compounding the risk of flash floods when heavy rain coincides with high tide. With natural percolation zones closing up, decentralised RWH systems are a solution that holds water.In 2002, BMC directed new buildings on plots larger than 1,000 square metres to install RWH systems, and in 2007 extended the rule to 300 sq m plots. Yet, there is no data on how many operational systems actually exist in the city — most eventually fall into disuse, experts say. A request to BMC for this data went unanswered.Several institutions and residences, however, went it alone — and discovered downstream benefits they hadn’t anticipated.The Armed Police Headquarters of Mumbai city police in Naigaon started out trying to address water scarcity, which in 2017 impacted nearly 2,000 residential family members who stayed in the police lines. A series of trenches, nearly 3 km long, was dug along three parade grounds and connected to nine borewells. The system improved water supply — but it solved another problem too. “Every monsoon, the main parade ground would get slushy, making it difficult to conduct parades,” says Aswati Dorje, additional director general of police for the Prevention of Crime Against Women and Children, Maharashtra. With excess rainwater draining into the trenches, the grounds held up to the drills.It was Dorje who introduced Maharashtra police to rainwater harvesting, commissioning CERE to install the first system at Naigaon through CSR funding. Impressed with the results, she had another installed at the Maharashtra Police Academy in Nashik — where rainwater flowing off parade grounds was damaging adjacent roads. The system solved both problems.Floods on the Andheri-Kurla Road at Chakala were never of biblical proportion, but that didn’t stop Fr Gerard Rodricks, parish priest of Holy Family Church, from wanting to reduce them. “We’re on a hillock, where water would gush down to the road, taking mud with it. We saw it as wasted water — so 10 years ago, we installed trenches at the bottom of our property, laid with stone, gravel and charcoal, to allow water to percolate into the earth,” he says. They haven’t measured the impact on groundwater levels, but Fr Gerard considers the work done if the neighbours’ wells are fuller for it.“Traditionally, rainwater harvesting has focused on storing water for future use, while flood management has relied on quickly draining excess water away. Climate change demands that these two objectives converge,” says Prerana Langa, CEO of Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) India. AKAH plans to install grass pavers — which enhance rainwater infiltration and reduce waterlogging — in Chandrapur and Mira Bhayandar after the monsoon.The Archdiocesan Office for Environment Mumbai is making the same argument. Its first YouTube video on the subject, launched last week, advocates deconcretisation as a way to harvest rainwater at scale: “Keep at least 30% of the area surrounding your building permeable,” says Rudolph D’Souza, recommending perforated concrete blocks for driveways, gravel-filled trenches as soak pits, and ring wells in flood-prone areas.Pardiwala believes incentives are key. “The govt should reduce property tax by 10-15% for those who practise RWH. That will create millions of little recharge pits across the city.” (In 2014, BMC announced a 5% property tax rebate for societies that implement RWH.)Each recharge pit, notes rainwater harvesting consultant Ajit Gokhale, can prevent some measure of water from reaching the road. But he warns that rainwater harvesting must work in tandem with other flood mitigation measures. “Appropriate drainage systems and the restoration of water’s natural path of movement are also essential — the upstream-downstream relationship that construction has blocked must be restored,” he says. “Rainwater harvesting cannot mitigate floods on its own, especially when water accumulates from larger areas into smaller areas and rainfall exceeds 15 mm per hour, because of soil/sand-limited absorption capacity.”Yet, Gokhale saw RWH’s flood mitigation effect at work more than 20 years ago at St Catherine’s Home in Andheri. The shelter’s gate, set at the estate’s lowest elevation, was regularly flooded during the rains. The watchman at the gate was his proof. Before the system was installed, he told Gokhale, he had spent 15-20 monsoon days standing on a chair because of water accumulating around his post. After it: two.(Inputs by Chittaranjan Tembhekar)

Mumbai: Volunteers from an NGO rescued Jyotsna Begum (55) after they found her in a disturbed state at Bandra’s Carter Road, where she nervously asked people to guide her to the house of actor Salman Khan. Begum travelled from Assam to Mumbai to meet the Hindi film actor because she had read somewhere that “Salman Khan helps his needy fans”.Social and Evangelical Association for Love (SEAL) founder pastor K M Philip said volunteers noticed her while carrying out their annual monsoon rescue drive for homeless destitutes. “We observed how Begum was asking for Khan’s address at Bandra, as she was certain that he would help her financially. After coming to Mumbai from Assam, she became disoriented and hence lost her way in the city,” Philip said.During the counselling sessions at SEAL Ashram, Begum, who lives near Guwahati, had told the social workers that her family is living in poverty, and that she has to take care of her children on her own.“Her only ray of hope was Khan, since she had read a news article that he had financially helped a poor person. However, despite not having any contacts in Mumbai, she set forth on her solo journey, with hardly any money, and she only knew Khan lives somewhere in Bandra,” said a social activist.“We medically treated Begum at our shelter home until she was fully stable. Later, she was reunited with her family in Assam,” Philip said. Begum was among 51 destitutes rescued from the streets during the monsoon drive and taken to the Panvel-based SEAL Ashram for further care. Of the 51 rescued persons, 12 were reunited with their families, including Begum.SEAL chief patron and former vice chairperson of state minorities commission Abraham Mathai said, “State govt must also give a helping hand to enable such NGOs to do such works of compassion”.Philip said the NGO was trying to build a hospital at its Panvel campus to treat rescued patients more efficiently.“Sometimes, private hospitals do not attend to our extreme rescue cases, where there are live maggots seen in their wounds or if they suffer from dangerous diseases like TB, among others,” he said,He also added that the hospital plan can also help other poor villagers in the surrounding areas.

Mumbai: Two teenage collegians — part of a group of four that had ventured to a quarry in Dahisar East for a swim — drowned on Saturday morning. Locals pointed out that casualties are reported at the location during rainy season every year as visitors could find it difficult to ascertain the depth of rain water accumulating in the quarrying pits.The two deceased — Om Singh, 19, and Piyush Gupta, 18, — were FYBCom students at a Kandivli-based college. The duo, along with two of their classmates, reportedly skipped college on Saturday to head for Shaikh Khadaan compound, which is located uphill close to Sanjay Gandhi National Park’s boundary. Police said one of the youngsters had been to the location before and led the group.“Initially, a group of 12 collegians had planned the outing, but most of them dropped out later. The outing was planned a couple of days ago,” said a relative of one of the boys. The quartet met at a mall in Dahisar East and began the ascent. A family member said one of the youngsters had sent photos of the location over Snapchat to his friends around 8.20am.Police said the group did not know how to swim. They entered one of the quarrying pits which is estimated to be filled with rain water between 15 to 20 feet. Singh and Gupta ventured further. When they had difficulty breathing, their classmates, who were closer to the edge, tried to pull them out by throwing in their college bags. But they were unsuccessful. One of the survivors called up the police control room. Dahisar police officers and fire brigade personnel rushed to the location. After a search, Singh and Gupta were brought out around 10.20am and moved to the Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.Singh, an only child, lived in Santacruz with his family. Gupta, who is survived by his mother and three brothers, resided at Charkop. His father passed away a few years ago. Family members of both the boys said the local administration should put up cautionary signboards at the location and barricade it as it is dangerous.

Mumbai: In a major setback to Mumbai police, the designated Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act court has directed the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to re-register an FIR in a complaint of cheating, which the police closed as a civil dispute.Judge Vikram Jagdale directed the police to register a fresh FIR against Ranbir Real Estate and Developers LLP and its partners Jaikumar Gajanand Gupta and Suyash Jaikumar Gupta, holding that a prima facie case was made out under Sections 3 and 4 of the MPID Act that speaks about fraudulent default and attachment of properties.The court was hearing a miscellaneous application filed by complainant businessman Mahesh Doshi against the closure report.According to his complaint, the accused, through Chirag Shah of Aditi Construction, induced Doshi and his family members in March 2021 to invest money for the redevelopment of a property at Jogeshwari East, promising returns of 18% per annum payable quarterly along with repayment of the principal amount. Acting on the assurance, Doshi and his family invested around Rs 7.65 crore.The court noted that the accused initially paid quarterly interest till June 30, 2024, but subsequently defaulted on both interest and repayment of the principal.The complainant alleged that as of Jan 1, 2025, the outstanding amount due to him, including principal and interest, stood at Rs 8.47 crore. He further claimed that the accused had defaulted on payments to several other investors.The complainant argued that the transactions constituted “deposits” under the MPID Act as the money was accepted with a promise to repay the principal along with assured returns. It was also contended that failure to repay attracts Sections 3 and 4 of the Act.The prosecution opposed the plea, contending that the matter was contractual in nature and that a memorandum of understanding executed between the parties showed a civil dispute.Rejecting the state’s contention, the court relied on the Supreme Court’s recent judgement in Alka Agrawal and Others versus State of Maharashtra.The court held that the definition of “deposit” under the MPID Act has a wide ambit and includes money accepted with a promise of repayment and returns, irrespective of the nomenclature of the transaction.The court observed that the applicant and his family members had advanced substantial sums based on assurances of repayment with 18% annual interest, which the accused had initially honoured the commitment by making part payments towards interest, but later defaulted in repaying both the principal and the promised returns.

The Vidyavihar flyover, connecting Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and Ramchandra Chemburkar Marg, has two carriageways with a total of four lanes.

Mumbai: Work on the Vidyavihar flyover will be completed by August 31, while work on both arms of the Mankhurd Maharashtra Nagar flyover is expected to be completed by May 31, 2027. BMC Additional Commissioner Abhijit Bangar directed officials to complete both bridge projects within the stipulated timelines by deploying additional manpower and machinery.The Vidyavihar flyover, connecting Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and Ramchandra Chemburkar Marg, has two carriageways with a total of four lanes. Of the 650-metre-long flyover, a 100-metre stretch is being constructed over the railway tracks, along with a 220-metre approach road on the eastern side and a 330-metre approach road on the western side. The project also includes a connecting access from the flyover to the foot overbridge at Vidyavihar railway station. As part of the allied works, railway ticket counters on both sides, the station master’s office, and staircases connected to the foot overbridge have been reconstructed. The staircase on the railway side is also being linked to the adjoining road.Bangar, who inspected the flyover works, directed civic officials to plan traffic arrangements on the eastern and western approach roads in coordination with officials from N Ward, the Gardens Department and the Traffic Police. He instructed officials to ensure proper planning with regard to establishments, footpaths and trees on both sides of the bridge that could obstruct traffic, and to ensure that traffic congestion does not occur on the approach roads during peak hours.According to civic officials, around 80% of the work on the flyover has been completed. While installation of anti-crash barriers and streetlights is underway, the launching of girders over two spans, deck sheeting and deck slab works are pending and will be completed, subject to rainfall conditions.“The flyover is expected to provide relief to commuters travelling between the eastern and western suburbs. It will also ease the traffic burden on the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road,” said Bangar.Regarding the Mankhurd Maharashtra Nagar flyover project, Bangar directed officials to complete work on both arms by May 31, 2027, by deploying additional manpower and machinery.Heavy traffic congestion is routinely witnessed at the Maharashtra Nagar T-junction in Mankhurd during morning and evening peak hours. As a result, local residents as well as motorists travelling between Mumbai and Vashi face delays. Traffic congestion is also experienced on the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd corridor in both directions. To address this, the BMC has undertaken the construction of two separate flyover arms. Arm-1 will provide a direct connection towards Vashi from the Ghatkopar-Mankhurd flyover, while Arm-2 will provide a direct connection towards Ghatkopar from the Mankhurd flyover on the Sion-Panvel Highway.

Mumbai: Bombay high court declined to transfer investigation into the Jan 2016 death of a kho kho player who was knocked down by a speeding vehicle on Ghodbunder Road, Thane.“Having closely examined the entire record, we record our deep sympathy for the petitioner. In our view, it is plainly a case of an accidental death,’’ said Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata on Tuesday. They found “no merits” in the petition by Babasaheb Hardas, the father of Kartik (13), a class eight student. Kartik was part of the Under 14 team from Ahmednagar that was in Thane for a tournament.On Feb 1, 2016, Kapurbawdi police station registered an FIR for rash and negligent driving against an unknown motorist. Hardas’ advocate Ashish Gaikwad said Kartik lost his life due to the acts of trainer Sunil Chavan and others. Hardas had requested the authorities to register an offence of murder against them. Since no action was taken, he approached the HC seeking probe transfer to the assistant commissioner of police or any other competent authority.Prosecutor Jayesh Yagnik said the car that caused the accident could not be traced. The judges said the record indicated that Kartik was a meritorious student and a certificate holder of kho kho at the State level from various authorities. On Jan 31, 2016, Chavan took all his students to a mall. While returning Kartik was struck by an unidentified vehicle while crossing the road. Panchnama and post mortem report stated his death was due to head injury. Statements of nine other students and witnesses reiterated the same facts.In the verdict, the judges said allegations levelled by Hardas are “wholly unfounded.” They found “neither motive, nor intent nor any mala fides attributable” either to Chavan or the other students to suggest any role in causing Kartik’s death. Each fellow student clearly stated they were holding hands while attempting to cross the road standing on the divider. Unfortunately Kartik accidentally stepped down on the road and was struck by a speeding vehicle. “We find no reason to attribute blame either to the fellow students or the trainer in respect of this unfortunate episode. We are of the view that this was an unfortunate tragic accidental death and nothing more,’’ the judges concluded. Moreover in Dec 2017 a magistrate had accepted the probe conclusion report.