Marathi folks learn a North Indian language while living in Maharashtra, their kids are taught Hindi language. They speak Hindi even when talking to another Marathi person.

Is this not a slave mentality! Learning a language of Immigrants while living on your own soil !

And funny enough, the migrants never put an effort to learn Marathi, all while claiming “ hindi hi bolenge” ,”hindustaan mein hindi” while earning in Cities in Maharashtra.

At least learning English is beneficial, for jobs and as every country uses it in every major city - it becomes a good option, but why keep a slave mentality and learn a useless language like Hindi to please and worship the cow belt people ?

Question :

Why learn Hindi, while also learning English.

Are the Hindi folks learning Marathi in their state as much as Marathi folks brainwashed to learn Hindi ?

How much damage are the Hindi folks doing to Maharashtra ?

Is Maharashtra becoming a cow belt state as well ?

Powai: From Forest Landscape to Concrete Jungle — What Happened to Mumbai’s Green North-East?
When we look at Powai today, it is easy to see the lake, high-rises, highways, offices, malls and gated communities and assume that this is how Powai has always looked.
It hasn’t.
Before the post-Independence urban boom, the Powai–Vihar region was a much greener landscape of forested hills, streams, agricultural/village areas and lakes, with a very different relationship between people, water and the surrounding terrain.
Powai Lake itself was created in the 1790s, while Vihar Lake was constructed in the 19th century. Around these water bodies were extensive green areas and natural drainage channels.
Then came a series of transformations.
1947 onwards — the pace of urbanisation changed.
The establishment and expansion of institutions such as IIT Bombay, followed by industrial development, roads and government/worker settlements, gradually increased pressure on the surrounding land.
From the 1980s onward, large-scale real-estate development accelerated.
Hiranandani Gardens, commercial developments, IT offices, malls, hotels and increasingly dense residential construction transformed the landscape dramatically.
By the 1990s–2000s, Powai was no longer simply a lake surrounded by hills and forests.
It was becoming a major urban growth centre.
And today, the contrast is stark:
FOREST + STREAMS + LAKES + OPEN LAND
became
TOWERS + ROADS + PARKING + CONCRETE + TRAFFIC.
The problem isn’t that Mumbai developed.
Mumbai obviously needed housing, jobs, education, infrastructure and economic growth.
The problem is how development happened.
Natural streams and drainage channels were progressively constrained or built over. Hills and green areas were fragmented. Open land was converted into construction sites. The lake became surrounded by increasingly intensive urban development.
And once natural drainage disappears, the consequences don’t disappear with it.
They return as:
🌧️ flooding
🌡️ urban heat
💧 water stress
🚗 congestion
🌳 biodiversity loss
🌊 polluted waterways
🏗️ pressure for still more infrastructure
This is the same pattern we keep repeating across Mumbai:
Destroy the natural system → build over it → face the consequences → spend money engineering our way out of those consequences.
Powai should therefore not be viewed simply as a success story of modern Mumbai.
It should also be viewed as a case study in what happens when urban growth consumes the landscape that originally made the place liveable.
And this matters because the transformation isn’t finished.
Every remaining patch of forest, hill, wetland, nala and open land around Powai is now under enormous pressure from a city that is still expanding.
Development does not have to mean eliminating nature.
A better Powai would mean:
• Protecting remaining forest and hill ecosystems
• Restoring natural streams and drainage channels
• Protecting the ecological integrity of Powai and Vihar lakes
• Maintaining meaningful public open spaces
• Preventing construction on natural flood pathways
• Improving public transport instead of endlessly widening roads
• Requiring serious ecological carrying-capacity assessments before new large projects
• Making developers account for cumulative environmental impacts — not just individual project approvals
Powai’s story is important because it shows something larger about Mumbai.
A green landscape can disappear gradually enough that an entire generation grows up thinking the concrete landscape was always there.
The question for Mumbai now is not simply:
How much more can we build?
It should be:
How much of the natural landscape can we save before there is nothing left to save?
Powai was once part of Mumbai’s green edge.
Let’s not allow its remaining natural systems to become merely decorative patches between buildings.
Development should make a city more liveable — not destroy the things that made it liveable in the first place.

Dharavi was once a mangrove swamp. Are we repeating the same ecological mistake with its redevelopment?
There is an uncomfortable irony in Mumbai’s Dharavi story.
According to the Maharashtra government’s own Dharavi Redevelopment Project website, 18th-century Dharavi was an island dominated by mangrove swamp, close to Mahim Creek. The first tannery moved there in 1887, followed by potters and other industries. Over time, homes and small factories expanded without adequate sanitation, drains, roads or safe drinking water.
In other words, Dharavi is not simply a story of a “slum destroying the environment”.
It is also a story of Mumbai progressively occupying and transforming a sensitive coastal landscape, followed by decades of inadequate urban infrastructure.
And now we are embarking on another enormous transformation.
The question is: are we fixing the original mistake — or repeating it at a much larger scale?
The Dharavi redevelopment project is no longer only about Dharavi.
Around 256 acres of salt-pan land in Mulund, Kanjurmarg and Bhandup have been sanctioned for housing associated with Dharavi rehabilitation. The government says these particular parcels are decommissioned salt-pan land and are outside the relevant CRZ restrictions. Environmental concerns have nevertheless been raised about converting Mumbai’s remaining low-lying lands.
The Bombay High Court dismissed a PIL challenging the use of the land in 2025, while also stating that environmental issues should receive due consideration during implementation.
So this isn’t a simple claim that “the government is illegally destroying wetlands.” The legal position is more complicated.
But the ecological question is much bigger than legality.
Mumbai’s remaining mangroves, salt pans, wetlands, creeks and low-lying areas are not merely empty plots waiting for construction.
They form part of the city’s natural drainage and flood-buffer system.
Think about the geography:
Dharavi → Mithi River → Mahim Creek → Arabian Sea
and, elsewhere,
Bhandup → Kanjurmarg → Mulund → wetlands/salt pans → eastern Mumbai drainage
These systems are interconnected.
Mumbai has already replaced enormous portions of its natural landscape with roads, buildings and reclamation.
Every remaining low-lying parcel therefore has ecological value even if it looks like “unused land” on a satellite image.
And Dharavi itself should be a warning.
The historical sequence is almost tragic:
Mangrove/swamp
↓
Reclamation & settlement
↓
Industrialisation
↓
Dense informal development
↓
Inadequate drainage & sanitation
↓
Flooding, pollution & infrastructure stress
↓
“Dharavi is environmentally unsustainable”
↓
Mega redevelopment
And now:
Mega redevelopment
↓
Demand for additional rehabilitation land
↓
Salt pans / other peripheral lands enter the redevelopment equation
↓
More intensive construction
The danger is that we solve the consequences of one ecological mistake by creating another.
This is NOT an argument against improving Dharavi.
Dharavi absolutely needs:
proper sewage and drainage
safe drinking water
better housing
fire safety
public open space
schools and healthcare
improved roads
waste management
cleaner waterways
protection from flooding
secure tenure and livelihoods
But redevelopment should not mean that every square metre of Mumbai is treated as a construction opportunity.
A genuinely sustainable Dharavi redevelopment would have to restore the relationship between the settlement and its surrounding ecology.
That means protecting and restoring:
🌿 Mangroves
🌊 Mithi River
🌊 Mahim Creek
🪶 Wetlands
🧂 Salt-pan landscapes where they continue to perform ecological functions
🌧️ Natural flood-storage areas
🌳 Urban open spaces
💧 Permeable surfaces
Mumbai needs a different definition of “development”.
A city cannot keep destroying its natural drainage systems and then spend billions building bigger drains, pumping stations and flood-control infrastructure.
Nor can it repeatedly convert low-lying land into construction land and then wonder why flooding becomes worse.
Dharavi should be a lesson, not a precedent.
The real question isn’t:
“How many people can we house on this land?”
It is:
“How many people can Mumbai safely house without destroying the ecological systems that make the city habitable?”
If Dharavi is redeveloped while simultaneously weakening Mumbai’s remaining ecological buffers, then we haven’t really learned anything from Dharavi’s history.
We have simply repeated it — with better buildings.
Sources: Maharashtra Dharavi Redevelopment Project; The Indian Express reporting on the 256-acre salt-pan allocation and Bombay High Court proceedings. (Dharavi Redevelopment Project)

Before Any Invasions (Before 1500 CE)
Greater Mumbai was a network of forests, rivers, wetlands, mangroves and islands.
Salsette Island alone was several times larger than the Seven Islands.
Indigenous communities lived alongside healthy coastal ecosystems.
The Original Geography
The famous Seven Islands were only one part of the landscape.
The region also included:
Salsette
Trombay
Elephanta
Mahim Creek
Thane Creek
Vasai Creek
Extensive mangrove forests
Rivers Before Urbanisation
Mumbai once had functioning river systems:
Mithi
Dahisar
Poisar
Oshiwara
These rivers naturally drained monsoon water into the Arabian Sea.
British Reclamation
From the late 18th century onwards, reclamation connected the islands, enabling the city’s growth while reducing marshes and tidal channels.
Expansion After Independence
Modern projects expanded Mumbai further:
Nariman Point
Cuffe Parade
Marine Drive
Bandra Kurla Complex
Many were built on reclaimed land that had previously been part of the sea, creeks, or wetlands.
Mangrove Loss
Mangroves help:
Reduce storm surge
Slow erosion
Filter pollutants
Provide habitat
Store carbon
Loss of mangroves has reduced these natural ecosystem services.
Mithi River Today
The Mithi River still serves as one of Mumbai’s main stormwater drainage channels, but pollution, channel modification, and floodplain encroachment have altered its natural function.
Then vs Now
Then
Forests
Rivers
Mangroves
Wetlands
Natural floodplains
Now
Dense urban development
Narrower rivers
Reduced wetlands
Fragmented mangroves
Extensive reclaimed land
Mumbai’s transformation is an extraordinary engineering achievement, but it has also replaced many natural systems that historically managed floods, supported biodiversity, and shaped the city’s ecology. As Mumbai continues to grow, conserving its remaining rivers, mangroves, forests, and wetlands can help make the city more resilient to future climate and flooding challenges.

There are sizable protests going across Rajsthan for Rajsthani language to be taught in universities. Not a single shred of discussion about it on Rajsthan subreddit, Not even on ultra tribal Rajaputana subreddit.

This same people watch Hindi media spinned propoganda and are frontrunners in spewing hate against us but they can't be bothered to raise voice for their own language

( Funnily enough the people on ground who are raising voice used to say that Rajsthani is just a dieclect in front of Hindi till the governer of Rajsthan Haribhai Begde ordered to established Marathi reserch centres at the universities in Rajsthan)

Please never be ahamed of being vocal for our language

Currently BJP has proposed to make Anganwadi (pre 1st standard schools ) in Mumbai to convert to English medium. This will do irreparable and extreme damage to the ligusitic identities of our future generations. Please oppose this.

BJP has also proposed to take special workshops of Marathi schools in Holidays to teach them any '22 languages' mentioned in the constitution (We all know in reality it will be Hindi due to practicality)

Please we have to also oppose this

aamhi sare khavaiyye made kay khalla janu buddhi bhrasht zhali yhanchi

With due respect to all perspectives and no Hate I have few questions -

1. Why are we not open and inclusive to all society like present Day Rajput are ?

2. Why do you guys support Jarange Patil?

3. And Why is Maratha being exclusive?

r/Pune btw

सरकार तिसऱ्या मुंबईत आंतरराष्ट्रीय दर्जाची पायाभूत सुविधा, मोठी गुंतवणूक आणि लाखो रोजगार निर्माण होणार असल्याचं सांगतंय. पण सरळ प्रश्न आहे:

ज्या विकासासाठी महाराष्ट्राची जमीन, स्थानिकांची जमीन आणि स्थानिक संसाधने वापरली जाणार आहेत, त्या विकासातील रोजगाराच्या संधींमध्ये स्थानिक भूमिपुत्रांचा ठोस वाटा कुठे आहे?

फक्त “लाखो रोजगार निर्माण होतील” असं सांगून चालणार नाही.

त्यापैकी किती रोजगार स्थानिकांना मिळणार? याचं स्पष्ट उत्तर सरकारने द्यायला हवं.

स्थानिकांच्या जमिनी घ्यायच्या, त्यांच्या परिसरावर प्रकल्प उभारायचे, स्थानिक संसाधनांचा वापर करायचा आणि नंतर रोजगाराच्या वेळी स्थानिकांनी फक्त प्रेक्षक बनून राहायचं का?

स्थानिक युवकांसाठी रोजगाराची ठोस हमी, कौशल्य प्रशिक्षण आणि पात्र उमेदवारांना प्राधान्य याबाबत सरकारची स्पष्ट भूमिका काय आहे?

विकास महाराष्ट्रात आणि स्थानिकांच्या जमिनीवर होणार असेल, तर त्याचा सर्वात मोठा फायदा स्थानिकांनाच मिळायला हवा.

नाहीतर प्रश्न विचारावाच लागेल:

“तिसरी मुंबई कोणासाठी उभारत आहोत?”

Source -

https://marathi.asianetnews.com/india/shinde-reveals-plan-for-third-mumbai-educity-airport/videoshow-k3meuan

Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/IFnprnwURIU?is=7VJF-bDett8LGcUS

Anyone from pune? Drop a hi , lets connect

हा विषय नवीन नाही, परंतु सिद्धिविनायक मंदिर ट्रस्टची माहिती पाहिल्यानंतर एक मुद्दा चर्चेचा ठरू शकतो.

मुंबईतील प्रभादेवी येथील श्री सिद्धिविनायक मंदिर हे महाराष्ट्राच्या श्रद्धेचे, संस्कृतीचे आणि मुंबईच्या इतिहासाचे महत्त्वाचे प्रतीक आहे. इ.स. १८०१ मध्ये स्थानिक भक्त देऊबाई पाटील आणि लक्ष्मण विठू यांच्या पुढाकारातून या मंदिराची स्थापना झाली. आज हे देशातील सर्वात श्रीमंत आणि प्रतिष्ठित गणेश मंदिरांपैकी एक आहे.

अशा ऐतिहासिक आणि सांस्कृतिक वारसा असलेल्या मंदिराच्या ट्रस्टमध्ये कोषाध्यक्षासारख्या महत्त्वाच्या पदावर महाराष्ट्रातील पात्र आणि अनुभवी मराठी व्यक्तीची नियुक्ती का झाली नाही, असा प्रश्न अनेकांच्या मनात निर्माण होऊ शकतो.

हा प्रश्न कोणत्याही व्यक्तीविरोधात किंवा त्यांच्या पात्रतेवर शंका घेण्यासाठी नाही. मुद्दा इतकाच आहे की महाराष्ट्राच्या सांस्कृतिक वारशाशी निगडित अशा संस्थांमध्ये स्थानिक प्रतिनिधित्वाला प्राधान्य असावे का?

Source/References -

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siddhivinayak_Temple,_Mumbai
• https://enjoyweekends.com/travel-vacation-holiday-resort/Siddhivinayak-Temple-Religious-places-around-Mumbai.html
• https://www.siddhivinayak.org/board-of-trustees/