'We need a Tukaram Mundhe for Mumbai's air quality': Meghna Pant on AQI

In an interview on 5 Live, author and Mumbaikar Meghna Pant expressed outrage over Mumbai's deteriorating air quality, which saw the city's AQI surpass Delhi's and touch severe levels. Highlighting the plight of citizens struggling with smog, illness, and civic neglect despite paying hefty taxes, she demanded accountability from municipal authorities. Meghna Pant urged citizens to reject passive endurance, stating, "We have to replace this, you know, this phrase of the Mumbai spirit, which basically means tolerate whatever's being given out to you. We have to replace it with Mumbaikars' anger now." Calling for decisive administrative intervention similar to previous food hygiene crackdowns, she added, "We need a Tukaram Mundhe for Mumbai's air quality." Pant recommended strict dust suppression, mechanized road sweeping, transparent ward-wise pollution tracking, and penalties for violators.