Fewer Autos, Taxis On Roads Today

• Commuting Woes. There will be fewer autorickshaws and taxis plying the roads today as the transport union has planned a morcha at Azad Maidan at 3pm, to protest against the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act, which stipulates that illegal strikers will be penalised. Auto, taxi, bus and railway unions are likely to participate in the rally. “The act is an infringement of our fundamental right to protest,” said transport union leader Sharad Rao. [The Times of India]

• Unsold Flats. Liases Foras, a Mumbai-based non-brokerage real estate research firm has stated in a report that there are 35,000 unsold flats in the city. According to the report, the total number of unsold apartments in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, made up of Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Raigad, is 1.13lakh. “Sales are not happening as the current rates are simply unaffordable,” said the company’s CEO, Pankaj Kapoor. [Hindustan Times]

• Wife Beating. According to Unicef’s “Global Report Card on Adolescents 2012”, 57 per cent of adolescent boys and 53 per cent of adolescent girls in India think that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife. “Available data for developing countries show that nearly 50 per cent of girls and women aged between 15 and 49 believe that wife-beating is justified,” the report said. [The Times of India]