Mumbai Woes --------- episode 2: attack of the problems

We know that Mumbai has many pressing problems at hand. So it is important to concentrate on these problems and find a solution to the woes of Mumbai.

Traveling in Mumbai is like going through hell. You have the trains which are always crowded no matter at what time you board it. You have the irregular BEST buses (they are actually really good). Roads are full of potholes or they are dug up for some work by some governmental organizations like MTNL, gas companies, sewage authorities, etc. this is even more problematic during the monsoons. To top it all there are around 60 flyovers all over Mumbai. They actually compound the already congested traffic instead of reducing it.

Sewage system of Mumbai is 150 years old for the part below Mahim. So you can imagine the conditions of those pipelines today. There is no effective system in place for the remaining areas. As a result the garbage flows into the sea. Naturally this has a detrimental effect on the environment.

Basic amenities in Mumbai are always in short supply. In many areas, water shortage is an evergreen problem. Electricity is normally available but when it goes off, it goes away for quite a few hours. Housing is costly and difficult to obtain. So the standard of living in Mumbai is quite high. As a result we have slums like Dharavi.

Hospitals are also few and are generally costly. The ratio of number of doctors to patients is also quite high. And very few hospitals maintain the cleanliness. Latest technologies are hardly available anywhere except for a select few.

The pollution in Mumbai is always on the rise. We have many new cars added to the road everyday. The old cars and trucks are also there contributing to the pollution. And of course since Mumbai is an industrial city we have pollution from factories as well. But the worst part is that there are very few green spaces in Mumbai and even they are being reduced by the greedy fourth estate. Everyone must have heard about the mangroves being cut away at Versova.

If that is not enough, the crime rate in Mumbai is reaching new heights all the time. We have bomb-blasts, murders, ransoms, extortions, etc. combined with the corruption everywhere around us. The court proceedings go at a slow rate and criminals go scot-free.
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Education, they say, can remove lots of problems. But it can help only when the majority of the public gets quality education at affordable rates. When this doesn’t happen, it has direct effect on crime and corruption.

You might feel that I am criticizing the city I love most. But that’s not true. I am only highlighting the problems. In the next episode, I suggest a few solutions.