A city of dreams,economic hub,home to around 14 milion people,cosmopolitan!In a split second you could garner hundred answers.As precisely stated by one of my favourite legendary writer and artist Lt.Pu.La.Deshpande,"Mumbaikaraancha nasheeb he ghadyalyachya katyala bandhalele aste."
However as a matter of fact Mumbai is also a city where resilience has become a habbit,people are impervious to politicians who act like flibbertigibbets,a city which has Asia's largest slum!
Since I consider the last one as the greatest hindrance in city's progress I would like to elaborate on the same. There are certain facts that baffled me.
1]Almost 54% of Mumbaikars live in slums.
2] Another 25% to 30% live in chawls and on footpaths.
3] It is estimated that 100-300 new families come to city everyday and subsequently land up in a slum colony or erect a shack wherever possible.
4] According to World Bank's estimate of the city reaching 2.25 crore mark by 2025 ,would be the time when there would be slums practically everywhere.
The expanse is widening day by day,characterized by filth, diseases, poverty and crime too. One of the recent TOI articles stated that it takes two years on the whole for the postmen to get accustomed to the lanes, routes and houses in Dharavi slums. Moreover even the Intelligence agencies have no option but to take their help in tracking down the criminals.It is no less than a deja vu reckoning that everything looks just the same.
Another major drawback is city's extremely poor urban planning.It is one of the reasons for the horrendous catastrophe of 26th July,2005.
So I was wondering, for a city which has allowed us to exercise our freedom to a great extent, what is it that we can do?It all boils down to power,electing an Amol Arte from Paa would probably help but my question is, "Does he exist"? For all those who promised to make Mumbai as beautiful as Shanghai,we can only retort by saying,"tumhala Shanghaila jatay kai?"
