,
Dear Mr. Modi,
Mumbai is bleeding, it is
bursting at its seams and is a ticking time-bomb that only you can stop from an
otherwise inevitable detonation. Our wonderful city that contributes to 33
percent of India’s tax, 60 percent of India’s customs duty and 20 percent of
India’s foreign trade is in a state of wreckage. In spite of doing so much for
the nation for years on end, Mumbai only got its metro 30 years after Kolkata got
hers.
There are more than a
hundred reasons as to why Mumbai needs a drastic overhaul. For instance, the
vehicular traffic according to the 2009 Mumbai Development report was to touch
1.87 million by 2010. We do not have roads wide enough or strong enough to
handle that. In the financial capital of the country 55 percent of its
population lives in slums. And we still have more and more people pouring in
everyday from every corner of India. Mumbai is still currently running on the Storm
Water drainage system put in place by the British more than 100 years ago. Now
that is just ridiculous! Don't you think? Travel by the local trains during one
heavy shower Mr. PM, you will then know what a living a nightmare looks like.
Noise levels all over Mumbai exceed prescribed standards of the Central
Pollution Control Board. And if you want to talk about air pollution levels,
things are so critical that breathing the city’s air for a day is equivalent to
smoking a packet of cigarettes.
At Rs 1.03 lakh,
Maharashtra has the second highest per capita income as compared to other major
states in the country, according to the latest Economic Survey. However, on the
Human Development Index (HDI), it ranks way below states like Kerala and Punjab
that have a much lower per capita income. Why so Mr. Modi?
Mumbai is still however made
out to be a city of dreams, but where is the quality of life? The Mumbaikar has
to survive in spite of a serious lack of infrastructure, horrible and dangerous
roads, overcrowded public transport, water problems, obscene rent rates,
pollution and filth to name a few issues. In spite of these problems more than
1000 people migrate to Mumbai everyday in the hope of finding work to provide
for their entire families back home, wherever that may be. Mumbai cannot handle
its current population; imagine what will happen with the increasing migrating
traffic!
There are about 75 lakh
people who travel by the suburban railway system everyday; and around 360
thousand people per hour during the peak period, while the capacity of the
services is close to about 160 thousand per hour only, that’s close to three
times the capacity. Imagine the stress levels this city has to deal with every
single day! And still we’re expected to make do, survive, and travel to and fro
from work preparing for a battle with our lunch dabbas and laptops before
boarding a Churchgate/CST local. Yes, traveling by local train is the same, if
not worse, than a battlefield.
To make things worse, our
city is also sinking! Yes, Mumbai is sinking and according to Marine Biologist, Vishnu Kanhere, there has been a
30 cm rise in sea level over the past three years. And no, we cannot blame Global
Warming for such a rapid rise. Kanhere also says, “In Mumbai, the seashores
have been reclaimed. Mumbai itself is a reclaimed area comprising seven
islands. If the high tide level continues to rise at this rate it is time to
seriously think of how to save Mumbai. Even the seashore has eroded and there
are few beaches remaining.”
Mr. Modi, we have
survived bomb blasts, flooding every monsoon, the everyday Virar local and many
other things in this beautifully abused city. But it is not ok anymore, we
cannot adjust, we cannot make do, we NEED a change. And we need it ASAP. Millions
of Mumbaikars, me included, are eagerly waiting, not for a reply, but for some
ACTION on these critical problems.
Resources:
- 2009 Mumbai Development report
- http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-city-s-sinking-feel-experts-1172357
- http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/per-capita-income-state-second-only-to-haryana/#sthash.jHXy48aQ.dpuf
- http://www.moneylife.in/article/creating-stressful-life-for-all-in-mumbai/27126.html
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Dear Mr. Modi,
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