Suburbs surely need a new deal

It came as a rude shock to many when DNA Navi Mumbai carried a news item on how the oldest lake (at sector 6 in Vashi) of this planned city was dried up only to reveal the stinking underbelly and the setting of the rot. The lake is right in the middle of Vashi’s most posh neighbourhood. Navi Mumbai was planned in 1972 as a twin city to decongest Mumbai, then Bombay.

The idea was to make the adjoining city so enticing in every respect that the burgeoning middle class population in Mumbai found a vent to shift base. This in turn would avert Mumbai bursting at the seams. The situation in the metropolitan region around Mumbai — including Navi Mumbai and Thane — has become such that many are giving a second thought to settling down in these upcoming places. Water, power, pollution — the trinity has been given an apathetic shove by our rulers, little realising that the very purpose of creating an alternative to Mumbai city stands defeated. Consider an irony in Dombivli, for instance. It has over 90% literacy and is one of the most polluted suburbs with effusions from chemical factories reaching the limit.

Now this disparate feature is as much a manifestation of the phlegmatic attitude of the authorities as it is a pointer to the callous attitude of the residents. When callous forces of such extremes co-exist, existence becomes difficult. Checks and balances are as much an individual responsibility as it is an onus of the law. Mumbai’s suburbs need better attention. Look what’s happening to the city. Even a walk to Chandanwadi cremation ground in Marine Lines has become a nightmare during peak hours.

That means one has to choose a time to die if you are concerned about friends and relatives attending the funeral!
In the suburbs, it is a different story. Many have to make peace with poor power supply, water cuts besides nerve-wracking traffic snarls, not to mention an unpropitious rain god for the last two years and the demi-gods’ carelessness in wasted gallons of water from burst pipes like it happened in Mulund this Thursday. I do not blame the authorities if they say that developmental activities have been wrecked by problems accentuated by an ever-growing population. If Mumbai needs to plan its development, the crowd must be lured to shift to the adjoining suburbs. And that will happen only if adequate facilities and attention is given to the suburbs. The recent past has unfortunately seen living conditions deteriorate in the suburbs, generating a Mumbai-is-better feel. If this feeling snowballs and the suburbs no longer remain a viable option, Mumbai may soon implode and the results may be catastrophic. I’m not for a moment exonerating residents for washing their hands off responsibility, but the authorities must take the lead in ensuring hassle-free amenities, lest the human tide turns to drive its way back into the city again. Due to civic lethargy, the international city called Mumbai ends with the sea link at Bandra.