Mayor of Mumbai still lives in Bombay

Shubha Raul has done it again. The city mayor, who has been embroiled in one controversy after another, has now been found to write ‘Bombay’ instead of ‘Mumbai’ in an official letter.

In a recent letter to municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak, about closing down hookah bars, Raul refers to the city as Bombay. This, even as the party she belongs to —- the Shiv Sena — is trying to rid the city of the last few vestiges of ‘Bombay’ (including Bombay Scottish School and the Bombay School of Art) by painting over signboards and demanding everything be called ‘Mumbai’ now.

Surely Raul, as a corporator of the party and First Citizen of this metropolis, should know the city’s name changed years ago, and was sealed with a Central government notification about the same. In the letter to Phatak — another chapter in her ongoing crusade against tobacco consumption — Raul seeks permission for the BMC to allow children from its municipal schools to participate in this campaign. Raul is currently working with NGOs to try and shut down hookah bars across the city. She goes on to also place a request for the students to take part in the Marathon as well, to spread awareness about the ill-effects of smoking. Though her cause is noble, referring to the city as Bombay may not go down too well with many Mumbaikars. Especially in her party.

m_pandurang@dnaindia.net