Mumbai Infra

Monsoon season in Mumbai has reached its halfway mark , considering the time period . Still almost 2 months are there for rains to go, but conditions of the roads are so bad that people are fed up with Municipal Corporation and other agencies who are appointed for upkeep of the roads. When you open the news paper in the morning, it is definite that you will see few photos of roads full with  pot holes. Monsoon in the Mumbai is annual affair and it is not a newly created item. Every year before monsoon we hear promises from the BMC and State Govt that during this year there will not be any problem as roads are repaired properly and after first spell of rain tell you how wrong were their promises. I think we should have the separate Wing for Road up keeps and it should be headed by IAS officer and who should be answerable to only CM and not to Commissioner of BMC, as it has been proven time and again over the years that BMC is the corrupt body and citizens has to suffer this fate every year.

Few more thoughts on Mumbai infra situation:

1. The citizen of Mumbai contribute to almost 25% of the total taxes collected by Central and state govt, the city deserves better deals from both Centre and state.
2. Mumbai got first Metro line 3 years back, where as Kolkata got first Metro about 32 years back and Delhi got first one about 20 years back. Smaller cities than Mumbai like Bangalore and Kochi has already got Metro rail, which is having more Kilometer length than Mumbai.
3. Maharashtra State Govt and BMC never pushed Metro for the city force fully, and they went on widening the roads, In the end they reached at the stage where roads could not be widened further.
4. Now few months back they have started the work on 3 Metro lines simultaneously in the city, by which the roads on which the the Metro work is going on have become narrow, and along with monsoon/roads with pot holes are adding woes of commuters. As the up keep of the roads, construction of Metro and controlling the traffic fall under 3 different agencies , which do not co ordinate properly with each other, so eventually the citizen has to suffer.
5. Mumbai being a coastal town, till date no body has given proper thought on water transport. Now funnily govt has sanctioned to construct a road along the coastal line of Mumbai, on the similar basis of Worli Sea Link road . I do not  understand why there is special treatment to motorist, why there is lack of thought on rapid sea transport system. They are even thinking of constructing bridge over the sea from city to Nhava Shiva port. I think our local/state elected representative can understand only civil construction work, because their all development projects are related to roads and bridges. There must be some thing hidden motive in all these, and my guess is that it might be is easier to get  kick backs from Indian civil contractors than any other Multi National Technology based projects contractors.
6. The city’s drainage system is almost 50 years old and it has not been expanded. If it rains more than 25 mm in an hour, then roads get flooded, and then BMC raises their hands to show their inability to do some thing.
7. Every year we depend upon rain gods during monsoon, so that lakes which are supplying water to city get full by the end of monsoon season, otherwise citizens have to face the water cut. Mumbai is coastal town, but no body has given thought of  developing  desalination plant (RO System) for the city. Chennai city got one such plant for part of the city’s water supply. Full Middle East has desalination plants installed for the water supply. Why not in Mumbai?
8. One more  thing , all the motorists,( whether 2/3 or 4 wheeler) pay Road Tax. When this Road Tax was introduced, it was informed by govt that this tax is levied because when we ply our vehicle on the road it causes wear and tear, and also we park our vehicles on govt roads, hence this tax is being introduced. Now we have to pay heavy parking charges and about the condition of roads, what to say, pot holes on the road is answer. There are many cities in the world which get more rain falls then Mumbai, how they maintain their roads which are pot hole free.Every year our Corporators/MLAs  go on study trip abroad for learning some thing new or it is just for show  and actually  it is pleasure trip.

There is a saying, if there is a will there is a way, but in the case of  our elected representatives there is no will to find a way. There only will is to find out ways how to give raise in salary/perks to themselves. So we have to continue to live like this or citizens of Mumbai please wake up and demand what our city needs and deserves.

What you say my friends.

Awaiting your feed backs and comments, also please suggest some topics which you want me to cover in my blog.