Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Dealing with nature’s challenges' that was published in Newsband

Dealing with nature’s challenges

In Mumbai, this year, the season has begun with the spectacular collapse of a pedestrian bridge on a crucial railway line in Andheri, causing injuries and overall urban paralysis. This reminds one of the ghastly stampede on a foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station, that took over 20 lives. This is the proof of the indifference among policymakers to the city’s needs.

The city continues to attract a large number of people looking for opportunity — the population has risen considerably. But the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have not invested enough in new infrastructure and have done a shoddy job of maintaining the old. Mumbai’s infrastructure planning should be in the hands of an empowered custodian who can secure the cooperation of all urban agencies.

There is a need to relieve Mumbai of its flooding woes. The city’s Mithi River is always blocked by debris and garbage. There is need for measures to stop the release of sewage and industrial chemicals into the Mithi.

A joint safety audit with the IIT will be conducted on public infrastructure, in the wake of the bridge collapse. This is a welcome move. But such inspections must be regularly carried out and quick remedial steps taken.

Another thing is the roads in the city should be paid attention to. Who are roads built for — the people or for cars? The street is a part of our culture. It is central to social relations. It is the automobiles that are the intruders. We meet and greet people on the streets; they are places where street trade happens, important for the livelihood of our people. The street is much more than a place for running automobiles or for mobility alone. The street becomes a place for socialising. The socialising and what one would call ‘whiling away time’ is easy on streets, and actually helps us connect with people around and slows down the rushed pace of life.

In most Indian cities though, what have we done with our streets? They are either littered with garbage or crammed with parked or discarded vehicles. The central parts of the streets are reserved for only running vehicles.

The best cities in the world are the ones where one can walk limitlessly; only the body tells one that one is tired, one is not mentally tired. Those cities are alive that welcome visitors and migrants. The first welcoming experience is on the streets of a city.

A city for automobiles is one of flyovers, a dead infrastructure that creates negativity with crime-inviting and garbage-inviting spaces below. Once you climb over it, you are cut off from the city, her culture, her people. Our streets are expressions of our culture. Let us reclaim them for the year

Next is urban development. The team of the consulting firm comprising urban planners and other experts should keep sharing their ideas on developing various zones with focus on the key junctions in the city and identifying heritage sites and backwater tourism.

The demographic study, availability of urban space for various infrastructure facilities, management of water resources, the potential for tourism along the coastal belt were a few areas should be studied by the experts. There is a need to conduct a consultative meeting with all stakeholders to gather their views on the needs of the city in future. The views of local women and communities should also be taken and included in the master plan.