Dussehra special: The 10 evils that Mumbai wants banished

Business mission
That's admission. Show the red light to those selling seats for a price and demanding donations. Crack down on the education touts, and let talent be the only winner.

Illustration: Uday Mohite

Stifle season
The avenues to express are multiplying, but we aren't allowed to say what we feel. Irony? Dissent, debate and logic are the pillars of a democracy.

Divide ‘n' rue
Spinach-holier-than-eggs is an argument, unfortunately, rife in several housing societies that unofficially denounce non-vegetarianism. Intolerance to another's culture only fragments us. Life is so much sweeter when the Lavani meets Navratri.

Open wars
Our population is set to hit 14 million by 2034. The current per capita open space is barely 1.24 sq mtrs. In a city starved for leg room, the government, civic authorities and builders squeezing us of open spaces is akin to choking. May there be more groups like Save Aarey, that through resolve, force even governments to rethink adhoc development.

Cyber Cons
The crime scene has a new theatre - the Internet. According to police data, while we saw 149 cyber crime cases in 2013, the number jumped to 527 last year. ATM cards can be skimmed, conmen can proposition you online, and agencies will promise you a bumper lottery prize in exchange for a fund transfer. The net is vast, and you mustn't get caught.

Road Rage
A city that spends 21 hours commuting (locals shut down for barely three hours each night), needs to keep its cool on the road. Data surrounding road rage isn't available with the police, but drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic one evening and you know, Mumbai is angry when on the move. Give way to ambulances, stop at red lights, and don't pick a fight if someone ‘cuts' you.

Goon-daism
Scandals, this city likes. Vandals, we don't. We won't support the ink-hurlers and flag bearers who gatecrash meetings to threaten sportsmen and performers. It is time we shame them on social media, bring them to book via the law, and refuse to allow thugs to hold our peace to ransom.

Unsafe chafe
Teenager molested during Ganpati visarjan; 22-year-old photojournalist gang-raped on the job; Praja Foundation says in 2014, 45 per cent rise in crimes against women. Damn! Mumbai needs to mend its tattered reputation.

Instant gratification
4G speeds and instant messaging have ruined the charm of the wait, and belittled rewards of patience. Millennial kids raised on quick results and rewards, need to be told not to hurry up and wait.

Bolly lolly
Some say, it exists; others deny it. The casting couch never finds a consensus. But sex in lieu of work has no place even in an ‘open' job market. Find someone pressurising you to make a compromise? Play whistleblower.