Beautification work is welcome, but we must maintain it

This image has been used for representation purpose. Pic/Satej Shinde

State Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had a plan to make the city's footpaths aesthetically appealing, a report stated in this paper.

Yet, the entire beautification will have to wait for a while. Currently, there is stress on replacing paver blocks with cement while the back of the bus stops have to be transparent and existing benches replaced by more aesthetic seating arrangements.

The plan was to make footpaths more uniform, which means making signage of equal sizes in some parts, yet there have been some obstacles. There was also a demarcation between heritage and non-heritage precincts and footpaths to be beautified accordingly.

The plan must move ahead as beautifying existing infra will result in a facelift for Mumbai. We must, however, first concentrate on the quality of material used for footpaths and the workmanship must be of the highest calibre.

If we do slipshod work or use material that falls apart in a few months in the process of beautification, all the money, effort and time goes down the drain.

This is a familiar tale of woe for the city, where projects need to take off first with broad vision. Then, we must have a timeline and stick with it as not doing so; means inflating the budget many times over. The work itself should be top-notch so as to last for years. Finally, comes aesthetics.

These may sound trivial but it is necessary. Good-looking, well-maintained parts of the city, including its footpaths, are a mood booster and inculcate a sense of pride in citizens. Good footpaths also contribute to orderly walking, less use of roads, and consequently, less traffic accidents.

People must cooperate in the beautification and also respect the effort and money to ensure they do not damage infra in any way. More power to these beautification plans, but let us get our fundamentals spot on, first.