City sherpas may have tried to mask the real face of Mumbai when the G20 delegates came calling, but the citizens know it was a whitewash paid for by the taxpayers’ money
White sheets set up on the sides of Western Express Highway ahead of the G20 Summit. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
The more you hide the more it shows. It’s a story behind the curtains that were pulled over the sidelines of the roads that led to G20 Summit venues in the city. The purpose of white sheets spread over many kilometres was to mask the real face of Mumbai—the one we know of. The city administration didn’t want the G20 delegates to see it. The bumpy roads were put in order, potholes filled, the side walls painted wherever they were slatelike. Dwarf, dirty and dilapidated had no standing as the swanky, glass facade and fully air-conditioned towers showcased Mumbai’s other face. It happened as if the learned delegates visiting the city didn’t know about its slums, urban poverty and substandard living conditions. Alas, the city sherpas couldn’t mask the feeling the citizens had while watching the whitewash job that was done with their tax money.
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Do cities like Mumbai need to be portrayed as they aren’t really? Why can’t we present them as what they are? To cover up our failure to upgrade them and accommodate increasing urbanisation with a good investment and vision? Coincidentally, yet another Mumbai makeover plan took off these days.
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I’m not sure which edition of Mumbai makeover this is, because whoever comes to power promises the city ‘heaven on earth’. Concept varies as the captains come and go, and the city remains hellish. Lofty promises rain as the elections sound their arrival. In his sixth month, new CM Eknath Shinde has kept up with the political tradition, launching the next phase of Mumbai makeover under a tagline: The initiative of CM Eknath Shinde. He has begun with the projects that are more for optics ahead of the BMC polls. The projects of public benefit are still lagging behind while others have not been conceptualised yet or there are delays in implementation. Suburban railway network is under stress. A snag results in inconvenience for railway commuters and crowded stations. The Mumbai script hasn’t changed a bit. The city bus transport service had ceased to be the BEST long ago.
Dharavi makeover is on the cards with the bidder selection. The bid has run into litigation and political allegations. Pushed by an amended housing law, the dilapidated and cessed buildings are supposed to be rebuilt expeditiously. The Metro network has been put on fast track, but issues related to car depots are still not cleared. The underground corridor is struggling to meet the new deadline. Roads remain miserable around the year, unless a G20-like event happens to have them resurfaced.
Problems are painful and plaints are plenty, but political parties don’t discuss them much. Their agenda is entirely different—more often party-specific and not in public good. Be it Marathis, Gujaratis, North Indians or South Indians, the people across regional and religious lines suffer alike because of political agendas that sideline the real civic problems. Mumbai is exploding with its own issues that are somewhat different from the rest of the state, but share some similarities with others in Maharashtra and the country. The cities and towns elsewhere in Maharashtra are bound to find themselves in the same pit the state capital has been placed for years. The Thane precinct and MMR cities are moving in the same direction. Pune and Nagpur are following the suit. It is time the government and opposition acted promptly before it’s too late to clean up the mess.
But be very sure that not much of the issues discussed here will get a prominence in the poll campaign talk that has been taking shape. The MVA has geared up to take on the ruling BJP and Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena. The much delayed civic elections of Mumbai and many other civic corporations, city councils and districts have been delayed because of court cases. As the court verdict is awaited, the parties have moved fast into the election mode. The MVA’s morcha in Mumbai has kicked off the opposition’s campaign. The assurance of togetherness has come from the former ruling parties but the BJP-Shinde Sena combine foresees a strong possibility of a fractured opposition unity and hopes to gain from it.
Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore
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