Rawoot Saadiya Ajaz Rukhsana

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“The people of Mumbai are considered to be a chirpy, tireless lot who are streamlined for a fast-paced life in the city” quoted a website. But have we zoomed in enough to find out? For a city which attained its fame as Urbs Prima in Indis due to the railways, a natural port, textile mills and an engineering industry, its gradual downfall is best seen through the super dense, crush load, in its railways, where 16 people jostle for a square metre of space in a local train every day! An exponential rise in the real-estate development in Mumbai’s extended suburbs has led to the citizens, commuting for hours to work and not in the most favorable circumstances. The near marginalization of the middle and working classes, long distance commutes in near sub-human conditions, rising stress levels and lopsided development where the infrastructure fails to match a rising population have led to the region becoming a simmering pot, threatening to blow up at the slightest provocation. Amidst the exasperation, all that a Mumbaikar needs is to pause and breathe. But he does not even have the setting to do so. The amount of open space provided in Mumbai is the lowest in any major metropolis around the world. Whereas the ideal ratio is 4 acres per thousand persons, a study conducted in 1970 showed that the actual ratio in Mumbai was a mere 0.03 acres (currently 0.013 acres) which is 270 times lesser than the norm. Despite such a glaring shortage, the government has taken away more than 150 acres of open space for redevelopment purposes and Mumbaikars couldn’t care less. It is almost as if the citizens don’t need nor realize the value of open spaces in an urban context and in their every day. With the constant struggle to keep their heads above the tide, they seem to have forgotten that they continue to survive in appalling conditions in the city. However, owing to Mumbai’s history of metamorphosis, can this scenario change?