Recent boycott by Western Railway passengers is a futile exercise. Mumbai is attracting jobless from all over the country for the last 100 years. First, it was the textile mills, and now it is the banking and commercial enterprises. Navi Mumbai was conceived to de-congest Mumbai by the visionary of Maharashtra, Y.B.Chavan. This was not allowed to happen by the politicians and the builders. They made it dormitory town.They created Nariman Point commercial centre which created more jobs in the fort area straining the infrastructure of the city – railway/bus travel by people from all over the suburbs. Now they are creating another Nariman Point on the Mill lands.
De-congestion is the only way we could solve many of the problems of Mumbai. All business enterprises should be given incentives to move away from the Central Business District. A third Mumbai on the mainland with a banking sector, a software sector, a garment sector, a diamond and jewelery sector, a film city etc would de-congest Mumbai and make both, Mumbai and the Third Mumbai, livable cities. Metros and flyovers or more trains would not solve the daily commuting by millions of people north to south in the morning and in the reverse direction in the evening. People will spend more time in traveling than working. People will be more tired by commuting than working.
As far as possible people have to work and stay within a short distance. Only this will ensure better health, and may be happiness to all. But then, we do not have visionaries like Y.B.Chavan. It has been well-said that where there is no vision, people perish, not only during floods, but everyday under the wheels a bus or a train. Of course, the politicians, the bureaucrats and the business tycoons have nothing to worry as they stay in their bungalows in Malabar Hill and Marine Drive. (December,12,2007).
