With polls round the corner, the disconnect between raja and praja is stark. While politicians talk bird parks, golf courses, world-class projects, Mumbaikars want good roads, clean air, and safe commutes
This badly maintained road near the Santacruz Metro station is a prime example of how little the administration cares about citizens. PIC/Shadab Khan
As Mumbai heads towards the civic elections, the city is being flooded with big promises and shiny plans. But, what people truly want is a political party with a manifesto that has a clear commitment to end flooding, fix potholes, improve footpaths and air quality, and make the city liveable.
Politicians are talking about bird parks, golf courses, new tunnels, and bridges and sparkling world-class projects. Yet, as metro cities rush towards earning the tag of “Smart City”, Mumbai and other urban centres still struggle with the most basic problems that have gone unresolved for decades.
Primarily, people living in Mumbai, Thane, Mira-Bhayander, and Vasai-Virar are tired of the daily struggles of navigating each day. Clean and safe streets and proper civic amenities are supposed to be fundamental rights, and every party lists them in their manifesto.
But, once in power, almost everything on the list is forgotten. At least in this election, will any party stand up for the taxpaying Mumbaikar who continues to struggle even for basic civic amenities?
Now is the time for elected representatives to put people before projects and commit to fixing long-pending problems like reclaiming footpaths, enforcing traffic rules and making streets safe for pedestrians.
Across Mumbai, neglect is impossible to miss. Major roads like S V Road, Linking Road (right from Bandra to Dahisar), service lanes along both eastern and western expressways are clogged not just with traffic but with layers of encroachment. Hawkers, illegal garages, eateries, marriage lawns, parking occupied by used car dealers and service centres have taken over public spaces.
Footpaths have all but vanished, forcing pedestrians onto dangerously busy roads where fast-moving vehicles ply. Borivli offers a stark example. A road meant for BEST buses has been so overtaken by hawkers that public transport buses have been forced to change their route permanently, despite the road running right next to a police station and a court.
Public spaces meant for citizens have quietly been treated like private property. No parking or reserved boards appear on BMC land put by shop owners and hoteliers with complete impunity.
The depth of the crisis becomes clear through two telling moments reported by the media. First, even those running the city admit they cannot navigate it safely. A former municipal commissioner (now retired) once revealed that he cannot take his own elderly parents for a simple walk. If the city’s top officials cannot walk its streets or pavements without worry, what hope is there for an ordinary Mumbaikar, especially for women, senior citizens, and children?
Second, the Bombay High Court itself sounded the alarm. While hearing one of the petitions, the judge observed that the spread of illegal hawking is like a “menace” overtaking the city.
The encroachment of public spaces is eroding pedestrian safety and choking the city’s basic functioning. All this happens despite clear rules by the court banning hawking within 100 metres of schools, temples, hospitals and within 150 metres of railway stations.
The numbers speak louder than any speech. It is said that officially, Mumbai has around 32,000 licensed hawkers, but hawker unions estimate the real number exceeds three lakh. In 2023-2024, the BMC took action against 3.37 lakh hawkers and collected R5.14 crore in fines. But most of them returned to the same spots within days. The message is clear: fines alone do not work.
What is needed is consistent enforcement, stronger penalties and stricter measures including jail for repeat offenders or else the cycle will never end.
The cost of this neglect is not merely inconvenience; it is deadly. With footpaths disappearing and roads turning into obstacle courses, pedestrians are forced into the path of speeding vehicles. An RTI inquiry by mid-day revealed the grim human toll. Between 2013 and 2012, 4514 people died in road accidents in Mumbai and over half were pedestrians.
The stats clearly indicate that lives are lost because the city refuses to guarantee safe places to walk and policemen failing to maintain law and order.
Even the BJP’s outreach campaign “Awaaz Mumbaikarancha, Sankalp BJP cha” (public outreach programme conducted in Mumbai to understand people’s views and expectations from the city) reflects public frustration.
With 2.65 lakh responses, the survey found that 53 per cent of Mumbaikars are unhappy with basic civic services. Their demands are straightforward: fix potholes, clear garbage, clean drains, and prevent flooding during the monsoon. These are not luxuries, but the bare minimum.
The people have spoken. Now the administration, police and political leadership must respond with action, not words.
If citizens really want ‘Achhe Din’, voters, whether living in slums, middle class societies or high-rise towers, must stand united in their demand, no new promises until old ones (to fix basic problems) are fulfilled.
Reclaim public spaces, enforce traffic laws. Make streets and footpaths safe. Only then does Mumbai truly aspire to be a “smart city”.
If state leadership once again fails to show the political will and basic sense to solve these long-pending issues, Mumbaikars will be left with no choice but to continue living with reluctant acceptance, humming that old Bollywood song “Yeh dil mushkil jeena yahan, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan”.
Sanjeev Shivadekar is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @SanjeevShivadek
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The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper.
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