Uniting for an overarching cause is important

It is interesting to see how these manifestos have actually unified residents

Citizens’ groups in different areas are coming together, formulating manifestos or charters of demands and handing them over to political representatives.

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Many of these manifestos feature concerns about  the condition of roads, encroachment and preserving green spaces, among other things. Most citizens are concerned about basic necessities and their quality of life.

It is interesting to see how these manifestos have actually unified residents. The political parties or candidates they support may be different but the causes for concern are universal. We have seen groups come together, debate on issues and work together to get this movement going.

It is a lesson on how while debate and dissent are important, so is coming together for an overarching cause. We are reminded time and again that these elections are national, but it cannot escape candidates that for Mumbaikars there is a commonality of concerns, like facilities, commuting, small infra projects, repairs and communication or lack of, because elected representatives are either inaccessible or missing.

These matters cannot be brushed under the carpet or dismissed as issues to be taken up when the municipal elections come around. They need to be tackled, as they too are part of the larger picture of citizens’ demands.

It should also teach the people that aims can be clearly defined and goals hopefully reached when there is unity. Today, there is much division and fighting within citizen units themselves, be they ALMs or even mammoth housing societies. The latter especially have become burning battlegrounds. When fissures appear within the people themselves, self-serving leaders capitalise on this division. Let our manifestos and charters teach us that healthy exchanges are needed but one voice speaks loudly, for changing our city and seeking a response to problems on the ground.

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