Zara hatke, zara bachke, ye hai Mumbai meri jaan

First of all I apologize to my blog followers (all two of them) for deserting you for so long. I get into the habit of writing blogs and then disappear as lethargy creeps in and inertial forces get higher. There have been several posts I have been contemplating but never got to writing. Today, however, is different. Today, I feel at home. I am in Mumbai all over again. Not physically there but the conditions remind me of home.

I woke up in the morning to a roar of thunder. A thunderstorm had been raging all night. I got ready and got breakfast. All of a sudden, water started gushing in through the window sill. I woke up my roommate (Yashwantrao, he of "Yashwantrao gele Americela" fame) and we started moving everything away from the water, wiping water off using towels and keeping a bucket where required.

Yash's mother told me to not go today but I told her that I would be disowned by my citypeople (Mumbaikars) if I stayed back. I prayed to Mumba devi (the goddess after whom Mumbai is named) and started for work. On the way, I passed Suman Nagar (the name I gave to the area that was flooded as Suman Nagar always is) and had to drive VERY slowly to avoid damage to the car. I encountered the same problem near the parking lot at work but drove around it.

So all in all, what problems do we encounter in Mumbai during the monsoon:
1) Stormy weather all the time....................check
2) Flooded roads..................................check
3) Dripping houses................................check

And yet, the Mumbaikar walks on. Hail Mumbai, Hail Mumbaikars and Jai MumbaDevi.

No confidence motion

I raise a motion of no confidence against the Congress Government. I have my reservations about the way it has handled the current crisis, especially its refusal to show any spine. It has refused to pass strong anti terrorism laws (yes we need POTA back - it is not anti minorities, it is anti terrorism) and is using strong language (and language only) against Pakistan to please the common civilians.

Their recent bickering with the Tatas (telling them that it was insufficient security by the Taj that caused this) has shown how responsible they are. How can you expect a hotel to protect itself when the government could not protect it or the rest of the city. How could 10, 20 or a 1000 more CCTVs in the Taj have helped anyone other than the news media covering it. CCTVs can be shot at. For all you know, the terrorists would have taken control of the monitoring room and run amok.

But all of this is not the reason I call the motion of no confidence in the Congress government (both at the state level and at the Center). My grouse is against the statement by AR Antulay and the reaction of the Congress party to it. A dozen terrorists come into the country, carry out the most ghastly terrorist attacks ever and target and kill some our top police officials. At this time, a minister in the Government (without checking out the facts or talking to the Home minister or prime minister) makes a statement in the press questioning if Hindus fundamentalists were behind the murder of Hemant Karkare?

Dear Mr. Antulay, lets check some facts. You seem not to be concerned with them but here is what was reported in the Indian express well before you made your statements.


http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Witness-account-of-Karkare-Kamte-and-Salaskars-death/392181/

According to the constable with them that night, Saluskar, Kamte and Karkare were going to Cama hospita because they heard that a fellow policeman was hurt there. Now, you being a politician would probably have run away form the spot where a fellow politician was injured and, therefore, find it surprising that our brave policemen went in that direction.

You have questioned, Mr. Antulay, who sent Mr. Karkare to Cama hospital and whether he was sent there by the RSS/BJP/any of their organizations. Well, it may be news to you dear sir, but it is your own party which is ruling, both in Maharashtra AND at the center. Who else could have commanded him to go there. Do you think our police officers are stupid, as you want us to believe, to go somewhere based on random phone calls.

At a time when we expect our politicians to bring the nation together, this statement is not just divisive but a betrayal to the nation that has given you so much. The reaction of the Congress party to this treason was not a vehement rebuttal but support ("what is wrong with his statement" - Digvijay Singh and "to err is human" - Manmohan Singh). Why is the Congress doing this? The same old reason........catering to vote bank politics. Trying to seem pro-Muslim. Well, dear Grand Old party of the Indian polity, its time you woke up. Apart from the few fundamentalist Islamic leaders that have sided with you, I am sure that all our Muslim brethren see through this divisive plot.

The time has come for India to uproot the Congress. Rise my countrymen, brothers and sisters; Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, let us show the Congress the door to reform. They have sold our country. Lets kick them out and regain it.

Mumbai congestion charge

I visited Mumbai a couple of months ago and feel it is getting too crowded for its own good. There will be a time, not too far away, when the benefits of living in MUMBAI will be outweighed by the horrific traffic.

Now before all you pounce on me, let me tell you, I love Mumbai and will do so till my last breath (hopefully). However, like every city in the world, it needs to keep evolving and getting better and I do not see that happening. There is too much pollution and traffic in Mumbai. This increases the time to get to work for everyone and thus their total exposure to pollution. Add to this the fact that Mumbai is the biggest market for cars and the booming real estate market (more people = more cars) and we have a catastrophe waiting to happen (without even thinking of the Nano).

Therefore, I propose a simple solution. Charge every private vehicle entering Mumbai (say beyond Matunga) Rs250 per day. Taxis, buses and all public vehicles will be exempt from this fee. Vehicle owners living within this zone will get a discounted rate. This charge will only be applied during weekdays from 7 am to 9pm. This will reduce the traffic, pollution and congestion in Mumbai and make it a healthier city to live in.

What I propose is not a novel solution. It has been implemented successfully in London and residents are happy with it (for more information go to http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/congestioncharging/6722.aspx or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_congestion_charge). How do we enforce the congestion charge. Well, in London, they have people register their cars and pay in advance or on the day they drive into London. All cars are tracked as they enter the city by cameras. Drivers are warned that they are entering the charging zone by big white boards with a red C on them. Think this is 'impossible' in India. Well, guess who is running the system for the Brits - its Mastek, an infotech company based in Mumbai, India. This proposal will take a huge initial capital input but isn't Mumbai worth it all? And if we do not want a huge initial investment, we could just have old fashioned toll nakas (booths) at the entry points. This will slow down traffic but traffic should get thinner and therefore, it will still be faster than now.

The next part of the argument against this charge is 'but our public transport system is stretched as well'. I agree and before we move to this system, we would need to upgrade our public transport a bit. Moreover, the money we get from the congestion charge can be used to make major improvements to our public transport.

Think about it. Since the Government limited the transfer of profits from the electricity distribution side of the BEST to cover the losses on its transportation side, the BEST has been making a valiant effort to change from a public service to a profitable organization. However, this has been at the cost of us, the consumers. Some routes have been cancelled, others have seen their frequency reduced. The end result. Horribly packed buses. Once the BEST gets money from the congestion charge, it can become a service again. The reduced traffic will also mean a faster commute (the average speed of a BEST bus is presently 13kmph) and cheaper transportation (better speed = better mileage/average). The money from the charge can also be used to invest in the suburban railways, the subway or even the skybus. The possibilities are endless.

I have been thinking about this for a while now and have mentioned it to quite a few friends and family. They think, with certain reservations, that this is a good idea and its time has come. What do you guys think?

After all, isn't this what we have always been longing for - a Clean Mumbai, Green Mumbai.