Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Overgrown village!

The daily drudgery of a Mumbaiite (or Mumbaikar, if you please) cannot be described in a blog, or for that matter, even in a voluminous novel. Only experiencing it first hand can impart the exact feel of the matter.

The suburbs of Mumbai, which were erstwhile villages are now unable to bear the burden of urban onslaught. Particularly the areas near the railway stations are the worst. In most of the suburbs, the roads leading from the station to the arterial Swami Vivekananda Road are a nightmare. Narrow width, with chawl like constructions lining on either side, glitzy shops, hawkers outside these shops and the pesky autorickshaws together make up the chaos. Pedestrians have to fight for walking space in the midst of all these obstacles. On a rainy day, the problems get compounded with water-logging and digging all over. The evening scene particularly, is one that will be etched in the memory of any occasional visitor to these parts.

With vested interests working against any reforms in the situation, there does not appear to be light at the end of the tunnel. Or atleast for now, the tunnel is yet to come to an end.

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