I, a humble Kolkatan, who in the valuable opinion of the "Proud Mumbaikar" have nothing better to do then to burn trains and travel ticketless, hereby express my deepest sympathies for the trauma he has undergone during the recent floods in Mumbai, a phenomenon I am all too familiar with and have been facing year after year without losing my senses and making uncharitable and baseless comments regarding the activities my fellow countrymen, like a few that have been expresed about mine in this article.
It's a pity, that the entire world had to witness what happens to a so called metropolis when it rains.Every year the BMC goes wagging its tongue about how they cleared the drains, filled up the dug up roads and all humbug. The flooding of the city has exposed everything they haven't done(practically never done)after independence. All the 'Netas' are never worried about the sorry figure we cut in front of the whole world.It's a proven fact that illegal encroachmnts are majorly responsible for lack of space in the city, the netas will never do anything coz they have to lure them for votes. The cause of every problem is right there in front of their eyes, yet they will blame 'Indra Devata" for the calamity.Some great man of yore had once commented " To err is human, and to blame is politician". God have some mercy on us, may he drill some sense of responsibility into the politicians. Who or what will they govern,when the city dies? It's high time the government did something , took pride in managing the city, or else that day is not very far when another rainfall will wipe us out from the face of this planet.Let 26th July 2005 go down in history as the day a lesson was learnt.
Yes, Bombay!!! that is how I call it since my childhood. Reading all the comments given by my fellow Bombayites / Mumbaikars, I have very less to add. having stayed in Bombay all my life, i do love the city, the spirit of everyone staying there and I know the people themselves are going to take bombay where it was.
My only prayer to God is that all these comments ruffle some feathers and the authorities start doing what we want them to do and what we elect them to do. A vibrant city like bombay, I pity it being run by a bunch of uneducated selfish bastards, who have no time to think about beautifying it and working on the infrastructure to make life easy.
thats what i was always wondering since a long time ago. why should we pay crores of rupees of tax to government and ruling government uses it to select a new government through elections. other than price hike, traffic jam due to party meetings etc., nothing is going to affect an middle class individual.
I am not a mumbaite so my views may not be welcomed here. I don't understand the terms "spirit of Mumbai people" and "great people of Mumbai" being used often in the media. What is this spirit or greatness that you are talking about? where is this spirit and greatness in normal times? where did it go? If they had this, they wouldn't have let Mumbai become a pale shadow of what it used it to be. Today's Mumbai is bursting at its seams, is polluted, filthy and lacks the infrastructure. I accept people did not depend on the government and somehow managed to recover from such heavy rains but that sounds more like people have resigned themselves to the fact that they cant depend on the govt. The Mumbaites have to blame themselves for the plight that they are in and should rise against this, instead of having a false sense of pride in themselves. If Mumbaites had true pride, they would made Mumbai a model city for the whole of India. so set aside such false egos of calling yourselves great, spirited. there is no point in patting ourselves on the back if we dont do anything to make our lives, our cities better.
Last week Rediff published an interview of Mr Kalsi, a top meteriologist who claimed that there will be very heavy rains in Mumbai again on August 5. Based on prior experience of our weather forecast department I was very much sure that there will not be any rain on that day. I am happy that I was proven correct and Mumbai was saved from one more day of chaos but am also sad about the state of weather forecasting in India. Too often they fail to predict the calamity and later make some wrong predictions just to be on safe side. I almost inclined to believe that weather department works like India's numerous astrologers who publish their claims after the fact. August 5th has come and gone but nobody including Rediff seems to remember about the interview. I request Rediff to interview the same weatherman again and would like to read what excuses he come up with this time.
Our honurable PM visited mumbai & donated 50 crores when mumbai coughs up more than 60000 crores as taxes!All the money goes in to dark holes of Delhi(no different than Bihar),Bihar & UP.
No wonder we have problems in Nort east,Kashmir because of step motherly treatment from the centre.It won't be far when Mumbai will also go the Assam way & take to arms to fight the central govt which is spine less ,corrupt & still in the 18th century!
I think mumbaikar is making a big issue of the rain of 26th of July. Gujaratis in Gujarat have had experienced several natural and man made calamities in the last five years, eventhough, they have recovered very fast.
Don't depend on the govt. to act for you. You act for yourself and that is the way life goes on.
