No round-up or curtain-raiser this time, instead, here are 10 things that Mumbai didn’t get in 2007.
10. Mumbai Metro – More than a year after being flagged off, no work has started on the Mumbai Metro. Meanwhile Delhi Metro completed 5 years in 2007.
9. The Bandra Worli Sealink – This project has seen it all, cost over-runs, delays and stoppage of work. Originally conceived in 1962, the project will – hopefully – get completed by end-2008.
8. The Mumbai Transharbour Sea Link – This one hasn’t even got a contractor as yet. Brothers Ambani are fighting over it and perhaps one of them will get it in 2008.
7. Traffic – Actually we got loads and loads of traffic. But no solution. As for TRANSFORM – “Transport Study for the Region of Mumbai”, it will soon be a year since their forlorn website was updated.
6. Better trains – While we did get a few new, shiny trains (but it will also take 3 years for 157 more of these to come), trains only got more crowded, forcing commuters to boycott train travel for a day.
5. Electricity – We had to beg and borrow from neighboring states because we’re consuming far, far more than we can get. 24x7 electricity might get short circuited come summer 2008. Batti bandh?
4. Roads – Neither the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road nor the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Roads got completed in 2007. Both are between 3-4 year overdue.
3. Wide Open Spaces Рare now an endangered species. Builders and towers are pass̩ because this year the BMC joined the gang, trying their best to push a shady policy to sell off our grounds.
2. Sane Politicians – The Shiv Sena ranting against ULCRA repeal and Narayan Rane baying for Vilasrao’s Deshmukh’s chair; both these acts eclipse every other inane antic resorted to by Mumbai’s politicians.
1. Affordable Housing – The good news is that property rates didn’t
4 comments:
BA - happy new year and hope the list recedes when you make the same 365 days hence.
btw - was around kanjur marg/powai area over the weekend and was told that the property prices there have escalated to unimaginable levels and all over the last 2 years.
powai is emerging as a BPO hub i am told.
CSM - thanks for the comment and a very happy new year to you too. Interesting bit of news that, I'm sure there will be patches of the city where prices move sharply. On a 2yr basis I'm sure prices would have sky-rocketed, but I'm not sure how prices would have moved post the interest rate hikes in early-2007.
Indeed, I hope this list recedes in 2008! Have a great year ahead!
BA - Happy New Year. Looking at Delhi shows what can be achieved even in India - be it the metro, the completion of flyovers on the ring road, or the rapid progress of the Gurgaon highway. The problem we face is that Bombay is an orphan that no body cares for - neither the central govt. which cares for Delhi, nor the parasitical politicians from rural Maharashtra who only wish to mess up this city and divert funds to their coffers.
What amazes me is that Maharashtra has the highest rates of taxes on virtually everything, but the lousiest quality fo government services.
On property prices btw, you are mistaken - prices have escalated substantially over the last 8-9 months - eg. in Parel from Rs. 15-17 k to Rs. 20 - 22 k, in Prabhadevi/ Worli from Rs. 25 k to Rs. 35 - 50 k, in Mulund from Rs. 4-4.5 k to Rs. 6.5 -7 k.
UI - Happy New Year to you too. Couldn't agree with you more.
I'm quite surprised at the rate increases you're talking about, because out here in the Western suburbs, prices have been pretty much stagnant in 2007. And that's an interesting bit of info on Maharashtra having the highest taxes, I must look into that.
But thanks for the that specific info on all those areas. I've updated the post accordingly.
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