It’s that time of the year when mid-day publishes heartsinking images of potholes in Mumbai. Same drill, different decade. Nothing changes though. It’s not that those responsible for ensuring smooth transportation in India’s richest city are going to be held accountable. It pours and the roads give in—every single monsoon without fail. As if the concept of long-lasting infrastructure doesn’t apply to some places in our country. I grew up there and I fully understand the crooked spirit of Bombay—people have no options left except show up at work the next day; if that’s what you call a spirit, then it’s more brittle than your logic—so I don’t have anything against (the lack of) urban planning there. My concerns are more rudimentary: when you don’t take care of a city, especially an island city that is blessed with bountiful rains, you end up making people resent something as gorgeous as rain. And that is unpardonable.
Roads, potholes, rains, etc.
Roads, potholes, rains, etc.
Roads, potholes, rains, etc.
It’s that time of the year when mid-day publishes heartsinking images of potholes in Mumbai. Same drill, different decade. Nothing changes though. It’s not that those responsible for ensuring smooth transportation in India’s richest city are going to be held accountable. It pours and the roads give in—every single monsoon without fail. As if the concept of long-lasting infrastructure doesn’t apply to some places in our country. I grew up there and I fully understand the crooked spirit of Bombay—people have no options left except show up at work the next day; if that’s what you call a spirit, then it’s more brittle than your logic—so I don’t have anything against (the lack of) urban planning there. My concerns are more rudimentary: when you don’t take care of a city, especially an island city that is blessed with bountiful rains, you end up making people resent something as gorgeous as rain. And that is unpardonable.