What I do not want to stress about Mumbai:
– Spirit of Mumbai
– Kudos mumbaikars ( helpful, can handle all this…, wateva )
– will fight back, strong-hearted, pounce-back, etc
– will continue as if nothing happened. ( ppl wud try getting in the trains before it stops and before ppl who want to get down at the station board off the train )
– Hats off to Mumbai
– Salaam Mumbai
Yah, a lots have been said about Mumbai and its attitude (I am not commenting on the Readers’ Digest Survey). We get to hear a lot of this when catastrophic events like the recent blasts (which have become quite regular) happen. I must say this only helps in ego boosting (which is needed, but only sometimes). I am not questioning its credibility as I stand with it but on the ground level, it does not help us or will not help us in the long run.
Just for a small analogy, let’s compare Mumbai to a human heart. Consider each major catastrophe as a block in the heart. In the past month, we have had at least a couple of blocks with around 80% blockages. Now, what we do (all that fighting back and coming-up again stuff) is a by-pass surgery. Though it works *fine* with our heats but is not the right thing to do considering Mumbai is going to livelonger much much longer than what a human heart has to.
What we actually need is to think of a long-term policy of dealing with similar situations. Disaster Management + Futuristic Research. Call it anything…. I don’t care but I need the government to take measures for avoiding future mishaps. Consider the proposed Metro Rail project facing a similar situation in the future. I would propose (if only the government would listen to me) not to build one if the security measures are not in place.
What needs to be done? [This is a random list…]
– Disaster mgmt.: Dnt. expect the government (read police, ambulances, etc) to arrive at crime scenes in flash. It would be highly unrealistic. We need to help ourselves at that time. Simply put it is bringing order to disorder.
– Security policy: Should involve some highly effective security measures and not asking a pandu (I dnt mean any disrespect to Police Hawaldars…. I respect them for what they do for us and I am calling them ‘pandu’ very fondly) to carry a metal detector in BEST bus. I know we can do better.
– Infrastructure and Resources: Need I stress on this? We (mumbaikars) face it, talk abt it, realize it and forget abt it!
– Government + Statehood for Mumbai: I am not blaming the Government (I m not Advani). I feel Mumbai should be awarded statehood. I m not sure of the implications it would have on politics, India, ppl etc. but all I need to stress on is that Mumbai needs special treatment. It needs special attention and constant care considering the way it has shaped up.
– Visionaries and Thinkers: Yah, I seriously feel the government needs to employ visionaries and thinkers to come up with ideas and feasible solutions. (and not rely on some random ramblings of a blogger 😉 )