Forbes magazine names Mumbai as city of junk
India’s financial hub and the city of billion dreams, Mumbai is back in news.
This time the reason is not the molestation of a woman or the unruly violence against north Indians, but Mumbai has figured on seventh in the list of world’s dirtiest cities position in , compiled by the Forbes magazine.
The list is based on the ranking of over 200 cities worldwide on the parameters of air pollution, water potability, hospital services, waste management, medical facilities and the spread of infectious diseases.
Now question arises, who is responsible for the filth in the city, the authorities or the citizens? And, how can Mumbai make a clean image for itself.
The citizens blame the government for not being concerned to the city’s civic amenities.
More than half of Mumbai’s population lives in slums. Dharavi, probably one of India’s biggest slum, albeit has public toilets and water taps, but is marred by wrecked sanitation.
In contrast, the Mumbai administration claims that the city is cleaner than before.
Whom to believe?
In each Monsoon season the claim about the cleanliness and proper maintenance falls flat when the water deluge virtually forces the city to standstill.
Who can forget that horrible day of July 26, 2005 when hell broke loose on Mumbaikars, due to unrelenting rains and blocked drainage?
The government, which wants to develop Mumbai on the lines of Shanghai, does not even have a foolproof plan to ensure the city grows.
The irony is that the very same dirty city rents luxury apartments at a rate, which are one of the highest in the world.
Experts believe that the reason why Mumbai is going out of control is that it is registering a steep increase in population. The migration from various parts of India has forced Mumbai to cope with the demands of the residents.
Who are responsible for this mess, the migrants or the local citizens of the city? No doubt that Mumbaikars have to be more responsible, but for this, the government should plan inspirational drives to bring awareness.
Basic infrastructure has to be provided in the city so that they can make the city live up to the expectations.
Bollywood has geared up for a better face of Mumbai. An upcoming movie, Mumbai Chaka Chak would show Rahul Bose sweeping the streets of the city.
It is high time, Mumbaikars gear up for the cause of their city.
On their part, authorities say the city is cleaner than before. ”The benchmark used was not appropriate, comparing Mumbai to other developed cities. We are doing a lot of things, we have started a plan and most have said that the city is better in cleanliness than before,”.
Just two years ago, Readers Digest magazine had listed Mumbai as the world’s rudest city. While many agree that Mumbaikars lack civic sense, others blame civic authorities instead for their lack of initiative in keeping the city clean.
The Mumbai Makeover Project recently unveiled its plans to brand the city in which consultants will be invited from across the world for ideas.
The project now seems necessary to help add shine to the city’s fading image, tainted with the stamp of being among the world’s rudest and dirtiest cities.
Delhi is also in the list:
Delhi is also among the 25 dirtiest cities in the world while the four Indian metros and Bangalore are among the 20 densest cities, according to the Forbes magazine.
The US business magazine also lists Sukinda in Orissa and Vapi in Gujarat among the 10 most polluted places globally.
While listing Mumbai as the seventh dirtiest, the magazine also cites a recent private sector proposal, Vision Mumbai, which seeks $1 billion government aid for infrastructure, pollution control and economic growth strategy.
Delhi at No.24 fares little better but gets drubbing for the pollution in Yamuna river, which is devoid of marine life and where “garbage and sewage flow freely, creating a rich environment for the growth of water-borne diseases contributing to extremely high rates of infant morbidity.”
In neighbouring Bangladesh, Dhaka, with lead-poisoned air and water pollution from pesticide use, gets the dubious distinction of being the second dirtiest city in the world.
The top slot as the dirtiest city in the world is taken by Baku in Azerbaijan, suffering life-threatening levels of air pollution emitted from oil drilling.
The list, now on the magazine’s website, is based on Mercer Human Resource Consulting’s ranking of over 200 cities worldwide on levels of air pollution, waste management, water potability, hospital services, medical supplies and the presence of infectious diseases. New York was used as the norm.
Chennai is at No.8, Delhi at No.13 and Bangalore at No.19 in the list of densely populated cities. Karachi in Pakistan is at No.3.
Living in a dense place affects quality of living, unless you have loads of money and the place is gentrified like Tokyo and New York, the magazine commented. Dense is, however, a relative term. “A Mumbai native visiting New York is bound to feel like a New Yorker vacationing on a Wyoming dude ranch,” it added.