We are living in a concrete jungle of Mumbai city. A mega city, the home of Bollywood, the economic powerhouse of India – this is a city that will charm and frustrate you in equal measure. Around 20 million people are connected to each other in different forms, especially when we talk about problems faced by the Mumbaikars. But the question is what common problem in particular? Last week going through the newspapers, I came across a survey undertaken by DNA to find out about problem faced by the people living in Mumbai. The survey included issues like high cost living, water shortage, infrastructure and education.
High cost living & water shortage are considered to be the biggest problem in this city. The statistic said that around 78% and 67% are concerned about these problems respectively. The water supply problems have deteriorated recently. Although, thankfully, there isn’t a water shortage where I m living. But certainly I have heard from many people about them only getting water for few hours, two times a day.
Housing prices, which are on par with those of New York City, are also shocking. No matter how much you are earning, you find it less when it comes to owning your own place in Mumbai. Overall, 34% of people said they couldn’t consider buying a home at current prices, and 47% said they could but only on the outskirts of the city. It’s not that you don’t have place to live here. Apartments are available in every part of the city, but money is the issue for the people. So if you dream to own your place in a nice posh area here, it’s important that your bank accounts are filled with crores of rupees. I guess some of us are lucky enough to have our foot in the market.
Other important issues that Mumbai is facing are infrastructure and education. New developments are being carried out in a haphazard manner, for example the sky walks — many of which are barely being utilized. Where education is concerned, 38% thought that the quality of education has improved. While 62% of people complained education quality has decreased due to the new laws that have been passed by Education Board of Maharashtra. Recently I remember my complaining about donations & expensive school fees. So though it is said that education in Maharashtra is quite cheap, I guess people who want their kids to study in a well known school, they better start saving a good amount from this very moment.
But, surely Mumbai must have plenty in its favor for so many people to keep living there. The most frequently cited factors why people are proud of Mumbai is because of Bollywood, entrepreneurship, and cosmopolitanism. Taking into account all aspects of life in Mumbai, 41% of people rated the quality of life as good and 17% thought it was excellent. Only 12% found it to be poor. And given an option, 48% of people said they’d want to stay in Mumbai. Only 14% wanted to relocate to a different city. The remainder weren’t sure. I’m one of those who are happy to stay! I love this city no matter how it is.
