Bhadh mein jaaye Mumbai spirit… There I said it…
I’m sorry but I had to get this out of my system. No offence guys. It’s fantastic and overwhelming to see how Mumbaikars come together at a time when the government successfully, year after year, drowns the city’s infrastructure.
I’m not the only one who thinks this way… I have my fellow Twitterwasi to back me up.
The richest municipal body in India, BMC, this year, allocated Rs 8,127.08 crore for capital expenditure. Which means that BMC has eight thousand, one hundred and twenty-seven effing crore in its kitty to spend on the betterment of the city’s infrastructure.
But why would the government spend on silly roads which are used for mere mortals to walk on when they could instead spend Rs 3,600 crore on a Shivaji Memorial in the Arabian Sea?
Also FYI, there are already five Shivajai Maharaj statues in Mumbai and a plan for a sixth statue outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus is in the works.
Maybe the government thinks Chhatrapati ki chaaya will protect Mumbaikars?
But right now, the only chaaya that’s saving the government’s arse is the most overused phrase: Mumbai Spirit.
We know, BMC tula Mumbaichya spiritvar khup bharosa aahe na. But what else are the bechare Mumbaikars supposed to do?
They will go to work the next day even if they have wade their way in knee-deep water. They will travel in the same local despite it being targeted by terrorists. They will catch their train the next day from the same terminal, which was turned into a warzone by terrorists they never saw coming. It’s not the Mumbai spirit that keeps them going but their damn rozi-roti.
Thanks to the spineless authorities, Mumbaikars are left to fend for themselves. In times of crisis when all hope fails, Mumbaikars are their own Avengers.
That’s exactly how on Tuesday #RainHosts went viral on social media. People offered their homes to others who were stuck in rain-affected areas. It was the ‘sahara’ that Mumbaikars needed, which the BMC failed to provide.
In fact, to make matters worse, in the afternoon the government issued orders for all offices to allow employees to leave early because of the heavy rains.
Where was this order a day before the traumatic Tuesday?
The most heartbreaking stories from 26 July 2005 were of people trying to get home. Clearly, the authorities had learnt nothing from 2005. Who passes such orders when there is already chaos on the streets and it has been raining for 24 hours, instead of telling people to stay indoors until it’s safe?
What happens in Mumbai every year is what happens in a Shah Rukh Khan film: the entire film rides on the actor even if the script is weak. That’s exactly what happens to the Maximum City with minimum governance: the weight of responsibility falls on ‘We, the People’.
Dear BMC, it’s time to give Mumbai spirit some rest and do the damn job you exist to do.
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