Political posters: big farce

Yesterday I was very happy to see the BMC van go along the highway and even in Samta Nagar, nearby where I live, plucking off the political posters off from the roadside. I felt good that the ruling that all such posters defacing the city may be pulled down. But I realised that the whole attempt was rather farcical. It was on the tenth day of Ganpati immersion -- which meant the posters were allowed to stay on the entire course. The whole tamasha yesterday, with police vans, etc was just hogwash then!!

Oh btw. a blog visitor later came along and sent me this email which explains why the whole farce was carried out:
Actually, they were being removed that day because the Maharashtra elections had just been announced earlier in the day and the model code of conduct, under which hoardings etc are banned, came into force. Not being pulled down because they were defacing the skyline or any such thing…

Muddy water, media collapse

The muddy concoction u see is of water from my tap. Yes, BMC water. It is fantastic is this not? The media, most of whose offices are located a breath away from where the crisis seems to be manifesting, are not reporting on this. Look at that water!!! Brown, seemingly full of some defecation, moss and mud particles.
Today I threw out the entire set of chappatis my cook made from this water. I simply could not bring myself to eat it. Have bought a 20-liter Bisleri bottle (more like a tub) for Rs 220, of which a large proportion would be given back once I return the bottle. The way things are looking, I will be living off such bottled water. Reminds me of Chennai, where my sister manages with green or red coloured water when the bottled water supply does not happen.

Some of my students sent me this genuine excuse for not coming: water scarcity...

The most annoying thing is that journalists are not reporting about this: which leads me to following conclusions:

• they don't take bath
  
• they have a direct connection from bmc.
  
• they are blind.
  
• they are living off five-star freebies and do not cook at home.
  
• they are using five-star toilets and are not going back home to dry taps and unflushed toilets.
• they are not journalists anymore!!
  

Arrghh!! Not a single report on the front page for the last two days when the entire city seems to be reeling. And nobody knows when the next brown muddy drop is going to come. The tankers, my property manager's office, says are not delivering any more since there is no water to supply.
This is a mega crisis and nobody is bothered!!! The media, the government --no statements. Put your head into the mud: it is called the ostrich syndrome. Pretend there is no problem, and the problem goes away?... the city has been running on that logic for so long...

An epidemic is about to happen --

I will start stocking on Readymade thandai, badam kheer, apple juice etc next. Just like the royalty suggested in France to the starving folk: eat cake!

Muddy water, drink thandai!!

Media missed this one?!:
My husband, who is travelling into some back of beyond spot in Karnataka, told me this. That there are some rickety long-distance buses that simply have the word `Volvo' painted on them, to fool gullible travelers. They are not Volvo but the owners think that adding that word gives them some value:) Amazing this city...Is there a law against such things? Can u write Ford on a rickety Maruti and get away with that... Possibly. It would not matter to anyone really.. But if it is part of a business tactic then maybe the authorties that do the inspections of these buses should tick them off/fine them for such a silly, unbelievable con job. Maybe the inspectors also feel that any idiot who mistakes a rickety bus for a Volvo deserves to be duped? Who knows?

On roads, potholes, pavements and more

As I said, now that I have left journalism full-time I can sit back and criticise it:) As if I was ever a reporter (I was a feature writer, part of the elevated clan that was hated soundly by reporters:) who mostly followed her own whims and fancies at work. So, it is even more inappropriate of me to run down the clan. Nevertheless, as a `concerned citizen' I can say that it is soo predictable for the media to suddenly wake up to relevant city stories only when the monsoon happens: you can hear rain-drenched TV anchors screaming about Khar Subway, Milan Subway and then keep showing flood images that frightens my family back home in Chennai. Then, to keep pace with such show-stealing, the print press will go on an overdrive, so you can watch, with a state of immense great deja vu, media ink and ire being spent on the `bad roads', even worse accident statistics, and some blame-game, name-flinging between different maintenance departments. Why wait till then, guys... Have An Accountability section, to pin these issues down....

Here is a lead, sent to me by a blog reader as sms: "Subject for your city blog: at Andheri and Santa Cruz highway is getting a fresh coat of pre-fab macadam sheets. But during the last monsoon the sad thing was scraped out since it was felt they caused accidents (not bad driving)!. Now they are being laid again, but will be scraped out in June!"

Am not technically qualified to tell the difference between one road material and another(feature writers then, and now, only wax eloquent about colour of roads:), but those who drive clearly do know. So, if you are driving past Santa Cruz and Andheri highways, and smell something, it is either macadam. Or a racket:)

Chalta hai, Mumbai!!