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By:

Minal Sancheti

2 May 2026 at 12:26:53 pm

Lost in Transport

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes....

Lost in Transport

Mumbai’s grand transport infrastructure is undermined by potholes, Poor discipline and a last-mile gaps that keeps it crawling Mumbai: It is morning time, and Pawan Khandelwal is all set to leave for work. A creative lead at an ad agency in Malad, Mumbai, Khandelwal should take 12 to 15 minutes to reach the office, but that rarely happens because of the traffic, poor road quality and lack of civic sense among co-drivers on the road. He mostly ends up reaching the office in 30 to 40 minutes. Khandelwal firmly believes that road construction is not a major issue for traffic. “The road under construction is not a big issue because they usually don’t take very long to repair the roads. But even after their work is done, it is not done perfectly. At times when they are digging up the road for other purposes, they often leave a bump or a pothole,” he said. He gives an example, “One can see it on the western express highway. There are so many bumps. We call it a highway, but we can’t even drive at 15 km/h because it is not fixed properly.” He also blames people for not following traffic rules, which adds to the problem. Traffic Woes Although there are coastal roads and metros available, the traffic still seems to be a problem for many residents. A media professional and a daily commuter, Charlene Flanagan has been travelling in Mumbai for many years now. There is not much difference in her experience of the traffic congestion. From her experience, she believes the coastal roads and metros have not completely accomplished the mission of curbing traffic congestion. She says, “As a resident of Mumbai and as a person with a valid driver’s licence, I would say the traf f ic hasn’t really changed. It is still as congested, and whether the coastal roads have helped depends on the time of the day you leave and whether you are going against the traffic or along with the traffic.” The pedestrians also face problems. Saloni Mehta, a theatre artiste, says, “I prefer walking to my destinations. For example, I live in Versova, and if I want to see a play in the Prithvi Theatre, I will take a half-hour walk. However, this one time, I could not reach the venue, not just because of the traffic but also because there were no pavements left to walk on. The roads are dug up, and every road is just half a road.” Mumbai’s average speed covered is 5.2 km per 15 minutes. During the peak traffic hours in the morning, when most people travel to their workplace, the average speed is 18.5 km/h. It is important to understand the issue and address it with a solution. Sudhir Badami, an author of the book ‘Matter of Equitability - Making Commuting in Mumbai Enviable’, explains why people still prefer to use cars over metros, “The metro line 3 has definitely taken away some car users. But it has not taken away sufficient numbers of car users to make a difference in the state of road congestion. The reason behind this is essentially the last-mile connectivity in areas where the Aqua Line or Line 7 operates, especially in suburban areas. In the city area, it is supported by good BEST services on the one hand, and taxis being available near the metro stations on the other hand. But most car users still opt for using their cars, as public transport currently does provide assured exclusivity, comfort and good frequency, not forgetting last mile connectivity. The Coastal Road sees very few cars compared to the number of cars on Mumbai’s Roads. Badami, as a transportation analyst, says, “Mumbai has approximately 16 Lakhs motor cars, out of which only about 55,000 seem to be using coastal roads. It is such a minuscule proportion for whom so much has been spent. This is largely because in the city, people don’t go from one end of the city to the other end. They normally start from in between and go somewhere in between. If there is not much time saving for the shorter stretches, then people are not likely to take it, and there will be continued congestion on city roads.” “In general, the necessity of the last-mile connectivity is an important part, but the greater part will be how to get car users onto the public transport,” says Badami. Public transport must provide near exclusivity, comfort and safety to a car-using commuter for migration to take place. This is where the importance of last-mile connectivity is felt. Air Pollution The slow-moving traffic also adds to the air pollution in the city several times more than when they are moving at optimum speeds, he says. Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Mumbai, Anil Kumbhare, denies that there is much traffic congestion in Mumbai as compared to five years back. He credits the coastal roads for curbing the traffic. He says, “Earlier, there used to be bumper-to bumper traffic near Haji Ali. That has come down drastically. As coastal roads shape, the traffic will go down.” He also adds that there is traffic congestion in the morning hours as people are travelling for work. But there is no traffic jam. Although coastal roads have helped, there are still pockets of the city that face traffic congestion every day. This can be solved with careful planning and execution.

A Strategist in Bihar’s Caste Cauldron

Updated: Jan 8, 2025

Prashant Kishor, a Brahmin venturing into the volatile arena of his home state’s politics, is quickly discovering that in Bihar, it is caste that ultimately decides the victor.

Bihar’s Caste Cauldron
Bihar

Prashant Kishor, the ace political strategist turned politician wanting to rewrite volatile Bihar’s rules of political engagement, stares at daunting challenges. Celebrated as the architect of many electoral victories, Kishor was arrested earlier this week following a hunger strike over alleged irregularities in the Bihar Public Service Commission examination. Released on bail hours, he declared victory in the court of public opinion.


Such populist antics apart, his fledgling party, Jan Suraaj, faltered at the first hurdle. In last month’s by-elections, Kishor’s candidates were trounced, their performance a far cry from the strategist’s lofty ambitions of contesting and conquering all 243 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly election.


After ‘advising’ politicos to navigate the electoral minefield, Kishor, a Brahmin plunging into his home state’s febrile politics, is fast realizing that Bihar is a battlefield where caste, not strategy, eternally determines the victor. The stark truth that hit Kishor was that Bihar’s caste arithmetic remains unshaken. The BJP retained its dominance, while Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav held their ground.


For all of Kishor’s attempts to present a narrative of governance and development, voters reverted to familiar caste loyalties. Despite his insistence on a post-caste Bihar, Kishor finds himself pigeonholed. His rivals mock his upper-caste identity and accuse him of being a stooge for the BJP, further shrinking his political room.


Kishor’s approach is fraught with contradictions. On the one hand, he denounces caste politics and promises a meritocratic Bihar. On the other, he assures representation to Extremely Backward Classes and tacitly aligns with the findings of Nitish Kumar’s caste survey.


Bihar’s political landscape is unforgiving to ‘outsiders,’ and Kishor’s lack of electoral experience is glaring. Unlike Arvind Kejriwal, who galvanized anti-incumbency in Delhi, Kishor lacks the grassroots momentum of a mass movement. His résumé as a campaign strategist, however impressive, is of little use when building a party from scratch in a state where politics is a blood sport.


The state’s entrenched political players are no less formidable. Nitish Kumar, often dismissed as past his prime, has defied critics with a robust showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Tejashwi Yadav, inheriting his father Lalu Prasad’s mantle, has strengthened the Rashtriya Janata Dal’s base among Yadavs and Muslims. Even Chirag Paswan, scion of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, has managed to keep his Lok Janshakti Party afloat. Kishor, by contrast, has struggled to carve out a distinct constituency.


That said, Bihar has occasionally embraced leaders untethered from its caste matrix—most notably George Fernandes and Madhu Limaye. But both were seasoned socialists with years of grassroots work. In contrast, Kishor, whose career began in the corridors of the United Nations and evolved into political consulting, lacks their ideological moorings. His reliance on rhetoric and digital outreach risks alienating the very voters he seeks to win.


The strategist-turned-politician is not without achievements. His campaigns have powered Narendra Modi, Mamata Banerjee and Jagan Mohan Reddy to historic victories. But crafting slogans and mobilizing voters are a far cry from navigating the murky waters of Bihar’s politics.


His detractors gleefully point to his missteps, from his ill-fated stint with the JD(U) to his failed rapprochement with the Congress. Kishor’s vision for Bihar—a state free of prohibition, rampant unemployment, and caste-based discrimination—is ambitious but vague. His promise to lift prohibition, while pragmatic, risks alienating women voters who have supported Nitish Kumar for championing the policy. His focus on education and employment is laudable but lacks the specificity needed to sway a sceptical electorate.


The road to the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls is long, and Kishor has time to recalibrate. But for now, Kishor, the much-touted political genius, is struggling to find his footing in his most personal battle yet.

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