top of page

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.

Donald Trump’s Middle East Somersault

From dealmaker to belligerent, America’s President risks repeating the history he once sought to escape.

In 1917, Woodrow Wilson, a scholar-president wary of foreign entanglements, found himself drawn into a war he had hoped to avoid. A century on, Donald Trump, who rose to power denouncing “endless wars” and promising to end them, appears to be caught in a similar contradiction. The arc of his Middle East policy, at once erratic and revealing, has bent from negotiation to confrontation, from promises of peace to the perils of escalation.


Trump’s instinct, from the outset, was to position himself as a dealmaker-in-chief. The ambition was expansive: broker a settlement between Russia and Ukraine, ease tensions between Israel and Iran, and recast America’s global role as one that delivered outcomes without costly wars. Yet the realities of geopolitics have proved less pliable than the language of deals. By late February, the world was jolted by two simultaneous military campaigns - an American offensive and a parallel Israeli operation - that signalled not restraint but resurgence of force.


Ambiguous Pause

Now, Trump’s decision to pause operations for five days, announced with characteristic flourish, has since become the subject of intense debate. Was it a gesture of goodwill aimed at reopening diplomatic channels? Or a tactical recalibration, a momentary lull designed to prepare for a more decisive phase of conflict?


In politics, tactical retreats are hardly novel. Vladimir Lenin famously argued that a step backward can enable a greater leap forward. Trump’s pause may well fit that mould: a calculated interlude in a broader strategy of coercion. Yet such oscillation has left allies and adversaries alike struggling to decipher intent. In a region as combustible as the Middle East, confusion can be as dangerous as confrontation.


Nowhere has this been more evident than in the crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s move to disrupt traffic through this narrow corridor through which a significant share of the world’s oil flows has proved devastatingly effective. Unlike missiles or drones, the closure of Hormuz strikes directly at the arteries of the global economy. Oil prices have surged, markets have wobbled, and energy-importing nations have scrambled to mitigate the fallout. The pressure on Washington to restore stability has been immediate and intense.


Trump’s response has followed a familiar pattern: escalation tempered by improvisation. A 48-hour ultimatum demanding that Iran reopen the strait was soon extended by five days, accompanied by assertions of “productive conversations” and hints of a possible deal. Financial markets, ever sensitive to signals of de-escalation, responded with a brief rally. Yet beneath the surface, scepticism endures. The gap between rhetoric and reality has become a defining feature of the Trump administration’s approach.


Even as talk of negotiation persists, the American military footprint in the region has expanded markedly. Additional naval assets, amphibious assault ships and air power have been deployed, alongside the mobilisation of thousands of personnel. The language, too, has hardened. References to this being a “last best chance” to strike Iran suggest a belief in the efficacy of decisive force. Yet history offers ample caution. The Middle East is littered with interventions that promised quick victories and delivered protracted instability.


Widening Conflict

The conflict itself shows signs of widening. Israeli strikes have continued deep into Iranian-linked territories, targeting infrastructure in Tehran and beyond, while Iran has retaliated by striking energy installations across the Gulf. Facilities in countries hosting American operations have not been spared, raising the spectre of a broader regional conflagration. What began as a confrontation between states risks morphing into a multi-front crisis with global repercussions.


Against this backdrop, Trump has advanced a strikingly incongruous vision for the future: the transformation of the Gaza Strip into a gleaming economic hub of resorts, skyscrapers and branded developments. Promoted through glossy, AI-generated imagery, the plan has been presented as a blueprint for reconstruction. Yet the proposal has also drawn incredulity. The chasm between the devastation on the ground and the opulence imagined is vast. Without political resolution, economic visions risk appearing surreal.


If there is a unifying logic to Trump’s policy, it lies in the belief that pressure yields concessions. Iran, however, has responded with demands that reflect its own strategic calculus: relief from sanctions, assurances against future attacks, and guarantees of non-interference in its internal affairs. It has also sought the release of frozen assets and recognition of its security concerns. These are not new but the context in which they are being advanced makes compromise more elusive.


Allies, too, have shown signs of unease. Calls for an international coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz have met with a muted response. Even traditional partners have hesitated to commit naval resources, wary of being drawn into a conflict whose motives remain unclear. The reluctance underscores a broader concern that America’s strategy lacks coherence.


In contrast, India has emphasised continuity over disruption. Narendra Modi has reiterated the importance of dialogue and diplomacy, positioning India as a proponent of de-escalation. The stakes for New Delhi are considerable. Millions of Indian nationals reside across the Gulf, and their safety is directly tied to the stability of the region.


Cautious Engagement

India’s stance also reflects a longer tradition of cautious engagement. From past crises in West Asia to the present, the emphasis has been on balancing interests while avoiding entanglement. The aspiration to play a mediating role by bridging divides between Washington, Tehran and Jerusalem is evident, but so too are the constraints. Influence, in geopolitics, is often a function of proximity and power; India possesses the former only partially and the latter selectively.


The broader picture is one of mounting instability. Since October 7 attacks of 2023 on Israel and the retaliations that have followed, the Middle East has been locked in a cycle of violence that shows little sign of abating. The environmental and humanitarian toll, often overlooked in strategic calculations, continues to mount, leaving a legacy that will outlast the war itself.


In such a context, the notion of a decisive ‘win’ becomes increasingly elusive. Trump’s approach, characterised by abrupt shifts and bold announcements, reflects a belief in the power of disruption. Yet disruption, absent a coherent endgame, can entrench the very dynamics it seeks to overturn. The somersault in policy, from negotiation to confrontation and back again. has created not clarity but uncertainty.


History offers a sobering perspective. Wilson’s reluctant entry into the World War I did not yield the stable peace he envisioned. The lessons of that era, about the limits of idealism and the perils of miscalculation, remain relevant today.


There remains, however, a narrow window for recalibration. The current pause, however fragile, provides an opportunity to shift course. Meaningful de-escalation would requires sustained engagement, credible commitments and a willingness to accommodate competing interests. It would also require recognising that lasting stability in the Middle East cannot be imposed from outside but must be negotiated among those who inhabit it.


For the United States, the challenge is as much about redefining its role as about resolving a specific conflict. Dominance, once exercised through overwhelming force, now carries diminishing returns in a multipolar world. Leadership, by contrast, may lie in convening, mediating and, at times, restraining.


The world, as the historian Arnold J. Toynbee observed, often stands between paths of destruction and construction. The Middle East today embodies that choice in stark terms. The somersault in American policy has illuminated both possibilities. It has also underscored a simple, enduring truth: that in a region shaped by history’s weight, there are no shortcuts to stability - only the long, hard road of diplomacy.


(The writer is a foreign affairs expert. Views personal.)


Comments

bottom of page