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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.

Mumbai shoos: ‘Kabootar, Ja Ja, Ja’

Mumbai: After centuries of uneventful feeding of pigeons, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has cracked down on the practice, angering bird-lovers, activists and followers of Jain religion, co-existing in the country’s commercial capital.

 

Following an order of the Bombay High Court, the BMC first covered the famed Kabutarkhana, Dadar, with plastic sheets, deployed marshals to deter habitual feeders and trained guns on other designated or unofficial pigeon feeding spots across the metropolis.

 

Among other things, the high court has banned the ‘jivdaya’ activity and on July 31 directed the civic body to take stringent action, including lodging FIRs on those who blatantly continue the feeding despite the bar.

 

Apparently irked by the civic assault, Maharashtra Minister for Skill Development shot off an open missive to the BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, urging him for alternatives.

 

Earlier, Higher & Technical Education Minister Uday Samant informed the state legislature of the government’s plans to shut down all the 51 designated ‘Kabutarkhanas’ in Mumbai, some also having heritage value.

 

Though feeding birds, especially pigeons is an accepted norm among most communities, it has special significance for Jains as ‘jivdaya’ (non-violence as compassion for all the living) is a central tenet of Bhagwan Mahavir Jain’s principles of life.

 

Existing for centuries in Mumbai, since the past few decades, eyebrows have been raised over pigeon-feeding as it has led to unchecked growth in the population of these ‘symbols of peace’, estimated at between 150-200 pc.

 

Recent studies have indicated that pigeons are carriers of various airborne diseases that can harm local biodiversity and pose public health risks.

 

Pigeon droppings have bacteria causing respiratory problems, drivers, especially two-wheelers in the vicinity of the ‘kabutariyas’ face dangers and large numbers of these birds concentrated in some localities drive away other avians, besides the poo staining or damaging important buildings or monuments.

 

‘Recycling’ pigeons for a living!

Pigeon feeding is a familiar sight near the 51-odd Jain temples or certain other places of worship in Mumbai, where it is now banned, and other major cities now mull the same.

 

In Mumbai and other cities, there are professional ‘pigeon sellers’ who bring these birds and hawk them at strategic locations near Jain temples, minting money from the single stock. 

 

Many Jains - as a religious responsibility - whip out wads of currency to buy the birds, and then ask the seller to ‘release’ them from captivity as the client experiences a spiritual halo for his compassionate good deed, and leaves.

 

However, barely minutes later, the entire flock of pigeons returns to the same seller who again ‘jails’ them in the cages, awaiting the next devout Jain to pay up and give them wings of freedom…!


Bollywood fans recall the famed scene in the blockbuster "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" (1995) of the villainous Amrish Puri feeding pigeons by cajoling, 'auh, auh, auh'...

 

Later, even the besotted Shah Rukh Khan joins him, with a romantically sinister motive - melt Puri's heart to win his sweetheart Kajol...and succeeds !


Two decades ago, even Trafalgar Square in London barred it, but pigeon feeding reportedly continues near St. Peter’s Square flanking Apolistic Palace - the Pope’s residence in The Vatican (Rome, Italy), with even some Popes known to extend their generous hands to feed and bless the birds.

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