Changing Social trends in Mumbai

Mumbai has a very long history of disrespect of citizens property. That is why it is easier for someone to place Slums in an empty space. This empty space may belong to a private citizen or to the State, but hey since the system allows you to squat and own the property, you do so.

Once the slum is established, the courts and the system make it impossible for you to vacate the property. You then have to PAY them at market rate to vacate the plot. Furthermore, the living conditions are so squalid that the average slumdweller's life expectancy falls below national average.

Once the slum comes in, a parallel economy begins. The pavements at the nearby railway station, and pavements at the nearby busy streets get occupied with hawkers. These hawkers can be very criminal in thought, and most of them become vicious streetfighters to protect their livelihood and illegal space.

Mumbai's urban crisis

Mumbai has an urban crisis. The urban town planners of Mumbai have decided that Mumbai's 21 million citizens now need more flyovers for their cars instead of mass rapid transit systems which can transport such a huge population from one end of Mumbai to another. Truly the flyovers are for citizens with cars (the upper middle class and the higher class people). The rest of the Mumbai citizens are to fend for themselves when commuting.

These flyovers have created a monumental crisis which will take decades to sort out. The flyovers prevent any mass rapid transit systems like monorails being installed (the flyovers occupy all the available space).

Soon in another 3 years Mumbai will come to a screeching halt. The traffic situation will be like Bangkok in its heydays (4 hours to move from one place to another).