Life in a Metro

My lady I hardly slept last nighthelliprdquo began Sir PM as he waved frantically to get his friendrsquos attention They decided to ditch their usual meeting space and instead hang around the usually buzzing Nariman Point that gets quieter and less chaotic on SundaysFor those who skipped the intro he was referring to the highly anticipated redletter day in Bombayrsquos urban transport history Both sutradhaars had managed to wiz past security and were able to sneak into the first train of Metro3 at the Bandra Kurla Complex all the way to Santacruz Metro station This was the first phase of the cityrsquos first underground Metro from Colaba via Bandra to SEEPZSir PM sported a broad smile ldquoThe Metro train ride was exciting wasnrsquot itrdquo He glanced at his friend who seemed a tad distracted ldquoSo sorry dear Pheroze I was lost in thought You know throughout the ride I couldnrsquot help but wonder why the city didnrsquot think of building this alternative and muchneeded means of public transport at least two or three decades earlier Surely we had the technology and the brains to develop it And with all due apologies to my friends in Calcutta if they had it 40 years ago back in 1984 then wasnrsquot our city napping all this whilerdquo she thundered clearly knocking out some of the happiness from Sir PMrsquos moodLady Florarsquos comments caught Sir PM off guard He wasnrsquot expecting her wet blanketlike approach after what he thought was a memorable moment a key landmark in the cityrsquos urban transport history But he decided to walk the delicate line ldquoWell I am hopeful that this introduction to the cityrsquos transport map will go a long way in easing congestion especially along this highdensity stretch and give hassled Bombaywallahs respite and more importantly another efficient commuting optionrdquo he reasoned hoping to bring his friend back to the presentldquoAll of that I understandhelliprdquo replied Lady Flora whose agitated mood hadnrsquot waned ldquohellipbut why this rush to open just one phase of the entire route I donrsquot understand It appears to be a hasty decision The entire route could have been opened at one go to benefit more citizens Wonrsquot it lead to crowding and unnecessary confusion adding to bottlenecks and related challenges along the route We experienced a similar scenario for months when only a section of the otherhyped projectmdashthe Coastal Road was partially opened earlier this year you recall the congestion and traffic jams it caused at the entry and exit pointsrdquo she arguedSir PM had no answer to her Spanish inquisitionlike battery of questions He tapped into his memory to recall how hersquod tackle such tricky moments from his days in the Bombay High Court ldquoI see your point The city has been shortchanged for decades now where infrastructural development has never actually kept pace with our growing population and has strained existing means of transport in particular I put it down to lack of vision from consecutive governments and civic gods in my humble assessment But I guess itrsquos best to look forward and how it can provide better facilities at least to the coming generations Looking back will lead to further irritation the whatcouldhavebeens are too many to narrate I am afraid Let us hail what we have managed to achieverdquoLady Flora heard out her friend and realised it was pointless to vent ldquoThe city has been at the receiving end of poor adhoc planning especially in recent decades and raking it up all over again would be a waste of time I hope they can speed up the remaining phases on this line and hurry with the other lines too Look at how half the city has been dug up because of so many other unfinished Metro line works Someonersquos got to be accountable for the endless inconvenience caused to the average citizenrdquo she sighed By now they had reached the site of the Colaba Metro station ldquoI am counting down the days when we can board from Colaba Metro station How convenient it will be for SoBo folks like us to head to the suburbs No more jostling at the terminusrdquo he chuckledAs usual Lady Flora had to have the last word ldquoItrsquos all very well to get caught in this fervour of the opening But we cannot lose focus when it comes to deadlines especially if we claim to be a lsquoworldclassrsquo city I am grateful to the Japanese who funded this project but why canrsquot we be like them when it comes to meeting deadlinesrdquomiddayrsquos Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the cityrsquos sights sounds smells and stoneswherever the ink and the inclination takes her She tweets bombayanaSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycom