Commercial and recreational hub of central Mumbai is built on mill land where poor labourers got a bad deal and many even died of starvation. Tragic events and death of Kamala Mills fire and Elphinstone stampede are a result of bad omen and these shocking incidents are just a tip of the iceberg of more to follow. Central Mumbai development is badly planned with an eye on profits and every safety rule has been broken to earn the extra buck. Corruption rules roots and everybody from builders to bureaucrats to politicians except the mill workers, who toiled on those land made exorbitant money.
Every single structure in the area should now be audited by an independent body of experts. All unsafe structures even though now legalised should be demolished. Mumbai’s redevelopment is a big scam. Extra FSI is extra reason to feel more unsafe as the city has been cramped like a matchbox and you only need a single matchstick to ignite fires like the ones we witnessed at Kamala Mills. Also, mill labourers and their families should be compensated appropriately as they were part owners of lands exploited in the area!
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
