Uploaded on 2014-11-09 by RuchaPimprikar

The city I Iive in , Thane , an eastern suburb of Mumbai, was once a small town. A dormitory town with limited opportunities for work. Today the scenario of the city in changing, but so are the number of people migrating to the city. Very few of the people who live here get to work here, majority of the population travels to work for one to two hours travel time one way. And since there has been a considerable increase in the work opportunities that the city is offering now, people from other parts of the district are coming to Thane to work. This one major flow in the city is the working class which travels to and from Thane. A major means of commuting are the trains. Thane is the busiest station in Mumbai; it handles long distance (intercity) trains, local trains going to Mumbai, Navi Mumbai (New Bombay) and areas further north. About a 1000 trains and 650,000 commuters pass through the station daily as of 2013. FLOW 2 (MIGRATORY CONSTRUCTION WORKERS) More people imply more construction. Though residential construction dominates the city, commercial buildings like corporate offices, malls are breaking ground. Another flow in the city due to this construction activity, are the skilled and unskilled construction workers who are called in mostly from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. These people live on the construction site with their entire family (women and children) in temporary houses. Once the construction is complete they have the choice of either moving to a new site or going back to their villages. They could be called the **'nomadic urban workers'.** (Example: One such construction site is right behind my residence. My apartment overlooked a rice field and hills with waterfalls when we moved into it in 1990. Residential development started straddling my horizon and eventually a small green patch remained in the center. This was reserved for a park but today a multi-storey residential building is under construction. The immediate consequence of the construction workers on this site is the debris and garbage that is dumped along the periphery causing dust pollutions and an altogether unhygenic environment. Another consequence is the noise pollution caused by these people during non-working hours. Playing loud music seems to be a part of their 'going to bed' routine. ) Migration of Construction workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Mumbai ![Migration of Construction workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to Mumbai][1] STOCK 1 (BREAD WINNERS FROM ELSEWHERE) Another set of settlers in the city are ones coming once again from Bihar and Uttarpradesh but these people come to earn a living. They take up jobs like driving private cars and taxis, driving auto-rickshaws, selling vegetables and fruit and doing all sorts of odd jobs. These people stay along the periphery of the settlements (residential areas) that they serve, causing a mini slum. Many such slums dot the entire city. Encroaching roads, pavements, parking lanes and setting up illegal shops and houses is one of the major consequence. The city has been entertaining the second or third generation of these migrators. These people fall into the category of **'nuisance stock'**. The filth they create far exceeds the benefit they provide to their immediate surroundings. The slums are now being developed by the SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority). The slum dwellers are provided free or subsidized residences in the new buildings and the rest of the plot is developed and put up on the ever-growing market. STOCK 2 (NON-DISPOSABLE GARBAGE) These people throw their garbage in areas which cannot be accessed, in 'nallas' (sewage water disposal systems), back alleys, along pipelines. Due to lack of toilets they use roads, railway tracks, etc. Thus this garbage is here to stay. **A 'nuisance stock' created by another 'nuisance stock'.** Following four images: Aerial view of the slum surrounded by residential buildings. The slum stretches on two sides of a narrow bridge. View from one side. View on the other side of the bridge. An aerial image of a residential complex less than a kilometer away from the slum. ![Aerial view of the slum surrounded by residential buildings.][2] ![The slum stretches on two sides of a narrow bridge. View from one side.][3] ![View on the other side of the bridge.][4] ![An aerial image of a residential complex less than a kilometer away from the slum.][5] These 'stocks' are caused mainly due to the lack of control over migration into the city. These migrators are basically **‘non-existent residents of the city’** and they are not provided for by the local authorities. The first step in solving this problem should be taking care of the Bihar Uttar Pradesh and other such states where these people come from. In-spite of the deplorable conditions these people live in they prefer to stay here rather than go back. This is because of the lack of facilities and job opportunities and overall slow rate of development in their state. Once their home town develops they will not need to move. And slowly but surely the problems of my city will disappear. **Decentralization** (a subject I had written about during the first week) is thus the key to the most urban problems at a national level. Reference: Paper on construction workers atlmri.org/index.php/downloads/doc_download/28-discussion-paper-9k [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14155547638838124.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14155555595750694.jpg [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14155546794565274.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1415554702120932.jpg [5]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14155547409903905.jpg