Maximum city, minimum effort?

Sir PM was carrying a bag filled with goodies when Lady Flora spotted him from afar His cough hadnrsquot subsided though going by the booming sound that echoed in their corner seat at the Cooperage GardenldquoHappy happy Diwali my dear Pheroze and Ms Mehta toordquo she exclaimed ldquoMay this year be kinder and a cleaner one for Bombaywallahs What on earth we have to deal with this precarious scenario I mean look at youhellip yoursquore still plagued by that horrid cough What does one expect with this air Sometimes my daily Betadine gargles also donrsquot help after all that standing in the centre of the traffic junction while I inhale that impure airrdquo Sir PM realised that his lsquowonder womanrsquo friend too had to take precautionary measures to fight this unwelcome scenario that had enveloped the city and its suburbsldquoOn a happier note here are some Diwali mithai that the missus sent across I hope you like themndashless oil less spicy just the way you prefer itrdquo he smiled as he handed over the gift bag of Indian sweets It was an annual traditionndashhe gifted her Diwali mithai and she did the same at Christmas ldquoI am grateful for our thoughtful gesture The bright spots in these if I might add hazy times Why have the local authorities been so slow off the block They seem pretty keen to give Delhi a run for its money to top the air pollution charts Irsquove been reading middayrsquos dedicated reportage about this awful reality and clearly the babus have been caught napping This could have been controlled to some extent had there been stricter curbs on construction activities for starters We are still a bit luckier here in this part of the Fort but the gory stories that I overhear from passersby are quite frighteningrdquo Lady Flora sighed as she tasted some of the assorted farsan it elevated her mood ldquoThis savoury snack is yum my compliments to the chefrdquo she smiled while looking towards her friend who had stuffed a motichoor ladoo into his mouth He was allowed to have a few cheat days during the festivals he reassured herldquoBut tell me Pheroze have your friends in the BMC simply given up Or do they care no more about the citizensrsquo wellbeing or do they feel that this climate hazard will miraculously heal itself and all will be well again Are they ever going to look at the longterm picture I am baffled that they donrsquot have experts on board to put a scientificallyapproved system in placerdquo she sounded furiousAlso read Maharashtra 150 bonded labourers identified as being in slavery as state mumldquoYes itrsquos been slow progress to suggest corrective measures at this stage with Diwali in full swing and the air getting worse with the firecrackers Delhi and its satellite towns have banned the practice we should have been quicker off the blocksrdquo Lady Flora added ldquoPercy the pigeon has been reporting to me that political parties are actually promoting the selling of fireworks at every nook and corner of the city How irresponsible of these socalled guardiansrdquo Sir PM wasnrsquot aware of this development since he hardly ever went beyond SoBo unless it was for a festive meal to his cousin Sohrabrsquos home in BandraBoth had polished off the Diwali goodies by now But their mood wasnrsquot the best with their cityrsquos woes ldquoTell me Pheroze will it help if we start a campaignwhere we mobilise citizensrsquo movements and get them to make the civic corporators more answerable for a better tomorrow We cannot allow this to repeat itself next year Havenrsquot these amazing citizen heroes done cool things in the past like ensure a UNESCO World Heritage Tag for their historic residential precinct Some continue to fight long battles to save public gardens in Bandra and now the Hanging Gardensrdquo Lady Flora looked concernedAfter some thought Sir PM said ldquoI see your point Let me chat with a few influential vocal and dedicated Bombaywallahs in my circle and come back with a plan We need to move fast Thank you My Lady for putting this idea in my head Thatrsquos what we should bendashcustodians of this city and if nobody at the top is doing it we should garner enough voices and make a lot of noise and demand action so they sit up and take notice lest we do actually top the charts above Delhi in this dubious recordrdquoBoth sutradhaars decided to reconvene soon with their notes and names This Diwali they saw the light and now wanted to act upon it to help their beloved Bombay breathe bettermiddayrsquos 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