SMOKED & CHOKED IN MUMBAI

MUMBAI used to be India’s urban showpiece. Today, it’s a metaphor for urban blight. WHO says it is the fifth most polluted megacity in the world with level of tiny particulate matter several times higher than the safe limit

70 Lakh COMMUTERS CRAM THEMSELVES INTO LOCAL TRAINS EVERY DAY AND THE FLEDGLING METRO AND MONORAIL ARE UNLIKELY TO MAKE A PERCEPTIBLE DIFFERENCE IN THE NEAR FUTURE. THERE HAS BEEN A 57% RISE IN NUMBER OF PRIVATE VEHICLES IN THE PAST EIGHT YEARS

12.7 million people are jammed into 480 sq-km that comprise today’s Greater Mumbai, that’s 20,680 people per sq km

DELHI may be the dirtiest city in terms of high air pollution but the dubious distinction of being the noisiest city goes to Mumbai which reported the maximum violation of safe noise levels for consistently longer periods

EVERY sixth Mumbaikar lives in a slum. Real estate prices are sky high. It’s cheaper to buy a flat in Manhattan than in Malabar Hill

THERE’S less than 0.03 acres of open space per 1,000 people. The global norm is four; London has 12

TOXIC NITRIC OXIDE AND NITROGEN OXIDE LEVELS STAND AT 252 MICROGRAMMES PER CUBIC METRE (MCG/M3). IT’S MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE SAFE LIMIT OF 80 MCG/M3

The level of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) in the city’s air is several times the safe limit. SPM — a mix of dust, chemicals, soot, pollen and other organic substances — can enter the lungs and lead to various respiratory ailments. SPM is released during fuel burning by vehicles, power stations and industries, construction activities, road dust, burning of garbage and use of wood and dung as cooking fuel

700,000 cars on the road and the authorities indirectly encourage private vehicle ownership by adding flyovers and expressways instead of building or speeding up mass rapid transit systems