On Wednesday, February 11, Mumbai gave India its first ‘musical road’. A stretch of 500 metres of the coastal road on the northbound lane at Worli, after exiting the underground tunnel, has special grooves or rumble strips that play the notes of the famous Oscar-winning “Jai Ho” number from Slumdog Millionaire. When vehicles traverse at 70–80 kilometres per hour over these, strains of music can be heard inside them. This little nugget was inaugurated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “Mumbai has added an unusual flourish to its infrastructure story,” gushed a headline.

Citizens seek substantive infrastructure

Millions of Mumbaikars would happily forego this “flourish” for the sake of substantive infrastructure they can use to make their daily life meaningful—walkable pavements, motorable roads with traffic discipline, protected open and green spaces accessible to all in every neighbourhood of the city, housing that does not require people to squeeze into cubbyholes or sign for life-long mortgages, and recreation facilities that make the best use of the city’s natural wealth of water bodies and wetlands.

Carter Road promenade controversy

On one such waterfront, at Bandra’s Carter Road, the 1.2-kilometre promenade saw digging this week to lay cables and other requirements for 35 commercial LED hoardings. Transformed from a former dump site by a citizens’ initiative and public funds led by the late Darryl D’Monte, Bandra West Residents’ Association, and architect-activist PK Das, it includes a jogging track, a........

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