City politics

It rained continuously, flooding all the low lying areas. The usual blame game began. A rerun of last year’s monsoon theme and the year before that. The city fathers blamed the utility agencies for digging roads without prior permission . The citizens blamed the Municipal authorities who in turn said that the citizens are to be blamed for their lack of civic consciousness. The State Government blamed the electronic media for spreading panic and warned them of strict action. By the time they finish blaming each other and God for the disaster caused by the rainfall, the monsoons are over and then the ‘rebuilding’ and ‘repaving’ starts. And all are friends again, busy making life happen in Mumbai! When will this farce stop? When will the common man be able to face monsoons without any fear in Mumbai? Where will the buck stop and someone stand up and say ‘Enough is enough’! Letters are written, petitions filed, but apart from filling the coffers of the wheelers and dealers, status quo is the flavour of the day. ‘Chalta hai’. Non Government Organisations crop up a dime a dozen but get sucked into the vortex of corruption without a trace. It is an alternate profession now. if you cannot get into mainstream politics get into trade unionism or start an NGO to fight for the common man. The common man is so frustrated with the authorities that he will look upto any self styled leader who promises to make his life a wee bit easier without realising that he is but a pawn in the launch of yet another political figure.
And that is exactly why the city was held to ransom by Mr.Nitesh Rane who has founded an NGO to fight for the rights of the common man! It was basically a launch pad for him into the big bad world of city power politics. And who suffered? The common man who wished to get out there and earn his daily bread. His tools of the trade – cab and auto – were vandalised. How ironic!