Is Maximum City scary and impossible to live in?

When the government does nothing, it’s up to the courts to take action. “Coming down heavily on the authorities over the recent encroachment of the Indu Mills by the followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday rapped the state government for its “failure to take action against the encroachers”.

A division bench of Justices DK Deshmukh and Anoop Mohta did not mince words. “In Ayodhya, 1992, we all saw what a mob can do; we are facing a similar situation now. The country and its citizens are still reeling under its (Ayodhya’s) effects, and the people this time are not ready. Through its inaction, the state is promoting an act of communal tension,” the bench said,” reports DNA.

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Will the courts step in to help harried commuters, too? “Merchant banker Ganesh Pratihar dreads the daily commute from his Tilak Nagar residence to his office in south Mumbai. Pratihar and other residents of Chembur and Tilak Nagar get stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic during peak hours on almost every road in the area since 2006. “The Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR), the flyover at the Amar Mahal Junction and the work related to monorail are mainly responsible for making my life miserable. All the three projects have delayed either due to apathy on the part of the agencies or reasons best known to the government,” said Pratihar,” says DNA.

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Will real estate prices come down? “Registration of property deals in Mumbai, the country’s most expensive realty market, continued to decline, hitting a 31-month low in November. During the month, registration realty deals slipped 20% from a year ago to 4,060, said a report from brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher. On a monthly basis, realty registration remained weak with 12% decline in the backdrop of no significant price correction and high interest rates,” says Economic Times.

Not so soon. “State revenue minister hints at 20-30 per cent hike in ready reckoner rates that may inflate stamp duty in the New Year; industry insiders condemn move, say it will put off property buyers in an already passive market. Come New Year and it is going to be even more expensive for you to get yourself a house or an office space in the city. The state government is keen to increase the stamp duty rates on its ready reckoner in order to meet revenue targets,” says NDTV.

Will this happen or will the money get spent and citizens receive no succour? “In a bid to tackle the growing sewage problems in the western suburbs, the BMC is all set to unveil its Rs-400 crore project proposal under the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project Stage II for Zone 5 (Malad, Borivli, Dahisar). By preventing the overflow of sewage in low-lying areas, the project aims to improve the condition of 48 chronic flooding spots,” says The Times of India.

Uh oh. Foot-in-mouth. And not good if you work in Bollywood. “Bollywood style icon Sonam Kapoor has stuck to her reputation of being a motormouth once again. The Kapoor lass created a storm on Twitter on Monday when she said she hated Mumbai. “Its impossible to live in Mumbai. I hate it,” she tweeted on her handle @sonamakapoor between 4-4:30 pm,” India Today reported.

An expat writes about his experiences in Mumbai in The Standard, Hong Kong. “I arrived in Mumbai scared. It was a little after midnight, not an hour when I like to make the acquaintance of a foreign city. It was my first trip to India - and I had read Maximum City. No book read before visiting a place had so successfully made me want to stay home,” writes Thomas Swick.