There was a Talk on “Mumbai’s Megacity Mess”, delivered by the noted journalist, Mr. Darryl D’Monte at Bangalore International centre on 11th Sept, 2007 at 6 PM. The session was presided over by Mr. V Ravichandar, CMD, Feedback Business Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd. & Former Member, Bangalore Agenda Task Force.

In a perceptive analysis of the trends in the unplanned urbanisation of Mumbai, Mr. D’Monte highlighted the bias and lack of focus of the planners about the needs of the majority of the inhabitants of Mumbai. He pointed out that the planned civic amenities, including roads take care of only the elite while the vast majority within the megacity do not have access to even the basic amenities like housing, toilet, sanitation and drinking water. He sounded a note of caution that unless immediate corrective steps are taken, the situation in Bangalore may also degenerate to the level of Mumbai.

The talk was followed by a lively interactive session in which several members participated.