In Mumbai, the footpaths are dirty, or in bad shape, with the paverblocks tipping over when stepped on, and splashing dirty water onto the pedestrian, or two wheelers riding across them. In Pune, footpaths have been taken over by hawkers, with large cardboard boxes, in which they display their ware, blouses, shoes, scarves, purses, belts, stuffed toys, etc.
I compare these two cities, because I travel to and fro, often. The footpaths in the suburbs of Mumbai are often unusable because of large garbage piles, or beggars, who have made it their home. In south Mumbai, the richie rich crowd use the public footpaths as a parking space for their mercedeses, audis, chevrolets, audis, toyotas and other super expensive SUVs. The school where I work has a broad footpath, about ten feet across, all along the road, but it is futile to try to use to walk safely on. Two wheelers, motorbikers and scooter riders use the footpath as a freeway, riding in either direction, and parking their bikes whenever they wish, blocking the walking space. The entrance to buildings often has a break in the footpaths and cars and vans are parked in this space, without fear of any type of repercussions. If at all one ventures to use the available space between the parked vehicles, to walk, then the AC drips from overhead, all along the path, puts one off. Any petrol pump along the footpaths, block the entire space with parked cars, and proclaim that it is their 'right' to do so.
In Pune, shopkeepers put a metal platform, made of metal strips, as a way to block the space from vehicles parking along the footpaths. So the public can access the footpath from the road by climbing onto the platform and entering the path. In spite of this, some fools park their bike across the platform's outer side and block the entry.
The roads of Pune are overcrowded with 2 wheelers and rickshaws. In the camp area, M. G. road has been declared a one way zone, but many 2 wheelers break the rules and no one cares to stop them.There is a desperate need for a skywalk or foot overbridge, for pedestrians to walk and cross safely. One evening I visited the famous Empress Botanical Garden, after thirty years and what a shock awaited me. There is an entry fee of rupees fifteen, to enter and see a gutter flowing on one side of the garden. Another area was an enclosed nursery. There is an open space as one enters, which has a fair with paid rides and a plastic enclosed mini pool for kids. The only other lane along the few trees that tower around has been marked as a 'no entry' zone. The other end of the same path had lovers snuggling on benches along it. Then there is toilet. So I can declare that I saw 'kissers' and 'pissers'. As I continued walking along this path, the vast area of the Empress Gardens that I knew as a child was visible, but it was covered with rubble, cement and stones, piles and piles of it, almost an area of a hundred metres. The gutter was again visible, along with 50 to 60 slums, and lots of stray black pigs. Most of the enclosed area has been fenced off to house the Poonawala horse stables and what seemed to be an air conditioned green house that was out of bounds for the general public. While leaving the garden, I decided that it would be a good idea to at least walk home and make up for the sad visit. The tarred road leaves no space for pedestrians, and one has to walk in the stony muddy space along it. Walking against the traffic is quite a feat. No one else seemed to be walking, all use two wheelers or a rickshaw, or their car of course. As I walked along on the uneven rocky muddy side path, a two wheeler raced from behind me, almost brushing against my body. That was the last straw and I hit out at the rash rider. That led to loud abuses from them, which was very very depressing.
Mr. Adar Poonawala has won accolades for his effort to clean up Pune, with his mini army of hifi suction garbage vans, but it is a sad state of affairs that the citizens have no proper garbage outlet and so just throw garbage onto the road or footpath. The most vulnerable areas are where there are roadside food stalls, which resemble a garbage dump when it is closing hours, after ten p.m. Foolishly, I woke up at 6 in the morning, to go for a walk to work up my health regime, and the streets filled with garbage were very demotivating.
Every evening, the area where four roads meet, known as Aurora Towers Chowk, is crowded with public eating and drinking from the roadside stalls, juices, milkshakes, pav bhaji, pizza, kulfi, falooda, dosa, sandwich, cholle, pani puri, and so on. The hotels and restaurants have very few customers. Same goes for the large shops selling branded clothes, shoes and watches. The public are buying their wares from the cardboard box, footpath sales persons. The only shop that is crowded besides, is Dorabjees. Customers flock into this store, with its two storeys of goods and a very large variety of everything besides clothes and shoes. They stock cakes and chicken preparations, at the entrance, with all brands of drinks, packet foods, veggies, fruits, icecreams, magazines, chocolates, on the ground floor, the next floor has crockery, house hold cleaning items, and the top floor has make up, shampoos, toothpastes. toys etc.Across the road is a mall, with Westside and Macdonalds etc .
Typical to Pune are the 'gadiwallas' or vendors selling the seasonal fruit on their handcarts. Guavas, strawberries, jamuns, figs, star fruit, litchi, cucumber, jackfruit, taadgolas, a real treat to even watch their decorated mobile shops. They also maintain stalls along the roadside of busy Lullanagar, Kothrud and Kondwa. Admiring their goods is free, but buying is another task, as their prices are quite high.
So, I have labelled Pune as the city of knights and drawbridges, although these knights ride two wheelers and the draw bridges are stationary, and only help access to the footpaths.
