INDIA - "Want the royal charm of Jaipur? Don't come here, just buy a postcard," a local taxi driver quipped during my recent visit to the north-western Indian city. I had asked him why Rajasthan's amber-hued capital - thriving with tourists drawn to its opulent palaces and majestic forts - looked so ramshackle.
His answer reflected a resigned hopelessness about the urban decay that plagues not just Jaipur but many Indian cities: choked with traffic, shrouded in foul air, littered with heaps of uncleared rubbish, and indifferent to the remnants of their glorious heritage. In Jaipur, you will find the most sublime examples of centuries-old architecture defaced by tobacco stains and jostling for space with a car mechanic's workshop. This raises a question: why are Indian cities becoming increasingly unliveable, even as hundreds of billions are spent on a national facelift?
ndia's rapid growth, despite high tariffs, weak private spending, and stagnant manufacturing, has been driven largely by the Modi government's focus on state-funded infrastructure upgrades. Over the past few years, India has built shiny airports, multi-lane national highways and metro train networks. And yet, many of its cities rank at the bottom of liveability indexes. Over the past year, frustrations have reached a boiling point.
In Bengaluru - often called India's Silicon Valley for its many IT companies and start-up headquarters - there were public outbursts from citizens and billionaire entrepreneurs alike, fed up with its traffic snarls and garbage piles. In Mumbai, the financial capital, citizens staged a rare protest against worsening pothole problem, as clogged sewage lines dumped garbage onto flooded roads during the extended monsoon. In Delhi's annual winter of discontent, toxic smog left children and the elderly gasping, with doctors advising some to leave the city. Even footballer Lionel Messi's visit this month was overshadowed by fans chanting against the capital's poor air quality. (BBC)
