First impressions of Mumbai

So it's my first full day in Mumbai, and after driving around the city, I've had some time to form a few (public health-related) impressions.

The monsoon season hits Mumbai hard, which brings a host of issues in itself. The air is so humid and thick you can take a shower three times a day and still feel sticky. The weather is a breeding ground for water-borne diseases like malaria and yellow fever. Already, there have been reports of an unusually high number of malaria cases in the area...and that was before the monsoons even arrived this summer.

The rains bring more than infectious disease, although that in itself is disastrous to many people, particularly those living in the slums (Mumbai is home to the largest slum area in Asia, Dharavi). It also rips up the roads, creating huge craters that rickshaws and cars get stuck in, clogging the roads and endangering the lives of both drivers and pedestrians.

I've written about sanitation problems before, but multiply those at least twofold for a city like Mumbai, because of the rainy season. City planning is very poor, and the rains create terrible sanitation issues. Aside from the standing water everywhere, there is so much trash all over the streets. Scraps of food, rotting carcasses, plastic waste...these are all the types of things you'll encounter while walking (in your sandals!) on the road. It is deeply, deeply unsanitary.

Then there's the beaches. People visit the water in Mumbai for both religious and recreational purposes. There is the festival of Ganpati, where figures of the elephant god are made out of plaster of paris and then dunked into the water. There's Juhu Beach, which is famous for its beachside fun and its chaats (spicy snacks). Today, we had tea by the beach and until we walked closer to the waves, we didn't realize that the sand was chock full of all kinds of TRASH. How can beach goers bathe safely among so much trash? In Los Angeles, studies are done to estimate the social and economic costs of dirty beaches. It is SO much worse here in Mumbai.

Something must be done to improve the cities of India. Proper drainage must be installed; the rains will continue here from July until September. People are unable to go to work; many trains are not functioning and people are wary to step out of their houses after the flooding and loss of lives two years ago. The government has made no improvements to thwart another similar disaster. So much productivity is lost, meanwhile, in a country that cannot afford to lose productivity!

What can be done about the trash? What can be done to instill in Indian citizens a sense of civic duty? What can be done to inspire the government to make city planning a priority? To fix the roads so that huge craters don't punctuate the streets?