Speak up for crumbling infrastructure, open spaces in Mumbai from March 23 to 28

The event conducted by the Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action is set to include conferences, cultural events and city walks in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai for a week.

The 2011 census figures say that 42% of the city’s population live in slums. The development plan states that every Mumbaiite gets only 1.24sqm open space. 57,417 people in the city are homeless and the rise in vertical limits is only worsening Mumbai’s already crumbling infrastructure and amenities.

The event will also address the issue of lack of open spaces in the city. (HT File/Representational Image)

However, you are still not getting a chance to speak about these urban realities as a common Mumbaiite.

In an effort to engage people from multiple socioeconomic backgrounds, an NGO, Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) is organising Complex City, a city-wide series of events to talk about Mumbai’s urban realities. The seminar, to be held between March 23 and 28 will focus on the city’s open spaces, infrastructure, and realities of urban poor, forced evictions, demands and expectations of the youth in the city.

The event is set to include conferences, cultural events and city walks in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai for a week.

The NGO aims to engage with decision-making bodies like the BMC and the Maharashtra government on the issues discussed.

Marina Joseph, from YUVA said, “We want to sensitise people to the multiple realities within one city. There are many communities, who are unaware of the issues people face. We want to bring all these discussions to the public domain and get it to the authorities.”

Joseph also said the idea to hold the conference became stronger after YUVA initiated a campaign called Claiming Spaces, last year. It aimed at reclaiming open spaces for play, recreation and community gatherings in areas like Santacruz, Jogeshwari and Malvani.