Public transport has made Mumbai what it is today: Charles Correa

Architect and urban planner Charles Correa has a word of advice for those involved in planning the ambitious Mumbai waterfront development project.
“It should begin with planning for public transport,” said the octogenarian, who won the Lifetime Achievement award at the HT for Mumbai awards on Friday.
Correa is also known for his hold over issues pertaining to urban planning and affordable housing. He has been honoured with the Padma Shri in 1972, and the second highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, in 2006.
Elaborating on his view, Correa said, “When you have public transport and an intersection of railway lines, we will have a hub. The waterfront should be spread across the entire railway line, so it will be accessible to people from all points.”
Talking of Mumbai of the 1960s, he said the idea of transport back then was to connect the city to the mainland. “Initially, Mumbai saw a well-planned transport system, where engineers built the central and western lines. The two railway lines were built by the British and people started living along the tracks.
Public transport made Mumbai what it is because the city never had a plan,” Correa said. Critical of the haphazard development, he said beautiful areas such as Parel, which have new buildings coming up, need to be supported by good roads and infrastructure. “Market forces do not make cities, they destroy them,” said Correa, in his message for the government and new urban planners.
Correa’s work includes the Mahatma Gandhi memorial and Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, the state Assembly in Madhya Pradesh and being the chief architect for Navi Mumbai. He was also the first chairman of the National Commission for Urbanisation. In 1984, he founded the Urban Design Research Institute in Mumbai, dedicated to the protection of environment and improvement of urban communities.
-
Panipat man kills three within 8 hours; arrested
The accused, Ashu, a resident of Panipat’s Nara village, killed the victims, reportedly his friends, between 8pm and 4am and travelled around 60km from the first crime scene in Matlauda of Panipat to Titawi in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli. The victims are Sonu, 26, who was working with a private contractor in a cement factory, and his two friends -- Monu, 25, of Nara village and Rakesh, 27, of Bhalsi village.
-
Delhi: Tools to help schools assess mindset curriculum impact
The Delhi government introduced the Happiness curriculum in 2018, Entrepreneurship mindset curriculum in 2019 and the Deshbhakti curriculum last year with the aim of inculcating problem-solving approaches among students and making them more self-aware, self-confident and socially responsible.
-
Delhi LG inspects drainage at flooding hot spots
While the LG appreciated the work done at Indraprastha and Pul Prahladpur, he was displeased at the drainage system at Minto Bridge, flagging “technical flaws” in the drainage system and warned that engineers concerned “will be held responsible and strict action will be taken in the event of waterlogging at the site.”
-
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs return to Mumbai after 11 days, show of strength with BJP
BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said the MLAs were informed about the election process for upcoming election for Speaker’s post. “They were told that the election will be held through a voice vote or they may have to stand up to vote for their candidate if asked,” said Mungantiwar.
-
Dry day pushes Delhi’s temperature up; IMD forecasts light rain for today
The weather department classifies rainfall between ‘trace’ and 2.4 mm as ‘very light rainfall’, as ‘light rainfall’ when it is between 2.5 mm and 15.5 mm, as ‘moderate’ rainfall when it is between 15.6 mm and 64.4 mm and as ‘heavy’ when it is over 64.5 mm in a single day.