Shekhar Gupta: Cities of misery

India's big cities are rotting, growing into massive, self-governing slums. When attempts are made to fix them, coral comes in the way, like in Mumbai

Our cities suck. The latest data from global agencies reminds us that 15 of the 20 most polluted cities are in India. Given how rapidly we are worsening, and urbanising, it is a matter of time when we count, maybe, 25 of the dirtiest 30, and so on.

Traffic in our cities crawls. In Mumbai, it is now at 8 kmph. Bengaluru is worse. My suggestion to Google Maps: Rename it ‘Waterloo’, its own, of course.

Hyderabad may be a bit better, Kolkata even improving, which is a gift of its economic decline. Delhi will not catch up with Mumbai or Bengaluru