Kallol Ray settled in Navi Mumbai as many of his friends residing in the satellite city were in high opinion of the residential areas here. Having moved to the city from Kolkata in 2008, Ray is indeed enjoying a comfortable life.
"Navi Mumbai is more planned as compared to many other cities. It is less congested and facilities have come up in a short period of time. While these are aspects that every single person has to say about the city, it is true and has remained so for quite sometime," says Ray, adding that a few years back affordability of homes was also an attractive aspect.
While initially he settled in Palm Beach Road in Sanpada, he shifted to Ghansoli in 2010. "With Kolkata what I feel is a childhood attachment as it is my native place. In comparison, Navi Mumbai is any day a better residential location as availability of services is quicker. While in Kolkata even a plumber would take two to three days to come, here it is finished in a matter of hours," he says.
One of the other reasons why he likes Navi Mumbai is because of the simplicity and helping nature of the people staying here. Starting from the first day, Ray has gotten help from fellow Navi Mumbaikars for whatever matter, he asserts. While he has witnessed several positive changes in the satellite city over the years, Ray feels that the pace of development needs to be on par with the size of the population.
He says, "While it is still relatively less congested as compared to Mumbai, the situation is rapidly changing. Hence, infrastructure has to be developed at a faster pace. For instance, there are several private hospitals in the city that are known for good medical assistance. However, the common man cannot afford them. As people cannot compromise on quality treatment, the planning agency and other state machinery should create more public hospitals."
Several amenities essential for a convenient day-to-day life have to be improved, feels the 46-year-old. Be it better transport facilities, opportunities for commercial activities, or prevention of illegal parking of vehicles on highways. "I take the Vashi-Koparkhairane road to commute to work and both sides of the road have a line of illegally parked cars," says Ray, referring to inordinate delays due to traffic jams.
As he has been a resident of Ghansoli for five years, he feels that the node is not being concentrated upon when it comes to overall development.
"One will find garbage dumped in many areas and there is not much when it comes to recreation. Be it theatre, malls, or community celebration, the residents mostly have to go to other nodes," he says, adding that cultural upgradation be it art exhibitions, music festivals et al is a necessity all across the satellite city.
Navi Mumbai has thus not yet become a prime city, he emphasises. "There can be more efforts taken to curb reckless violation of traffic rules, increasing encroachment of footpaths by hawkers," he states adding, "Navi Mumbai has to develop into a smart city that is self-sufficient in the years to come."
