'Governments have used Mumbai as a cow to milk'

Preeti Sharma Menon is the face of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) in Mumbai. As BMC elections approach, Kashif Khushro spoke to her about her party’s maiden effort to capture power in the richest civic body in the country. Excerpts:

What does Mumbai need?

Mumbai is a city of dreams for many people. But if you walk the streets of Mumbai, it’s a nightmare. It is difficult to navigate everything, from roads to toilets to medical care to good education as governments have only used Mumbai as a cow to milk. They have used BMC budgets for their own corrupt needs. It’s a shame that 65% of the population lives in slums and it is this population that runs Mumbai. You wouldn’t be having transport, cinema, restaurants, electricity, water, and police force if the slums didn’t exist. The entire security and functioning of the city is happening from slums, but we cannot give them basic water and sanitation. At the same time, we are looking at an environmental disaster. There is so much to safeguard against. Therefore, we must come up with a good plan for making Mumbai sustainable and survivable. The other problem is hygiene. Hygiene is abysmal. Around 70% of our sewage is being dumped into the sea. The consequences have been felt by the aboriginal people of Mumbai, the Kolis.