THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - July 5, 2018 - Topic 2
Mumbai is an efficient city in some ways, but
this reputation depends on fair weather. It turns into a soggy mess with the
arrival of a monsoon. This year the season has begun with the spectacular collapse of a pedestrian bridge on a crucial
railway line in Andheri, causing injuries and
overall urban paralysis. Not even a year has passed since the ghastly
stampede on a foot overbridge at Elphinstone Road station, that took over 20 lives.
The recurrent disasters
involving infrastructure are proof of the indifference among policymakers to
the city’s needs, even as they speak of a ‘global standard’ of living. It is
fair to ask whether Mumbai is prepared, after the passage of a dozen years, to
meet a disaster such as the July 2005 flooding caused by 99.4 cm of rain in a
24-hour period. The city continues to attract a large number of people looking
for opportunity — the population rose from 11.9 million in 2001 to 18.4 million
a decade later. But urban managers, led by the Brihanmumbai Municipal
Corporation, have not invested enough in new infrastructure and have done a
shoddy job of maintaining the old. If Maharashtra has to achieve higher rates
of economic growth and touch an ambitious 10%, as Chief Minister Devendra
Fadnavis desires, Mumbai’s infrastructure planning should be in the hands of an
empowered custodian who can secure the cooperation of all urban agencies.
A return to nature is needed to relieve Mumbai of
its flooding woes. According to one estimate, the city’s Mithi river, blocked
by debris and garbage, has lost about 60% of its catchment to development. The
setting up of a Supreme Court monitoring committee has not helped much. It will
take resolute measures to stop the release of sewage and industrial chemicals
into the Mithi, and retrieve lost mangroves. A cleaner river connected to
functional drainage can aid in the speedy removal of flood waters, and improve
the environment. Yet, there are other basic challenges which are particularly
worrisome to less affluent residents. In a 2015 study, the World Bank found
that half of the poor did not consider moving out of flood-prone areas, because
of the uncertainty of living in a new place with severe social disruptions and
reduced access to education and health facilities. What this underscores is the
need to make the best use of all available space, densify development where
feasible, and improve conditions in situ. It is welcome that a joint safety
audit with the IIT will be conducted on public infrastructure, in the wake of
the bridge collapse. But such inspections must be regularly carried out and
quick remedial steps taken.
Vocabulary
Efficient: achieving
maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense.
Example: Fluorescent
lamps are efficient at converting electricity into light
Reputation: the
beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.
Example: His
reputation was tarnished by allegations that he had taken bribes
Ghastly: causing
great horror or fear; frightful or macabre.
Example: She
was overcome with horror at the ghastly spectacle
Synonyms: terrible, horrible, grim, awful, dire, frightening, terrifying, horrifying
Shoddy: badly
made or done.
Example: We're
not paying good money for shoddy goods
Synonyms: poor-quality, inferior, second-rate, third-rate, cheap, cheapjack
Empowered: give
someone the authority or power to do something.
Example: Nobody
was empowered to sign checks on her behalf
Synonyms: authorize, entitle, permit, allow, license, sanction, warrant, commission
Custodian: a
person who has responsibility for or looks after something.
Example: The
custodians of pension and insurance funds
Synonyms: keeper, guardian, steward, protector
Debris: scattered
fragments, typically of something wrecked or destroyed.
Example: The
bomb hits it, showering debris from all sides
Synonyms: detritus, refuse, rubbish, waste, litter, scrap, dross, chaff, flotsam
and jetsam
Retrieve: get
or bring (something) back; regain possession of.
Example: I
was sent to retrieve the balls from his garden
Synonyms: get
back, bring back, recover, recoup, reclaim
Affluent: having
a great deal of money; wealthy.
Example: The
affluent societies of the western world
Synonyms: wealthy, rich, prosperous, moneyed, well-to-do, propertied
Feasible: possible
to do easily or conveniently.
Example: It
is not feasible to put most finds from excavations on public display
Synonyms: practicable, practical, workable, achievable, attainable, realizable
Remedial: giving
or intended as a remedy or cure.
Example: Remedial
surgery
