The Nightingale Sings...

Lata Mangeshkar's opposition to the Peddar road flyover has been in the news recently . A lot of vitriolic responses have already been posted in the main stream media and a few blogs too.

Now, I am neither supporting nor opposing her in this matter - for the simple reason that I do not know much about the project. However, I am certainly opposed to the acidic comments many people have directed towards her.

I believe that everyone has the right to voice his or her opinion. If there is some construction or activity that disturbs our peace at home, we do make sure that we voice our opinions and make it known to the perpetrators / authorities and (hopefully) convince them to stop it. The lady has done exactly the same - she has put forward her opinion that the flyover will affect her privacy and will disrupt her life! She also went on so far to say that if the flyover comes up, she will move out of Mumbai. Nothing wrong in this...It is entirely her prerogative to move to any part of the country or outside. It is also her right to express her reservations about any project.

But, it seems that she does not have this right. Judging by the kind of responses (ranging from asking her to get Central A/C in her flat or move out of the country), it would seem that she has committed some sort of blasphemy. Having personally undergone the torture of sweating it out in a traffic jam in Peddar road, I can sympathize with the commuters, but this certainly is not the way to react to a statement.

I do hope however, that the BMC and the government do not take a decision based on emotions of either side! They should evaluate the project in terms of the costs, the potential benefits (i.e. will it really improve the traffic conditions? If so, by how much?), the timeframe, the environmental impact etc. The project should be implemented IF AND ONLY IF it makes sense using the above criteria - and not because some celebrity has opposed it or that people are all for it!