'Mumbai's worst city to live in tag is spot on'

Mumbai: Just a fortnight ago, Mumbai was deemed as the worst city to live in according to the Cities of Opportunity 2012 report released by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC).

The report surveyed 27 cities across the world and the rankings were based on variables such as cultural vibrancy, quality of living, working age population and traffic congestion. While Mumbai was listed to be the worst city to live in, London and New York were among the best.

Reacting to the report, MiD DAY spoke to experts from various fields to find out if they agreed with the findings of the PwC report and surprisingly, most of the experts were in agreement to the results.

Ease of doing business: Mumbai was ranked 26th from 27
While Singapore was crowned as the best city keeping this parameter in mind, Mumbai was ranked second from the bottom.

Viren Shah, president of Retail Traders Welfare association, agreeing with the report's findings said, "I fully agree with the report as Mumbai is not friendly to traders. Many businessmen who want to do business choose Gujarat as it is very difficult to obtain licences in Mumbai."

Environment: Ninth from the bottom
Dr Ashok Kothari, environmentalist and former honourable secretary of BNHS said, "Mumbai's position among the 27 cities across the globe seems appropriate considering the current degradation of our biodiversity. Our rankings can slip further in the future if we do not control the uncontrolled felling of trees and the destruction of our mangroves." PwC's report ranked Sydney as the best .

Transport and Infrastructure: Number 6 from the bottom
"I feel that the findings of the report are right. If we do not consider the railways, which was planned by the British, we do not have any infrastructure facilities," said transport expert Jitendra Gupta.

Health, safety and security: Number four from the bottom
While Stockholm, Toronto and Sydney ranked high on this parameter, Mumbai was the fourth least safe city. Commenting on the rank, Dr P S Pasricha, former DGP of Maharashtra, said, "I would not say that Mumbai is unsafe but a lot can be done to improve the conditions. Systems need to be upgraded." When it came to health, however, Dr Sandhya Kamat, the dean of KEM Hospital refuted the testimony. "I don't agree to this research, because in our city, we try to provide treatment as early as possible."