Pitted roads, overflowing drains and hawkers occupying the footpath – in the last 18 years that I have lived in Khadi no 3 in Mumbai’s Saki Naka area, this has been a regular sight. But it’s difficult to get used to living in such conditions despite calling this place home all my life.

The condition of roads at Saki Naka’s Khadi No 3 has been deteriorating over the years. In the last three years, things have only gotten worse. After every monsoon, the roads are dotted with potholes and chunks of it have broken off along the sides. At one junction, the road has caved in leaving the drain exposed in a hole big enough to cause an accident. If a child slips and falls into the it, their rescue would be exceedingly difficult, perhaps impossible.