Two encouraging efforts emerged in Bombay this month. They hint of a shift towards collaborative change, with government starting to place desision-making in the hands of actual users of the system. It's a very democratic way of doing things.
A. The Dengue Problem: The municipal corporation declared that controlling the mosquito which carries dengue fever could be best managed by teaching citizens what the mosquito looks like. This is one report that criticizes the move:
This idea [for] tackling dengue is the brainchild of civic health committee chairman Ramesh Naik. Naik in fact feels the problem of dengue has arisen because most people are not aware how these mosquitoes look or how they breed.
So the health committee has launched an education and identification campaign by pasting posters and stickers at prominent places and distributing pamphlets.
B. The Local Trains: The new range of local trains for Bombay's railway network will be decided by the people. This is an example of collaborative decision-making , which stresses feedback. (pic by Soumik Kar)
The first prototype of the new locals for Mumbais suburban lines will be in the city early December.
Three coaches, all with different seating and interior designs, will be run on Western Railway in December, and the Railways want you, the citys commuters, to choose the best design.
The Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), which is bringing in the new locals, made partly of stainless steel, is printing option cards to be distributed at railway stations for commuter feedback.
