One major problem that India has to address in the near future is the migration of workforce from the smaller cities to the metros. When the productive workforce leaves their cities in search of better avenues of employment and income, this in a certain way leads to the stagnation in the growth and development of their smaller native cities. The infrastructure of the metros also faces the heat with this additional pressure on its scarce resources of housing, power, water, road, and primary education primarily. This regular influx of immigrants has its own share of law and order issues. Mumbai is one such city confronting these complications since long. This exodus is more from nearby areas for example as one witness in buses from Kolhapur to Mumbai.
As studies have shown improved roads between major metros and surrounding cities leads to the diversion of economic and social growth to smaller cities too. People can travel to and fro between the cities in lesser time, movements of goods for consumption and consumption purpose is fast and economical, plus with better road infrastructure a lot of production units and commercial activities tend to shift from the metros to the smaller cities around the metro. Earlier the buses from Kolhapur to Mumbai happened to be full of migrants moving to the bigger city. But now not so as the scenario seems to have witnessed a complete makeover.
These days if you look at passengers traveling from Kolhapur to Mumbai by bus, you find there are more of tourists and then there are people going for business purposes. No one wishes to move out of his or her hometown if ample opportunities of employment, business, education and medical facilities are available. The last twenty years or so is the testimony of this fact. The distance between Kolhapur to Mumbai by bus is about 380 kilometers but better and wider roads and comfortable buses of all kinds and budgets have made this distance practically short and relaxing. It is estimated that about 15000 to 17000 commuters daily travel on this circuit, making it an extremely busy in traffic. It is not surprising that Kolhapur has emerged as an industrial hub closer to Mumbai in a big way. Apart from large manufacturing facilities of Kirloskar’s and Raymond’s the city also has a good concentration of industrial units of various sizes.
Better connectivity of roads between metros and nearby smaller cities is the way how India should envision its next phase of economic growth.
|