Covid-19, Containment, Policy Initiatives and Urban Restart: Glimpses from Mumbai, India

ABSTRACT

Mumbai, the financial capital of India, has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic not only in terms of health but also in terms of economic and other spheres. This chapter initiates with the preliminary analysis of the COVID-19 situation and its related challenges in Mumbai megacity and further presents an outline of the journey that the metro-city has trailed during the COVID-19 era. With the advent of the pandemic, several restrictive measures were imposed resulting in abrupt loss of jobs, salary reductions, unavailability of public health infrastructure, closure of finance and educational institutions, closure of economic hubs and transportation systems had severely derailed the ‘business as usual’ of Mumbai, thereby impacting the health and well-being of its citizens. This chapter highlights the impact of restrictive measures such as lockdown, night curfew, containment and quarantine and self-isolation. The impacts of the local and state government initiatives and participation of private enterprises and non-profit organisations in order to curb the crisis, with a focus on special models such as ‘4-T model’ ‘chase the virus’ mission implemented on the mega-slum of Dharavi, were studied. The major difficulties and hurdles that were exposed during this period included dwindling health infrastructure, overcrowding and hyper-density, lack of habitable spaces and sanitation facilities. Lastly, the ‘urban restart’ approaches and innovative initiatives taken by the city development authorities in order to reinvigorate the balance between work and life have also been portrayed on the other hand. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.