From City of Dreams to City of Rubble

Yesterday, it took me 40 minutes to cover just 1.5 km from the station to my home—and this was during non-peak hours. The reason? Almost every road is dug up, narrowing lanes and choking traffic. And it’s not limited to one area—right now, it feels like the entire city is under construction. I can’t think of a single stretch that hasn’t been torn apart.

It’s been a few years now since these metro projects began, followed by flyovers and multiple roadworks. Now everything seems to be happening all at once, turning the city into what feels like a landscape of rubble. With monsoon around the corner—when construction practically halts for months—this lack of planning is even more frustrating.

Commuting has become exhausting, air quality is deteriorating with so many construction projects, and it feels like we’re competing with Delhi for the worst pollution levels. On top of that, companies are pushing employees back to offices—but does the current infrastructure even support that reality?