Geography

Bombay (Mumbai) is located (Latitude 18'54"N, Longitude 72'49"E) in Maharashtra State and is the principal Indian port on the Arabian Sea. The original city is confined by its island location; Bombay island is a group of islands off the Konkan coast which are connected to the mainland by a bridge to the north (Figure 1). Bombay's central business district (CBD), comprising most of the commercial and business centres and government offices, is located in the extreme southern part of the city. Bombay harbour is to the east of the city. The commercial Fort area lies to the south of the island while the commercial, residential and industrial areas are located north of the Fort area. The mean elevation of Bombay is 11 m above mean sea level. The metropolis covers an area of 603 km² of which Greater Bombay covers 438 km².

Demography

The last census in 1981 recorded a population of 8,243,405, which had increased from 5.81 million in 1970. The population in 1990 was estimated to be 11.13 million and by the year 2000 the projected population will be 15.43 million (UN, 1989). Bombay is extremely densely populated with an average of 15,000 person per km². It is estimated that the most densely populated areas contain over 100,000 persons per km². In 1981, it was estimated that 34.3 per cent of Bombay's population were slum dwellers. In the past, urban spread has been constrained by physical factors such as marshland and hills; however, shanty dwellings now predominate on the ill-drained marshy ground which lies between the two main railway lines.

Climate

Bombay has a tropical savanna climate; mean humidity ranges between 57-87 per cent. The annual mean temperature is 25.3^oC rising to a monthly maximum of 34.5^oC in June and with a minimum of 14.3^oC in January. Total annual mean precipitation is 2,078 mm with 34 per cent (709 mm) falling in the month of July. Due to the summer monsoons, maximum sunshine occurs in winter (291 hours in January) (WMO, 1971). In the winter the predominant wind direction is northerly (NW-NE). However, in the monsoon season westerly and southerly winds predominate. There is virtually always a sea breeze during the day with mean windspeeds between 5-8 km/hour; calms occur at night between 2200 hours and 0600 hours. The mixing depth varies from 30 to 3,000 m (NEERI, 1991a).

Industry

Bombay is the financial and commercial centre of India and also the most industrially developed Indian city. The city's port is the busiest in India handling approximately half of the country's foreign trade. There are between 6,000 and 7,000 industrial units in Bombay, mainly textile, chemical and engineering works. Bombay is the centre of the Indian cotton-textile industry. The largest concentration of industries is in the Trombay-Chembur area, along the eastern coast of the island, and also in the Lal Bag area. The Lal Bag area also contains the Tata thermal power plant (the only one in Bombay), the Rashtriya chemical and fertiliser plant, the Bombay Gas Company and numerous petrochemical plants, refineries, and textile mills. Industrial production is increasing at a rate of approximately 90 per cent per annum. Bombay is also home to a nuclear reactor and plutonium separator.

Due to acute overcrowding in the city, planners have prohibited the addition of commercial and industrial establishments on Bombay Island. Companies are forced to locate all new industry in a second city - New Bombay - which is situated on the mainland across the Thane Creek. Some existing established firms have been relocated to the new city.

Transport

Being a major port Bombay has traditionally been known as the Gateway of India. The burning by ships of furnace oil with a high sulphur content (3 per cent) is estimated to account for 34 tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) per day in Bombay.

During the morning and evening "rush hour" the majority of the working population have to travel in and out of the CBD from the residential areas to the north.

Due to the massive influx of commuters and the geographical constraints of the city, Bombay relies heavily upon public Transport. Buses and railways account for two-thirds (34 per cent each) of all motorised trips; cars account for only 8 per cent of trips. Bombay has two suburban electric train systems which carry over 800,000 commuters daily. It has been estimated that over 25 per cent of all trips are made on foot. Despite the heavy reliance on public Transport, motor vehicle numbers are increasing. The estimated number of motorised trips per day in 1980 was 5.25 million. This is projected to rise to 17.69 million by the year 2000 (Faiz et al., 1990). Bombay's vehicular population is growing at a rate of 10 per cent per annum which is reflected in automotive pollutant emissions. The total motor vehicle population in 1989 was 588,000 which was 5 per cent of the Indian total. Motor vehicle density is approximately 1,197 vehicles per km² or 364 vehicles per km road length (NEERI, 1991a).

Three-wheeled autorickshaws (a form of taxi) are a major mode of Transport in Bombay. The number of registered autorickshaws in Greater Bombay has increased from 6 in 1971 to 21,577 in 1987. These vehicles are powered by a two-stroke engine which requires oil to be added to the fuel; on combustion this oil produces (blue) smoke and thus is a major source of pollution in terms of direct human exposure and is also a nuisance. This problem has been recognised by Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) which has resulted in this type of vehicle being banned from certain (central) areas of the city.

Motor vehicles are, and will become, an increasingly important source of air pollution in Bombay as old and often inefficient vehicles remain in circulation for a long time. A combination of traffic congestion, high-rise buildings, slow wind, high humidity and near isothermal conditions throughout the year, aggravate the effects of vehicular emissions.

History

The city of Bombay ("Bom" "Bay" in Portuguese meant Good Bay) originally consisted of seven islands namely Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion. This group of islands, which has since been joined together by a series of reclamations, formed part of the kingdom of Ashoka, the famous Emperor of India. After his death, these islands passed into the hands of various Hindu rulers until 1343. In that year, the Mohammedans of Gujerat took possession and the Kings of that province ruled for two centuries. The only vestige (mark) of their dominion over these islands that remains today is the mosque at Mahim.

In 1534 the Portuguese, who already possessed many important trading centers on the western coast, such as Panjim, Daman, and Diu, took Bombay by force of arms from the Mohammedans. This led to the establishment of numerous churches which were constructed in areas where the majority of people were Roman Catholics. There used to be two areas in Bombay called "Portuguese Church". However, only one church with Portuguese-style facade still remains; it is the St. Andrew's church at Bandra. The Portuguese also fortified their possession by building forts at Sion, Mahim, and Bassien which, although in disrepair, can still be seen.

A hundred and twenty-eight years later the islands were given to the English King Charles II in dowry on his marriage to Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza in 1662. In the year 1668 the islands were acquired by the English East India Company on lease from the crown for an annual sum of 10 pounds in gold; so little did the British value these islands at that time. The Company, which was operating from Surat, was in search for another deeper water port so that larger vessels could dock, and found the islands of Bombay suitable for development. The shifting of the East India Company's headquarters to Bombay in 1687 led to the eclipse of Surat as a principal trading center.

The first Parsi, (the Parsis, originally from Iran, landed on the west coast of India seeking refuge around 700 AD) to arrive in Bombay was Dorabji Nanabhoy Patel in 1640. However, in 1689-90, when a severe plague had struck down most of the Europeans, the Siddi Chief of Janjira made several attempts to re-possess the islands by force, but the son of the former, a Parsi trader named Rustomji Dorabji Patel (1667-1763), successfully warded off the attacks (1689 to 1690) on behalf of the British with the help of the 'Kolis', the original fisher-folk inhabitants of these islands (who call it "Mumbai" after the shrine dedicated to Mumbadevi, a Hindu goddess) at chowpatty. The remnants of the Koli settlements can still be seen at Backbay reclamation, Mahim, Bandra, Khar, Bassien and Madh island near Malad.

Sir George Oxenden was the first British Governor of the islands, and he was succeeded later by Mr. Gerald Aungier who made Bombay more populous by attracting Gujerati traders, Parsi ship-builders, and Muslim and Hindu manufacturers from the mainland. He fortified defenses by constructing the Bombay Castle (the Fort, since then vanished) and provided stability by constituting courts of law.

The island of Colaba was joined to Bombay in 1838 by a causeway now called Colaba Causeway and the Mahim Causeway was built in 1845 at the cost of Rs. 1,57,000 donated entirely by Lady Avabai Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy, wife of the first baronet Sir Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy. By 1862 the town had spread over the reclaimed lands and from this date we have the rise of the modern city of Bombay.

In 1858, following the first War of Independence (the British called it the "Sepoy Mutiny") of 1857, the East India Company was accused of mismanagement and the islands reverted to the British Crown. In 1862 Sir Baartle Frere was appointed Governor, an office which he held until 1867.

On Saturday 16th of April, 1853 a 21-mile long railway line, the first in India, between Bombay and Thana (Thane) was opened. The Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) and the Bombay Baroda and Central India (BB&CI) Railway were started in 1860 and a regular service of steamers on the west coast was commenced in 1869. Also during this period Bombay enjoyed great economic wealth. Raw cotton from Gujerat was shipped to Lancashire in England through Bombay port, and after being spun and woven into cloth, returned to be sold in the Indian market. The outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 increased the demand for cotton in the West and several personal fortunes were made during this period from the resulting trade. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought the West closer to Bombay, and as the city became even more prosperous, many schemes were launched for reclaiming additional land and building more roads and wharves. Bombay began to attract fortune hunters by the hundreds (and probably still does) and the population had swelled from 13,726 in 1780 to 644,405 by 1872, in a little over a hundred years. By 1906 the population of Bombay was to become 977,822( And today it is 12.5 million!).

The later half of the 19th century was also to see a feverish construction of buildings in Bombay, many of which such as, the Victoria Terminus, the General Post Office, Municipal Corporation, the Prince of Wales Museum, Rajabai Tower and Bombay University, Elphistone College and the Cawasji Jehangir Hall, the Crawford Market, the Old Secretariat (Old Customs House) and the Public Works Department (PWD) Building, still stand today as major landmarks. The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of king George V and Queen Mary for the Darbar at Delhi in 1911.

The Port Trust Railway from Ballard Pier to Wadala was opened in 1915. Along this railway were built grain and fuel oil depots. The kerosene oil installations were developed at Sewri and for petrol at Wadala. Around 1860 the water supply from Tulsi and Vehar lakes (and later Tansa) was inaugurated. One reform which met with much superstitious opposition before it was implemented was the closure or sealing of open wells and tanks that bred mosquitos. A good drainage system was also constructed at the same time. In 1915 the first overhead transmission lines of the Tata Power Company were erected, and in 1927 the first electric locomotives manufactured by Metropolitan Vickers of England were put into service up to Poona and Igatpuri on the GIP railway and later electric multiple rake commuter trains ran up to Virar on the BB&CI railway.

The Fort (downtown) area in Bombay derives its name from the fact that the area fell within the former walled city, of which only a small fragment survives as part of the eastern boundary wall of the St. George's Hospital. In 1813 there were 10,801 persons living in the fort, 5,464, or nearly 50%, of them Parsis. With the growth of the city more people came from the Fort to such suburbs as Byculla, Parel, Malabar Hill, and Mazagaon. European sports clubs for cricket and other games came in to existence early in the 19th Century. The Bombay Gymkhana was formed in 1875 exclusively for Europeans. Other communities followed this example, and various Parsi, Muslim, and Hindu gymkhanas were started with fierce sports competitions among them being organized on a communal basis. This was opposed by several secular minded persons, such as the late A.F.S. Talyarkhan, and sports teams based on community, especially cricket teams, came to an end gradually after independence from British rule in 1947.