When the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) receives a complaint about a pungent odour, it may be one among many environmental issues that require attention. But for thousands of residents living along the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) corridor—from Thiruporur to Sholinganallur—it has become a recurring nightmare. For the past several years, families in this rapidly growing residential area have lived with a constant uncertainty, not knowing when the next wave of foul-smelling air will arrive. On many evenings, the stench hits after 7 pm. On other days, it surfaces much later—sometimes after 11 pm or in the early hours…

“Who walks on footpaths anymore?” asks Abhay Shanbagh, a Vile Parle resident in his sixties. He says the footpath in front of his house is not even fully visible because of the cars parked along it and sometimes on it. Neha Dholam, a domestic worker who walks about two hours daily in Ghatkopar and Vile Parle, has a similar response. She wonders which footpaths I am talking about since they are barely visible behind parked vehicles en route to her workplace. This is the lived reality of so many Mumbaikars even though over half of all trips in Mumbai are…