Just Move 'Em Out of Town

After the evictions in Mumbai at the start of the year, Mumbra, a neighborhood 50 km outside of the big city, has become the new squatter community of choice, according to this article from the Economic Times. “The place has become a dumping ground for migrants coming to the city in search of a livelihood,” a government official told the paper, which asserted that politicians have been tolerating Mumbra's extremely rapid growth (the population doubled between the past two elections) because they hope to get the squatters' votes. Still, the article seems to blame the squatters for the stench and lack of drinking water. If housing in the city is too costly, where are the poor supposed to go. Isn't this why we form governments: to make life better for citizens?