Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million. Along with the neighbouring urban areas, including the cities of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it is one of the most populous urban regions in the world. Mumbai lies on the west coast of India and has a deep natural harbour. As of 2009, Mumbai was named an Alpha world city. Mumbai is also the richest city in India, and has the highest GDP of any city in South, West or Central Asia.
The seven islands that came to constitute Mumbai were home to communities of fishing colonies. For centuries, the islands came under the control of successive indigenous empires before being ceded to the Portuguese and subsequently to the British East India Company. During the mid-18th century, Mumbai was reshaped by the British with large-scale civil engineering projects, and emerged as a significant trading town. Economic and educational development characterised the city during the 19th century. It became a strong base for the Indian independence movement during the early 20th century. When India became independent in 1947, the city was incorporated into Bombay State. In 1960, following the Samyukta Maharashtra movement, a new state of Maharashtra was created with Bombay as capital. The city was renamed Mumbai in 1996.
Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment capital of India, it is also one of the world's top 10 centres of commerce in terms of global financial flow, generating 5% of India's GDP, and accounting for 25% of industrial output, 70% of maritime trade in India (Mumbai Port Trust & JNPT), and 70% of capital transactions to India's economy. Mumbai is home to important financial institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange of India, the SEBI and the corporate headquarters of numerous Indian companies and multinational corporations. It houses some of India's premier scientific and nuclear institutes like BARC, NPCL, IREL, TIFR, AERB, AECI, and the Department of Atomic Energy. The city also houses India's Hindi (Bollywood) and Marathi film and television industry. Mumbai's business opportunities, as well as its potential to offer a higher standard of living, attract migrants from all over India and, in turn, make the city a potpourri of many communities and cultures.
City name
The name Mumbai is derived from Mumba or Maha-Amba—the name of the Koli goddess Mumbadevi—and Aai, "mother" in the language of Marathi.
The oldest known names for the city are Kakamuchee and Galajunkja; these are sometimes still used. Ali Muhammad Khan, in the Mirat-i-Ahmedi (1507) referred to the city as Manbai. In 1508, Portuguese writer Gaspar Correia used the name Bombaim, in his Lendas da Índia ("Legends of India"). This name possibly originated as the Old Portuguese phrase bom baim, meaning "good little bay", and Bombaim is still commonly used in Portuguese. In 1516, Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa used the name Tana-Maiambu: Tana appears to refer to the adjoining town of Thane and Maiambu to Mumbadevi.
Other variations recorded in the 16th and the 17th centuries include: Mombayn (1525), Bombay (1538), Bombain (1552), Bombaym (1552), Monbaym (1554), Mombaim (1563), Mombaym (1644), Bambaye (1666), Bombaiim (1666), Bombeye (1676), and Boon Bay (1690). After the British gained possession of the city in the 17th century, the Portuguese name was officially anglicised as Bombay.
By the late 20th century, the city was known as Mumbai or Mambai to Marathi language, Konkani, Gujarati, Kannada and Sindhi speakers and as Bambai in Hindi, Persian and Urdu. The English name was officially changed to Mumbai in November 1995. This came at the insistence of the Marathi language nationalist Shiv Sena party that had just won the Maharashtra state elections and mirrored similar name changes across the country. A theory was proposed suggesting that "Bombay" was a corrupted English version of "Mumbai" and an unwanted legacy of British colonial rule. The push to rename Bombay was part of a larger movement to strengthen Marathi identity in the Maharashtra region. However, the city is still referred to as Bombay by some of its residents and Indians from other regions as well. However, mentions of the city by the name other than Mumbai have been controversial, resulting in emotional outbursts sometimes of a violently political nature.
A widespread popular etymology of Bombay holds that it was derived from a Portuguese name meaning "good bay". This is based on the facts that bom is Portuguese for "good" and baía (or the archaic spelling bahia) means "bay". However, this literal translation would have been incorrect in grammatical gender, as bom is masculine, while baia is feminine; a correct Portuguese rendering of "good bay" would be boa ba(h)ia. Having said this, baim is an archaic, masculine word for "little bay".
Portuguese scholar José Pedro Machado in his Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa (1981; "Portuguese Dictionary of Onomastics and Etymology"), seems to reject the "Bom Bahia" hypothesis, suggesting that the presence of a bay was a coincidence (rather than a basis of the toponym) and led to a misconception, that the noun (bahia; "bay") was an integral part of the Portuguese name.
Geography
Mumbai consists of two distinct regions: Mumbai City district and Mumbai Suburban district, which form two separate revenue districts of Maharashtra. The city district region is also commonly referred to as the Island City or South Mumbai. The total area of Mumbai is 603.4 km2 (233 sq mi). Of this, the island city spans 67.79 km2 (26 sq mi), while the suburban district spans 370 km2 (143 sq mi), together accounting for 437.71 km2 (169 sq mi) under the administration of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The remaining area belongs to Defence, Mumbai Port Trust, Atomic Energy Commission and Borivali National Park, which are out of the jurisdiction of the BMC.
Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas River on the western coast of India, in the coastal region known as the Konkan. It sits on Salsette Island, partially shared with the Thane district. Mumbai is bounded by the Arabian Sea to the west. Many parts of the city lie just above sea level, with elevations ranging from 10 m (33 ft) to 15 m (49 ft); the city has an average elevation of 14 m (46 ft). Northern Mumbai (Salsette) is hilly,1] and the highest point in the city is 450 m (1,476 ft) at Salsette in the Powai-Kanheri ranges.2] Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivali National Park) is located partly in the Mumbai suburban district, and partly in the Thane district, and it extends over an area of 103.09 km2 (39.80 sq mi).3]
Apart from the Bhatsa Dam, there are six major lakes that supply water to the city: Vihar, Lower Vaitarna, Upper Vaitarna, Tulsi, Tansa and Powai.4] Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake are located in Borivili National Park, within the city's limits.5] The supply from Powai lake, also within the city limits, is used only for agricultural and industrial purposes.6] Three small rivers, the Dahisar River, Poinsar (or Poisar) and Ohiwara (or Oshiwara) originate within the park, while the polluted Mithi River originates from Tulsi Lake and gathers water overflowing from Vihar and Powai Lakes.7] The coastline of the city is indented with numerous creeks and bays, stretching from Thane creek on the eastern to Madh Marve on the western front.8] The eastern coast of Salsette Island is covered with large mangrove swamps, rich in biodiversity, while the western coast is mostly sandy and rocky.9]
Soil cover in the city region is predominantly sandy due to its proximity to the sea. In the suburbs, the soil cover is largely alluvial and loamy.0] The underlying rock of the region is composed of black Deccan basalt flows, and their acidic and basic variants dating back to the late Cretaceous and early Eocene eras.1] Mumbai sits on a seismically active zone owing to the presence of 23 fault lines in the vicinity.2] The area is classified as a Seismic Zone III region,3] which means an earthquake of up to magnitude 6.5 on the Richter-scale may be expected.4]
Climate
Mumbai has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate under the Köppen climate classification, with seven months of dryness and peak of rains in July.5] The cooler season from December to February is followed by the summer season from March to June. The period from June to about the end of September constitutes the south-west monsoon season, and October and November form the post-monsoon season.6]
Between June and September, the south west monsoon rains lash the city. Pre-monsoon showers are received in May. Occasionally, north-east monsoon showers occur in October and November. The maximum annual rainfall ever recorded was 3,452 mm (136 in) for 1954.7] The highest rainfall recorded in a single day was 944 mm (37 in) on 26 July 2005.8] The average total annual rainfall is 2,146.6 mm (85 in) for the Island City, and 2,457 mm (97 in) for the suburbs.7]
The average annual temperature is 27.2 °C (81 °F), and the average annual precipitation is 2,167 mm (85 in).9] In the Island City, the average maximum temperature is 31.2 °C (88 °F), while the average minimum temperature is 23.7 °C (75 °F). In the suburbs, the daily mean maximum temperature range from 29.1 °C (84 °F) to 33.3 °C (92 °F), while the daily mean minimum temperature ranges from 16.3 °C (61 °F) to 26.2 °C (79 °F).7] The record high is 40.2 °C (100 °F) on 28 March 1982,0] and the record low is 7.4 °C (50 °F) on 27 January 1962.1]


Transport
Public transport
Public transport systems in Mumbai include the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses, black-and-yellow metre taxis, auto rickshaws and ferries. Suburban railway and BEST bus services together accounted for about 88% of the passenger traffic in 2008.9] Auto rickshaws are allowed to operate only in the suburban areas of Mumbai, while taxis are allowed to operate throughout Mumbai, but generally operate in South Mumbai.0]
Taxis and rickshaws in Mumbai are required by law to run on compressed natural gas,1] and are a convenient, economical, and easily available means of transport.0] Mumbai had about 1.53 million vehicles in 2008,2] 56,459 black and yellow taxis, and 102,224 auto rickshaws, as of 2005.3]
Road
Mumbai is served by National Highway 3, National Highway 4, National Highway 17, National Highway 222 and National Highway 8 of India's National Highways system.4] The Mumbai-Pune Expressway was the first expressway built in India,5] while the Mumbai Nashik Expressway, Mumbai-Vadodara Expressway,6] Western Freeway and Eastern Freeway is under construction. The Bandra-Worli Sea Link bridge, along with Mahim Causeway, links the island city to the western suburbs.7] The three major road arteries of the city are the Eastern Express Highway from Sion to Thane, the Sion Panvel Expressway from Sion to Panvel and the Western Express Highway from Bandra to Borivali.8]
Mumbai's bus services carried over 5.5 million passengers per day in 2008.9] Public buses run by BEST cover almost all parts of the metropolis, as well as parts of Navi Mumbai, Mira-Bhayandar and Thane.9] The BEST operates a total of 4,608 buses0] with CCTV Camera installed,1] ferrying 4.5 million passengers daily9] over 390 routes.2] Its fleet consists of single-decker, double-decker, vestibule, low-floor, disabled-friendly, air-conditioned and Euro III compliant Compressed Natural Gas powered buses.3] Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses provide intercity transport and connect Mumbai with other major cities of Maharashtra and India.4]5] Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) also operate its Volvo buses in Mumbai, from Navi Mumbai to Bandra, Dindoshi and Borivali.6]
Buses are generally favoured for commuting short to medium distances, while train fares are more economical for longer distance commutes.7]
The Mumbai Darshan is a tourist bus service which explores numerous tourist attractions in Mumbai.8] Mumbai BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) lanes have been planned throughout Mumbai, with buses running on seven routes as of March 2009.9] Though 88% of the city's commuters travel by public transport, Mumbai still continues to struggle with traffic congestion.00] Mumbai's transport system has been categorised as one of the most congested in the world.
Mumbai Skywalks
Because of congestion on roads due to hawkers and parked vehicles, MMRDA has initiated the Mumbai Skywalks project to provide quick and safe pedestrian dispersal from highly congested areas such as Mumbai Suburban Railway stations to heavily targeted destinations.
Rail
Mumbai is the headquarters of two of Indian Railways' zones: the Central Railway (CR) headquartered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), and the Western Railway (WR) headquartered at Churchgate. The backbone of the city's transport, the Mumbai Suburban Railway, consists of three separate rail networks: Central, Western, and Harbour Line, running the length of the city, in the north-south direction.
Mumbai's suburban rail systems carried a total of 6.3 million passengers every day in 2007, which is more than half of the Indian Railways daily carrying capacity. Trains are overcrowded during peak hours, with nine-car trains of rated capacity 1,700 passengers, actually carrying around 4,500 passengers at peak hours. The Mumbai rail network is spread at an expanse of 319 route kilometres. 191 rakes(ratin-sets) of 9 car and 12 car composition are utilised to run a total of 2226 train services.
Mumbai is also well connected to most parts of India by the Indian Railways. Long-distance trains originate from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Dadar Station, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Mumbai Central Station, Bandra Terminus, Andheri and Borivali.
Mumbai Metro
Mumbai Metro is an underground and elevated rapid transit system currently under construction.
Mumbai Monorail
The Mumbai Monorail, currently under construction, will eventually run from Jacob Circle to Wadala.1]
Air
The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly Sahar International Airport) is the main aviation hub in the city and the busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic.2] In 2007, it catered to over 25 million passengers. An upgrade plan initiated in 2006, targeted at increasing the capacity of the airport to handle up to 40 million passengers annually by 2010, is expected to be completed on time.3]
The proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport to be built in the Kopra-Panvel area has been sanctioned by the Indian Government and will help relieve the increasing traffic burden on the existing airport.4]
The Juhu Aerodrome was India's first airport, and now hosts a flying club and a heliport.5]
Sea
Mumbai is served by two major ports, Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, which lies just across the creek in Navi Mumbai.6] Mumbai Port has one of the best natural harbours in the world, and has extensive wet and dry dock accommodation facilities.7] Jawaharlal Nehru Port, commissioned on 26 May 1989, is the busiest and most modern major port in India.8] It handles 55–60% of the country's total containerised cargo.9]
Mumbai is the headquarters of the Western Naval Command, and also an important base for the Indian Navy.
Ferries from Ferry Wharf in Mazagaon allow access to islands near the city.0]