Politics and the City: Hyderabad to Cyberabad and then 'Aerobad'?

The recent protests by the TDP opposition against naming the new international airport at Hyderabad after Rajiv Gandhi raise more fundamental issues of urban development. All political parties in power concentrate their attention on grand gestures and spectacular building activity, for reasons of political prestige and electoral advantage. The particular projects in favour change according to which party is in power. But what remains missing is an urban focus on such essentials as better drainage, upgradation of slums and public utilities such as neighbourhood parks.