India, Dec. 6 -- Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray has raised sharp concerns over what he says are two growing problems defacing Mumbai: the deterioration of garbage management and the unchecked rise of illegal political hoardings. In a strongly worded letter to civic chief and administrator Bhushan Gagrani, he questioned what he described as a visible decline in basic urban upkeep over the past two years.

Thackeray noted that garbage, which had been efficiently managed for nearly 15 years, is now piling up across the city in narrow lanes, busy junctions, outside religious sites, along major roads and even outside residential buildings. He asked the administration to clarify what had changed in the waste collection system, whether c...