A Tale of Two Worlds

“Lack of water supply and water contamination plague many areas as south Mumbai is at fag-end of the water supply chain,” said Makarand Narvekar,independent corporator from Colaba. There are 13 slum colonies in the ward with drainage and maintenance of sewer lines being the most pressing issues,he added.

Concomitant with the slum sprawl is the problem of encroachment. Despite the civic administration’s claims of making slum areas more habitable,encroachment continues to be the bone of contention between slumdwellers and those in residential colonies. Emergence of new huts in existing slums along the coastline near Cuffe Parade is not surprising. The ‘encroachers’,largely the local fishing community,say they cannot be displaced from their original habitation. “We have built our settlements here for generations and cannot be expected to stop because highrises need to be built,” said Rajesh Dhanu,a resident of a settlement in the area.

“When citizens complain of encroachments,police and BMC take action and illegal settlements are demolished. However,the hutments start sprouting again in no time. The fishing community members are technically the original inhabitants of the city. Unless the grounds against their location are strong enough,they cannot be told to relocate. There needs to be a more concrete solution for the encroachment issue,” admitted a senior BMC official.

Another basic civic concern is the lack of proper drainage and sewage facilities in slums and residential areas owing to age-old lines. Congress corporator Anita Ramesh Yadav said,“As the condition of drains and sewage lines is poor,waste is dumped along the coast. Although a majority of funds by BMC has been spent on drainage facilities,cleaning of septic tanks and maintaining the waste disposal system,this ward lacks the will to improve its slum colonies. The area’s elite get a lot more attention,” said the corporator from Sassoon Dock.

Shiv Sena corporator Ganesh Sanap from Churchgate-Metro Cinema-Crawford Market area said clogged drains and house gullies pose a major problem for citizens. Congress corporator Sushma Salunkhe,too,claimed that most of her funds were spent on drainage. “This is a year-round job. We have to especially prepare before rains when poor drainage can wreak havoc,” she said.

Residents of highrises have their own set of problems,the most pressing being car parking. “The ward has a severe shortage of parking lots,especially with the huge floating population,” said Narvekar. Many residents of south Mumbai own more than two cars and streets are lined with four-wheelers.

Also,little attention has been paid to the maintenance of the large number of heritage structures that the ward has.

sharvari.patwa@expressindia.com

alison.saldanha@expressindia.com

Expense Account

Corporator Fund* Major spends used in %

Ganesh Sanap 100 House gullies

Sushma Salunkhe 100 Roads & drains

Anita Yadav 92 Drainage & sewage

Makarand Narvekar 100 Sewage lines,pavement

beautification & drainage

* Rs 60 lakh allocated under Councillor Fund,Rs 40 lakh under Ward Committee Fund