City’s most populated ward has a long list of woes

The ward has been dealing with a serious garbage disposal problem. It generates around 370 metric tonnes of waste every day. Many areas such as Malvani, areas near the Natraj, municipal market and the station road face congestion. A number of low-lying areas, such as Link Road, Kanchpada, Malad West, Haji Bapu Road, Ganga Bawadi, Madh Malad West, Pushpa Park, Malad East, Malad subway and parts of Malvani, get flooded every monsoon.

Residents of Malvani also complain of having been deprived of clean drinking water for years, which forces them to depend on private water suppliers. They also want more public toilets and a daily clean-up of localities. Besides, the residents allege that dengue and malaria have a tight grip on the area.

“We have been facing issues of dirty water supply since a decade now, number of complaints to the BMC ward office and local councillors have not helped either,” said Fatima Bano, a resident of Malvani.

Locals have also been demanding that internal roads be widened to tackle congestion during peak hours.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Sangita Hasnale said, “Unauthorised vegetable and garment hawkers have been driven off pavements several times, but they return soon after. However, we still continue to evacuate them regularly to resolve the issue of congestion in the area. The problem, however, is not just limited to Malvani but also on the station road in Malad west. The Dutt Mandir road starting from the Pushpa Park flyover towards the station on the east is already being widened.”

Residents have been objecting to the rampant growth of slums in P North, where slum-dwellers comprise nearly 60 per cent of the population. A major part of the area near Ambujwadi in Malad is a Coastal Regulation Zone and No Development Zone, which precludes any development to take place there.

The hillocks bordering Sanjay Gandhi National Park are now the slums of Kurar, Appapada and Pathanwadi. At the other end of the ward, the creek between Marve and Malvani has a long stretch of shanties too.

Activists blame the muddle on the BMC’s apathy. “Malvani was traditionally not a slum area. During the 1970s, it was a settlement of project-affected people. Over time though, they got neglected, because of which they were converted into slums,” said Agatha Soloman, an activist from Malad west.

A cosmopolitan, ever-changing population, balanced by entrenched community strongholds, renders the Malad West constituency a level playing field for the Congress and the BJP.

While the large base of minority voters (North Indians and Muslims in Marve and Malvani and Christians in Orlem and Liberty Garden) are expected to repose their faith in the Congress, a high number of Gujarati and Marwari voters may favour the BJP.

Malad has now become a business and entertainment hub dotted with call centres, malls and multiplexes. It has likewise seen a major rise in its youth population, who are primarily employed in the service sector. Both the Congress and the BJP are wooing this segment already.

Incidentally, the ward is one of two regions retained by the Congress during the 2014 Assembly elections. Aslam Shaikh of the Congress, a two-time MLA from Malad, said while they were able to win three seats in the 2012 BMC polls, this time they were hopeful of winning five to six seats. “My prediction is that Shiv Sena will face a major setback in P North this time.”

While many Congress candidates are leaving the party to join either BJP or Shiv Sena, Shaikh said these candidates were disappointed on being refused tickets for their wives or relatives. “At least six wards in P North have been reserved for women after delimitation. These candidates demanded tickets for their wives, which we refused, hence the defection,” added Shaikh. One Congress corporator from here, Parminder Bhamra, recently defected to the BJP.

The ward comprises areas such as Malwani, Marve, Orlem, Evershine Nagar, Liberty garden, Pathanwadi, Dindoshi, Pushpa Park, Manori, Aksa village, Madh.