Dirty water,bad roads raise the heat
R-Central Ward,famous for its greenscape,faces chronic problem of contaminated water and traffic bottlenecks and the residents are angry about it,finds Dipti Sonawala
A mob of 400 residents from Gorai recently barged into the R-Central ward office in protest against water contamination. While residents say they are privileged to be living so close to nature at one end,they have been grappling with frequent water woes.
R-Central Ward,which spreads over around 50 sq km comprising areas of Borivali and Kandivali,is famous for its greenscape – mangroves in the Gorai area on the west and Sanjay Gandhi National Park on the east. The ward has a population of 6,81,377.
Though city’s deputy mayor is from this area,parts of the ward are suffering due to a cold response to civic issues here from the municipal corporation.
Shivanand Shetty,councillor of beat number 8,which covers areas between Gorai and Old MHB Colony,alleges his constituency has been neglected by the civic body for years. “Major parts in my constituency are either gaothan,adivasi villages or slums. There are no proper roads. We face the problem of water contamination every three months. We have approached the civic authorities several times,but got no help. The area sees a large number of tourists since it houses an amusement park and a Pagoda,but the road conditions leave much to be desired,” Shetty says.
More than a 100 societies in Gorai Khadi received dirty water in June and July and around 25 people had fallen ill due to this. This had irked the locals,who then marched to the R-Central ward office. “Most pipelines in the R-Central Ward are over 25-30 years old and have rusted. Many pipelines pass through sewerage line and hence residents get contaminated water frequently,” Shetty says.
Shilpa Chougule,councillor of ward number 11,says,“Most areas surrounding my constituency fall under the green belt. A road,60-feet-wide on paper,is quite narrow. It cannot be widened since the area falls under the green belt. The stretch becomes a bottleneck and leads to traffic snarls all the time.”
Councillors of all the 10 constituencies in the ward claim to have spent around 90 to 100 per cent of their Rs 60-lakh municipal councillor’s fund and Rs 40 lakh of ward committee fund on repair and maintenance of minor roads,footpaths,garden and toilets for the 2012-2013 fiscal. “Sanctioning funds is not enough. The civic body must see the needs of residents. They make huge budgetary provisions for development of gaothan areas,but my constituency does not have a single gaothan. There is no focus on development and repair of roads,which is needed,” says Sandhya Doshi,councillor of ward no 17,which covers areas between Charkop in Kandivali to New MHB colony. “Almost 80 per cent of the fund sanctioned to me was spent in the development of gardens and road repairs,” Doshi adds.
Councillor Chetan Kadam of ward number 13,which covers areas between Rajendra Nagar and Khatav estate,claims there have been no proper roads in his constituency for over 15 years now. “Only after I gave a presentation on the issue last year that the the civic body short-listed four roads in my constituency for repair and widening,” he said.
The other issue faced by the residents is that the area does not have a single specialty hospital. Residents have to travel south,all the way to Bandra or Andheri,if need good tertiary medical care. The Bhagwati Municipal Hospital is not an option most residents would take if they had a choice. The reason: the hospital has to cope with the rush of patients from areas like Mira Road,Vasai and Virar.
“Having just one hospital for a ward spread across 50 sq km is a sorry state of affairs,” says Gagan Mhatre,a social activist from Borivali.
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