Local Lens

Roughly 28,000 residents of slum and non-slum structures at Bhim Nagar,Ram Nagar and Khatopadia in Ghatkopar (East) have been facing acute water problem. The reason is that the areas,which fall under N-ward,are hilly and it is difficult to pump water here through pipelines.

The civic body had constructed a reservoir in the area and made local organisations in charge of water distribution and maintenance. This led to severe water politics in the area,allege locals. Rohini Yadav (35),a resident,said,The people in-charge give water to those they want to favour or those who are willing to pay extra. Only half of the population here receives good water supply from the reservoir. The others are forced to manage with irregular water supply. The monopoly over the reservoir has allowed them to flaunt their power.

Ritu Tawade,corporator from the BJP,said: I have asked the BMC to take over the distribution. This way,the corporation can earn revenue as there will be a formal billing system and metered supply. I have been pursuing this since I became corporator last year,but no concrete action has been taken.

Open space encroached

Desai Maidan,which is part of an open space in Mahim,has encroached upon for several years. Residents complained that the BMC had also encroached upon a part of the plot. They have set up some sort of a store room there. On another side,there is a garbage dump. We have heard that a slum redevelopment scheme could also be implemented, said Bulu Saldanha,an activist.

Saldanha said though residents have filed several applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act,they have not received replies.

Corporator Virendra Tandel said he was aware of the issue and has raised it with ward-level civic officials. There are two reservations on the plot. On one side,there is a reservation for a playground; that part is well-maintained. On the other side,there is a reservation for a recreational ground,which has been encroached upon. These encroachments have existed for over 20 years, Tandel said.

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He said he has suggested that the tenants be relocated to another plot and the area be developed as an open space,but is yet to receive any response from the officials. Tandel added that he was yet to take up the matter with senior officials.

Road widening pending for over 10 years

A proposal to widen a 1.5 km road,stretching from the Mulund Colony to the Mulund-Goregaon Link Road,has been pending for 10-12 years. The road is only 30 feet wide,said residents. Encroachment by hawkers on both sides further add to the problems. Two buses cannot pass each other at the same time. Peak hours are the worst. We have been bringing up this issue with the civic body but they only tell us that it will be done. What nobody tells us is when it is going to be done, said Mulund resident Anmol Bhushan.

Corporator Samita Kamble accepted that the problem was serious and said it would take time to solve it. The main issue is with shopkeepers who will lose their shops in the road widening. We cannot just give them an alternative space in any locality. It has to be given in an area where they will have the same kind of earning that they have in their existing areas,and this is taking time. After Diwali,we will clear the stretch that passes through Nimkar society, Kamble said.

Lake revamp yet to take off

Once a local attraction,the Bandra Talao at S V Road now lies covered in filth. The proposed beautification plan is waiting to take off for the past five years. The 200-year old lake,a grade-II heritage structure,is spread across 7.5 acres. It had a fountain that was operational 10 years ago,said residents. The lake is now infested with mosquitoes,which are attracted by the garbage local residents and adjoining shops throw here. If the lake could be beautified,it could be turned into a public park, said Gaurav Banerjee,a resident of Carter Road.

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After local corporators took up the issue,the civic body initiated plans to clean the lake.

It has been five years and the plan is yet to take off. Meanwhile,there were also talks about a local politician wanting to rename the lake after their leader, said Anandini Thakur,chairperson of Khar Residents Association. Corporator from H-West ward (Bandra,Khar),Asif Zakaria,said: After the civic body failed to implement the beautification plan,we proposed another plan of cleaning the water at a cost of about Rs 5 crore. The plan is awaiting approval.

Repair roads to end jams

Irked by daily snarls,residents of Borivali (West) have now approached the civic body. Residents said they spent hours in traffic jams due to narrow roads. Now that the monsoon is ending,the BMC can carry out the road widening and repair work. We have been facing this issue for almost a decade now,but no concrete plan has been chalked out, said Harsha Gangwani,a resident. Corporator Shilpa Chougule,however,said most of the roads cannot be repaired. Most of the areas in ward number 11 of Borivali (West) fall under the green belt.

The stretch becomes a bottleneck and leads to snarls. On paper,it is described as a 60-ft road but it is narrow and cannot be widened. We are negotiating with the civic body to work out something and widen the roads, said Chougule.Residents,however,said letters by the corporators are an eyewash. We,along with social activists,will meet the municipal commissioner next month with a charter of demand, said Gangwani.

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Contributed by Alison Saldanha, Manasi Phadke,Gautam S Mengle,Abdullah Nurullah,Dipti Sonawala