AFTER THEIR meeting with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) remained unsatisfactory, the fishermen from the Worli Koliwada will continue with their protests at the Coastal Road construction site at Worli on Tuesday. Worli’s fisherfolk have appealed to other fishing communities across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to join the agitation. They claimed that the Cleveland Bunder – an artisanal fishing port in Worli Koliwada – will be at the risk of permanent closure owing to coastal road interchange at the spot. According to the Coastal Road plan, the BMC will construct two bridges connecting the south of the Bandra Worli Sea Link and the north end of the Coastal Road, which will run parallel to the Cleveland Bunder. The protesting fishermen have demanded that the BMC should redesign the interchange as the current distance between the two pillars of the bridges severely constrict the only navigational route available to boats venturing out to open seas. Representatives from the Worli Koliwada met Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal and Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Monday to discuss their problems with the current design. One of the members claimed that the civic body is reluctant to consider the viewpoints of the fisherfolk and is adamant to go ahead with the current design. State Environment minister Aaditya Thackeray along with officials had also met two community leaders, including the president of the Worli Koliwada Nakhwa Matsyavevsay Sahakari Society (WKNMSS), on October 25 and assured them to look into the matter and respond within a few days. However, the community leaders said that there is no response yet. The fisherfolk are demanding that Thackeray, who is also MLS from Worli, should intervene on behalf of his constituents.
