Two wards,same problems: Sizeable floating population & poor infrastructure

“House gullies” are narrow stretches between tightly packed in buildings,sometimes no more than a foot wide,occasionally less than that,rendering it near impossible for conservancy staff to enter the house gullies to clean them. There are house gullies with rotting garbage stacked up to a height of seven to eight feet,not to mention the litter from the thousands of hawkers who cater to the needs of the visiting small traders.

The other side of the garbage problem persistent everywhere in B Ward is that of water contamination – water lines pass through house gullies and leakages and corroded pipes several decades old mean that many households receive murky water supply. “Every fourth home,I am visiting has at least one person unwell due to contaminated water,” Ansari says.

While garbage collection is hardly a visible challenge Along A Ward’s Marine Drive or Cuffe Parade,the slums of Geeta Nagar and Ganesh Murti Nagar pose their own set of challenges for civic administration,the newest homes in these shanty colonies located in the marshy tip off the sea. A Ward is also home to Machchimar Nagar,a large fishermen’s colony whose residents have been in a pitched battle with the neighbouring buildings over their right to dry fish on the roads,encroachment,redevelopment of homes in the colony,etc. Spread over almost 12 sq km,A Ward appears at first glance to have no density-related civic problems with just 18,479 people living per sq km. With active citizens’ groups participating in the protection of open spaces such as the Oval Maidan and Cross Maidan,large green islands are a welcome respite here from the rest of the city’s congestion.

But nearly eight lakh people visit the commercial business district everyday. In both wards,as the floating population does not vote here,successive corporators have chosen to ignore the need to establish dialogue on the traffic congestion,the scramble for taxis and buses and the pollution from the traffic.

Both wards are dominated by the Congress,with two MLAs and the Mumbai South member of Parliament all belonging to the Congress.

The minorities,the slumdwellers as well as a small section of upper-middle class residents are traditional Congress supporters.

While no surprises are expected in these wards,a new thrust among non governmental organisations and residents’ associations to coax people to cast their vote could lead to an addition to the voting percentages here.