Thanks to BMC's special beautification drive, Mumbai looked all decked up on Tuesday, as the G20 summit began in the city. With delegates visiting the city between December 13 and 16 for the global summit to be held at Jio World Center in Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), municipal commissioner and BMC administrator Iqbal Singh Chahal had announced beautification of several parts of the city. The civic body has earmarked 11 municipal wards, which are to be frequented by the delegates, and allotted Rs 24.23 crore to beautify them. Civic officials said the drive was launched in November last week and in the last 15 days, fresh road markings, zebra crossings and traffic signages have been painted at all important junctions. While the surface of the road outside Mantralaya has been painted with white-coloured traffic signages, all conventional road dividers have been converted into flower beds. Some of the iconic points in Mumbai, including the Marine Drive promenade and the Gateway of India, have been illuminated with Tricolour lights, with the G20 emblem being reflected on them with the help of laser lights. Moreover, cleaners have been deployed for sweeping the promenade and Gateway premises round-the-clock for three days. While new traffic signages have been installed between the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and the Western Express Highway (WEH), all open spaces in the area have been illuminated. Murals have been painted on the retaining walls adjoining the WEH. The BMC has resurfaced roads and filled potholes on the WEH, since it is being used as a vehicular corridor for the delegates. Areas adjoining the Sanjay Gandhi National Park have also been made free of encroachment, as the delegates are set to visit the Kanheri Caves and Elephanta Caves. Assistant Municipal Commissioner Manish Valanju said, “All beautification, repair and cleaning works have been going on round-the-clock for the last 15 days. We had to deploy additional manpower to complete the works within deadline.” “To ensure there was swift coordination between the departments, the tasks were divided between ward offices and BMC's roads department. While all filling, repair and resurface works were carried out by the roads department, horticultural, lighting and painting works were taken up by the ward offices,” she added. In several spots in and around the airport, white-coloured barricades flaunting the G20 logo have been installed. While activists alleged that behind the barricades are heaps of garbage and slums, a civic official said: “Convoy of VIP vehicles travel in high-speed. There are human settlements on both sides of the highway and often children trespass from the railings to cross the road. Therefore, to avoid any mishap, these barricades have been put up where needed.” “We have also removed hawkers and encroachment to ensure smooth flow of traffic,” the official added. Activist Godfrey Pimenta said, “By installing barricades, the administration is trying to hide the actual ground reality in the backdrop of such cosmetic beautification project.” Former elected representatives and residents maintained that instead of working on selective beautification drives, the BMC should carry out maintenance works throughout the year. “We all know all these efforts are being made to showcase the city and the amenities in a good light. But these activities also show that the BMC is capable of good work and as residents, we demand such basic amenities throughout the year,” said Zoru Bhathena, another activist. Asif Zakaria, former Congress corporator from Bandra, added: “Why are such activities not being taken up regularly and why there is a different yardstick for different events of the administration?"
