Knee-deep in trouble

8220;A submersible pump can prevent flooding in the subway,8221; explains Ward Officer of H East ward, S. H. Ghadge Patil. The bottomline is that it will cost Rs 40,000. Not difficult for Mumbai8217;s civic body which has been raking in moolah. But with electricity cost of 24 hours a day for the four rainy months, the overheads would be much more. Still an urgent need, we feel, considering the crisis that strikes Santacruz E every year. Till lasting arrangements are made, the BMC will continue to pump out the water only on those days when it rains heavily. The system is not effective, according to the residents.

The second horror show is that of the Khar subway. A relic from the British Raj, the subway leading to SV Road was a one-way lane until last year, when a second lane was built. No longer do cars have to endure the 15-minute wait while vehicles from the other end pass. But since thenew pavement lining the subway is perennially covered with water, pedestrians use the narrow older path. When this too is flooded, they have to take a detour of 25 minutes to reach the station. This causes much inconvenience to children rushing to school. However, Ghadge Patil insists that underground stormwater drains will prevent flooding this year.

While last week the BMC widened and repaired the 7th Road leading to the station, the Golibar chowk, comprising the immediate approach to the station, remains a lunar landscape. Tripping their way in and out of potholes, commuters are finally ushered to the subway through omnipresent garbage heaps which chip in generously to the subway slush. Even the Western Express highway is plagued by overflowing drains which splash their filth onto the parallel Service Road that extends all the way to Bandra. The stretch between Santacruz and Khar is invariably waterlogged providing a perennial breeding ground for mosquitoes. No wonder neighbouring areas are constantlyplagued with malaria. Says Ghadge Patil: 8220;The drains are under the Public Works Department and should have been boxed by the civic body. There were plans which haven8217;t materialised.8221;

Another spill occurs in the slums here. According to Ghadge Patil, the ward is 8220;80 per cent slums.8221; Bharatnagar, Anandnagar, Shastrinagar, Dowrinagar8230; a bird8217;s eye view comprises a sea of hutments on the eastern side of the suburb. Residents say BMC cleaners refuse to enter these settlements for fear of extremely unhygienic living conditions and disease. Illegal three-storeyed buildings are a norm in Behrampada, Nawapada, Kalanagar and Kherwadi, a government colony. Municipal sources claim that several Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority constructions are also unauthorised. Residents allege that the police, local councillors and political clout back the constructions.

New encroachments come up by the hour. An originally wide Nehru Road, extending from the station to Vakola Junction, has been left with nopavement at all 8212; pucca stalls offering photocopy facilities, paan and bidi, fruits and vegetables rule the road. All illegal structures, from stalls to houses, claim to have come up before January 1, 1995, because of the government notification to rehabilitate structures that came up before 1995. Admitting the magnanimity of the problem, Ghadge Patil suggests: 8220;Manpower allocations should be population-wise. Many of these issues cannot be tackled effectively due to shortage of staff and absenteeism.8221; Hordes of hawkers dominate the foot overbridge connecting the eastern and the western side of the suburb. Shoes for the rains, umbrellas and rexin bags terrorise pedestrians negotiating the congested overpass. Priya Santoshi, a daily commuter says: 8220;Just after a BMC eviction drive, the big bridge8217; as it is called, really looks big. But things are back to normal the next day.8221; Even the 200-yard stretch before Vakola Masjid is full of vegetable vendors, adds Santoshi.

In short, the journey for SantacruzE residents from the station and back home is one long obstacle course, which is likely to become higher and tougher with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, PWD, railway and airport authorities endlessly passing the buck.