Ward Watch: High-profile Mumbai ward leaves a lot to be desired

The peak-hour traffic jams in the ward comprising mainly Bandra East and Vakola are infamous, including the worst ones at Kalanagar and Vakola junctions. Anil Trimbakkar, a local Shiv Sena corporator, says the MMRDA did not consider transport issues while developing BKC.

“Traffic is a major issue at Kalanagar. Though a flyover has been constructed at Kherwadi, it is of little use. Many commercial offices have moved to BKC recently, which has further increased heavy traffic flow in the area. This has caused the civic infrastructure to collapse,” said Trimbakkar.

He says the redevelopment of MHADA buildings is another issue in the area. There are around 35-odd MHADA buildings in Gandhi Nagar and around 70 buildings in Bandra government colony. “All these buildings are in dire need of redevelopment which has been struck for years. A policy decision about it is yet to be taken by the state government,” adds Trimbakkar.

Other corporators from the ward also blame the slow pace of work by the multiple planning authorities in the ward.

“I fought a battle in the High Court just to construct a one kilometre road in the area. The Bharat Nagar main road, which falls in the MHADA layout, comes under the MMRDA. The work was delayed for many years. After I filed a PIL, the High Court directed the BMC in August last year to construct the road,” says Iliyas Shaikh, an independent corporator from Bharat Nagar (East).

Deepak Bhutkar, another Sena corporator, seconds Iliyas. “The subway near Teachers Colony gets submerged in the monsoon but the people are forced to wade through the water due to lack of an alternative. Many students and their parents use the subway for going to schools and colleges. We have given a proposal for a foot overbridge at the spot, with signatures of around 10,300 people. But the public works department (PWD) refuses to act on it,” he says.

Bhutkar says the condition of service roads along the Western Express Highway is also pathetic. Despite raising the issue several times, the PWD has done nothing about it, he complains.

The H East ward houses a nearly 70 per cent slum population residing in Behrampada, Golibar, Bharat Nagar and other localities. Most of these slums lack basic amenities.

Gulista Shaikh, a Congress corporator from the Behramapada-Kherwadi area, points out the safety issue concerning those residing in multi-storey shanties. “Following the recent incident of a house collapse, there is fear in the minds of the residents. While the BMC is demolishing the illegal portion, some of the residents have started removing the upper illegal floors on their own. Now, people have started talking about redevelopment, which involves multiple agencies,” says Shaikh, adding that the revenue department, Railways and the civic body are engaged in a dispute regarding land on which some of these slums are located.

Corporators also agree that widening of the CST Road is an issue that should be fast-tracked by the BMC. While the road is supposed to 45 metres wide, encroachments have narrowed it at many places. There are around 170 structures that need to be shifted. “It has been pending for long. The BMC should shift these structures to other locations,” says Brian Miranda of the Congress.

At present, there are four corporators in H East from the Shiv Sena, three from the Congress, two from the MNS, and one from the BJP, besides an independent. Following the delimitation of wards, the total number of electoral wards has been reduced from 11 to 10.