Mixed reactions
While ‘S’ ward has multiple problems to be tackled according to residents,
the BMC has a different story to tell, says Nilesh Ghadge
Compared to the other BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wards,
‘S’ ward is one of the biggest wards in Mumbai.
Spread across 64 sq. km, it covers many areas of Bhandup, some parts of
Vikhroli including Kannamwar Nagar and a few areas of Powai. It also
stretches from Eastern Express Highway upto Mulund Goregaon Link Road.
Bhandup West is blessed with small hillocks but the green cover has been
replaced with shanties that also account for 80% of the population in the
ward.
Such growth has resulted in major civic problems like acute water
shortage and landslides during the monsoons.
Aarthi Chandru, a resident of Usha Nagar in Bhandup West, complains
about a garbage problem in her area. “BMC has a very good system to treat
waste, andcollection has been very frequent here, but at the end of the day,
it covers the road again. This leads to disease,” she claims.
‘S’ ward also comprises big industrial areas but the downside is the
large amount of waste being created and the perpetual problem of traffic.
The ‘S’ ward has recently seen development with an upsurge in
construction activity.
Another resident, Smita Rangnekar, has been staying in Konkan Nagar for
many years. She says: “There is a garbage bin outside our building gate
which is cleaned every two days but in no time it is replaced with heaps of
garbage, thanks to the people who litter outside the bin without a second
thought.”
She also laments the bad condition of the roads, especially the road to
the station. “Firstly, the roads are narrow with buses, autos and cars
passing continuously. Secondly, there are hawkers who block the sidewalks
making it worse. Plus, there are almost no open spaces in Bhandup,” she
complains.
Sudha Nair, who stays in RCF colony in Bhandup east, says: “Children of
our society have no playground. Besides, in our Kamla Sagar society, there
is a ground owned by the BMC, which is in a very bad condition. We have sent
complaints to the ward officials regarding the same but it has made no
difference. We wish to get that ground usable as a playground for children.”
Dr. Sandesh Jadhav is a resident of Kannamwar Nagar. He raises concerns
on the upcoming dumping ground near Kanjurmarg .
He says, “Once the Kanjur Marg dumping ground becomes fully operational,
it may pose serious health problems.”
“Besides, the ward also faces problems like hawker encroachment. There
is a need for stringent action by BMC officials against the hawkers”.
On compilation the problems are similar all over the ward, with
overflowing garbage and hawker encroachment on the roads.
Thus there is a kind of mixed reaction in this ward. On the one hand
residents are not that happy with the BMC’s approach towards the ward.
However, the BMC claims it has been successful in dealing with issues.
Naturally, that’s what they would say! WHAT BMC SAYS
H.A.Kale, Assistant Municipal Comissioner of ‘S’ ward says: “Our ward
consists of many industrial areas. Therefore, in a day, around 400 metric
tonnes of garbage are accumulated in this ward . We are not able to tackle
this issue because of the inadequate garbage collecting vehicles. We have
demanded a close compact dumper to clear this garbage. I hope we will get
one soon.”
He further opines, “In the hilly area of Bhandup (W), BMC has already
installed a retaining wall to avoid land sliding. The ward is also dealing
with an acute water shortage problem in the hilly area. We will definitely
solve the problem by installing modern engineering techniques to solve the
problem.
Kale explains, “BMC has already started road-widening of Pratap Nagar
besides Jogeshwari- Vikhroli link road to avoid bottlenecks during peak
hours. He says, “Areas like Bhandup (W) face problems like waterlogging
during the monsoon because it falls under a low-lying area. However, we have
installed heavy duty pumps to solve the problem.”
“We had success while dealing in issues like hawker encroachment outside
Bhandup railway station. Now this responsibility is handed over to the
police department to tackle, Kale informs.
H.A. KALE