Many flood-prone areas here
Spotlight on M wardS: While citizens’ groups in M-West take up zero-garbage programmes, M-East remains a hotch-potch of shanty towns
Kavitha Iyer
Mumbai, January 14: MUMBAI old-timers will remember Chembur’s one-time tag, the city’s ‘gas-chamber’, thanks to fertilizer factories and oil refineries. Decades later, the air is cleaner and a rush of redevelopment projects has seen property prices boom, but even the changing texture of this middle class residential area’s population cannot wash away some rather sticky civic problems.
While civic activism attention from officials has seen a series of areas improve in M-West-various citizens’ groups and Advanced Locality Management groups are undertaking everything from vermicomposting and gardening to zero-garbage programmes-the areas comprising M-East remains largely a hotch-potch of shanty towns and old colonies suffering from decades of neglect.
In M-East, while new constructions are coming up at Deonar and Vashi Naka, several colonies in Deonar and the slums of Cheetah Camp, Mankhurd, Mandala and Shivaji Nagar are all missing the most basic facility-sewer connections. Even otherwise upscale colonies still house obsolete septic tanks.Matang Rishi Nagar, Valmiki Nagar, Ekta Nagar and Govandi regularly flood, only for want of well-constructed and regularly cleaned drains and culverts.
Even in M-West, flood-prone areas are plenty: Amar Mahal junction, Sindhi Colony, Munjal Nagar, Shell Colony, all middle-class residential areas.
N K Pratapan of the Pestom Sagar Citizens Forum says one other serious problem is that of unauthorised garages on roads. “Almost every roadside is now housing a garage, thanks to the encroaching hutments and the unauthorised mechanics,” he says. Other problems he mentions are depleted pressure of water supply for the last few months and erratic supply at other times. “And there is never any support for us on these matters from the local corporator. We have now decided not to support the sitting corporator.” The Pestom Sagar Citizens’ Forum, a decades-old organisation, has effected tremendous change from getting a subway built following a series of road accidents to working along with the BMC to minimise garbage.
With major infrastructure works on-a flyover at V N Purav Marg, plus the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road on the anvil-population and property, especially in M-West are expected to see an even greater boom. But some basics are still to catch up.
URL : http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=217702