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Mithi Can Decide How Votes Flow On Thackeray's Birthday, The Sena-BJP Released Their Poll Promises, While An Intel Report Forecast A Hung House Mumbai: The floods of 2005 are still vivid in their memories, but the residents of the five election constituencies through which the Mithi River flows want to move on. Despite the BMC's massive clean-up drive, the river remains a huge nullah with effluents flowing in it and a stench that proves that a lot of work remains to be done. Residents of areas through which the Mithi flows show no particular preference for any candidate, but maintain that the corporator must work to clean up the river. "Last year, there was no flood because of the widening and deepening of the river. A number of encroachments were also removed. But what is needed now is to clean up the river and lay sewer lines so that the river does not look like a gutter. This will also keep mosquitoes out of our homes,'' said Mohammed Amin, a retired schoolteacher and resident of Taximen's Colony. Clearly, the fate of the river continues to be uppermost in their minds. For residents of the Old Air-India colony, which is closest to the river, 2006 was a big relief. "They not only raised the levels in the colony but did the footpaths and road as well. It took a flood for the authorities to realise that these amenities were missing,'' said Archana Karle, a resident. She, however, said the stormwater drain network needs to be improved. "There was water-logging in other colonies and the road too faced a similar problem. Unless new drains are laid and properly maintained the problem of flooding will persist,'' she said. Residents of the five constitutencies are categorical that the work started post-26/7 should not lose momentum. "The government had announced plans to beautify the precincts of the river. The cleaning and beautification must be done for the good of the city,'' said Tanuja Jadhav, a resident of Shikshak Nagar which is about 100 metres from the river. CATCHMENT AREAS Constituency 83: University Campus to Dharamsi Colony (Kalina) One of the worst-affected on 26/7. It will see a 3-way contest between Krupashankar Pandey (Cong), Sanjay Potnis (Sena) and former corporator George Abraham (Independent). Constituency 150: Tungve village-Chandivli village (Andheri East) Families affected by the Mithi widening were shifted here. Last year, city Congress president Gurudas Kamat had complained about the poorly built buildings here. Most residents will return to their previous constituencies to vote. Parties are already arranging transport to polling booths. The contest is between Sharad Pawar (NCP) and Rajesh Chindarkar (Sena). Constituency 155: Jarimari It was here that the course of the Mithi River was changed by the Airports Authority of India to construct a taxiway, resulting in the 26/7 flooding. In the last elections, Lalita Annamalai of the Congress was elected from here. This time her husband S Annamalai is contesting. His main opponent is Akhtar Khan of the Samajwadi Party. Constituency 157: Wadia Estate to Premier Automobiles This ward was the bone of contention between the Congress and NCP, which finally led to the failure of their proposed alliance. Sitting Congress corporator Rajhans Singh will face stiff competition from the Shiv Sena's Laxman Parab and the NCP's Anita Shetty. Constituency 161: Shikshak Nagar Former housing minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik has put up his brother, Kaptan Malik, from this ward. He faces a stiff fight from sitting BJP corporator Khamanchand Jain, Haji Muzaffar (Cong) and Hannan Khan (Samajwadi). THAT SINKING FEELING: Filth has begun accumulating along the Mithi again and the river's complete clean-up is a major issue in the BMC elections for residents living along its banks URL : http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA3LzAxLzI0I0FyMDA0MDA=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom |
