Road House Blues and Water Woes in a VIP Ward

Traffic Jams, Bad Pavements And An Outdated Water And Drainage System Plague
Residents In Borough Of Contrasts
Anahita Mukherji | TNN

Mumbai: From posh bungalows on Malabar Hill to cramped buildings jostling
for space on Grant Road, from sprawling slums in Tardeo to the beachfront at
Marine Drive and idyllic Khotachiwadi, the city's D Ward is a ward of
contrasts.

    All the quintessential elements of a city are here-wide roads,
high-rises, wealthy homes, businesses, gardens, the sea-face, cramped areas,
slums, red-light areas and open gutters. Understandably, the problems faced
by people in the ward are also as diverse as the areas they live in.

    Though the Malabar Hill-Nepean Sea Road-Breach Candy-Kemps Corner area
is one of the most affluent in town, too much wealth can also create its own
problems. For instance, not only do many families own more than one vehicle,
but many residents too own more than one car. This makes traffic in the
mornings and evenings a nightmare.

    Adding to this problem is the increase in the number of wellto-do people
moving into the area because a number of old, stone buildings are being
pulled down to make way for skyscrapers. Among the elite, there are at least
three vehicles per family.

    Furthermore, roads and footpaths are also constantly dug up for some
civic job or the other, making the traffic problem even more acute. In fact,
it takes anywhere from half-an-hour to an hour to travel from one part of
South Mumbai to another-the same time it takes for a local train to travel
from the suburbs to Churchgate.

    Despite being one of the few areas in Mumbai with pavements, lousy
footpaths plague the area. Nepean Sea Road citizen Pratibha Jain complains
of how the footpaths are broken "a million times over'' for civic work, due
to which people are forced to walk on the road, which also holds up traffic.

    According to Mrinalini Rathi, a Kemps Corner resident, the footpaths are
way too high and in such bad condition that it's not just senior citizens
who have stopped walking on them. Her husband, Kamal, has often twisted his
foot while negotiating the treacherous pavements.

    There's one problem that affects both slum dwellers and the well-to-do
in the ward-water supply and drainage. The problems are more acute for the
former. Indrani Malkani, D Ward coordinator for Agni, said the
infrastructure for water and drainage is a 100 years old and built for a
smaller population than the ward holds today.

    Many parts of the ward-including areas in Grant Road, Mumbai Central and
Nepean Sea Road-face an acute water shortage. Pradeep Pitre, who lives in a
chawl in Amrutwadi, said most areas in Girgaum also face the problem.
"Earlier, despite coming for only a few hours, the water would come with
full pressure. Now, even the pressure is less,'' he complained.

    Taps have run dry for a year at many slums along Nepean Sea Road,
forcing residents to take water from outside pipes. The Tardeo slums are
also plagued by a water shortage.

    Water woes have also not spared the quaint Khotachiwadi, a heritage area
characterised by colourful old wooden bungalows and narrow lanes. "Since the
water supply is only from 5.30am to 6am, we have to wake up early in the
morning to to fill up buckets,'' said local resident Agnelo Felizardo.

    In several areas, the roads are also run over by drainage water.
According to Mrinalini Rathi, a Kemps Corner resident, until a few months
ago water from a drain on Altamount Road used to flow down to her area.
Prarthna Samaj resident Bipin Desai said a number of broken sewage lines are
often not repaired and their contents overflow onto the roads. Sewage pipes
from several buildings in Prarthna Samaj flow directly into open, roadside
stormwater drains, which is illegal.

    As far as cleanliness is concerned, D Ward-often referred to as the VIP
ward-is one of the cleanest and best-maintained areas in the city. No
wonder, since it houses the Raj Bhavan, ministers' bungalows and several
foreign missions, including the US consulate at Breach Candy.

    However, don't be surprised to experience the filth and stink of the
city here too. Though the area is dotted with gardens and maidans, the
historic August Kranti Maidan at Gwalior Tank is one of the worst
maintained. Despite being used by the students of at least three local
schools, the maidan has litter strewn across it and the open drains around
it are often used as urinals.

    Khotachiwadi's residents are also angry with authorities for attempting
to tar the lanes, which were initially cobble-stoned. The tarring has led to
flooding during the monsoons. The beautiful area is also now strewn with
loose tar, thanks to the haphazard nature of civic work.

STALLED IN THE FAST LANE: Due to the large number of vehicles owned by
residents in D Ward, traffic jams are common occurrences in areas like Kemps
Corner. (Top left) Tarring of roads by the BMC has begun worrying residents
at one of Mumbai's more tranquil addresses, Khotachiwadi



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