The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has excavated 243 roads in H West ward, which includes Bandra, Khar Road, and Santacruz West. This excavation has resulted in damage to utilities and has become an inconvenience for residents.
Last week, more than 120 citizens from 18 different citizen groups gathered at an Advanced Locality Managements (ALM) meeting, where they expressed their concerns. The meeting, led by Mumbai’s guardian minister Ashish Shelar, focused on the ongoing road excavations.
Participants talked about the lack of coordination between the three departments involved in the excavation process: roads, stormwater drains, and waterworks.
Street lights and gas pipeline connections have been disrupted, water contamination has occurred, and sewage has flowed into stormwater drains, worsening the risk of mosquito breeding. Traffic diversions and road closures have added to the difficulties, while dust pollution from ongoing construction has made the situation even worse.
Citizens pointed out that the destruction of essential utilities, such as gas, electricity, and water lines, had become a major issue. Street lights on Linking Road near Hotel Kadamb Lane had stopped working, and sewage water had seeped into the drinking water supply pipes on 7th Road.
Furthermore, sewage was also discovered in the stormwater drains near Sadanand Classic and Ram Kutir in Khar West, and the situation had remained unresolved for 31 days.
The ALM meeting also revealed that the roadwork had caused several other problems, such as the clogging of potable water points on 33rd Road. Additionally, the roadwork had resulted in damage to older sewage and water pipes.
As per reports, residents complained that no BMC engineer was overseeing the situation, and the workers were continuing the excavation without proper supervision.
ALMs act as a mini-opposition and help in monitoring public works. However, they had become inactive over time. This meeting was the sixth ALM meeting in the last six years. Several activists demanded better transparency and coordination in future projects.
They talked about the importance of providing clear information about road projects, including timelines and traffic diversions, from the outset. The lack of communication from the BMC had caused confusion and led to major traffic jams.
The meeting concluded with a PowerPoint presentation from the BMC, offering updates on the roads that had been excavated in H West ward.