Citizens oppose raised platform on Carter Road beachfront

After noticing trucks dumping stones on the Carter Road beachfront, 30 residents have penned a letter to the public works department (PWD) to stop work on the 150-square-metre raised platform intended for local fishermen to park their boats.

MUMBAI: After noticing trucks dumping stones on the Carter Road beachfront, 30 residents have penned a letter to the public works department (PWD) to stop work on the 150-square-metre raised platform intended for local fishermen to park their boats. A copy of the letter demanding that the rubble be cleared and the raised platform be scrapped in its current design was marked to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA).

After noticing trucks dumping stones on the Carter Road beachfront, 30 residents have penned a letter to the public works department (PWD) to stop work on the 150-square-metre raised platform intended for local fishermen to park their boats. (HT)

“After noticing the stone-dumping, we met PWD officials on Monday,” said Zoru Bhathena, the activist spearheading the protest. “We were informed that a raised platform was being constructed on the beachfront for fishermen to park their boats during the monsoon.” A little further digging revealed that the PWD had approached the MCZMA for permission in September 2024, as the work fell in a CRZ-IB and CRZ-2 area.

According to the minutes of the meeting, the PWD said that the fishermen of Khar Danda were facing an acute shortage of space for their daily fishing activities. “Due to the platform’s position in the sea, it will be exposed to the impact of waves during the monsoon,” it stated. “To protect the fish-drying platform, rubble protection is needed. The estimate includes using 50 to 100 kg stones for the core section and 500 to 1,000 kg stones for the armour layer.”

The MCZMA gave permission on the condition that there “should be minimum interference with tidal water flow so that free flow of tidal water is not obstructed”. Its next point stated that the area should be kept to a bare minimum as per the requirement of the local fishermen.

Bhathena posited that a stone platform, which he suspected would be covered with concrete to allow it to withstand the tidal waves, did not comply with these stipulations. “During high tide, this platform will obstruct the tidal water flow, so this is clearly against the order,” he said. “The PWD has also not taken permission for constructing the platform on the sandy beachfront, which is a CRZ-IA area.”

The activist said that his talks with the fishermen at the end of the promenade revealed that they wanted the platform closer to their area of work, not on the beachfront. “But when we asked the PWD why this spot was chosen, they said that since it was not in the mangrove buffer zone, they would be saved the trip to seek permission from the Mangrove Cell and Bombay high court,” he said.

The residents are not alone in their demand. The Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) on Monday also wrote to the PWD, pointing out that the necessary NOC from the MMB for any work on the coast was not taken. It thus demanded that the stones be removed immediately.

PWD officials did not respond to calls or messages.