Bandra, Khar residents afflicted by open garbage dumps, fear the onset of the monsoon

Attributing the problem to the NGOs, A resident said the waste was either not picked up daily or the timings of the pick-up were ad hoc, due to which slum dwellers and chawl residents had no option but to dump the garbage at spots such as the Murugan Chawl area, Guzder Bandh Road and the ‘Rajesh Khanna garden’ where community bins once stood

Mumbai: Residents, Advanced Locality Management (ALM) members and resident associations of Bandra-Khar-Santacruz West, have complained of open garbage dumping across their areas.

Mumbai, India - June 20, 2023 : Garbage seen on 16th Road and 30th Road corner at Bandra, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo)

Author Tamal Bandyopadhyay, who lives in Bandra, has tweeted thrice over the last few months, tagging the BMC about garbage dumped on an open plot near the junction of 16th Road and 30th Road in Bandra. “Some housing project was to come up on this land, which was later abandoned,” he said. “Then overnight a series of roadside eateries sprang up, which were removed by the BMC. That was months ago. Since then, the space has turned into a dustbin, a bandicoot den and an open urinal.” Bandyopadhyay fears that the place will become a breeding ground for mosquitoes during the monsoon.

Deyasini Choudhury, member of the Khar-Santacruz Civic Group, who has been working to resolve the open garbage issue in the area pointed out that earlier there were community bins where residents from the slums and chawls could dump their garbage. “The BMC then decided to stop the community bins concept and started door-to-door collection by hiring NGOs,” she said.

Attributing the problem to the NGOs, Choudhury said the waste was either not picked up daily or the timings of the pick-up were ad hoc, due to which slum dwellers and chawl residents had no option but to dump the garbage at spots such as the Murugan Chawl area, Guzder Bandh Road and the ‘Rajesh Khanna garden’ where community bins once stood. “This is an issue across the ward,” she said. “The only solution is to bring back community dustbins.”

HT contacted the assistant engineer of the solid waste management department and assistant commissioner of H West ward and shared photos with both. Neither responded to the request for a comment.

VOICES

Madhu Poplai, secretary, Pali Hill Residents’ Association

Ambedkar Road

Ambedkar Road is the worst affected area. So many food stalls have come up there, and thanks to food vloggers, more people are eating at these stalls. This new trend of hawkers selling biryani has added to the problem. They don’t pick up the waste and then more people add to it till it’s a heap of garbage.

Hawkers generate a pile of daily garbage which they leave lying around. They come back the next day and pay money to get it picked up, but till then it lies there. This is a big menace in Bandra, and it is supported by hafta-taking BMC officials.

Madhu Raheja,

30/36 TPS Road, Bandra, Opposite Seema restaurant, Near National College.

There is a fixed spot opposite Seema restaurant which has a garbage dump. Besides the stink it emanates, mosquitoes breed there, causing dengue and malaria outbreaks. The local corporator has helped us whenever we have reached out but we want a permanent solution to the issue of garbage-dumping and the slums.

Anandini Thakoor, managing trustee of Khar Residents Association

Various spots in Bandra

There are several spots in the area where garbage is openly dumped, especially 15th Road in Khar West and the Guru Nanak dispensary at Madhu Park. We keep sending messages to cleaners and officers to get it cleared. Sometimes, we even tip them to keep the area clean but now the situation keeps repeating itself. The cleaners are not being reprimanded by the authorities. They pick up garbage after our follow-ups, but previously they did not even do that. There has to be a permanent solution to this.