Months after shifting, Mumbai's BDD chawl residents allege water outage, no maintenance

On Thursday, several staff members reportedly refused to report to duty due to an internal dispute, leaving residents with an unexpected water outage.

MUMBAI: Barely three months after two newly redeveloped BDD Chawl towers in Worli were occupied, residents are reporting a growing list of problems, from poor construction quality and incomplete amenities to the withdrawal of housekeeping staff and even a sudden disruption of water supply on Thursday.

Bipinchandra Kulkarni and his family, residents of the Worli BDD Chawl, visited their newly constructed home in the upgraded BDD Chawl Tower in August.(Raju Shinde)

Residents said they had been assured seamless maintenance and timely response to repairs through a property management firm appointed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada).

However, on Thursday, several staff members reportedly refused to report to duty due to an internal dispute, leaving residents without support during an unexpected water outage.

No contractor staff present for basic issues

“There was no contractor staff present to attend to basic issues. From 12pm to 4pm, our taps ran dry,” said Bajrang Kale, who lives in D-Wing. “The water stoppage was the tipping point. We have written to Mhada demanding immediate intervention. We were told this redevelopment would improve our living conditions, but we are constantly struggling.”

Residents say the concerns began soon after moving in, with complaints of seepage, cracks, and faulty electrical installations emerging in multiple flats. Gajanan Shirkar, 65, who specialises in interior work, said the construction quality was not up to the standards promised. “There are leaks in many flats. The electrical fittings are poor, in some cases, electricity meters have burnt. The tiling is uneven and hollow in many places. These are basic quality failures,” Shirkar said.

Common area maintenance: Major issue

Common area maintenance has also emerged as a major grievance. Residents said there was only one housekeeping worker responsible for collecting waste across 40 floors in the two towers.

“How can one person manage 40 floors every day? She got exhausted and stopped coming because she was also not being paid properly,” said Ganesh Shinde, 58. As a result, corridors and lift lobbies are reportedly left dusty, with construction debris yet to be removed from several floors.

Other issues flagged include non-functional ventilation fans in lifts, lack of CCTV cameras in common areas despite security concerns, and the absence of pest control despite heavy mosquito infestation in the vicinity. Residents also said they have been unable to set up a society office due to lack of designated space.

“Everyone keeps saying they will fix it tomorrow, but nothing has changed in nearly two months,” Shirkar said. “The contractors say they don’t have enough manpower. That is not acceptable in a project of this scale. We are taxpayers and rightful residents. We should not have to chase basic services.”

When contacted, Milind Borikar, chief officer of Mhada’s Mumbai Board, said a meeting with residents has been scheduled in the coming week. “We have already instructed the team to resolve the issues on priority,” he said.