Fresh encroachments choke Irla nullah
Just a few days after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation issued orders to Zodiac Developers to stop the construction at Irla nullah at Juhu, a similar case of commercial construction over the same nullah has come to light, this time at JVPD scheme.
The Irla nullah, which is one of the major stormwater drains in the city, has been encroached upon from both sides by commercial establishments.
A visit to the area showed that the nullah has been covered extensively, and commercial establishments including a lounge bar have sprung up near it.
Earlier, in 2000, the civic body had conducted a demolition drive, and rehabilitated around 260 slumdwellers from the area to Mankhurd at a huge cost, citing reasons that the nullah, which is important to the city’s drainage system during monsoon, should not be encroached upon and should be widened by six meters.
Although, Zodiac Developers were also made to stop work over the nullah recently, it’s ironic that in the meantime, several other commercial establishments have quickly mushroomed around the drain.
Activist and resident of the area Ashok Pandit said the residents were worried though they have only recently won a hard battle with Zodiac Developers, other establishments have already come up. “We are scared that this time again our area will get flooded during the monsoon. We had a meeting with our K-west ward officer Ramesh Pawar, Zodiac Developers and the BMC officials. They fumbled and had no solution for these encroachments,” Mr Pandit said, adding that corrupt BMC officials and builders have created this sad state of affairs.
However, Mr Pawar claimed that the nullah cleaning work was in progress, and the officials were waiting for a reply from the stormwater drain department (SWD). “We have sent the inventory, and are waiting for the eligibility criteria to be decided, as there are a number of slumdwellers in the area, apart from the commercial establishments.”
He said the process of clearing encroachments would take at least three to four months, as the SWD department is also planning to widen the nullah.
Residents are nonetheless worried about the impending monsoons. “Our city saw its worst downpour ever during the 26/7 deluge. We are shocked that despite our efforts to even get the officials to do their work, the situation has not improved. We don’t know how bad it is going to be this monsoon, and we can only hope that our area doesn’t get water-logged again,” said another resident Parvesh Kumar.
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