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Another work by BMC goes down the rain

Monday showers washes away newly laid pedestrian walkway tiles at Crawford Market

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A milkman cycles his way through a flooded street in Byculla on Tuesday
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The first bout of heavy rains on Monday led to washing away of newly laid pedestrian walkway tiles at the Crawford Market, questioning the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) ongoing Rs100-crore revamp project of the archival structure.

The aftermath of the monsoon spell left an array of walkway tiles and blocks broken, uprooted and scalped out of their place. This led to inconvenience not only for around 100 vendors in the market, but also for the countless buyers visiting the market.

"One could expect these turn of events with a market that has not been renovated for some time. However, it was only 10 or 11 months ago, that the civic-appointed contractor has made this pedestrian walkway. Is this what we are suppose to expect from the BMC," questioned one of the vendors Anand Kamble.

Kamble, who has been running a wholesale stall of fresh seasonal fruits at the market since a decade now, claimed to have written to the market committee of the corporation.

Brandishing letters drafted to the department, the vendor alleged that the civic body is now holding the contractor liable for the said apathy.

Echoing similar view, another vendor Hozefa Yunus attacked the BMC on failing to monitor the work carried out by the contractor. He pointed out that had the civic body checked the quality of cement and tiles laid this would not have been the situation.

Meanwhile, the BMC was unable to provide the financial figures for the work carried out by the contractor. A senior BMC official, requesting anonymity directed that, out of Rs100 crore work order it would be difficult to trace the amount spent on the walkway.

When contacted chairperson (Market-Garden) committee, Yamini Jadhav said that, she had surveyed the market area, last month, raising questions on the work done by the contractor.

"Upon finding that, the work done was deplorable, I had asked the ward officer to take necessary action. However, it seems that, they never took any action," Jadhav said, while adding that she will be speaking with concerned civic officers on the issue on Wednesday.

Crawford Market revamp

The civic body, in January of 2015, proposed a Rs 100-crore project to revamp the market to accommodate vendors in a more uniformed manner.
According to the proposed plan, four ground-plus-three blocks in the 6,000sqmt of space behind the 125-foot mechanical clock is been slated to be revamped. The central plaza, which is currently encroached, will be redeveloped to retain the vacant space.
The blueprint of the plan also directs underground parking, allowing trucks to unload the goods in the market, resolving the age-old traffic issue near the market. Also, around 10 per cent of the entire space will be occupied by administrative offices to monitor the functioning of the market.
Though Crawford Market is a Grade-1 heritage structure where alterations are strictly not permitted, architects said there had been cases where revamp is permitted.

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