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Battle for BMC: Largest ward struggles with waste management issues

P-North ward (Malad East and West) Civic body is partly to be blamed as garbage collection in many areas of the ward does not take place on a daily basis

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The civic body has not done much in the ward to tackle the problem of waste management in Malwani, Malad
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Overview

P-North ward is the largest of the 24 municipal wards in the city. It spans an area of 46.67 sq km, covering areas like Manori, Aksa, Madh jetty, Kharodi, Evershine Nagar, Mamlewadi, Pushpa Park, BMC Colony, Narsobawadi, Dindoshi, Raheja Complex, Liberty Garden, Nadiadwala Colony and Collectors Colony, among others. One of the largest slums in the city at Malwani falls under this ward. High crime rate due to poor education and unemployment is present in this ward.

In 2016, P-North ward also witnessed the highest number of dengue cases.

A stretch of approximately 400 acres of the mangroves abuts P-North ward. In July 2016, the Mumbai suburban collectorate and state mangrove cell asked BMC to explain the alleged destruction of mangroves. Activists claim that 40-50 acres of the mangroves adjoining the ward have been encroached upon by the Malwani slum, dumping of debris and construction activity.

While P-North ward has two MPs, four MLAs and 16 corporators, it has not seen much development in terms of solid waste management, quality of roads and sewerage.


 

POLITICAL SCENARIO

In the 2012 civic polls, Shiv Sena was the biggest gainer in P-North ward with seven corporators. BJP has two corporators in the ward, while Congress has four corporators and NCP has one.

Three corporators from NCP in the ward were defeated in the last civic elections. MNS has a single corporator in P-North ward. There is also an independent corporator.

At present the Members of Parliament in P-North ward are Gajanan Kirtikar from Shiv Sena and Gopal Shetty from BJP. The ward has four MLAs, namely Sunil Prabhu from Shiv Sena, Yogesh Sagar and Atul Bhatkhalkar, both from BJP. Congress's Aslam Shaikh also represents P-North ward.

issues

In many places, garbage is not collected on a daily basis, especially in Malad West, where dumping garbage on the roads by residents is a common sight. The BMC also does not collect it daily. As a result, the garbage lies in the open for 2-3 days.

In 2016, P-North ward had the highest number of dengue cases in the city. The slums of Malwani and Kurar are the cause behind this as they store water for days. Dengue cases in this ward rose by 30 per cent, activists claim.

The roads are not wide enough. Many roads in Malad which were recently constructed have cracks, that show evidence of the poor standard of work by the civic body.

Manori has no road connectivity from Malad. One has to travel by boat from Madh jetty.
Slum encroachment of mangroves is also another major concern.

Residents speak

In many parts of Malad, the garbage is not collected regularly and the waste is dumped on roads which gives rise to health issues. I have demanded since long, dry garbage collection should also be done by BMC. The road work is substandard. They make new roads but within few days we can see cracks. They do not open storm drain lines but only fix new tiles upon that. The civic body do not clean the nullas properly. The nullas are never cleaned and all the waste is accumulated inside. During the monsoons, only the upper layer waste is collected but the waste that gets stuck to the surface of the nulla is neglected by the civic body.
—Subhash Rane, ALM of Malad.

Hutments have encroached upon mangroves. Recently, the state mangrove cell had also asked BMC to prove that mangroves are not destroyed by encroachment, however, the report has not been submitted as yet. In Malad, the navy has destroyed a large area of around 70 acres of mangroves for reclamation.
—Stalin D, from Vanshakti NGO

The official word

Assistant Municipal Commissioner of P-North ward, Dr Sangita Hasnale said, "The ward is huge and which increases our challenges for development. The work of widening the SV Road is going on in full swing. We are also trying to improve the solid waste management in the ward. In Malad East the waste management is improved while in west some areas are remaining. If there are some locations where garbage is not collected daily, residents can inform us, we will send the vehicles accordingly. Regarding the dengue cases, in P-North ward the cases were high but the ward is also very huge and densely populated. We worked in force to curb the cases by organising regular check-ups and raise awareness about accumulation of water. Mangrove destruction is a big issue and we help by removing debris. However, if there is any encroachment or construction the state cell committee is responsible."

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