F-South WARD (Parel AND SewrI)
Traffic jam at major junctions, open drains and poor collection of garbage are major issues the ward faces
Overview
With a number of important hospitals such as Wadia Hospital, Tata Memorial Hospital and King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital falling within the F-South Ward, people not only from Maharashtra but from across the country visit this ward everyday for treatment.
Spread across 14 sq km, the ward also houses a number of restaurants. According to the civic body, the ward has over 120 restaurants and thus, a huge amount of waste is generated daily.
While around 512 MT garbage is generated, proper lifting of garbage is not carried out. Overflowing garbage bins in parts of the ward are a usual sight.
Since the ward has a number of hospitals, the influx of people is quite high and thus traffic congestion has become a daily problem. In addition, during the monsoon, Parel and Hindmata area see severe waterlogging. However, last year the civic body was able to prevent it.
The ward also has a number of corporate offices, and witnesses a high number of vehicles during the day. Travelling towards Wadala from Parel is a daunting task for motorists, as the roads are narrow. It is difficult for pedestrians to cross the road at Parel junction at any given time, despite the presence of traffic police. The civic body admits that roads over railway tracks at Parel, Currey road and Chinchpokli require widening for smooth flow of traffic.
Political scenario
Of seven seats, Shiv Sena holds five, while Congress holds two seats in F-South ward. The ward falls in the South Mumbai parliamentary constituency and is represented by Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant. The ward has two MLAs namely Ajay Chaudhary of Shiv Sena and Kalidas Kolambkar of Congress. The number of seats in the ward have remained seven even after delimitation.
A few areas in F-South have a sizeable Muslim population, and this time, AIMIM may field its candidates for these seats. According to residents, there is resentment among the minority community as major political parties do not give tickets to minority candidates.
In addition, the slum pocket in the BPT area has a majority of voters from North India. The sitting corporator as well as other candidates are concerned as many of these migrant residents will go home to vote for the Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh.
issues
Open drainages across the ward are a common sight. Residents complain that the civic body does not often clean the open drains which increases the risk of infectious diseases.
The traffic on most over-bridges in the ward are managed poorly. The road which connects Parel east and west witnesses traffic chaos on a daily basis. Motorists struggle most of the time at Currey Road bridge. As the ward has people visiting from other parts of the city for medical services, multiple one-way roads force them to take a longer route.
Overflowing garbage also irks residents. The garbage collection by the civic body is very poor in some parts of the ward.
On Parel-Sewri road, vehicles parked illegally encroach major part of the road. Even the footpath along this stretch has been encroached by hawkers and garages.
Residents speak
The rehabilitation of BPT slum in Sewri (west) is pending for a long time. All concerned firms need to address this issue. No firm has taken responsibility and the slum encroachment is increasing with each passing day.
Imran Khan, Activist, Sewri
The civic body has put up banners about garbage dumping. However, the civic body itself forgets to collect garbage and most of the times it overflows in some parts of the ward. Just displaying banners will not solve cleanliness issues. The civic body needs to show some dedication as well.
Yogesh Patil, Resident of Parel
The official word
Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vishwas Mote says, "Traffic chaos is one of the major issues of the ward and this can be solved only after widening of three roads. These roads are located at Parel, Currey Road and Chinchpokli over the railway tracks and need immediate attention. We are ready to widen these roads at our own cost. But there is a delay from the railways. There is recommendation of dormitories for patients' relatives coming from outside in the Development Plan 2034. At present, there are facilities but they are not sufficient to match the number of people that require it. The civic body is working towards making the ward free from garbage bins.
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Political scenario
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