Marine Drive residents urge buildings redevelopment

Call it parking panic. Resident of one India's most expensive stretches of real estate rush home early evening, not necessarily to spend quality time with their family, but for fear they might miss out on a parking spot for their car. Which is not suprising, considering a walk down Marine Drive at any point of time shows cars parked on both sides of the road.

Now, an additional element of fear has crept into their lives — they say redevelopment of the area will be hampered if the heritage tag is stuck on without first making proper arrangements for their buildings' development.

"The buildings in Marine Drive are old, they do not have adequate parking arrangements. Hence most of the residents park on the streets," said Sunil Lekhi, a Marine Drive resident.

"If our buildings are allowed redevelopment, two to three major issues will be solved. First, we will get better amenities in terms of swimming pools and other facilities. Second, and most important, we will have ample space for parking inside the building we live in."

The residents had opposed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) parking policy, claiming that they were being charged to park on streets outside their own building. Residents say redevelopment will end all the squabbling.

N Shah, another resident of Marine Drive said, "Our ceilings are high now; under redevelopment the height will be reduced and there will ample parking available which will help us park inside building premises instead of streets," Shah told DNA.