Redevelopment of city’s oldest trading hub has come with a poser: How does Mumbai tidy its house without throwing out those everyday rigours that helped nurture its resilient spirit?
Amidst the cacophony of traffic and high-pitched voices of street vendors peddling their wares along the busy and congested Chira Bazaar, a middle-aged Goan woman in a printed frock haggles with the fish monger in Konkani. Not too far away, a group of Gujarati men chatter excitedly inside a goldsmith’s shop while a young man strums the guitar on the steps of a nearby church as his friend hums a ditty.
A walk down the bustling lanes of one of the oldest residential and commercial areas in the city is a lesson in community living and urban resilience. That Mumbaikars adapt easily to space constraints and unhygienic living conditions is more evident in Chira Bazaar than in any other part of the city.
However, the ambience of this trading hub will be altered drastically once the recently cleared 30-acre cluster redevelopment project begins. The old residential buildings, shops, and roadside markets will give way to skyscrapers, parking lots and wider roads.
Despite the good intentions and the better quality of life on offer, the news of the area readying for a facelift has sparked off mixed responses in the close-knit business community. On one hand, there is jubilation that the younger generation will not have to put up with the space crunch, the traffic woes or the burdened sewage disposal system. On the other hand, however, there are concerns about being relocated while the redevelopment is in process. “We have been trading in cloth from the same place since the last three generations. Having to move business elsewhere may have a negative effect on our earnings,” said Gajendra Mehta, a merchant whose shop is located on the winding Jagannath Shankar Sheth Marg.
Some residents fear that the redevelopment will also change the culture of community living that prevails in this part of the city teeming with chawls and cramped living quarters. “When the Mumbai skyline changes in densely populated areas, the city loses its melting pot culture where people of different faiths and backgrounds live harmoniously despite hardships,” said Shaukat Khan, a butcher who lives amongst Christian neighbours in one of the many dilapidated buildings in Chandwadi.
However, Francis Lobo, a retired mechanic who lives in a 100-sq-feet house in Gaiwadi with his family of four, feels that the debate over preservation of culture and community in densely populated areas in the city is misguided. “Most of us live in dilapidated buildings and a bigger and safer home would be a welcome change,” he said.
But civic activists are not convinced about the project’s feasibility and long-term benefits. “The proposal does not take into account the ground realities as there is a constant battle for basic amenities like water or sewage disposal facilities,” pointed out conservationist Debi Goenka, a senior member of the Bombay Environment Action Group. “The emphasis should be on building infrastructure first and high-rises later,” he added.
“Also, most parts of the city have been reclaimed and beyond a point, the artificial boosting of its carrying capacity may not be feasible,” he said.
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