19 September,2016 09:08 AM IST | | Ranjeet Jadhav
Roads, footpaths encroached upon despite regular eviction drives, turning commute into a nightmare
Encroachments outside Goregaon station choke the narrow street. Traffic bottlenecks caused by these have become the norm. Pics/Sneha Kharabe
The ward, which spans across Goregaon East and West, has a mix of residential, industrial and slum population. It has 11 major roads and 208 minor ones as well as three major and 16 minor nullahs. Encroachment, waterlogging and hygiene are its key problem areas.
Stray pigs feast on piles of garbage near unit 7, Aarey Milk Colony
Emboldened encroachers: Hawkers take up most of the footpaths, forcing pedestrians to risk life and limb by walking on the roads. The east and west entrances of the Goregaon railway station face the brunt of this menace, with hawkers vying for every inch of space available.
Stagnant water mixes with rotting waste below a bridge near Oberoi Mall in Goregaon East. Pics/Nimesh Dave
Pedestrians forced to take the roads add to the traffic chaos.
Commuters allege that the BMC's repeated action against illegal hawkers is only an eyewash since the encroachers return no sooner than they had been evicted. They want the BMC to find a permanent solution to the menace immediately.
A hawker illegally sets up his stall outside the Goregaon railway station. Locals allege that such encroachers are regularly driven away, but they return to their old spots within no time
Waterlogging woes: Several areas in the ward, such as the vicinity of Siddharth Hospital, Shastri Nagar in Goregaon West, Aarey Milk Colony, near Pravasi Industrial Estate, Hanuman Nagar and Motilal Nagar, get easily waterlogged during spells of rain.
Locals allege that time and again, the BMC's assurance of a trouble-free monsoon has fallen flat after drains got choked and localities waterlogged. They want the BMC to put in place a functioning storm water drain system.
Health hazards: Residents of slum pockets complain of irregular garbage collection as well as the shortage of public toilets in Adarsh Nagar in Aarey Milk Colony, Santosh Nagar near Dindoshi, Upper Govind Nagar in Goregaon East and Pravasi Industrial Estate. They allege that the existing public toilets in the ward are poorly maintained.
Aarey's anguish: Aarey Milk Colony has 28 tribal hamlets, but its residents struggle to get even basic sanitation and drinking water facilities. Roads across the ward are riddled with potholes, but the ones in Aarey are shoddier. There are no public toilets or streetlights in the area, forcing locals to risk their lives by venturing into forested patches to answer the calls of nature.
There is little access to modes of transport within the area late at night. This inadequacy primarily affects those who need to rush to the BMC-run hospital outside Aarey during odd hours.
Locals want the civic authorities to set up a functional health post in the area.
