R-North ward: First in Mumbai's roll call, last in everything else

Although Mumbai's beginnings were once in the south, today, its starting point is at the other end of the city, in the R-North ward. In the BMC's eyes, this is where the city begins, starting with ward number 1 in Borivli to ward number 227, all the way in Colaba.

This ward may come first in the roll call of the city, but in reality, it is far from the top priority for the authorities. The 3.6 lakh citizens who live in this ward put up with basic problems like water shortage, bad roads and footpaths and rampant encroachment and slum development.

It's not just the human residents of this ward who suffer. The pride of this ward is the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the only wildlife park in the world to be located right in the middle of a city. Leopards and several other species of wildlife call this green space their home, but both flora and fauna are taking a hit from poaching and encroachment issues.

The footpaths transform into noisy, crowded market areas, leaving no room for pedestrians. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Wild woes: This highly populated residential area is blessed with not only SGNP, but also the beautiful Kanheri Caves and Mandapeshwar caves. The ward is also home to mangroves. But these natural gifts are preserved with the respect they deserve, allege activists. According to local residents, trees are being axed right under the BMC's nose to make way for more encroachments. Such complaints have been heard from IC Colony Church Road and LIC Colony in Borivli, for instance. Several residents have also complained about slums encroaching upon mangroves.

Footpath foes: Most areas either lack proper footpaths or have been forced to surrender them to encroachment by hawkers, roadside stalls, food vendors and slum dwellers. This is a problem particularly in areas such as IC Colony, Rawalpada, Devidas lane and Eksar. All pavements have been built with paver blocks, many of which are now either broken or missing. At popular areas like Thakur Complex, Poisar and Chikuwadi, there is hardly any space on the footpaths for pedestrians, thanks to encroachments by hawkers and shops. This reporter found that these localities were usually calm and quiet in the mornings, but come evening, and the pavements transformed into noisy, crowded market areas, with hawkers selling a range of items, from vegetables and flowers to vadas and sandwiches. Motorists don't have it any better - like the rest of the city, there are more potholes than roads in this ward.

Rampant redevelopment: This ward was mostly developed back in the '70s and'80s, when several middle-class families bought houses here. Most of the residential buildings are now old and in need of redevelopment. Some residents have objected strongly to these construction sites not being monitored or regulated. While civic authorities scrutinise and redevelopment proposals, once the work begins there is no inspection to see if noise and environmental regulations being broken, etc. As it is, with the demolition of old buildings and construction of new ones, there is much dust and dirt here. Residents of IC Colony, Ashokvan, Eksar road have complained about this.