MID-DAY IMPACT: City NGO offers to paint all speed breakers as per norms

A speed breaker on Ghatkopar-Andheri Link Road. Pic/Satej Shinde

The Ismaili Muslims initiative Ismaili CIVIC, has expressed interest in offering volunteers to paint speed breakers across the city according to regulations. The team has recently been involved in beautifying railway stations in the city. "A volunteer group like ours can help the BMC by painting all the speed breakers. We can follow the guidelines and mark the speed breakers as per regulations," Akbar Merchant from Ismaili CIVIC told mid-day.

Last week, over 300 Ismaili CIVIC volunteers - from young children to seniors - donned aprons, gloves, and big smiles as they beautified three of Mumbai's railway stations: Currey Road, Dockyard Road and Masjid stations, through wall art. This activity is part of Project Mumbai's ‘Hamara Station, Hamari Shaan' (HSHS), which aims to be India's largest citizen-led public art initiative in partnership with Central Railway, where 13 stations, spanning several thousand feet, will be beautified through artwork.

Students helping the community group beautify the stations (right) Ismaili CIVIC volunteers beautifying three of Mumbai's railway stations

"Ismaili CIVIC is a global programme through which the Shia Ismaili Muslim community around the world unites in its centuries-old tradition of serving humanity, providing voluntary service to improve the quality of life in the communities they live in, regardless of faith, gender, or background. Ismaili CIVIC strives to strengthen community bonds and foster collaboration and commitment to improving the human condition," Merchant said. "We operate our community service activities in 36 countries and in India. Our team has also conducted food service days, health camps, river and beach clean-ups, and more recently, blood donation camps that collected over 1,000 units of blood," he added.

mid-day last week ran a story ‘Mumbai road safety: Unmarked speed breakers turn roads into accident hotspots', which highlighted how Mumbai's bustling roads face a silent menace - speed breakers that are either poorly marked or entirely unmarked, turning crucial safety measures into accident hotspots.

While designed to slow vehicles down, these speed breakers are creating more problems, especially for two-wheeler riders and motorists navigating the city's traffic. A recent mid-day survey revealed a concerning number of unmarked speed breakers, increasing the likelihood of accidents. Abhijeet Bangar, additional municipal commissioner, did not respond to calls and messages from mid-day seeking the BMC's view of the initiative by press time.