Mumbai: Residents' association calls it quits on Carter Rd maintenance

A woman enjoys the evening breeze at Carter Road. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

The Carter Road promenade is among the city's iconic tourist spots and after maintaining the space for two decades, the Bandra West Residents' Association stepped back last month after their contract expired. Apart from the growing maintenance cost, the association said security has become a challenge, especially amid lack of initiative from Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) and the civic body.

Members said that the association took care of all aspects including electricity, water supply, repair, garden and security. Carter Road is also an important venue for open-air events and protests.

Carter Road is popular among walkers. Pic/Satej Shinde

Patricia Nath, the association's president said funds were collected from events and branding activities. "We tried to keep it as a residents' area and maintained it as a family space where no visitors are charged. However, recently it became difficult to cope. There were a lot of responsibilities and with the growing footfall, security was becoming an issue. We approached the BMC and MMB with our difficulties. But they were complacent and we didn't get a response," she said.

Painful decision
Nath added that the association wrote to the MMB to inform them of their decision. "We wrote to them in March and they asked us to continue until they found an alternative. We carried on till June and then decided that it was not working for us. As painful as it was, we had to move away with the hope that they will find someone else," Nath said. She added that if MMB and BMC share the duties, the residents would be happy to take up the responsibility again.

Architect P K Das, who has been involved in the refurbishment of Carter Road, said, "Maintenance costs are mounting and there are recurring renovation costs. After the recent renovation which included additional lighting, there are huge electricity bills, and it is now beyond the voluntary capacity of the association," he said. He added that apart from refusing to help, the MMB has been trying to capture the space and regulate the advertising.

Das said that public spaces should be maintained by the government. "The residents cannot substitute the role of the government; it has to be a joint effort. BMC's garden department has the funds to maintain the promenade and residents can help with vigilance," he said.

Short-staffed amid COVID
The promenade comes under the jurisdiction of the MMB and the association has to adhere to its rules on advertising activities and events. Congress corporator Asif Zakaria wrote to Tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray on July 17 asking that the responsibility be given to the garden department. "The association has withdrawn the security, gardeners, sweepers and the lights aren't switched on either. At this rate, the beautiful promenade that was maintained so well for all these years will fall into disrepair. I have asked the civic chief to take over the maintenance from the MMB," he said.

An official from the Inspection Department of the MMB said that the issue is under consideration. "We are not fully functional amid the pandemic. We had asked the association to continue until a replacement is found but they did not agree. We have put up a proposal to find a temporary solution," the official said. Sources in MMB estimated the average monthly maintenance cost to be around R2 lakh.

Officials from the H West ward said they are in talks with the MMB to find a solution.

June
Month at the end of which the association's contract expired

Rs 2lakh
Approx. cost of maintaining the promenade

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