Mumbai: CRAM hard to find solution

The view of the Sassoon Dock from early April

Black Lives Matter is a movement born in 2013 against police brutality and racially motivated violence against black persons. It is marked by demonstrations, especially on the streets and is a calling card for action against discrimination. The movement sparked to prominence around mid-2020 with mammoth protests against the police killing of George Floyd, a black man, in Minneapolis, the US.

Spinning off from the BLM movement, the southern tip of Mumbai started their own, called Colaba Residents Also Matter (CRAM), at the end of 2020. The organisation, comprising locals, has eight members as of now and is concentrating on area-specific civic problems.

Renu Kapoor, one of the founders, said they have currently witnessed hordes within Sassoon Dock usually without a mask, "and with so many people inside, social distancing is impossible. We have written to the Mumbai Port Trust, which is in charge of the area, to regulate crowds not following COVID rules."

"Port Trust representatives have assured CRAM that they have intensified policing and will see to it that people are fined for not wearing masks. They also responded saying that beat marshals have been given fine books to catch offenders on the spot."

Colaba's structural engineer Ashit Vora, who has made several rounds of Sassoon Dock along with Port officials, said, "I have offered certain solutions, like taking up more space within the Dock; there are certain dilapidated structures inside that can be redeveloped and some of the activities can be moved there. Recently, on a round, some people were offered face masks by those in charge of the Dock, but they got the answer: mind your own business."