Mumbai: Garbage mound spills out of Colaba mansion fence; locals flag stench, citing health hazard

RUBBISH HEAP: A discarded bed roll and broken fence

A derelict mansion called Schoen House in Colaba located at Nathalal Parekh Marg, directly opposite the YMCA, has become a site of substantial concern for residents in the area. This structure has ankle deep debris at certain spots, and it is even higher in front of the compound, trailing on its sides. Papers, plastic, half-eaten plates of food, bottles, cloth, packets, sacks and other garbage are seen. One witnessed a large number of garbage bags tossed around and a rolled-up bedroll was also stacked to the side. In fact, the debris was so high that it spilled over the broken perimeter fence and out of the gate.

There was a stink emanating from the garbage all around which was also wet because of monsoon showers when this correspondent visited the site. Owner Yogesh Mehta did not reply to questions about the state of his property saying he was suffering from ill-health. When pressed for comment, Mehta called it tantamount to harassment. "Stop bothering me kindly. This is harassing me indirectly. Stop doing this, otherwise I will have to file a complaint," he said.

Take action

Mehta, though, has written a letter, dated July 11, to former corporator Makarand Narwekar, with the subject line: "Removal of garbage from the compound of Schoen House, N Parekh Road, Colaba." At the outset the communication stated that he, Yogesh Mehta, is the owner of Schoen House, and pointed to "the huge stock of garbage that has been piled up in the compound of the said bungalow due to throwing of garbage by other, adjoining occupants in the said compound." The letter further read, "It has been cleared many times by me, by spending huge amount of monies but since the past three years, due to my sickness, again a huge stock of garbage has been accumulated in the premises. (sic)"

THE BIG SPILL: Pouring out of the structure

Mehta asked Narwekar for help citing ill-health by "speaking to Ward Officer A-Ward of BMC, to arrange for the garbage truck, to remove the said garbage as it would cause nuisance and health hazard to the neighbours. I further say that you may kindly take necessary action against the culprits, who are throwing the garbage in the compound of my bungalow, which is a valuable property and a heritage structure."

He ended stating his request be acceded to on "purely humanitarian grounds" and requested that "A-ward staff/beat martial (by this one presumes he has meant marshal) may be deputed to ensure that wrongdoers are fined for throwing garbage into my property."

Cameras, barricades

Narwekar said, "I am trying to raise funds to get the premises clean. This cannot be done by the BMC since it is a private property. The point though is not about getting it cleaned once but how long it will stay that way. Since this is not occupied, there is bound to be garbage accumulation once again. The owner must take responsibility or depute someone to keep the premises clean."

Sujata Sanap, former Shiv Sena corporator, when alerted to the state of the structure and debris, said that, "I will look into the matter, and do something." Cynthia D'Mello, a local who is at the forefront of attempts to get this cleaned, said, "I took the initiative and addressed this when I saw the compound being used as an open-air toilet with men urinating in the space. The filth also gets damp in the rain, spreading even more disease.

Maybe surveillance cameras can be installed on the outside so that those who dump their daily garbage here can be identified and penalised. Somebody needs to take responsibility." Pervez Cooper from Colaba concurred with the open-air toilet observation and added, "Maybe the civic authorities can look at boarding up the structure, barricading it from the outside so it is not used as a garbage bin. The solution has to be permanent." The locals also pointed to a number of schools near Schoen House.

There was a communication to Mehta dated April 28 this year from the A ward municipal office which said, "It is observed that a lot of debris/garbage is dumped inside the premises of Schoen House. As owner/president/secretary/manager by allowing this to be dumped and not cleaning the above premise you are creating a nuisance. This is causing infestation of mosquitoes, rodents and causes unhealthy atmosphere in the surrounding area. (sic)" The communication went on to cite a seven-day timeline for removal of the debris and to "ensure prevention of recurrence". Assistant Commissioner (i/c) S Gurav from A ward did not respond to numerous requests for comment.