Why Mahim shopkeepers are beating their heads against Mumbai Metro walls

Haphazard and shoddy Metro III work along Mahim's bustling LJ Road is killing businesses and shutting down establishments. A ground report

With no customers to cater to, Jugar Kanchwala literally spends all day staring at this barricade. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar

The walls are closing in on shopkeepers in the once-busy Dadar-Mahim belt, where their business has now come down by 50-80% ever since work for Metro III began. Barricades have been erected barely eight feet away from their shops, blocking them from customers' view and access.

Things are so bad, that on some days, the shopkeepers no longer bother to open their shutters, and many are also considering laying off their staff. When mid-day visited Lady Jamshedji Road in Mahim West, there was barely any breathing room between the barricades and the shops. Not too long ago, Mumbaikars would come from all parts of the city to shop and dine here. Now, Metro III's construction barriers have closed in on the shops like a coffin.

The Metro construction has eaten into the income of the famous Hotel Prakash near Shivaji Park

Thanks to the barricade, citizens can no longer see the shops, nor is there any way for them to find out if it is closed or open. The only way to access these shops is to walk in the narrow 8-foot passage behind the barriers, but customers have to walk a long way before they can even find their way into the corridor. A determined shopper will find that even when they find an opening to the other side of the wall, the path may not always be clear. This reporter found construction materials blocking access to the shops.

Shabbir Kanchwala, who works in his cousin's 20-year-old glass shop, said, "Our business has been badly affected by the Metro work. Due to the barricades, customers cannot even see if our shop is open or not. Before the barricades were installed, we used to make a minimum of Rs 10,000 a day. Now, we don't even earn Rs 2,000 a day."

The construction has badly affected business for Tazaa Fast Food, which is cut off from view from at least two sides

Lay-offs in the offing
Proprietors of a few other shops near Shivaji Park told this paper, "Since the last 8 to 10 months, our business has been affected very badly because of the Metro construction right outside our shops . Hardly any customers visit our shops. If this continues for another year or two, we might have to reduce our staff, because we're unable to cover their salaries."

Another glass shop owner, Jugar Kanchwala, said, "Metro authorities have been doing the construction work for over a year. Now they are saying it will take another four to five months. I manufacture certain exclusive glass articles, and customers would come to my shop from various parts of Mumbai. But ever since the Metro work began, our business has gone down by more than 80 per cent."

The tight corridor between the shops and the Metro barricade is hardly inviting to customers

City loses foodie gems
In Mahim, while there are wooden ramps and other arrangements to help pedestrians, it has not brought the shopkeepers nay customers. The owner of a famous hotel in the area said, "Development is necessary, but the authorities should have planned it better, so it would not impact our business so badly. Since the 12 to 14 months, our business has dropped by more than 50 per cent, all thanks to the Metro work."

Construction materials block access to the footpath and shops

Hotel Prakash is a well known name not just among residents in the Shivaji Park neighbourhood, but all over the city. But even this Mumbai gem is not immune to the damage wrought by the Metro. A staffer from the restaurant said that their business has reduced to less than 50 per cent, compared to before.

Murtuza Kanchwala reflects on more prosperous times before the Metro work had begun.

And this is not the only Mumbai institution to have fallen victim to the Metro. In November 2016, mid-day had reported how 63-year-old Mahim landmark, Crown Bakery, had to shut down to make way for Metro III.

Also Read: Mumbai: Following Mid-Day's Report Illegal Metro IIB Project Contractor Disappears

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