Why is Mumbai's Juhu beach covered in garbage

With tonnes of waste washed ashore rendering the area unusable for citizens, officials say it will take time to appoint contractor to clean dump

The residents of Juhu are now traversing tonnes of garbage as the BMC is still in the process of issuing tenders for the 6km beach clean-up. According to joggers from Juhu Beach, tonnes of garbage accumulate in May and then disappear in September. The beaches were previously maintained with modern equipment, but this year they are being cleaned manually. One local attributed the problem to illegal dumping in the nullahs. “The Versova nullah is a hotspot for ragpickers to dump garbage illegally, which then accumulates on the beach, and the BMC doesn’t clean it,” he said.

Daily walkers are frustrated with the trash not being cleared

“We come here daily. Usually, the beach is clean and we get positive vibes in the morning. However, things are different now as we are forced to deal with garbage. I am a coach, and now I am forced to teach on the road as the beach is filled with heaps of garbage. Every year, the beach is cleaned, but for the past month, the garbage has not been cleared by machines. The labourers come regularly and clean it manually, but it is of no help. We request the BMC to take action,” said Nitin D’Souza, a coach.

Marine environmentalist Sunil Kanojia said the beaches need beachcombing and Bobcat machines to clean the heaps of garbage, “Both play a prominent role in removal of garbage,” he said. Beachcombing machines are intended for sand filtration and picking up lightweight debris like dead fish, cigarette butts, shells and small pieces of wood while Bobcat machines are used to remove heavy garbage such as rugs. However, locals claim that neither machine is actually used to clean the beach.

Football players warm up between heaps of garbage at Juhu beach. Pics/Aditi Haralkar

“We face a lot of difficulties in our daily activities on the beach. We've taken to jogging on roads because of the garbage. Running barefoot is out of the question since the garbage might contain sharp objects,” said a beach runner. An athlete said, “We used to run long distances on the beach, but now we struggle to find clean areas. Running barefoot is impossible. Labourers come and clean the beach daily, so we try to match our run times with their schedule to use the clean sections.”

“The beach was so clean and we used to love to walk on the beach, however now we struggle to walk due to heaps of garbage. We fear for the environment as this garbage may seep into the soil,” said a senior citizen. According to the BMC, they are in the process of passing tenders to clean the beach. “At present, we are trying our level best to clean the beach. Bobcat machines and JCB dumpers will be used to clean the beaches apart from manual labour. We are in the process of floating tenders,” an official from the BMC’s solid waste management department said.

Morning walkers on a stretch covered in trash

According to the officer, one small tender and one large tender will be passed in the coming days to clean the six km stretch of the beach, “A small tender will be floated in the next 10 days. The tender will be for an interim period for the monsoon season while the large tender will be placed for six years,” he added. “It is a shame that we have an additional municipal commissioner in the civic body who doesn’t hold himself accountable. There is no accountability for whatever is going on in the city. Recently the ward officer was transferred. Right now we don’t know whether any ward officer is there or not and it’s a failure of the state government. No one is there to listen to the voice of common people and there should be a BMC election as soon as possible,” said Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Rajya Sabha MP. 

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