In some relief to residents of Rafiq Nagar in Govandi, the BMC has demolished 75 illegal shanties, which were obstructing the work of nullah-widening in the area. The shanties were erected along the Rafiq Nagar nullah, which plays an important role in taking rainwater out of the area during the monsoon
On Saturday, civic officials with the help of the city police, demolished 75 illegal shanties along the Rafiq Nagar nullah in Govandi
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In some relief to residents of Rafiq Nagar in Govandi, the BMC has demolished 75 illegal shanties, which were obstructing the work of nullah-widening in the area. The shanties were erected along the Rafiq Nagar nullah, which plays an important role in taking rainwater out of the area during the monsoon.
With the nullah-widening work, the civic body is confident of reducing flooding in areas like Ahilyabai Holkar Marg, 90 feet Road and part of Shivaji Nagar Bus Depot in Govandi.
In the last few months, the M-east ward officials had conducted a survey of the area to find out whether the shanties that had come up along the nullah were legal.
According to officials, after the survey, 75 slums failed to produce any legal documents. On Saturday, 48 municipal staff with the help of 82 police personnel demolished the shanties using four JCB and eight dumpers.
Speaking to mid-day, Ganesh Bendre, assistant engineer of maintenance department, M-East ward, said, “The nullah-widening was pending for the last five years. The widening will be most helpful to the area of Shivaji Nagar Bus Depot near Deonar dumping ground as several BEST buses break down due to flooding during the monsoon, inconveniencing commuters.”
However, according to Bendre, there is still a lot of work to be done. “There are over 1,000 shanties along the Rafiq Nagar nullah, which need to be demolished. We will undertake a phase-wise demolition,” he said.
The area that has been encroached upon begins from Durga Devi Sangh, Lotus Colony and goes up to Indian Oil Nagar in Shivaji Nagar.
Last year, in July, municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta had directed all the deputy municipal commissioners to speed up the demolition of shanties, along the storm water drains.
According to data prepared by the civic body, under the Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drain (BRIMSTOWAD) project, 19.7-km of nullahs are encroached upon with 11,143 structures. Other small nullahs of 19.66-km are encroached upon with 6,032 structures.
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