Pothole free roads, footpaths, clean air, sanitation top the list

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday called for people’s participation in formulating its budget for 2023-24.

This prompted activists and citizens’ groups across sectors to express what ails the city and how adequate budget must be set aside to overcome the lacunae. Top of their list was having accessible and encroachment free footpath. They also voiced the need for more open spaces, solution to rid the city of openly dumped garbage and better road infrastructure.

From the eastern suburbs, Swachh Chandivali and Chandivali Citizens’ Welfare Association (CCWA) demanded that the proposed 90-feet DP Road, connecting Andheri to Chandivali Farm Road, and further down to

JVLR be completed on priority. Associations from Chandivali also demanded continuous ambient air quality monitoring system be set up in their zone.

Another area of concern in the eastern suburbs was the issue of garbage dumping. The spokesperson for Twitter page, MulundInfo, shared, “Be it Mulund, Kanjur or Deonar -people across the eastern suburbs are suffering the smell and sickness due to this and a budget to bring solution should be made available.” The other major demand was the need for regular electricity, water supply and sanitation facilities.

Citizens from the western suburbs expressed how they were beleaguered with potholed roads and ongoing work on bridges. They also demanded better medical health facilities and public schools from BMC.

Platforms such as Mumbai North Central District Forum and Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association made a case for encroachment free, wheelchair friendly footpaths, as also a solution for open garbage dumping.

In the island city, Mahendra Hemdev, from the Marine Drive Resident’s Association, said, “South Mumbai faces a major parking problem. Separate budget should be put aside to create more parking spaces.” Hemdev also called attention to the need for a separate budget to hire staff who should act to curb the rapid spread of encroachments in the city. Chirag Shah, from the Wadala Forum said, “Besides better footpaths and solution to open garbage dumping, budgetary allocations should be made to set up more animal cremation centres across the city.”

In an email interaction, top Twitter pages for city like @RoadsofMumbai and @mumbaiMatterz, said it was a pressing urgency to mark speed breakers and zebra crossings with bright paint. They also called for making skywalks and areas around railway stations hawker free and introducing a better parking policy.

Sumaira Abdulali, convenor of NGO Awaaz Foundation, said, “BMC needs to allocate funds for mitigating air and noise pollu- tion. It also needs to allot budget to set up a construction and debris recyling plant, and look after the trees of Mumbai.”

Ravi Duggal, an activist from the healthcare sector, called for strengthening primary health- care centres across the city.

An official from BMC’s accounts department, responsi- ble for the budgetary prepara- tions, said, “We have started receiving emails from people. We will compile the data and present it to seniors who will assimilate the inputs and take a final call.”