MUMBAI: As work on the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) picks up pace, the issues caused by the construction have left local residents fuming. With a ready-mix concrete plant set up for the project, residents said that dumpers and cement-mixing trucks had been blocking the roads as well as leaving a trail of residue.
On Friday, the residents’ collective angst erupted after a two-wheeler skidded on some spillage near Mahim Rail Yard. The unrest carried forward to Saturday when the locals, along with Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Joseph Koli, came out in large numbers at the rail yard, where the Adani Group’s Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (NMDPL) is carrying out the DRP work.
“For the past few days, there have been incidents of two-wheelers skidding near this project site mainly due to spillage from the dumper trucks. Moreover, there has been a spike in air pollution due to these heavy vehicles,” said Koli after his visit to the site on Saturday.
The corporator said he received a complaint about the persisting problem from Dharavi residents on Friday afternoon. “I went there to inquire about the scope of the work,” he said. “By evening, a ruckus started by the NMDPL staff angered the locals, and this spiralled into a physical altercation. I too got injured in the melee and have complained to the police.”
Another local resident, Congress leader Ayesha Khan, said that she and other residents were waiting peacefully for over two hours. “I was sitting with Mr Koli and a few others when someone came and pushed me,” she claimed. “This angered the people, which led to the fight. Our issue is genuine, as the NMDPL trucks are causing significant levels of air pollution. Even the food sold by cart vendors to break our Ramzan fast every day is getting spoiled due to the trail of dust and muck left by the trucks.”
Local residents said that for months now, 100 to 150 trucks carrying muck and other material every day from NMDPL’s construction site on Jasmine Mill Road have been causing problems in the area that is home to schools, colleges and hospitals in addition to both slums and tall buildings.
“The people staying in buildings of 13 to 16 storeys are troubled by the air pollutants entering through the windows,” said Anjum, a building resident. “Previously, there was constant noise from the drilling works that went on late into the night, and now these dumper trucks have made life miserable.”
A statement from NMDPL said that all statutory rules and prescribed norms related to the disposal of excavated soil and transportation were being duly followed at all DRP work sites.
“A group led by local Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Joseph Koli arrived at the Mahim work site on Friday and tried to enter the premises without authorisation,” said an NMDPL spokesperson. “When security personnel stopped them, they were manhandled. An FIR has been registered against Joseph Koli and others under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The matter is under investigation.”