The Belapur fort, which has been a witness to several historic events, is crumbling as no authority worth its name is caring about it. The orphaned fort is located at the beginning of the Palm Beach Road from Belapur side, right opposite the iconic NMMC headquarters building. A massive housing colony has come up in the area known as Kille Gaothan in the close vicinity of the fort and CIDCO built its official guest house. But there is no access to the crumbling fort. Much like several places in Mumbai – Dhobi Talao and Churchgate – Belapur Fort also will remain a mere name as the age old structure is bound disappear into the annals of history.
Belapur fort was built by the Siddhis of Janzira in 1570 and Portuguese annexed it subsequently. The Marathas led by Chimaji Appa took control of it in 1773 and the East India Company captured it in 1817. That was the beginning of the end of the fort’s use. It used to house several guns and men ostensibly to keep an eye on the ship movement between Goa and then Bombay. Some people believe that an underwater tunnel connects the fort with Gharapuri island, the site of Elephanta Caves, across Mumbai harbour. Officially, CIDCO owns the Belapur Fort and Adivashi is of the firm view that the Archeological Survey of India should take it over and restore it since it is the lone historic structure in the City of 21st century.
Moving on from history to current affairs, the dreaded dengue has been threatening the city with vengeance. NMMC found as many as 334 mosquito breeding sites in its area. Fresh water accumulation in housing colonies, unattended storm water drains and ever growing construction activity are all to blame, NMMC officials say. But of late a new menace has come to light – the rampant fish culture in ponds created by land grabbers in the mangrove area. NMMC Commissioner had one round the various areas and instructed the officials to be extra vigilant and curb the mosquito menace as 48 cases of dengue have come to light.
Adivashi has written about the appearance of snakes in the city. With October heat extending into November, snakes and scorpions seem to be on the lookout for cooler places. Several snakes have been seen in paddy fields of rural Raigad and scorpions surfaced in villages. Stray cases of snake bites and scorpion stings have been reported. Rapid urbanisation has also impacted the wild life and six cobras have recently been noticed at Kharghar. The reptiles have been trapped and released in Karnala forest.
Media reports about rampant unauthorised constructions seem to have had their affect as NMMC and CIDCO resumed their mission demolition. A row of slums along the Trans Harbour rail network at Turbhe and some floors of the six-storied building at Dighe were razed. But observers feel that this could prove to be a mere cosmetic action as the authorities do not seem to check land grabs happening all over the city. For instance, many restaurant owners who built monsoon shades haven’t removed them and they use the covered areas for business. The authorities give permissions for monsoon shades only for four months but the temporary structures continue much beyond the stipulated period.
Meanwhile, land grab in the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) continues unabated and ignorant people are buying unauthorised flats. This is mainly because of the delay in implementing the development rules for the area by CIDCO. The rules have been sent to Mantralaya for approval which has been held up due to the model code of conduct invoked for the Assembly elections. Hopefully, once the political dust settles down and the elected government gets into action the development rules will be made public. CIDCO has two flying squads to check the unauthorised construction but they are woefully inadequate to keep an eye on 270 villages spread far and wide in NAINA.
Here is some good news for commuters travelling from Thane areas to Navi Mumbai for work to APMC markets and even some private offices like IT and ITES complexes. The newly elected Shiv Sena MP from Thane Rajan Vichare went round the city and promised to take up the demand with the Centre for starting suburban train services between Kalwa and Turbhe. Trains which run on this section start from Thane, Vashi and Panvel and they get crowded quickly. The new service, when starts, will be of much relief to the people.
This is the 95th in a series on Navi Mumbai by veteran media professional B N Kumar, a long time resident of Mumbai’s twin city. He can be contacted on: samacharfoundation@gmail.com
B N Kumar
