Mumbai: A clash erupted between the fishermen community and Cuffe Parade Residents Association (CPRA) on Sunday noon after the a large group of fishermen lashed at the laters protest meet at Bayview Marina against construction of a bund wall at Machimar Nagar in Cuffe Parade. The police personnel top reached the spot to control the situation.
Residents Demand Tetrapods Instead of Wall
The CPRA has been up in arms against the bund, alleging the the reclamation fuels encroachments, and are demanding to install tetrapods to safeguard the slums from fury of the sea, instead of the protection wall. "Once even if a inch of a land is reclaimed, there are no efforts put by the government to stop encroachments," the CPRA members say.
"We were having a silent protest meet among ourselves, and saw no reason for the fishermen community to barge in and start sloganeering against demolishing their huts. We were discussing about stopping the bund wall and install tetrapods instead, and there was no topic of huts removal. The crowd seems powered by a political party, and they had no idea what they were shouting against," said CPRA President Dr Laura D'Souza.
"The crowd not only gave threats but tore our newsletters and destructed plants. The police stood as mute spectators," D'Souza added.
Core Issues Behind the Protest
The CPRA's protest meet was against coastal encroachment, unwarranted land reclamation, mangrove destruction, illegal jetty construction, and multi-storied slums taking over the coastline near Machimar Nagar 4 and 5 in Cuffe Parade. The association has also written to authorities, including the Maharashtra Maritime Board, Mumbai City Collector and MMRDA Commissioner, opposing the ongoing construction of a purported soil-erosion bund in the sea behind Bay View Marina Garden and outside Machimar Nagar Nos. 4 and 5, highlighting that there is no soil-erosion and the stretch situated on Plot Nos. 106, 107, 108 and 109 of Backbay Reclamation Nos. III and IV is already reclaimed land upon which existing settlements have developed. However, their complaints have yielded no results.
Prasanna Pande, a member of the fishermen community who was part of the protest on Sunday said, "The CPRA is against fishermen and slum dwellers. The wall is being built for protection during rainy season as all sea water comes inside our houses."
Meanwhile, while replying to local MLA and assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar letter, the Maritime Board on March 11 clarified that the present work of 420 mt sea wall at Machimar Nagar 5 is as per drawings of Central Hydropower Research Centre, Pune and has No Objections Certificate from Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority. It added that the sea side of the wall is given a descending shape (with specific gradient) due to which no encroachment on the said sea wall will be possible in the future, also it will not be possible to expand the existing settlement.
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