Mumbai: The residents of Dadar have to put up with excessive dust pollution, especially in Suryawanshi Kshatriya Hall lane, due to the ongoing construction work of Babasahib Ambedkar memorial at Indu Mill. The dust menace is mainly due to the trucks carrying debris entering the lane. The residents say that the least the contractor could have done is covering up the debris in the trucks with tarpaulins. The work, which started five months ago at the site, have been troubling the local residents who say that even after complaining to the contractor, no action has been taken.
Due to the trucks spilling debris the road has been damaged and mud has accumulated. As the work is going on just beside the sea, mud is blown into houses by the sea breeze.
The residents in the lane are fed up with the unabated pollution as they cannot keep their windows open because of the dust, depraving them of the sea breeze in the midst of this hot summer. The construction work, undertaken by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), has been given to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which has given the contract to ASR Construction.
One of the administration staff, Amol Khandagle, and the security working on the site say they have not seen the contractor. The administration staff working on the site said that they have been covering the trucks with tarpaulin, but the residents deny this. The trucks carrying wet and dry mud is being accumulated on the road for the past five months. The buildings opposite the Indu Mill gate comprising of Abdul-Court, Kachwala Mansion, Bole Smruti Building and the Pratipada Building face the brunt of the pollution.
Even the Suryavanshi Kshatriya Hall Committee have complied that the mud comes inside the hall where food is served on the ground floor during weddings. The corporator of Dadar area, Vishaka Raut, did not comment on the issue. A local resident said: "Even though this has is happing for the past five months, the police nor the BMC is doing anything about it". The Abdul-Court, Kachwala Mansion, Bole Smruti Building, and the Pratipada Building residents have written a letter to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group contractor but no action has been forthcoming. The residents say that also because its government land no one is taking action.
The local resident Norman Colaco, living in Keshav Smruti Building, said: "For the past five months tucks carrying mud without the tarpaulin cover has been spewing mud all over. The senior citizen are having a tough time because of their respiratory problems". The local residents are hoping for the change on the World Environment Day, which falls today.
GAURESH VAGAL
