Let's get the show on the coastal road, say Breach Candy locals

S Satpute and M Machiwal

If it's Breach Candy, it must be the coastal road. It was a thunderous Thursday evening as locals, a majority from Breach Candy but several from Haji Ali, Warden Road and Nepean Sea Road, convened at Vaibhav building garden for a meeting. The hot button issue has divided the area, with one group called the Breach Candy Welfare Group protesting against the large number of trees to be cut at Tata Garden, for the project.

The Welfare Group also wants the Breach Candy interchange to be shifted to Scandal Point (next to the garden) to save a portion of the garden from being sacrificed. This Thursday meeting though, "was more about support for the Coastal Road and development. We wanted a better understanding of the project," said Breach Candy chartered accountant (CA) Dr Mitil Chokshi, one of the organisers of the event.

M Chokshi and R Jagtiani make a point

Space ace

Several residents first went to the terrace of Vaibhav building, where Executive Engineer (Coastal Road) Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Shrikrishna Satpute showed the layout of the coastal road.

Once back in the garden, the meeting began, with Chokshi, Bipin Vora from Vaibhav and local Ravi Jagtiani saying, "communication is essential and we have called this meeting so that a lot of misinformation is dispelled. We are for development but with certain conditions."

Satpute began outlining several positives of the project, "This area is going to have a 28-hectare garden, we are going to have an underground car parking, too, and at least 45 per cent of the Tata Garden is going to be affected."

To a question about, "why reclaim land instead of making a Sea Link?" Satpute answered, "We are doing this to create more open spaces." The discussion was freewheeling with another local shouting that, "open space has been misused by the BMC in the past and now you say you are creating open spaces."

The locals at Vaibhav building, Breach Candy. Pics/Suresh Karkera

Consultant change

After this there was much back 'n' forth between environmental activist Zoru Bhathena and the BMC officials about the propensity of the road to flood, with BMC denying that the coastal road would aggravate the flooding situation.

Coastal road Chief Engineer M Machiwal then took up the explanation when several residents asked him about the traffic surge because of the interchange at Breach Candy. Machiwal insisted, "Another entry/exit point is not possible at Nepean Sea Road, we have done our studies, it cannot be made."

Things got heated when Machiwal started showing a slide on how traffic would move on the road. A resident asked him seeing the sparse number of cars on the slide, "who has made this slide?" When Machiwal answered, "the BMC consultant," a resident said, "with all due respect, you need to change your consultant." Locals shouted, "this is not reality. Please come and drive down this stretch from 11 am to 12.30 pm and see for yourself how much traffic there is."

Mood change

Another point was raised about the BMC not inviting suggestion/objections from the locals but Machiwal said, "We did have 3,000 plus suggestions on our website. We are also not acquiring private property."

Chokshi had to intervene to restore calm as questions flew. The mood soon turned slightly conciliatory though with some residents urging those angry to, "at least listen to what the BMC has to say." The slideshow then started as people wanted to understand exactly, the route of the road. A 45-minute meet had stretched to two hours. In the end, it was evident that the BMC had stood its ground and won over some hearts at least with Machiwal urging people, not to look, "at the coastal road with so much negativity."

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