Andheri: Residents fume over choked drains, sewage pools outside homes

Residents and hawkers near the landmark Dhake Colony at J P Road next to Apna Bazar in Andheri West are not in the pink but in the stink of health The area has witnessed considerable spillage of guttersewage water from choked drains along the road and in the Tep Dargah area winding its way outside for a few days now The result is sewage water snaking through the area affecting locals and several pavement hawkers restaurants and little shops in the vicinityDense spaceThe space is extremely dense with the D N Nagar Metro Station close by very heavy traffic chawls restaurants shops buildings and residential colonies Add to this mix a multitude of hawkers and you have absolute congestion and a packed road When this reporter visited the spot wet patches were evident in different spots and there was sewage water pooled at different placesSewage water entering the colony through a wallA veggie seller pointing to water collected near her wares stated ldquoThis is at its highest in the mornings after which it goes down Now it is afternoon but it is still there People do not jump over that mess to buy veggies it affects my earnings It has never been so difficult the water has been increasing I have been here for decadesrdquoInside the Tep Dargah area chawl which is a labyrinth of lanes barely enough for two people to pass the foul smell is an instant olfactory assault The sewage water which has waste floating in it was literally at the door of these homes some of which seeps insideHealth riskThe Khans Naiks Shaikh families all living inside stated ldquoThe problem has been very bad for the past few days We do a lot of our work outside from washing clothes to vessels etc How can we do so with sewage water at the door When we enter our homes this contaminated filthy water comes into the living space through our feet We are continually washing and cleaning insiderdquo Other locals added that they had to ldquocarry our children when they have to go to school as otherwise they would have to step into the waterrdquoAdjacent stands the wellknown Dhake Colony comprising five buildings of two storeys each The water was entering the colony spilling from the area for several days Colony chairman Anand Shirali said ldquoThe colony has been bathed in gutter water for the past few days It was entering through the boundary wall of our colony which stands next to Tep Dargah It is a recipe for a full blown health disaster and emergency A cholera or other outbreak is a real possibilityrdquoBird bathDhake Colony secretary Ratnakar Shetty said ldquoWe have been here for decades and this problem has truly aggravated this year We needed speedy and effective solutions our residents are at real riskrdquo A number of residents actually pointed out some birds bathing in a pool of fetid water when this reporter visited Earlier residents had visited the BMC Chowky K Ward to urge quick actionShirali said ldquoWe need huge suction pipes hitech to clean out these gutters and address the problem We could not keep waiting so recently we got our boundary wall repaired to reinforce it and to keep the water out Yet if the water continues to seep in then it may crack and the history and horror can repeatrdquo Seeing some dark humour in this situation Shirali said about the birds dunking in the filthy water in the premises ldquoit is not kabootar ja ja jaa but kabootar naha naha nahardquoBMC saysA BMC spokesperson said ldquoThe cleaning operations happened in phases Work was on at a rapid pace In fact we repaired the damaged sewer chamber which was causing obstruction The problem has been resolved We urge people not to dispose of plastic and cloth in drainsrdquo