Mumbai: For these Mahul residents, it's like from one hell to another

Displaced people now have a way out of smoggy Mahul, but their new houses in Malad East are full of broken drains, with building elevators that don’t work and an area filled with silt and stagnant water

Mahul residents have got keys to their new homes in Malad, but they are far from habitable. While those waiting to finally get out of the toxic, smog-filled village say it feels like “shifting from one hell to another”, mid-day, during a visit on Wednesday, found a heap of garbage at the entrance to one of the buildings. The new houses have broken drainage pipes and leakage issues, and the backyard is filled with silt. Some of the Mahul residents visited Malad after getting the keys and said they struggled to get to their flats on upper floors due to out-of-order elevators.

mid-day visited the compound of SRA’s Appapada project in Malad that has been allotted to 584 project-affected people (PAP) from Mahul, and also saw a few flats of building no. 1. 

A rat runs through an alley with stagnant water, at Appapada SRA, Malad

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s allotment letters mention that Mahul residents should vacate their current house within seven days of receiving the keys to their new home. While some have already received the keys, the BMC is in the process of handing over the keys to rest. However, none of the residents who received the keys to Malad homes last month have vacated. 

The Ghar Banao Ghar Bachao Samiti has complained to the BMC about the unsanitary condition of the flats and its surroundings, and as well as the damages. It has told the civic body that people won’t shift until their new homes are made habitable.

Broken window glasses can be seen on some of the floors of building no. 8 on the compound of SRA project at Appapada, Malad East, on Tuesday

A flat in the Appapada SRA project measures just 225 square feet, and most have broken drainage pipes and leakage issues, as pointed out by residents of a neighbouring building. Silt from the nearby slums has collected in the backyard.

mid-day saw that gutters were without covers and filled with garbage, there was stagnant water in alleys and other places on the premises. The boundary walls seemed to be in dangerous condition, with massive cracks visible clearly.

Stagnant water right behind the windows of the ground-floor flats of a building

Nandu Shinde, a Mahul resident and Samiti member, said, “We are being asked again to live in dire conditions. As the BMC made the allotment, we asked it to fix all the issues and make the surroundings at least habitable. If we move here, it will be like shifting from one hell to another.” 

“The BMC needs to fix broken drainage pipes and windows, clear the silt. When all of these are done, we will move here,” Shinde added.

A resident points to the non-functional elevator, whose gate is covered in cobwebs

Prithviraj Chavan, the M West ward officer in charge of the allotment process, was not available for comment. However, an official from the P North ward office under whose jurisdiction Malad falls spoke to mid-day on condition of anonymity. “We will have to visit the site and check, and only then we will be able to know what kind of work needs to be done. Also, various maintenance issues are easily resolvable and we can take care of it.”
 
584
No. of Mahul residents waiting to move to Malad

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!