Mumbai: Sea-facing is passe, illegal homes come up in water

The encroachment in Mumbai Port Trust has spread across the land and into the sea Tiny huts made of metal sheets stand atop bamboo poles along the coast inhabited by thousands of people who are staring at impending disaster However to them a roof over their head matters more than a tragedy During a visit to the site midday counted 50odd huts and a toilet at Kolsa Bunder and Kawla Bundermidday visited the Mumbai Port Trust MbPT and spoke to the slum dwellers who admitted that most of the huts get flooded during high tidesldquoThe encroachment has reached a dangerous level The slums have left the land behind and ventured into the sea These slums were damaged a couple of times due to high tides but the residents fixed them back uprdquo said an officer from Sewri police stationldquoThe lives of the slum dwellers are at risk as their houses are balanced on just bamboo poles There is no other support to secure the hutsrdquo the officer addedLocals said most of the huts get flooded during high tides PicSameer MarkandePolice said they have informed the MbPT about the encroachment multiple times but the port authorities have taken no actionMbPT holds a massive portion of the land spanning from Colaba to Sewri and has several ports in the east coast of the citymdashKawla Bunder Powder Bunder Lakda Bunder Hay Bunder Haji Bunder and Fer Bunder The shanties on the sea have a mixed population of south Indians Muslims and Marathispeaking people midday spoke to some of the inhabitants and one of them requesting anonymity said ldquoWe are living here for years and nobody objected to us until now MbPT should tell us where we should go if they want to demolish our housesrdquoThey have even built a toilet for the women at the bay A woman who lives in one of the huts along the coast said ldquoWe have electricity meters and a water connection Who says we are illegal Even living in a building is dangerous as it may fall There is the same risk here We are poor so we have built a house where we can affordrdquoWhen questioned about the encroachment local MLA Yamini Jadhav said she doesnrsquot wish to speak on the matter because of the ldquocurrent political scenario and her ailing healthrdquoMbPT Chairman Rajiv Jalota did not answer to this paperrsquos calls and messages for comment while the portrsquos public relations officer claimed she was not authorised to speak to the media on this issueWater garbage our job BMCAssistant Municipal Commissioner E ward Kiran Dighavkar said ldquoThe BMC is just responsible for providing the facilities like water and collection of garbage from the area MbPT is an autonomous body hence the encroachment and other issues are related to themAbout the port trustMbPT is an autonomous body formed by the Union government under the Ministry of Shipping to look after the Mumbai Harbour and all the associated activities It has been the principal gateway to India since its inception and has played an active role in the development of the national economyMbPT was Indiarsquos first step into advanced marine trading It has also developed specialised docks for handling POL Port of Loading and chemicals in the port It was designed to handle general cargo but over the years it has adapted to the upcoming shipping trends and is presently considered one of the most important ports in India The Maratha Navy the British and the Portuguese colonial navies used it The first berth was built in the 1870s