Mumbai, July 26: The high tide has ebbed and the sea waters have now receded. But the damage caused during the last three days is becoming clear only now.
The sea claimed several hundred huts, tore apart compound walls of bungalows and buildings along the waterfront, and wreaked havoc on picturesque public and private lawns near the sea. The Greenway running along Juhu beach and the two public gardens recently beautified by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in Dadar Chowpatty, were considerably damaged. The shoreline from Cuffe Parade to Juhu now wears a war-ravaged look.
Officials from the BMC and collector’s office, involved in the rescue operations, claimed it would cost crore to restore the damage. Almost all the devastated structures had been set up on land that originally belonged to the sea. Most were illegal constructions. Senior civic officials admitted that extensions into the sea were responsible for the damage.
Additional municipal commissioner RA Rajeev said there was a need to check human ingress into the sea, adding that plans for the development of waterfronts and promenades on foreshore land (the portion between the sea and the land) — previously endorsed by the civic body — will now have to be reconsidered. Rajeev said even the Rs45 crore plan to develop and ‘expand’ the Dadar-Prabhadevi beach front that is currently on, will need a rethink.
Rajesh Mangela, a leader from the fishermen’s community in Juhu, said that the fishing community has learnt to respect, and live with, the sea. “Our people never construct houses below the high water mark,” he said.
–Agencies