Juhu beach stretch turns garbage dump

In a serious violation of environment and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms,massive tracts of land along the eco-senstive Juhu beach have now turned into a dumpyard and the civic administration seems to have turned a blind eye to the problem.

In a serious violation of environment and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms,massive tracts of land along the eco-senstive Juhu beach have now turned into a dumpyard and the civic administration seems to have turned a blind eye to the problem. Despite repeated resident complaints for the past 10 months,more than 2,000 sq m of the area near Juhu Koliwada has turned into a dumping ground with construction waste,plastic and felled trees being disposed of there.

We have repeatedly complained to the civic administration about the large-scale dumping of waste in the area. It is a big concern for residents living in Koliwada, said David Fernandez,resident and member of the local ward committee.

Incessant dumping in the area,which falls under the Collectorate office,is also a violation of CRZ rules,say residents. Rather than collecting the garbage every day and taking it to designated dumping grounds of the BMC,garbage collectors dump everthing towards the southern end,near Koliwada. After few days,some of the waste is burnt at night in a feeble attempt to get rid of it, said Jayul Patel,activist and resident of Juhu.

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The area is increasingly becoming filthy and unhygienic. Residents have to endure the foul smell perpetually, he added.

Another resident,Rajiv Bajaj,a regular jogger at the beach,complained that the long tract along the beach,which would be ideal for morning walkers,has become out of bounds due to the huge garbage dump. Most of it is non-biodegradable and construction debris.

Meanwhile,the civic administraiton claimed that it has been doing its job of garbage collection properly and none of the waste is being dumped by civic officials on the beach.

The garbage is collected timely from the beach. But in case the local contractor is dumping waste on the beach,strict action will be taken against him, said Mohan Adtani,Additional Municipal Commissioner,BMC.

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Juhu Beach,which stretches to almost six km,is cleaned up at least four times a day by BMC workers and private contractors. On an average,10-15 tonnes of garbage is collected from the beach every day,said officials. In monsoon,garbage collected increases to over 40 tonnes.

The image of the beach as a tourist spot,which lakhs of people visit every day,is also affected due to the garbage. Dumping of waste will also adversely affects the adjoining garden,which will soon be opened for residents in the Juhu Koliwada belt, said Ashok Jadhav,Congress MLA.

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