Linah Baliga | TNN

It used to be an idyllic strip ofcoast from St Andrew’s Churchright up to Jogger’s Park in Ban-dra (West). Now it languishes ina decrepit state, strewn with rub-

ble and overrun by encroachers. Thisis Chimbai beach, which outlines theeponymous fishing village.

In 2008, local fishermen, along withBandra residents, decided that enoughwas enough and that the beach must berestored to its former glory. A plan toturn this wish into a reality was con-ceived by architect P K Das — and ninemonths ago, it got the BMC’s approval.

The beautification plan goes beyondreclaiming the stretch. The entirelength would be lined with walkwaysand a promenade, to be shaded by co-conut groves and other plantations.“Chimbai is a part of our masterplanfor waterfront development and followsour earlier projects at Carter Road, Ban-dra Bandstand and Juhu beach,” saidDas. “The endeavour is to integrate thebeach plan and put it into the networkof public spaces in Mumbai to safe-guard it, as it’s now open to encroach-ments. There will be spaces (a jetty and

ramps) for fishermen to dock and re-pair their boats. There will be otherspaces to carry out their cultural andcommunity activities,” said Das. Itwould be integrated with Bandstandand Carter Road.

The plan also features open spacesand an amphitheatre for cultural andsocial programmes like at Carter Roadand Bandstand. Extra toppings includea children’s park, a playground and afew gardens as well. An edge wall hasbeen envisioned to prevent its deface-ment and keep it off-limits from en-croachers.

“We have also planned for weekendbazaars where the local fishing com-munity could serve the visitors fishcooked in their traditional style. So, onweekends one could walk in and buyfried fish, fish curry or fish tandoor andenjoy a typical traditional fish meal,”said Das.

But the reality is different today. Thebuilder lobby has not spared thesesandy shores and 15 buildings havecome up on it. For the last seven years,the developers have been eyeing Chim-bai, and constructing one-storey bun-galows right on the beach.

“They violate the CRZ norms. We

have been fighting against rampant il-legal construction for three years. TheBMC and the collector just pass thebuck,” said Arden Uttankar, a localChimbaikar. The idea of restoring thebeach will begin to take shape only ifthe rubble-clearing process succeeds.

“The schedule of the tide is ham-pering the cleanliness drive. The BMCcontractors piled up garbage on one endof the beach; it was a failure. We also

learnt that the BMC didn’t have enoughgarbage trucks. It’s even worse now. Theharbour division was supposed con-struct a tsunami wall, to set up a cer-tain boundary to break the force of thetide. Nothing came of that plan. En-croachment has increased and they firsthave to do a survey on the number ofstructures that have come up in the CRZarea,” said Warren Falcon, whose fa-ther was a fisherman.

Falcon remembers the time whenthe beach was never short of fresh fishand crabs.

“There was ankle-deep sand on thebeach for kids. Elderly people would sitthere and play cards.” Today, the rocksthat they walked on during their child-hood are covered with construction de-bris. “It was a beautiful sandy beach, andmy son would go fishing on Sundays. Wewant the beach to come back to Bandra.”

If All Goes As Planned, Bandra’s Coastline Will Soon Get Its Fourth Promenade After Bandstand, Carter Rd & Land’s End

The schedule of the tide ishampering the cleanliness drive.We also learnt that the BMCdidn’t have enough garbagetrucks. It’s even worse now. Theharbour division was supposedconstruct a tsunami wall to setup a certain boundary to breakthe force of the tide. Nothingcame of that plan. Encroachment

has increased and theyfirst have to do a

survey on thenumber ofstructures in the

CRZ areaWarrren Falcon |

CHIMBAI RESIDENT

THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | THURSDAY, MARCH 15, 2012

PROMENADES & PLAZAS | BEACHES | RIVERS & NULLAHS | MANGROVES, CREEKS & WETLANDS | LAKES, PONDS & TANKS | PARKS, GARDENS, RECREATION & PLAYGROUNDS

Promenades, Plazas>>TIMES CITY

In a way, it all began here— one of Mumbai’s majorcitizens’ initiatives to

transform a neighbourhoodinto a pleasant environmentfor locals as well as visitors.A lackadaisical civic govern-ment was allowing one of thecity’s biggest assets, its wa-terfronts, to deteriorate intodump yards and open-air toi-lets. The Bandra BandstandResidents’ Trust along withthen MP Shabana Azmi andarchitect P K Das decided tocreate a sea change.

From 2001 to 2002, the wa-terfront was transformed intowhat Das would later call oneof the city’s “cultural fore-courts”. The other waterfrontstransformed into vital publicspaces were Land’s End,Carter Road and Juhu beach.The Mumbai Waterfront Im-provement Centre, which wasformed later, shared the$100,000 Deutsche Bank Urban

Age Award in 2007 for its ef-forts to “transform the livesof Mumbai’s citizens’’.

A decade old now, Band-stand is a popular hangout, ajogging spot, a park and alovers’ point. While the area isfrequented every evening andon weekends by those seekingan idyllic moment by the Ara-bian Sea, it also accommodatescrowds every now and thenwhen cultural events are held

at the amphitheatre in nearbyLand’s End.

Bandstand stands as an ex-ample in which a simple strollby the sea can be transformedinto a memorable outingthanks to the vision of a fewlocals and others. Das hadsaid in 2007 that the aim wasto turn our waterfronts into“unbarricaded public spacesthat are truly open and dem-ocratic in nature’’.

SEA CHANGE AT BANDSTAND

10 years ago, Bandra residents lit the ‘Mumbai makeover’ torch by transforming the coastline into promenades

Before

After

The Bandra prome-nade story began in1998-99, when local

residents had approached theBombay High Court to dis-allow permission for astranded ship, the Zendong,to be converted into a float-ing hotel. They argued thatit would harm the environ-ment and the coast and ad-versely impact the locality.

Then MP Shabana Azmilater released money fromher MPLAD funds to devel-op the Carter Road and Band-stand promenades.

The endeavour wasfraught with more battles,but the residents’ persever-ance reaped rewards. “Theentire exercise—from con-ceiving the project to gettingmultiple permissions to su-pervising construction to ob-taining sponsorships—hasbeen a frustrating and time-consuming process, but

worth it,” Roshan Dabhoi-wala, a trustee with BandraWest Residents’ Association,had said in 2007.

The picturesque CarterRoad promenade is today ahotspot for many Mum-baikars seeking a laid-backevening by the sea and walk-ers and joggers. It also boastsof an annual festival, anopen-air amphitheatre andpreserved mangroves that

get dramatically silhouettedagainst the sunset.

The mangroves, onceabused as a dumping ground,are a focal point at the CarterRoad seafront. The redevel-opment meanders aroundthem and the mangroves’night-lighting provides a dif-ferent perspective. Residentssay the promenade has pro-tected and helped the man-groves regenerate.

PAVING THE WAY AT CARTER ROAD

Before

Hemant ShirodkarBefore pics: P K Das & Associates

CARTER RD PROMENADEWaterfront length: 1.25kmMakeover cost: Rs 150 lakhConstruction period: 2001-02.Project undertaken by: BandraWest Residents’ Association inassociation with then MPShabana Azmi and architect PK DasFunding: Shabana AzmiMPLAD funds, Marico

Industries and othersKey features: Mangroves formthe central point of the CarterRoad promenade | Gallerieswith steps at two places forculutral events | A 1.3kmyellow wall, with roundedmosaic coping demarcatesthe forecourt | A large centralforum, with a gallery of stepsleading down to the water

The third major proj-ect along the Bandracoast to be taken up

for redevelopment trans-formed the southern tip ofthe suburb into, among oth-er things, a hub for cultur-al events. The amphitheatreat Land’s End has hostedmany music concerts,dance performances andstage shows, and is also thevenue for the CelebrateBandra festival

Land’s End is a penin-sular strip that juts into thesea. It holds a fort, which isa heritage precinct, at itstip and a hill that comes be-low the vista of the fort. Ata height of about 20 to 35metres from the sea, andbounded by the Mahim Bayand Arabian Sea, it com-mands a sweeping view ofthe coast.

The project, undertakenby the Bandra Bandstand

Residents’ Trust, includedafforestation. Earlier, mostof the palm-tree lined, slop-ing stretch had already beenexcavated and destroyed forprivate purposes, leaving aclutch of trees, some over-grown ruins and untendedpatches.

—Linah Baliga

SHOWTIME AT LAND’S END

Crowd pleasers along the coastline

TOI Interactive ‘WE SHOULD HAVE PROMPT ACTION TAKENAGAINST THOSE WHO MISUSE OPEN SPACES’

I had been thinking of who should be

contacted if one wants to know if a piece

of land is rightly in the hands of builders

or not. I’ve been seeing for quite sometime

now that builders have been preying on

Borivli national park. In fact, some two to

three years back a building was built after

chopping down some portion of the park.

These days, I’m seeing some more

portions of this national asset getting

cleared for building purposes. I wish to

understand if this has been authorized by

the government and more trees are grown

to compensate. I reside in Manpada,

Thane and am not aware of the NGO or

ALM working in the area.

— Manisha Bindlish

Yes we should have prompt action

taken against this. There should also

be transparency in the procedures

followed.

— Vaishali Shetty

If the BMC is sincerely interested in

saving open spaces from encroachment,

slum lords and powerful builders, it should

display a copy of the Development Plan

outside each and every open space, giving

the reservation status of the plot. A copy of

the DP may also be given to the local ALM

to spread awareness among the people.

— Robert Castellino

We asked you if Mumbai needs abetter system through whichcomplaints can be made, and promptaction can be taken, against partiesthat usurp and/or misuse the city’sprecious open spaces. Here are someof your responses

An exhibition on how the city can expand and improve its public spaces will beinaugurated today at the National Gallery of Modern Art by chief minister Prithviraj

Chavan. The Open Mumbai exhibition seeks to inform citizens on the amount of publicspaces Mumbai can have across parks, grounds, beaches, rivers, plazas, sea fronts, hillsand so on. The event will continue from March 16 to April 7 from 11 am to 6 pm daily,except for Mondays and national holidays. Maps, charts, statistics and detailed proposalsfor the future, like for beach nourishment and cycling tracks, will be displayed.

� You can also share your views in the

‘Mumbai’ section of timesofindia.

indiatimes.com � Or log onto ‘The Times Of India’ page

on Facebook

Type SO <space> CHIMBAIY OR N <space> your views and

name. SMS to 58888

speakout@timesgroup.comwith ‘Chimbai’ in the subject line

Q. Does the Chimbai beach proposal lookpromising and should more such plans betaken up to improve Mumbai’s coastline?

SMS

to timesofindia.indiatimes.com & visit the

Speak Out section

LOG ON

EMAIL

SAND, SHORE ANDLONG WALKS

Chimbai beach beautification plan

anyone?Evening walk along Chimbai beach,

Chimbaibeach

CHANGING SHORELINE: A view from a fish-drying yard of the seashore that will be revamped and beautified

‘Temple square’

Jetty & ramps

Fish bazaar

Children’s park

Playground

Coconut groves

Gardens

Walkways and promenade

Beach

Boat Parking

BANDRA BANDSTANDWaterfront length: 1.2 kmMakeover cost: Rs 140 lakhConstruction period: 2001-02.Project undertaken by:Bandra Bandstand Residents’Trust in association with thenMP Shabana Azmi andarchitect P K DasFunding: Shabana AzmiMPLAD fundsKey features: Beautiful blackrock structures that form the

sea bed | 1.5 km stone wallwith rounded mosaicpatterns that separates theforecourt at the water’s edgeand the promenade from theroad | A distinct centralgallery of steps, which goesdown to the water’s edge, formusical programmes | Steps leading down to sandand rock beds | Streetfurniture for seating | A large,central garden

The entire length would belined with walkways and apromenade, to be shaded bycoconut groves

Integration with Bandstandand Carter Road is on the cards

There would be a jetty andramps for fishermen to dockand repair their boats

There would be open spacesand an amphitheatre forcultural and socialprogrammes like at CarterRoad and Bandstand

A children’s park, aplayground and a fewgardens have been proposed

An edge wall would be builtto stave off encroachers

Space would be created fora weekend bazaar wherethe local fishing communitywould serve visitors fish,cooked traditional style

in the last budget of February 2011

BMCBUDGET

`2 crore

So much garbage isthrown into the sea thatthere is no solution to it.

The BMC garbage van comes at11 am and the local residentsthrow their garbage into the seaafter 8 pm. There should be binsnear the shore. Until thegarbage is removed,beautification of thebeach will remain adistant reality

Arden Uttankar |

CHIMBAI RESIDENT

LAND’S END RESTORATION

Area: 18,000 sq mt

Makeover cost: Rs 90 lakh

Construction period: 2002-03

Structures and restoration:

Arup Sarbadhikari

Project undertaken by:

Bandra Bandstand

Residents’ Trust in

association with then MP

Shabana Azmi and

architect P. K. Das

Funding: Shabana Azmi

MPLAD scheme and others

Key features: Retained as a

historical precinct | An

active public place with

lighting and signage | Some

landscaped spaces and

pathways | A large

amphitheatre and stage in

the midst of palm trees for

hosting cultural shows and

art exhibitions

Before

After

Hemant Shirodkar

Source: P K Das & Associates

Map: Shailesh Warang

After

Mangroves

Rocks

Rock

A R A B I A N S E A

A R A B I A N S E A

Dhavalganga

Garden

Fish-dryingyards

Club

Hemant Shirodakar

OPEN MUMBAI