. What strategies would you adopt to win the election? And how much expenses would be required?

Problems of Mira Bhayandar Locality

Development of Streets –

Light on street Pot holes and several Digging work around the road causing trouble Improper development Plans which leads to reconstruct the road may times No safety followed during the construction work keeping the life of commuters in danger. Several open manholes in Mira Road are posing a serious threat to the lives of people.

Some of the Reports from Times Neighbourhood of Mira Bhayandar

Even though some of the areas in Mira Road are developed considerably, there are many that are still in the worst condition and needs an urgent attention of the municipal authorities. One of them is Ramdev Park area.The whole stretch has been without lights since several months. Local residents have been complaining about it several times, requesting authorities to install a few lamp posts in the area, but no one paid heed to their complaints. “Keeping in view that this area is one of the popular residential areas in Mira Road. It is the duty of the civic authorities to maintain it well. They have built roads, but forgot to install streetlights. There are few lamp posts at the stretch, but without any blubs! When it’s dark in the evening, people simply walk in fear on this road,” says Sandeep Rajoria, a local residentThe situation is such that either the streetlights are missing, uprooted or not functioning. And adding further to it, the condition of the roads is worse thus making commuting difficult for the residents. According to the residents, due to the lack of illumination and battered roads, several accidents have taken place in the area, making it an accident prone stretch. At the recent past, taking the opportunity of the situation, thefts and chain snatching incidents have also taken place in the area. Several women, especially old-age have fallen victims to these wrongdoers. “We have to think twice before passing through this stretch. It is completely unsafe as we have no idea from where the danger would arrive. And the worst part is that after the theft, we are not able to see their face or note their vehicle’s number as there are no lights,

Huge potholes and craters had come up on the portion of roads which were not restored despite the Western Railway sanctioning Rs 18 lakhs for the concretization of the road outside Bhayander (East) station and similar amount for the roads of Mira road.

“Once a road is constructed, it is continuously dug up for different purposes relating to these services. Even a single seepage in the road inundates it with water,” says Yusuf Ibrahim, resident of Naya Nagar.

However, the MBMC authorities blame it on the water for the bad condition of roads. “Our biggest enemy on the roads is water. The moment water enters the road; it begins to damage it, affecting its quality. We construct roads of good quality, but they don't get enough time to recover from the damages they sustain,” say a senior official of MBMC.After suffering for a long time, commuters will soon breathe a sigh of relief, as the road outside Mira and Bhayander east station is up for repairs. The road is being concretised to get rid of the potholes on the stretch.

The residents of the area complained that despite a patch work being done post monsoon last year, the tar topping eroded long back and the authorities did not take up the work of re-laying the road. The residents coming to the station faced problems as they hardly had any other alternative to enter the area. The road is now completely flattened with the tar toppings and there are no uneven surfaces, which will certainly benefit the motorists.

Local corporator Rohidas Patil from Bhayander said, “We had been getting a lot of complaints regarding the battered road at station. I have been following the matter with the general manager and divisional regional manager of the WR and now the repair work has started.”

Residents complain that even while the repair work was in progress, there was no check on the quality and work of contractors. Sanjeev Meena, who lives in Rashmi Park area, said, “You cannot imagine how poor quality is the work done by the contractors. The so-called repaired roads get damaged once again when trucks pass over them.”

When Times Neighbourhood team contacted a senior official from MBMC, he said, “We saw at least three teams working along the stretch. They are now carrying out bituminous patching. Earlier, they were using morum (a kind of hard soil) to plug the potholes, which was of no use. We are monitoring the progress closely.”

Unplanned Building and Infra, which may Cause life threatening during Hazardous incident –

Many of the building which had been developed during last decade on the name of Development had not taken any consideration of municipal rules and regulation

Quality of construction is miserable no audit or stopping of work from municipal corporation Many building had got electrical connection, water connection and even maintainace charges without

any fine due to wrong practice.

Some of the Reports from Times Neighbourhood of Mira Bhayandar

The unplanned development of Mira Road is bringing out some major issues which had been overlooked for past many years. A recent fire incident during Diwali on P K Road brought a major issue on forefront that the builders have left no space around the buildings for the fire brigade and water tankers to enter in the area. According to locals, the roads are narrow, and it takes hours for the fire officials to start their operation.

One of the residents of Fragrance building, Immanuel’s house caught fire during Diwali due to a firecracker. Since he was not at home, the neighbor’s called the fire department immediately. However, the fire officials were not of much help as they could not enter the building premise with huge firefighting equipments and water tankers due to narrow roads.

Talking about some narrow roads in the area, like the one at Naya Nagar, Devesh Goyal, a local resident said, “I wonder many a times that in case of a big fire incident takes place in such area, how will a fire fighters enter? What are we supposed to do during such incident? Some measures have to be taken before it is too late.” Apart from PK Road, several new localities like Jangid Complex, Silver Park, Beverly Park, and Evershine Enclave also face the similar problem.

Ignorance Health Hazards –

Lack of Sewage system No proper Planning for drainage before giving permission to builders for development The supply of muddy and contaminated water No audit conducted or reports are generated with regard to keep a check on the system which is

required to follow for proper system in terms of Planning of city

Some of the Reports from Times Neighbourhood of Mira Bhayandar

The sudden increase in the number of dengue cases has become a cause of concern for Mira Road and Bhayander residents. However, according to residents, despite the rising figures the civic authorities have failed to take preventive measures in the area. “If drastic steps are not taken soon, then the dengue virus will spread like wildfire in the area of Mira road and Bhayander,” said one of the residents of the area. After the death of Evershine Nagar resident Safia Siddiqui at Tunga Hospital and Sarvesh Yadav, a Bhayander resident at KEM hospital, the locals is living in fear and demands appropriate measures.

Earlier, eight residents of Arihant Darshan apartments in Bhayander began suffering from fevers caused by dengue. This is in addition to three other cases that were reported from Bhayander who tested positive for dengue, as per the NS1 Antigen test. One of the patients was a two-year-old child.

“We have started the cleaning drive in our building, but fogging is not happening on regular basis. Most of the residents are still unaware of the precautions to be taken,” said Ashok, resident of Arihant Darshan.

Moreover, there are many places in Mira Road and Bhayander which are in terrible condition and have become a hot spot for mosquito breeding. The locals blame Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation (MBMC) for the spread of this deadly disease in the area. However, MBMC official claims that finding breeding spot of mosquito is difficult as the Aedes Egypti mosquitoes breed in fresh and

clean stagnant water.

Nevertheless, contrary to what they expected, the civic official survey found that 50 percent of the dengue cases were observed in non-slum residents. This has lead to MBMC’s health department conducting regular awareness programs at residential complexes. The officials claim to have started collecting water samples from the localities from where the deaths have been reported and are also inspecting and fumigating houses and offices in the area. “While the affected areas are being sensitized, blood tests of patients complaining of fever, vomiting and headache are being done,” said one of the officials in Municipal Corporation. According to the civic authorities, the residents too should be responsible citizens and should try to keep their surroundings clean.

The volunteers roped in by the MBMC to spread the awareness about the prevention of the disease have been visiting the buildings to educate people on the breeding habits of the dreaded Aedes Egypti mosquitoes. The message is that dengue mosquitoes don't only breed in small water pools in public spaces or flower pots, but also on terraces of high rises.

When Times Neighbourhood team spoke to Dr Pramod Padwal, health officer, MBMC, he said “The officials have started a drive to search for accumulated water, trash, and more. They have also informed residents about precautionary measures. After the monsoon, fresh water does tend to accumulate and it is important that the water should not become a breeding ground for the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The MBMC has been putting up fight-the-bite posters across the area. "But to ensure that the message about dengue mosquitoes reaches people, we are taking this sensitization step in high rise buildings.”

The supply of muddy and contaminated water in several houses of Silver Park in Mira Road has revived fears of breakout of diseases among the residents. The residents of the complex have been receiving the dirty water for past many months, and despite several complaints no action has been taken by the municipal authorities.

According to the sources, the missing cover of the water tank chamber located at Silver Park is the main reason for the supply of dirty water. However, earlier the residents blamed broken pipelines for contaminated water.

Nevertheless, owing to inaction on the part of the civic authorities, the residents of the area have no

option but to rely on contaminated water supply to meet their daily needs. “The water being supplied by the corporation has mud and other impurities. We believe that the old water pipes could be the reason for this, and still it has not been replaced. Even our repeated complaints in the last three weeks have failed to break authorities' slumber,” said Hamid Baig, resident of the area.

Considering that it is quite a risk to consume contaminated water during monsoon, many residents have been buying mineral water from the local stores. Yet, there are number of cases of people who have fallen sick after drinking dirty water as not many afford to buy mineral water on daily basis. Dr Rajesh Srivastava, a local practitioner said, “People usually fall sick after consuming contaminated water. And this year, there has been a steep rise in cases of water-borne diseases in the area.”

When Times Neighbourhood team contacted Suresh Vakode, executive engineer, water department, MBMC, he said, “We have surveyed the area for past many months and there are no chances of getting contaminated water supply. And even if the water tank is open, outside water cannot get mixed with the water in the tank. But we would look into the problem and get the solution for the same.”