MUMBAI: Breach Candy residents have raised concerns over sea water seepage due to digging of an underground car parking facility for 850 vehicles at the Amarsons exit of the coastal road.
Nigum Lakhani, who lives in the neighbourhood, said that he has been noticing constant seepage of sea water despite pumps deployed to throw back this water into the sea. "They have dug a deep trench on reclaimed land. Now there is constant sea water inflow from the ground level joints. There are pumps working 24x7 to pump out the sea water but this is on for more than a month. I had written to the authorities for clarification but there was no reply."
The underground parking facilities along the coastal road will be for 1,857 cars spread across four locations, Amarsons at Breach Candy, NSCI Worli, near Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk, and another opposite Dr Annie Besant Road in Worli.
BMC officials said a sea wall was constructed with "geotextile membranes" that are porous. "That will allow water to pass through. The car parking facility is still in the excavation stage," said a BMC official.
Namrita Mehta, another local resident, said she would have preferred a Miyawaki forest instead. "A car park is only going to add to more vehicles in the area. With the coastal road we are already seeing additional traffic coming into the area," said Mehta.
Richa Pinto is a special correspondent with The Times of India. S...
Read MoreRicha Pinto is a special correspondent with The Times of India. She covers urban governance & climate change issues. With over a decade of experience in field reporting, she has written extensively on various civic issues affecting Mumbaikars. She graduated in -journalism from the prestigious Mumbai-based St Xavier's College and later pursued a three-year Law degree (L.L.B.) with the University of Mumbai. She regularly tweets about all things that matter to Mumbai on-- @richapintoi.
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