Amid rain, the Gauge barrier collapses in Navi Mumbai.

The Incident

During a period of intense rain, a 40-foot height gauge barrier that was intended to keep large trucks off Airoli Sector 3’s service road leading to Thane-Belapur Road abruptly collapsed. Luckily, no cars were going through the area at the time, thus no lives were lost. Municipal workers, however, had a difficult time removing the fallen building.

At around 12:30 pm on June 11, during a period of strong rainfall in Airoli, the iron arch situated alongside the railway track at Bharat Bijli collapsed. Rabale police, traffic police, and officials from the municipality’s Airoli division arrived on the scene in a flash. Nevertheless, attempts to get in touch with railway authorities were not successful because the arch is under the control of the railway administration. The lack of railroad representatives hindered collaboration in dismantling the toppled building.

Following efforts to remove the debris using a hydra machine, traffic on the impacted road was momentarily stopped, creating a traffic bottleneck. Despite the difficulties, the authorities were able to evacuate the area and return it to normal.

The negligence of NMMC has increased the the number of unauthorised hoardings in Navi Mumbai.

The Hoardings

Residents in Navi Mumbai are furious over the rise of illegal hoardings, which they believe is a result of the municipal workers and anti-encroachment squad officers’ seeming lack of interest in following the law. Advertisements that ruin the cityscape, creating widespread disfigurement, persist despite repeated infractions. These include ones featuring winning candidates from the last Lok Sabha elections.

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) loses a significant amount of money every year due to the unrestrained growth of these hoardings, which also defaces the city. Municipal officials haven’t handled the problem well enough, despite the financial consequences.

Unauthorized hoardings commemorating political figures’ birthdays and displaying election successes are widely exhibited, even in well-known sites like Gaothan Chowk, where the NMMC offices is located.

Unauthorized hoardings may be seen all year round in a number of locations, including Sarsole Bus Depot, Kokan Bhawan Chowk, and CBD Belapur. Political personalities, job postings, and commercial businesses are frequently promoted on these hoardings, and offenders face little to no consequences.

People are angry because despite the obvious infractions taking place right in front of them, the local officials are doing nothing. Taxpayers are calling on Commissioner Kailas Shinde to take immediate corrective action and issue show-cause notices to all culpable parties in response to an increase in calls for accountability.

The apparent neglect from the encroachment department is nevertheless concerning, even though the current regulations provide for legal action against violators, including the registration of criminal cases or the imposition of penalties by senior authorities. In order to maintain civic order and restore the city’s visual attractiveness, residents call on top officials to step in quickly and enforce restrictions.

Warning against blockage of water path in NRI were issued by MLA Ganesh Naik.

The Warning

The obstruction of river water entering the wetlands next to the DPS School and the NRI Housing Complex on Palm Beach Road has raised concerns. In a bid to avoid repercussions, MLA Ganesh Naik has sent a strong warning to the authorities, pleading with them to clear the water path right now.

Senior officers from the police and forest departments, along with Chief Engineer Byas of CIDCO and Additional City Engineer Arvind Shinde of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, accompanied MLA Naik on an inspection visit of the wetlands.

The number of flamingos in Navi Mumbai, which is known as the “city of flamingos,” is declining as a result of some CIDCO officers’ self-serving behavior. The wetlands next to DPS School depend on the creek water, but the jetty’s construction has blocked it. In addition to drying out the wetlands, this obstacle has put flamingo lives in jeopardy; several have died from tragic landings when there is no water.

MLA Naik stressed the area’s biological value and its status as a mangrove ecosystem, which is protected by decisions from the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal. MLA Naik has demanded accountability and legal action against the accountable personnel due to the flagrant violation of these instructions by purposefully blocking the passage of water during the jetty’s construction.

Ganesh Naik reaffirmed his commitment to protecting the ecology in Navi Mumbai and gave CIDCO authorities a 15-day notice to resume regular water flow from the creek to the wetlands. If this isn’t done, the obstructions in the way of the water channel will be removed.

He praised the moral character of most Municipal Corporation and CIDCO personnel, but she denounced the acts of a few self-centred people who could have blocked the water supply in order to further their own agendas. He promised the populace that group efforts would foil any attempt to jeopardize Navi Mumbai’s environmental purity.