Days after the political rally at Shivaji Park on the occasion of Dussehra, the residents of the area have complained of a rise in the dust pollution due to red soil from the park being dragged onto surrounding roads. Trucks covered in muck from the event have caked the adjoining roads due to rains. Once dried, the soil on the road leads to dust pollution in the surrounding areas.
The Shivaji Park Advanced Locality Management (ALM) raised concerns over the persistent problems of dust pollution while also pointing out the condition the playground has been left in after the political rally. According to the directives of the Bombay High Court, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is allowed to allot Shivaji Park for non-sports activities on up to 45 days in a year.
The ALM has also urged BMC to wash the roads immediately after such rallies to prevent piling of muck onto the road. Vaibhav Rege, a member of the Shivaji Park ALM, said, “The core issue is that the red soil from the park needs to be removed. This situation we are facing now reoccurs after every Dussehra, because the rallies coincide with heavy rainfall every year. Trucks loading and unloading material used for prepping for the rallies leave trails of dirt on the road.”
The other problem highlighted by the ALM is the condition of the playground itself after the rally, also caused by rainfall coinciding with rally preparations and the thick layers of red soil at Shivaji Park. On Sunday, the ALM took to social media to complain to BMC, sharing photos of mud-laden roads surrounding Shivaji Park, and said, “This is what the red soil dumped in Shivaji Park does during monsoon. Shivaji Park is abused by the politicians who do not care or think of its heritage status.”
The residents of Shivaji Park have been at loggerheads with the BMC over the issue of dust pollution caused by the red soil. The issue was first raised by the residents in 2015. According to Suhas Patvardhan, another member of the ALM, who has been a resident of the Shivaji Park area for many decades, Shivaji Park originally had sandy soil. “If restored properly, these problems will not persist.” According to information from the BMC, stakeholder meetings will be conducted with residents after the monsoon to find a long-lasting solution to the problem of dust pollution.
