18 May,2026 08:38 AM IST | Mumbai | Team mid-day
PICS/C Gitanjali
Mid-Day has introduced a new initiative: DEAR GOVERNMENT.
In this your favourite newspaper will print your questions to BMC, Police and State Government every Monday, and will get answers on your behalf. Be it roads, water crime, government policy, whatever your query, write to us at mailbag@mid-day.com or tweet to us at @mid-day and we will try and get responses to your problems.
The state of the sliver of road right outside Barista cafe at Bandstand on the sea side is appalling to say the least. The road is a one-way stretch and there has been construction or some other work happening there for months, making half the road unusable. So, in a crunch, avoiding this treacherous spot could easily lead to an accident, especially if you are speeding even mildly. Can the authorities please fix this before someone loses their life?
C Gitanjali
Pic/Iqbal Gilani Mansuri
Can the authorities concerned remove fish vendors permanently from this Yari Road corner where the BMC school and BMC-run clinic are situated. Students, pedestrians and local residents have to navigate around the filth and unbearable stench of fish. Walkers and two-wheeler riders, too, face the constant risk of skidding. Why do the BMC and police allow such nuisance at this public place?
Iqbal Gilani Mansuri
Pic/Iqbal Gilani Mansuri
Motorists and pedestrians are facing significant inconvenience owing to heavy vehicles parked indefinitely along the boundary wall of Muslim Kabrastan at Yari Road, Versova, Andheri west occupying approximately 25 per cent of the carriageway. Critically, the designated BEST bus stand remains completely obscured and inaccessible thanks to stationed vehicles forcing passengers to board and alight from unsafe positions on the carriageway. This issue highlights broader concerns about these heavy vehicles' parking obstruction of public utilities and inadequate enforcement on busy road. Hence, authorities concerned need to remove all stationed vehicles from the stretch and enforce âNO PARKING' regulations near the graveyard wall and bus stand and restore clear visibility and safe access to the public bus stop.
Iqbal Gilani Mansuri
PIC/Anil Amin
I am writing to highlight the sketchy and fragmented job the BMC has done in clearing the area in Chikuwadi of illegal squatters. There is an area adjacent to the Mumbai Public School in Chikuwadi, Borivli (West), where families of illegal squatters used to occupy makeshift shanties. The local MLA (Sanjay Upadhyay) and corporator of ward 17 (Dr Shilpa Sangore), with help from the BMC and the Borivli police, razed their shanties and forced them out of that space. We expected that the team would follow up on their action and ensure that the encroachers are relocated to suitable shelters for the homeless. But the squatters returned and occupied the road and the footpath for an area of 50 metres outside our housing society, thus completely blocking the path for the residents of the society and the general public. I have submitted complaints to the MLA, the corporator, the BMC, and the police, but I have not received any promises of action; I have only received stamps from the respective offices.
Anil Amin
After Mumbaikars sent in their questions and woes to mid-day last Monday, some of the authorities concerned responded. We haven't given up on the rest. We shall continue to hold authorities accountable for the state of the city.
BMC responds: Mandar Choudhary, Assistant Engineer H West ward said: "We haven't heard anything about this, but we will definitely take action against the encroachment." Choudhary further said that action will be taken as quickly as possible.
The police respond: "We have round-the-clock police patrolling across the Dadar and Shivaji Park areas, including dedicated narcotics teams. We appeal to citizens to immediately report any suspected drug-related activity so that timely action can be taken. Citizens can alert us by dialling 100 or by reporting such incidents directly at the nearest police station," said Vilas Datir, senior police inspector, Shivaji Park Police Station, Dadar.
BMC responds: A senior civic official said, "The area around Gateway of India has designated parking and no-parking zones. There is clear signage marking spots for metered taxis to park. Because it is a popular tourist spot, vehicular traffic in the area is high. The area is heavily monitored by both police and traffic police, and action is regularly taken against offenders. We will look into the issue as we have been informed and have noted the problem persists."
BEST responds: "A number of stops had been displaced due to road work and other related projects and the route will be reassessed and missing physical bus stops installed on priority. A number of bus routes have been regularised and reoriented and a comprehensive review of the missing bus stops shall be soon completed, a BEST official said.
