Months after the road was rebuilt, Bandra West residents see stormwater drains being relaid due to past misalignment. Daily commutes disrupted, footpaths missing, and locals worry about flooding during monsoon
Stormwater drains on Road No 14, Bandra West, being dug up again months after concreting work was completed. PICS/SHADAB KHAN
Residents of Road No. 14, TPS 3, Bandra West, find themselves back in a construction zone. They are reliving the disruption of last year’s concreting exercise. Months after the stretch was rebuilt between December 2024 and May 2025, stormwater drains are once again being dug up and relaid, to correct earlier misalignment. Locals claim their previous complaints went unaddressed, and now, they are grappling with traffic chaos, missing footpaths, and fears of flooding.
Residents speak
Lack of intimation
Jacob D’Souza (name changed)
“Last year, we informed the workers about the misalignment, but were told it could not be fixed. There was no major waterlogging, so we let it go. This year, without any prior notice, the drains were dug up again. We only found out after asking the workers.”
Portion of the recently concreted stretch reopened
“We leave for work in the morning and return to traffic chaos in the evening. The drain work started two to three days ago. We are glad the mistake is being corrected, but why were our earlier complaints ignored?”
Resident Katrreena Sunnil Purswani
Water stagnation fears
D’Souza further said: “Water has stagnated in all three drains, including sewage and storm water drains, likely due to construction debris. Our building has faced flooding during heavy monsoon rains before. If this is not cleared, we could face the same situation again.”
Missing footpaths
Ongoing work on Road No. 14 as residents flag lack of prior intimation. PICS/SHADAB KHAN
A member of the Advanced Locality Management group, requesting anonymity “Under the 2016 Pedestrian First policy and the 2023 Universal Footpath policy, footpaths are part of the transport system. But most of this road has no footpaths. We were told they would be built after the road work. That has not happened.”
Access issues
Katrreena Sunnil PurswaNi, resident
Construction debris and reopened drains along the Bandra West stretch undergoing corrective work
“Slopes leading into buildings were broken during construction and have not been rebuilt. Because there was no prior notice, residents could not move their cars. Even now, taking vehicles out is difficult, so larger cars are parked on the road.” She added, “We just need prior intimation. The lack of it disrupts daily life.”
What happened
>> Concreting carried out: December 2024 to May 2025
>> Residents noticed stormwater drains were misaligned and laid in the middle of the road
>> Existing side drains were already clogged and unusable
>> Complaints last year allegedly saw no corrective action
>> This year, the contractor has taken up work on the remaining half of the road. Residents say the stormwater drains are being dug up and redone
BMC response
Bhushan Gagrani, additional municipal commissioner, said the improvement of 14th Road, Bandra West, from 30th Road to 33rd Road is being carried out through contractor M/s NCC Ltd.
Work commenced: December 1, 2024
Tentative completion: March 31, 2026
Gagrani said lapses were found during execution and the contractor and Quality Monitoring Agency were penalised as per terms of contract. The stormwater drain rectification and remaining road work are being carried out by same contractor at no extra cost to the BMC.
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