Residents of Andheri's Dhangarwadi slum pocket, near Gilbert Hills, have brought BMC's efforts to seal congested areas to naught. In most of the lanes, locals have broken the barricades, as they say they are being forced to take a long route to common toilets and also because garbage collection has become a major issue due to the restriction.

The civic body had decided to seal several congested slum pockets across the city, including areas from Jogeshwari West to Vile Parle West, for better management of the COVID-19 situation. Juhu Galli and Dhangarwadi with a population of 20,000 are among the seven slums that have been sealed in coordination with the police. The BMC started the sealing process on May 11 and completed it last Friday. However, locals have removed many of the barricades that were put up. Reasons: They have to take a long route to reach the common toilets and NGOs have not been visiting the lanes to collect garbage.