Call it the boomerang effect; months after civic action cleared slum dwellings from the east side of Bandra station for better traffic management, the encroachments are back. The slums, demolished earlier this year after a Bombay High Court order, have started springing up again.

While there is no clarity on whether or not this construction is legal, Western Railway officials said these slums could either be the residents who have approached the HC, or they could be opportunists who have staked claim while there is a status quo order on the civic body's demolition drive in the area.