Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road will block access to building entrance, say Mumbai residents

Residents of 21 buildings of Sector 8 in Charkop, Kandivali, presented their concerns in a meeting with BMC officials, on Thursday.

The residents of Sector 8 in Kandivali's Charkop raised their concerns over the proposed Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road blocking the way to their society entrance.

In a meeting with local legislator Sanjay Upadhyay and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials on Thursday evening, the residents of 21 buildings demanded solutions for the issue as well as the preservation of mangroves.

"In this meeting, we raised concerns over the entry to our building. As per the [coastal road] plan, half of the current road will be occupied with the proposed project. This will restrict our vehicles to the ground level," said environmental activist Mili Shetty.

"The meeting went well but we did not get all the solutions, especially on the cutting of mangroves in Kandivali creek," stated Shetty. "Officials said that these issues will be addressed in the last week of the month after the suggestion-objection deadline ends," she added.

BMC officials said they are awaiting the forest department approvals. Soil testing for the Versova-Dahisar Coastal Road project is already done.

The 20-km road will connect Versova to Dahisar and cost around Rs 16,621 crore. A 5.6-km elevated road will further connect Dahisar and Bhayandar. These two projects are part of the Western Coast Connectivity. The BMC has asked residents to send their suggestions and objections by April 21. The project will affect 104 hectares of forest land and may lead to the loss of around 60,000 mangrove trees, with 9,000 proposed to be cut for the project.