Automated Translation:
Ports of inconvenience

22nd June 2014

For hundreds of years, Mumbai has been an important port in sea trade. Ever since Mumbai's seven separate islands weren’t connected by bridges, sea routes have always been used for internal travel. Jetties are an integral part of Mumbai's transport system. After many years of hassle-free service, last week a boat collided with the jetty in Versova and one person was killed. On that occasion, when our representatives reviewed the condition of these jetties and their facilities, a shocking reality came to light that there were no bare minimum facilities for passengers as well as for the ferries. Along with this, in the first rains, the water crossed the beach limit and came all the way uptil Shivaji Park. In this crashing of waves, Dadar suffered a lot of damage - here is an eyewitness account of it.

Reporting by: Sameer Karve, Nitin Chavhan, Rajesh Churi, Hemant Satam

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Vesave (Versova)

What the Mumbaikar knows as Versova, is originally Vesave, the tip of the Western suburb of Andheri. Making our way through the alleys of Vesave Koliwada, we reached the port. It is said that Vesave Port is the second largest fishing port in India, second only to Kerala. But only the fishermen are aware of the reality. However, if we look at the poor state of the port, this statement seems to be an exaggeration. Plastic waste greets you as far as the eye can see along the creeks and coastlines.

The Vesave Creek and coastline are plagued by plastic pollution. Drains, sewers from Malad, Goregaon, Dindoshi, Charkop and Gorai meet the creek. From it waste water, plastic and waste material enters the creek. Due to this garbage, the depth of the bay has decreased. The silt and plastic waste has become a major headache for the fishermen. Years of non-silting of the creek has resulted in decline of fish production and this is affecting the fishermen badly. Four to five fishing boats sink every year due to silt.The boats have suffered lakhs worth of financial loss because of this silt. In 2006, for the first time, an attempt was made to remove the silt from the creek. But those efforts were insufficient. In 2012, an attempt was made to remove the silt with a dredger. Only 300 cubic meters of silt was removed in a day. Given the speed with which the dredging began, it would have taken years. Also since the dredger was 60 years old, the work was not going fast enough. After that it was decided to remove the sludge with a suction cutter. However, the work was stopped due to lack of a sludge carrier. In March this year, the work of removing the silt was going on for about 50 days. Although around 47,550 tonnes of silt has been removed, there are still lakhs of tonnes of silt in the creek, informs Prithviraj Chandi, Founder President of Vesava Koli-Machchimar Nakhwa Mandal (Trawlers)._____

Suffocating amidst the crowds: Gateway of India

As the Gateway of India is an international tourist attraction, it is always swarming with tourists at any given time of the day. Even when waves are high in monsoon, there is a crowd of tourists enjoying harbor cruises for launch trips and going to Gharapuri Island. The entire area is thronged with launch and catamaran passengers from October to May, as during this period the launch and catamaran services of three different operators to Mandwa (Alibaug) run from 6 am to 6 pm at intervals of fifteen minutes to half an hour. This is where the problem begins. There is a constant stream of tourists visiting the Gateway, as well as water transport passengers. After the November 26 2008 attacks, barricades were to be set up before entering the Gateway premises, and one has to go through police metal detectors before entering. The tourists on the boats are often carrying their luggage and it is not humanly possible to check all of them due to time constraints. Still preliminary checking happens, and continues and in that too, tourists are included. There are cases of some people offering bribes to security personnel to escape the serpentine queues.

The courtyard in front of the Gateway used to be a garden maintained by Mahindra, with a shed. Children and elders could sit in the shade, shielded from the sun. But now there is no place to escape the sun.

The real problem was on Jetty No. 2. This jetty has not been repaired in the last several years. The steps are worn out all over, and there is a broken stone at the bottom. On the steps itself, hooks have been installed and the launch ropes are tied to them. When the launch catamaran traffic increases, the launches are parked here in a line closely stuck to each other and sometimes the passengers have to cross as many as four launches to reach the jetty. It is nerve-wracking at most to step into a moving launch from a very narrow path with luggage. The launch drivers need to make the launches depart as per the clock. A number push towards the byrog collections to launch the launchers in a clock wise manner... ...

Bhaucha Dhakka also comes under the purview of the Mumbai Port Trust. But the control of all the launches operating here is with the Maharashtra Maritime Board. In front of the gateway, pontoons are floating jetties for passengers..

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There are no lounges or simple benches anywhere. For the elderly, going up and down stairs is akin to having one’s bones broken.

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Plan to build the port

Vesave is a natural port. Fishermen have been demanding the construction of this port for many years. In the year 2011, the state government took this decision. A total cost of Rs.125 crore was agreed for these ports. As the central government has shown readiness to bear the cost of 75 crores and the state government has shown readiness to bear the cost of 50 crores, the plan has been prepared. CIEFI, an organization based in Bangalore conducted the survey for the port in 2011. Technical reports like construction of the port, Preliminary Study reports, Techno-economic feasibility reports, model study etc have been sent to 12 various departments of the Centre including Environmental, Maritime, CRZ, etc.

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Only 300 boats remaining

Until the year 2000 there were 650 fishing boats in the Vesave harbour. Due to decline in fish production, many fishermen closed their businesses. At present, only 300 boats are left at this port and that too, they are barely managing their businesses. Vesave Port comes under the jurisdiction of the Maritime Board, Port Trust and the Collectorate. But since there is no coordination between these three authorities, no plan is being made from building a port to promoting the fish business.

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Shipping services hit

Vesave to Madh is a water transport service. About 25-30,000 passengers travel daily by these boats. There is no jetty for the fishermen in Vesave, just as there is no jetty for the boat service. So Markar is playing with the lives of thousands of passengers every day. Every month there are incidents of one or two passengers falling into the water and being stranded. The Port Trust levies a tax of 50 paise per passenger. But the safety of passengers is nowhere to be found. Same thing is with fishing boats. A tax of one and a half rupees per sack- per one tonne is collected from the fishermen. But basic facilities are also lacking. Diesel, water, ice, and fish baskets still have to be carried on the shoulders in the traditional way. Since the year 2006 the government has promised to refund the VAT on diesel. But this has not been implemented yet.

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The ‘maach’ lie deserted

A ‘maach’ is an open space at a height for drying fish. There were hundreds of such tent like ‘maach’ owned by the fishing community in Vesave Harbour. With the passage of time, the nets have started to disappear due to the decline in fishing activities. Many landlords sold their lands to builders. Therefore, many small buildings and bungalows have now stood in place of the ‘maach’.