The BMC must give us back our sea and our seafronts

Why should sea views be available only to a select few who can pump in crores into apartments or drive on the coastal road in their cars?

- SMRUTI KOPPIKAR

One of my abiding and earliest memories of Bombay, as it was called back then, is of the sea that made the city. More specifically, of taking in the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea, with its waves crashing on the Chowpatty and along the Marine Drive, from the front of the top deck of the doubledecker BEST route 123 from Tardeo to Colaba-Navy Nagar. The summer heat and humidity were quickly forgotten, the hair was all tangles, dust made a layer on the skin but who cared? Seeing the sea was worth it, experiencing it up close was joy. The seafront was a travel companion along Haji Ali, further down along Worli seaface, and into the suburbs. The bends at Chowpatty and Haji Ali evoked a special feel. Among the rare treats to self with the measly first salary back in the 1990s were cab rides just to experience the seafronts of Mumbai, wind in the hair and song on the lips.

Those seafronts are all gone now. They have taken away my sea.

Rather, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, has taken away the magnificent views of the sea, open 24x7 to the people of Mumbai, in the guise of building the coastal road that will save a few minutes for a marginal section of the city’s population. The pleasure of being on the Marine Drive is spoiled by the hideous fibre-glass cover that rears its ugly self between us and the sea. At Haji Ali, there is no view of the sea at all — unless one is in a car on the outermost arm of the coastal road. Worli seafront is a sorry story altogether. And the construction is in full swing in Bandra with stretches being laid out in the sea at four locations where the next phase of the coastal road will be built.