Despite anti-encroachment drives at Bandra slum, near Tansa pipeline by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), they have failed in its attempts to vacate space from encroachers. The hutments near Bandra railway station has come up again on the said plot which is a part of BMC's ambitious cycle track project worth Rs 450 crores. The area along the railway foot over the bridge of Bandra was cleared by the BMC just a year back. But the huts and shanties have now covered the open space. With this, the ambitious cycle track project will soon go out of hand. After the High Court order, on the background of the security of the water pipeline, the civic body acted on encroachments near the Tansa pipeline from Mulund to Bandra via Powai. There were 16,717 encroachments along and on the pipeline that were to be demolished. The maximum were in the H east ward comprising of Bandra east, Khar east and Santacruz east and F north comprising Sion, Wadala. The cycle track was being constructed to ensure that the water pipeline would remain free from encroacment. There were 325 shanties in Garib Nagar along Harbour railway line and other 1,769 structures in Indira Nagar, Nargis Nagar in Bandra east, near the station. The massive drive to remove the hutments was conducted at H east ward in October-November 2017. A miscreant residing at Bandra slum had then sparked fire to stop the drive. Harbour railway service was disrupted for an hour due to the fire. BMC carried the drive on the second day to clear all the hutments along with the pipeline. But just after a year, the shanties and huts have been set up in the area. "It is a regular thing. BMC removed the unauthorised structures, but after they didn't care to check. BMC should have safeguarded the place, but they failed," said a local. DNA tried to contact Alka Sasane, ward officer of the H east, who guided the drive last year. But after several calls and text message, she didn't reply. The Rs 450 crore, 39 km long cycle track project was to be completed by December 2018 in three phases. "Even though we have adequate funds, work is going on at a snail speed due to the encroachments," said an officer handling the cycle project. Encroachments Remain A Problem

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