Mumbai: Mahim to get back 25,000 sq ft ground 'misused' as parking lot for a decade

MUMBAI: Soon, Mahim residents will be able to play volleyball, practise yoga and go for walks on a 25,000-sq-ft recreation ground that was earlier being 'misused' as a parking lot by locals for almost a decade.
Recently, the BMC took over Ram Gawande Udyan in Bhandar gully, which is marked as a recreation ground in the revised draft Development Plan-2034, and placed signboards asking locals not to park there.Work has started on developing the recreation ground, which will be ready in a few months, said a civic official.
The amenity plot was to be handed over to the BMC by the developer after completion of a Slum Rehabilitation Project (SRA) project nearly 10 years ago, but it never happened. "Unfortunately, the location of the amenity plot is such that it provides the sole access path to a building. So, when drawing up the plan to develop the recreation ground, we had to keep in mind the convenience of the residents of this building," said the officer.
Kiran Dighavar, ward officer of G-North which covers Mahim area, said: "We found that many local youths would play volleyball on the open space even when vehicles were parked there. So, we decided to incorporate a space for them in the garden plan. We are also working out a way for emergency services, like ambulance and fire engines, to reach the building that has access only from the ground."
Local corporator Sheetal Gambhir from the BJP said she had been pushing to reclaim this space for public use since a long time. "There is no recreation ground in the area, therefore reclaiming this plot to benefit the locals is important. We plan to create a designated space for walkers and joggers, a seating area for senior citizens and yoga lawns," she added.