Battle For Breath: Mumbai's Elite Enclave Turns Pollution Hotspot

Mumbai's Bhakti Park, an upscale residential enclave in the city's eastern corridor, offers a paradox.

Spread across 20 acres with  lush gardens, a multiplex, panoramic sea views, and mangroves, the colony boasts enviable connectivity to the monorail, Eastern Freeway, and the Atal Setu. Its residents include former judges, bureaucrats, IPS officers, top bankers, senior journalists, and even a few politicians - making it one of Mumbai's most desirable addresses.

Here is the grim reality: residents are struggling to breathe. Air quality in and around Bhakti Park and Wadala Truck Terminal (TT) has plummeted in recent weeks, with AQI levels soaring beyond 300 - classified as "severe." For months, the area has ranked among Mumbai's most polluted localities, and several residents report respiratory ailments linked to the toxic air.

While winter smog worsens the situation annually, locals blame a cement-mixing plant that came up two years ago for aggravating the crisis. Located adjacent to the Eastern Freeway at the colony's entrance, the plant sprawls across 230 square meters and supplies concrete for government infrastructure projects and BDD chawl redevelopment. In May 2024, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) issued a closure notice citing violations, but operations resumed after the company claimed compliance.

Despite heavy vehicle restrictions on the Freeway, trucks ferrying cement to and from the plant ply round the clock, creating another safety hazard. Traffic police have penalised violators following complaints, but enforcement has failed to stem the flow.

Residents also allege that another plant is coming up near MHADA buildings toward BPT Road, adding to the two already active in Wadala TT. Large-scale construction work, which includes Metro Line 4 and the Customs Officers' Colony, has further thickened the dust blanket.

Illegal industrial activity compounds the problem: garbage burning, scrap fires and metal smelting are rampant. Vehicular emissions from Wadala TT only worsen the air quality. For the past year, Bhakti Park has not seen a single day of safe AQI levels. This month, readings hovered around 300, exposing residents to pollution equivalent to smoking six to eight cigarettes daily. Many report persistent respiratory issues.

Among those gasping for clean air are former MMRDA chief, a former Lokayukta, a former Police Commissioner, and senior officers from agencies like the CBI, Enforcement Directorate, and Income Tax Department. Bhakti Park residents include some top bankers and senior journalists.

Frustrated by official inaction, residents have come together, petitioning the BMC, MPCB, and police, but there haven't been any tangible results. Now, in a last-ditch effort, they have launched a campaign to write complaint letters directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.