Mumbai, Kalyan residents flag garbage, missing footpaths, dead signals and traffic chaos; civic bodies reply

Residents of Mumbai and Kalyan have sent in problems from their neighbourhoods, including a lack of footpaths, garbage piling up on roads, traffic chaos and signals that are out of order. Some departments have also replied to complaints sent last Monday.

Deepak Desai, 75, was born and raised near Matunga Road on the Western Railway. He says the lane under the T H Kataria flyover has no footpath and has become a dumping spot for garbage. He has demanded that officials get it cleaned and a footpath built at the earliest.

Writing about Churchgate station, Anshul Vora said there is chaos most of the time and nobody seems to care. According to him, no traffic rules appear to be followed, people walk on the big roads and junctions near the station, and motorcycles run in the wrong direction. He alleged that the police remain mere spectators. The Maharshi Karve Road junction is always jammed, and taxis are parked wrongly on the road near the station. Pedestrians walk fearlessly on the main road, leaving just one lane for vehicles. Vora calls this a safety hazard and says it needs attention.

Iqbal Gilani Mansuri of Momin Nagar in Jogeshwari West has complained that solid waste and debris have piled up there in large quantities. He says this poses a serious risk to health and the environment, especially for children living there. He has appealed to the BMC to send workers immediately for cleaning and to put in place a sustainable system for waste disposal. For this, he says, bins should be placed at designated spots and a regular collection schedule introduced. He also says a joint awareness campaign among residents should be run to stop illegal dumping, and those littering should face stiff fines.

Cajetan Peter D'Souza wants BEST to start a bus service from CSMT to Mahul Village and Mulund depot via BPT Road. He says this would benefit workers, women and students, who now travel by changing two or more modes of transport.

Piyush Gudka of Kalyan has complained about the poor state of traffic at three major junctions: Durgadi Fort Circle, Suchak Naka Circle and Chakkinaka Circle. He says traffic police try their best to manage the situation by hand, but the real cause of the daily jams is a lack of civic sense among people. There is currently no signal at Durgadi Fort Circle, and drivers push through wherever they find space, causing daily jams and minor accidents. At Suchak Naka Circle in Kalyan East, a signal is installed but is completely out of order, so drivers do not follow roundabout rules and cut straight across the junction for a shortcut instead of turning. The signal at Chakkinaka Circle is also off, so vehicles cut into each other's path with no supervision. According to Gudka, the efforts of personnel on duty are not enough, and automatic signals are the only way to enforce the rules.

Some of the departments concerned have responded to the complaints sent last Monday. The remaining departments have not been let off, and the effort to seek accountability from officials on the city's problems will continue.

On Gautam Lankad's complaint about illegal banners, a BMC official said, "Citizens can check whether a banner is legal or not by looking at the QR code on it. Officials are already acting against illegal banners. If citizens want to report such cases, they can call 1916."

On Ravi D Baliga's complaint about loudspeakers, an MPCB official said, "The Mumbai Police have the necessary authority to act against noise pollution that violates the rules. As per the guidelines, noise limits in residential areas should be 55 decibels from 6 am to 10 pm and 45 decibels from 10 pm to 6 am."

John Dantis had complained about noise from bike riders. A police officer said, "We are aware of this problem. Complaints have been registered against more than 150 bike riders, and daily monitoring is being done to resolve the issue."

Keith Stephen Tauro had complained about autorickshaws refusing passengers. Ajit Borhade, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Western Suburbs, said, "If we receive a proper complaint with full details, we can take action against autorickshaws that refuse passengers while standing at an approved rickshaw stand."

On Karishma Jamwal's complaint about a dug-up road, an official of a BMC ward office said, "The road was dug up because of a sewer problem. The dug-up portion has now been rebuilt and the road's hump has been levelled."

There has been no response so far on the issue of feeding pigeons and the demand to restart BEST routes.

The BMC has replied point by point to a concerned citizen's complaint about hurdles in getting birth certificates. The first issue was delay in receiving certificates. According to the BMC, certificates for newly registered births are issued promptly within the time fixed by law, but digitising old records requires checking old records and papers, which takes time.

The second issue was that a certificate in the new format is required before corrections can be made to existing birth records. On the third point, the BMC explained the basis of the new process. Under the guidelines of 19.06.2026 from the Registrar General of India and the Chief Registrar, Births and Deaths, Maharashtra State, Pune, birth records from before 2016 must first be digitised as they are, after verification against the main record, and entered on the Civil Registration System portal. The records are then uploaded to the CRS portal and certificates with a QR code are generated. Corrections can be made after that, as per the prescribed procedure and applicable guidelines. Those seeking digitisation of an old certificate must show the birth certificate issued earlier, so that the record can be identified and verified.

The fourth issue was a daily quota. The BMC said there is no such limit on issuing certificates, but it depends on the current workload. On the fifth issue, online download, the BMC said citizens can download a certificate only if the applicant's email ID was correctly entered in the system at the time of registration and the informant has received the email confirmation.