KOCHI: If anyone takes a stroll under the Tulpule Flyover on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road in Mumbai, they will be stunned to see a perfectly maintained beautiful garden. Named Nanalal D Mehta Garden, it has been designed to look like the Narmada river with over 300 lights and 11 CCTV cameras to ensure safety.
Kochi, which has a large number of flyovers, needs to take a leaf out of the planning book of the Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika. Here the space underneath the flyovers have been taken over by hawkers, gamblers and drug addicts. The space under the North Railway Over Bridge has become a haven for drug addicts.
When ‘Kochi Express’ conducted a reality check in the area, it found empty liquor bottles, food waste and plastic cups used for drinking alcohol strewn all over the tracks. Migrant labourers can be seen sitting under the bridge drinking alcohol even during day time. The situation at Pullepady and Ponnurunny Railway Over Bridges is even worse. According to locals, the space becomes a hub for flesh trade in the night.
“Not only during the day but also at night, the underground space looks like a mini bar. Migrant workers can be seen loitering under the bridge taking drugs. Women give the area a wide berth and this has affected the business of the shops functioning near the over bridge. Though we had filed a complaint at the police station and also approached the corporation regarding this, no action has been taken yet,” said a man who is owns a shop near the bridge.
The beverage outlet functioning near the over bridge is proving to be a bane. Locals allege that the outlet is attracting tipplers in large numbers to the area. “The Bevco outlet is functioning near the bridge in violation of the government order. Tipplers who come to the outlet pose threat to the women who visit the temple near the ROB,” says G Maheshwari, Mahila Morcha District president, who had earlier led a siege seeking closure of the beverage outlet.