HAS FEAR REPLACED FUN AT JUHU BEACH ?
MID-DAY (FEB 2002)
By Skimmy Gupta
Save Juhu Beach, seems to be the collective cry of all residents living near one of Mumbai's premier spots for a family outing and also tourists from outside the city for whom a visit to the beach is a necessary part of the holiday itinerary.
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) recently announced a year-long Rs 2 crore plan to remodel the beachfront. On cards are the relocation of the much-visited chaat stalls, a Ganpati immersion ramp, a promenade and other projects.
But how about the many other evils beach-goers have to contend with? Murder, muggings, harassment by vagrants, prostitution, horses running amok and a lack of proper security and lifeguard personnel continually plague visitors.
On Sunday, a 72-year-old woman from Nashik died on the beach when she was trampled by a horse, which are not allowed on the beach. Even so, residents say about 40 to 45 horses and horse-carts are seen on the beach daily. In 1998, the Supreme Court ordered that no horse should be used commercially on the beach.
Incredibly, residents say that almost daily the horses and horse-carts, along with their owners, are chased off the beach by police, only for them to return for a good solid two hours of business the next day, before being chased off again.
Actress Soni Razdan, who lives in the area, said, "I have walked at the beach daily for 12 years. These horses and horse carts arrive from around 5.30 pm onwards. At around 7.30 pm, a police van comes from out of the blue and starts chasing them in the dark. This chasing goes on daily. One day, I was walking with some friends and we didn't know which direction to go as there were 25 horses charging at us from all directions."
Razdan added, "It is the police who make matters worse. If they had taken action properly, that old woman might not have died."
Shikha G, a housewife at Juhu Scheme, wonders how the police cannot get the horses successfully off the beach. "It's all the fault of the local police authorities," she said.
Ganesh Thevar, president of the food stall owners association, the Juhu Beach Khadye Peye Vikreta Sahkari Society, said: Whenever a big police officer visits the beach, junior officials run around chasing horses. So accidents take place, as horses run blindly when their owners whip them.
Vilas Tupe, senior inspector at Santa Cruz Police Station, said, We have asked the collector and civic authorities for collective action to be taken as the situation is getting out of hand. I have also warned my staff that strict action will be taken against errant police officers, too. Pratik Bansal, a college student and frequent visitor to the beach, said, The horse owners also rob visitors or overcharge unreasonably. They are forcible when they want money.
On February 2, two horse-cart owners robbed some schoolchildren of Rs 20,000.
Stabbing also seems to be regularly on the agenda for anti-socials on the beach. On Id, December 17, a married couple who wanted some privacy was attacked by a watchman and hawker who tried to rob them. Javed Ahmed Ansari (25), later died in hospital, leaving behind a distraught and pregnant wife.
On January 28, Ramu Puran Mahantoo, a 24-year-old hawker and resident of Andheri (W), was stabbed in a fight over a prostitute. Allegedly, the pimp who passed the assailant the knife is also a tender coconut seller on the beach.
Darryl D Souza, senior inspector at Juhu Police Station, blames people for wanting late-night adventure. He said, At all costs, people should not go out to lonely places and beaches late at night. No place in the world is safe late at night and people better sit home at such hours rather than put themselves in dangerous situations. But some people, instead of being precautionary, give more importance to privacy.
Ramrao Wagh, additional commissioner (West), complained, Some couples want to indulge in indecent activities and hide from police. They locate unpatrolled spots, so what can the police do?
We have identified such places and increased patrolling there. We have also increased interaction between beat chowkies, the tourism police and patrolling vans.
However, the fact remains that people like Ansari and his wife are not indulging in indecency.
The beach has also faced other problems, with a lack of proper lifeguards and beggars and vagrants roaming freely. Recently, Mridula Bose, a former high school principal from Kolkata, was robbed on her first day in the city on the beach.
So, the authorities can take note, more tourist money would flow in if the beach is also a safer place.
Inputs by Shailesh Bhatia
Sands of crime
* December 17: Harmina Rudolf Miranda (60), a resident of Vakola, drowned. The incident highlighted the dangers posed by the absence of lifeguards on Juhu Beach. Residents claimed that lifeguards only get into action after a drowning. However, on January 18, a lifeguard saved Soni Wadhawan (25), a housewife from Andheri (E), who tried to commit suicide.
* December 17: Javed Ahmed Ansari (25) and his pregnant wife Ishrat of Andheri (E), were attacked by two men who wanted their money. Ansari raised an alarm and was stabbed. He died in hospital. Juhu police arrested Lalmohan Singh (29), a watchman, and Ramkumar Jha (19), a hawker.
* January 28: Ramu Puran Mahantoo, a 24-year-old hawker of D N Nagar, Andheri (W), was stabbed behind Juhu Centaur. Mahantoo and the assailant were fighting over a prostitute. The assailant took a knife from a tender coconut vendor, allegedly a pimp, and stabbed Mahantoo, who was taken to Cooper Hospital,Vile Parle, in critical condition.
* February 2: Three 10-year-old boys, playing truant from school, were robbed by horse-cart drivers they had engaged for joyrides. The boys had Rs 2,000 they had themselves stolen from one of their homes. Police arrested two of three drivers involved and seized their animals.
* February 4: Mridula Bose, a former high school principal from West Bengal, was robbed of all her belongings on the beach on her first night in Mumbai.
*February 17: Stray dogs sniffed out a partially buried, decomposed male body from under the sand near the Juhu-Koliwada end of the beach. Police are investigating for murder as the hands and feet of the body were tied. Nearby residents knew of the stinking body for a long time, but kept quiet.
* February 17: 72-year-old Bhagyarathi Sonawne was trampled to death and her grandson had spine and thigh injuries after a horse trampled them. The family, comprising four adults and two children, were walking towards the beach at around 8 pm when the horse came racing out of the darkness and hit Sonawne.
MID-DAY (FEB 2002)
By Skimmy Gupta
Save Juhu Beach, seems to be the collective cry of all residents living near one of Mumbai's premier spots for a family outing and also tourists from outside the city for whom a visit to the beach is a necessary part of the holiday itinerary.
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) recently announced a year-long Rs 2 crore plan to remodel the beachfront. On cards are the relocation of the much-visited chaat stalls, a Ganpati immersion ramp, a promenade and other projects.
But how about the many other evils beach-goers have to contend with? Murder, muggings, harassment by vagrants, prostitution, horses running amok and a lack of proper security and lifeguard personnel continually plague visitors.
On Sunday, a 72-year-old woman from Nashik died on the beach when she was trampled by a horse, which are not allowed on the beach. Even so, residents say about 40 to 45 horses and horse-carts are seen on the beach daily. In 1998, the Supreme Court ordered that no horse should be used commercially on the beach.
Incredibly, residents say that almost daily the horses and horse-carts, along with their owners, are chased off the beach by police, only for them to return for a good solid two hours of business the next day, before being chased off again.
Actress Soni Razdan, who lives in the area, said, "I have walked at the beach daily for 12 years. These horses and horse carts arrive from around 5.30 pm onwards. At around 7.30 pm, a police van comes from out of the blue and starts chasing them in the dark. This chasing goes on daily. One day, I was walking with some friends and we didn't know which direction to go as there were 25 horses charging at us from all directions."
Razdan added, "It is the police who make matters worse. If they had taken action properly, that old woman might not have died."
Shikha G, a housewife at Juhu Scheme, wonders how the police cannot get the horses successfully off the beach. "It's all the fault of the local police authorities," she said.
Ganesh Thevar, president of the food stall owners association, the Juhu Beach Khadye Peye Vikreta Sahkari Society, said: Whenever a big police officer visits the beach, junior officials run around chasing horses. So accidents take place, as horses run blindly when their owners whip them.
Vilas Tupe, senior inspector at Santa Cruz Police Station, said, We have asked the collector and civic authorities for collective action to be taken as the situation is getting out of hand. I have also warned my staff that strict action will be taken against errant police officers, too. Pratik Bansal, a college student and frequent visitor to the beach, said, The horse owners also rob visitors or overcharge unreasonably. They are forcible when they want money.
On February 2, two horse-cart owners robbed some schoolchildren of Rs 20,000.
Stabbing also seems to be regularly on the agenda for anti-socials on the beach. On Id, December 17, a married couple who wanted some privacy was attacked by a watchman and hawker who tried to rob them. Javed Ahmed Ansari (25), later died in hospital, leaving behind a distraught and pregnant wife.
On January 28, Ramu Puran Mahantoo, a 24-year-old hawker and resident of Andheri (W), was stabbed in a fight over a prostitute. Allegedly, the pimp who passed the assailant the knife is also a tender coconut seller on the beach.
Darryl D Souza, senior inspector at Juhu Police Station, blames people for wanting late-night adventure. He said, At all costs, people should not go out to lonely places and beaches late at night. No place in the world is safe late at night and people better sit home at such hours rather than put themselves in dangerous situations. But some people, instead of being precautionary, give more importance to privacy.
Ramrao Wagh, additional commissioner (West), complained, Some couples want to indulge in indecent activities and hide from police. They locate unpatrolled spots, so what can the police do?
We have identified such places and increased patrolling there. We have also increased interaction between beat chowkies, the tourism police and patrolling vans.
However, the fact remains that people like Ansari and his wife are not indulging in indecency.
The beach has also faced other problems, with a lack of proper lifeguards and beggars and vagrants roaming freely. Recently, Mridula Bose, a former high school principal from Kolkata, was robbed on her first day in the city on the beach.
So, the authorities can take note, more tourist money would flow in if the beach is also a safer place.
Inputs by Shailesh Bhatia
Sands of crime
* December 17: Harmina Rudolf Miranda (60), a resident of Vakola, drowned. The incident highlighted the dangers posed by the absence of lifeguards on Juhu Beach. Residents claimed that lifeguards only get into action after a drowning. However, on January 18, a lifeguard saved Soni Wadhawan (25), a housewife from Andheri (E), who tried to commit suicide.
* December 17: Javed Ahmed Ansari (25) and his pregnant wife Ishrat of Andheri (E), were attacked by two men who wanted their money. Ansari raised an alarm and was stabbed. He died in hospital. Juhu police arrested Lalmohan Singh (29), a watchman, and Ramkumar Jha (19), a hawker.
* January 28: Ramu Puran Mahantoo, a 24-year-old hawker of D N Nagar, Andheri (W), was stabbed behind Juhu Centaur. Mahantoo and the assailant were fighting over a prostitute. The assailant took a knife from a tender coconut vendor, allegedly a pimp, and stabbed Mahantoo, who was taken to Cooper Hospital,Vile Parle, in critical condition.
* February 2: Three 10-year-old boys, playing truant from school, were robbed by horse-cart drivers they had engaged for joyrides. The boys had Rs 2,000 they had themselves stolen from one of their homes. Police arrested two of three drivers involved and seized their animals.
* February 4: Mridula Bose, a former high school principal from West Bengal, was robbed of all her belongings on the beach on her first night in Mumbai.
*February 17: Stray dogs sniffed out a partially buried, decomposed male body from under the sand near the Juhu-Koliwada end of the beach. Police are investigating for murder as the hands and feet of the body were tied. Nearby residents knew of the stinking body for a long time, but kept quiet.
* February 17: 72-year-old Bhagyarathi Sonawne was trampled to death and her grandson had spine and thigh injuries after a horse trampled them. The family, comprising four adults and two children, were walking towards the beach at around 8 pm when the horse came racing out of the darkness and hit Sonawne.
Labels: City
posted by Skimmy @ January 12, 2009
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