New tiles, shield for palm trees on Worli sea face

MUMBAI: Giving a fresh lease of life to the Dubai palm trees withering on Worli sea face, the BMC has also initiated several measures to beautify and clean up the stretch.

Last week, BMC replaced the uneven tiles, cleaned the benches and encircled the palm trees with short brick boundaries, after TOI highlighted the poor condition of the promenade in a report, 'Worli seafront in a bad state, five palm trees dead, say locals' on October 19. Worli residents had told TOI that six of the 65 Dubai palm trees planted by BMC there had died and 40 others were withering. They had taken up the issue with the civic authorities.

Welcoming the BMC move, Pimmi Seth, a senior citizen who had sustained injuries after tripping on uneven tiles at the promenade last year, said, "The BMC has started work, but we have a long way to go...I want some senior BMC officials to walk with some senior citizens so that we could make them understand the actual problems."

Former Mumbai police commissioner MN Singh too said a lot has to be done. "The BMC is doing some repairs in bits and pieces. Instead they should come out with a proper plan. If you see the Marine Drive path, it is smooth but the Worli sea face has been neglected. Often we hear about senior citizens falling due to uneven road... To maintain cleanliness, BMC should deploy their security personnel."

Asked about the complaints, a BMC's gardening department official said that they have initiated the process of cleaning the sea face. "Due to monsoon there were some issues- like tiles had come out in some place. We have removed the broken benches and have built small borders around the palm and other trees.'' The official said BMC had transplanted the palm trees only after consulting experts from Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Assistant municipal commissioner (G-South) Devendra Jain said, "All the palm trees are surviving. They look like this (as if dead) as they have been tied due to heavy winds during monsoon. Palm trees are sturdy and take time to grow."