Eastern Edge of Mumbai
Groupwork by -Janhavi Naik, Khushi Bagrecha, Shreya Mittal, Prajwal Deshmuskh
The Fort of Sewri was built in 1680. During the 1860’s, the Britishers converted one of the gardens near the fort, into a cemetery. In the 1870’s the reclamation of land started with the emergence of cotton mills. Around this period, tanners and dry fish dealers started to relocate in this area, in informal settlements. With time, these settlements grew in number, as workers of the mills started to live in these settlements.
In the late 20th Century, the cotton mills saw a decline in the market and were shut down. This period also had simultaneous growth of factories and manufacturing industries. One such was Colgate Palmolive Company in 1970. With the increase in these numbers, the density of informal settlements increased. Mudflats and Salt pans were also used to make these houses starting in the 1960's. In the 1990’s, these settlements were majorly residential with few scarp segregating works in the ground floor of houses and industrial sale units in a few.
By 2000 almost all of the area was urbanized. The area covered by these informal settlements in the year 2000 was around 6000sqm and increased by 200sqm till the year 2014. Over the years, with the increase in the number of industries, the waste released into the estuary increased, effect of which could be seen as the substantial decrease in mangrove cover.
After 2000’s, people of koliwada were the ones who initially practiced fishing, and migrants from other states. With the decline of the fishing industry, workers had to change occupations to work in small scale industries, construction workers, drivers, domestic workers. In many houses, the homefront on the ground floor has been converted to shop selling and collecting scrap materials.the Koliwada region also saw few apartment buildings come up in the area.
After 2000’s, people of koliwada were the ones who initially practiced fishing, and migrants from other states. With the decline of the fishing industry, workers had to change occupations to work in small scale industries, construction workers, drivers, domestic workers. In many houses, the homefront on the ground floor has been converted to shop selling and collecting scrap materials.the Koliwada region also saw few apartment buildings come up in the area.
An important part of residential development was the construction of SRA buildings under the low income housing scheme. A major SRA project on the eastern waterfront is the Mahul Township built around 2010. It is a significantly controversial project which rehabilitated families from the settlements in Bandra, Wadala, Ghatkopar and Chembur.
Some major transport connections also run through Sewri. The Eastern Freeway was constructed in 2013. Around the same period, the construction of the Trans Harbor link started. This sea bridge project from Sewri, connecting Mumbai to Navi Mumbai by L&T saw the rehabilitation of settlements from the edges, to favor the construction process.