Dahisar Residents Raise Concern Over Dynamite Blasting For Transport Hub

Mumbai: Residents of housing societies near the upcoming Dahisar Transportation Hub have raised concerns that dynamite blasting for the project over the past month and a half is causing persistent noise, frequent vibrations, and visible cracks in their flats a... Mumbai: Residents of housing societies near the upcoming Dahisar Transportation Hub have raised concerns that dynamite blasting for the project over the past month and a half is causing persistent noise, frequent vibrations, and visible cracks in their flats and buildings, prompting them to seek intervention from civic authorities and elected representatives. The Dahisar Transportation Hub is an upcoming ₹1,481-crore multimodal transit and commercial complex being built by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) at the defunct Dahisar Octroi Naka on the Western Express Highway. The complex, aimed at reducing traffic congestion at one of Mumbai’s key entry points, is scheduled to be completed over the next two years. Among those who have raised complaints is the Madhuban Cooperative Housing Society in Dahisar East, located next to the site. Mahadev Gondlekar, chairperson of the society, which comprises seven buildings and houses around 500 residents, said, “There are times when there are 14 blasts in a single day. It has become extremely difficult to go about daily life. Whether someone is studying, working or resting, the disturbance continues through the day, and everything starts shaking whenever they blast.” Describing the impact of the blasting, Supriya Talgaonkar, a resident, said, “If we’re having food and a blast takes place, our plates flip over. We have to keep our windows shut. We can’t sleep properly as they work for 18 hours a day—sometimes late into the night and also early in the morning.” Jagganath Walavalkar, 74, said, “At our age, even a little noise causes us disturbance. The noise is so significant that despite them putting up boundary walls, rocks come hurling into our compound.” Gondlekar said that his society has been writing to civic authorities for the past month, flagging concerns over the impact of the blasting. In a letter sent to the R North ward officers, local corporator Prakash Darekar, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai North MP Piyush Goyal, the society said that repeated blasting operations had resulted in “intense vibrations comparable to seismic tremors”. It added that “visible damage has been observed in our building, including cracks in walls, ceilings and other load-bearing elements.” Reacting to the complaints, corporator Darekar said, “I asked the ward officer to stop the work because it was causing inconvenience to residents, but they assured me that the work would not cause nuisance.” Magathane MLA Prakash Surve said he wrote to municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide on Monday, stating that dynamite blasting was not permitted in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. He also called for installing noise barriers and other mitigating measures before continuing work at the site. A senior BMC official from the R North ward said that controlled dynamite blasting was being undertaken as part of excavation for the transport hub basement. The civic