Bhati koliwada- A stone tells the fate of the city

People living closer to the sea, and thus in contant anticipation of floods, develop stories to explain its erratic behaviour. These stories often become legends of the community and are passed down various generations. One such story is told to a boy living in Bhati Koliwada. As he looks at the seemingly floating rock pointed out to him in the sea, his father tells him of the possibility of a day when that rock will no longer be seen. The boy looks at the rock in wonder, knowing it stayed afloat on that fateful day when the city drowned. His little mind cannot comprehend what will happen to the city on a day the rock succumbs to ocean’s waves…

Versova Koliwada- A new house every season

Versova Koliwada has been seeing an increasing number of migrants. These migrants who had come to the city in search of work build houses along the beach, atop a pile of sediments deposited by the sea. They build using disposed GI sheets and tarpaulin. Every year, floods during the monsoon, coupled with tidal forces, and the sea swipes their houses away. Every year they source the same materials to remake them on a pile higher than the previous one, with each level being added by the pile of the previous year’s materials.

Poisar river- A higher floor for the wet season

They say water always finds its way. After channelising the rivers in the city, the seasonal fresh water sources were reduced to large nullahs and an increase in the grey water being discharged into them from surrounding settlements was observed. Incidentally, the very pipes that were used to discharge the water into the river began to force water back out during the monsoons when the river swelled, creating a backflow of mucky water from weep holes and drain pipes. As a result of this, several houses in the settlements along the River Poisar are seen to have a higher floor where the people live out the monsoons. This yearly affair entails the transfer of all the belongings of the house from the ground floor to the higher floor, every year.

Poisar river- Living from borrowed boxes

The term living off a suitcase may seem like a sign of affluence to many. In several parts of the city, groups of people are forced to live off of the proverbial suitcase, but as a result of adversity. On this little mass of land in the middle of the seasonal River Poisar, the people are seen storing food, water and the small number of valuables they can afford in plastic drums and old aluminium cans. Every year, they are forced to move to a higher ground while their houses flood due to the ever-increasing flow of the river.