Welcome to the B.J.Road newsletter! Finally!! We apologise for the long delay in getting it started. We plan to make it a quarterly report, so those of you who would like to send in your views and suggestions, please feel free to do so, either by email (to rego@vsnl.com) or by snail mail / hand delivery to

Anne-Marie Rego,
Ground floor, Windemere,
B.J.Road, Bandstand.

Let’s start at the very beginning, as the song says. The B.J.Road A.L.M. was set up in May 2001 under the leadership of Mrs. Janet D’Souza (of Noor-e-Rehmat) and Mrs. Kamala Suri (of Sea Bird). Both these ladies were distressed at the state of B.J.Road at that time; (cast your minds back – remember how littered it was, lined on either side with ditches and unsightly piles of mud and stones; remember how many people slipped, fell, couldn’t walk in comfort?)

Anyway, seeing how other roads in Bandra had successfully managed to get cleaned up, they decided that B.J.Road should also follow suit. They visited the BMC Offices and learned that they could start an ALM and moreover, the BMC would encourage and support them in every way possible.

However, there were certain undertakings the BMC expected from them:
(a) The garbage of all residents had to be conscientiously separated into wet and dry waste;
(b) Rs.30/- a month had to be collected from each residence to support the ALM.
In return the BMC would help out with beautification plans, see to the improvement of the road and attend to the problems of the residents.

So, the B.J.Road ALM was set up in May 2001, with the aims of
• beautifying and improving B.J.Road,
• getting rid of hawkers, beggars and antisocial elements,
• conducting awareness programmes for the residents regarding waste disposal and composting.

Office bearers were nominated and a bank account was opened at Vijaya Bank, Hill Road.
Then began the arduous task of visiting the buildings in turn, speaking to the residents and requesting them to co-operate with the ALM. Mrs. Savita Mehra of Peter Dias road was extremely helpful in this endeavour.

The response from the various residents was unsatisfactory to say the least. Many refused to pay, many refused to separate their waste until the BMC fined their society Rs. 1000/- and this indifference hurt the other members who were putting in so much time, effort and sometimes their own money. Nonetheless, they persisted, and gradually the situation improved.

Originally, the ALM spread over the length of B.J.Road, right upto Bandstand Apartments. However, in April 2003, we decided that the ALM would extend from Virendra Colony upto the Parsi Sanatorium, as the buildings beyond that point had neither paid their dues nor sent representatives to the meetings. Henceforth the ALM would be known as “B.J.Road ALM, Phase I”. The members then turned their attention to getting rid of the hawkers who infested B.J.Road at that time. It is a fact that the hawkers contribute greatly to the litter on the road and also many unsocial elements tend to hang around their stalls. With the help of the BMC and the police, they succeeded in getting rid of many hawkers and demolishing their stalls.

At this stage, our local MLA Mr. Baba Siddique paid a visit to the road and saw for himself the conditions the residents faced. He promised his help, and also paid for the construction of 2 little niche gardens, one outside Virendra and one at the corner of the BSES garden. Signboards were put up at either end to the road to inform people that the road was being looked after by the B.J.Road ALM.

A lot of time was spent at the BMC offices, attending meetings with the then AMC Mr. Milind Sawant and pleading with him to attend to the problems of the road. BMC officials came to inspect the road and see to the waste disposal, but said that they could not resurface the road until all the pipe and cable laying was completed.

All the while, the collection of funds continued, this money was deposited in the bank, and from time to time withdrawals were made to pay for the signboards, pay the salary of the gardener, pay for the potted plants, etc. A statement of these accounts can be found at:
In November 2003, Mrs. J.D’Souza left Bombay to take up a new assignment, and her position as President has been filled by Mrs. Pearl Pai.

What has the B.J.Road ALM achieved since its inception 2 years ago?
(a) We have got rid of the huge water pipes outside Virendra and the beggars living inside them.
(b) We have persuaded tourist bus drivers not to park on the road or wash the buses here.
(c) We have got rid of several hawkers, including the coconut seller and the tea seller in front of the BSES garden.
(d) We have met constantly with the BMC officials and our MLA and corporator and have got them to clear the debris from the road and resurface it.
(e) We have enlisted the co-operation of the police in getting rid of hawkers and vagrants.
(f) We have co-operated with the BBRT in its various anti-hawker drives, activities for the promenade, etc.
(g) We have employed a ragpicker Aleyamma to clean the road and water the plants
(h) We have employed our own security guard to keep away hawkers and other undesirables.
(i) We have got rid of the two unsightly trucks that parked in front of Sahil bungalow. The space behind these trucks was used as a toilet, the drivers cooked there and littered the area, and were extremely rude when ALM members requested them to park elsewhere.
(j) We have shared the FIRST PRIZE for the “Best-Dressed Road” in the Celebrate Bandra Festival.
(k) We have roped in Fr Agnel Technical Institute to help us design a rotary battery operated road cleaner. A preliminary design has been submitted and is being worked on.

However, a lot still needs to be done, and we need help from you, the residents. How can you help?

(a) Separate your waste carefully. Speak to your maids if necessary and ask them to sort the waste diligently.
(b) Can your building start a compost pit? The compost produced could be used for your building’s garden or the ALM’s plants.
(c) See that your ALM dues are paid regularly.
(d) Send in your suggestions for the beautification of the road.
(e) If you have the time, attend the monthly meeting of the ALMs at the BMC office.
(f) Take the trouble to respond to us. If we don’t get any feedback from you, we can’t sort out problems, work on your suggestions, etc. A total of 10, yes, TEN forms came back to us when we requested information in August. Most of them had criticism instead of co-operation.
(g) Attend the monthly meeting of the ALM and learn what we are doing, and if you can help in some way, great!
Transcripts of the minutes of all the ALM meetings held can be found at:

http://bjroad0.tripod.com/min.htm

We would like to place on record the debt of gratitude we owe to various people who have helped to improve the condition of B.J.Road.
• Mrs. Janet D’Souza for her inspiring and dynamic leadership
• Mrs. Kamala Suri, for attending all the BMC meeting and making so many arrangements
• Mrs. Savita Mehra, for holding several meetings in various buildings on our road to teach us how to separate wet and dry waste
• Inspector Rolfie Pereira for all his help in traffic related matters
• Inspector Gitanjali for her prompt and effective response to our pleas
• Mrs Kavita Rodrigues for her co-operation and support
• Mr.Baba Siddique for his generous support for our beautification plans
• Mr. Anil Khoje and other officials of the BMC for their co-operation and assistance

We have plans to further improve B.J.Road :

We would like to install pay and park zones as a way of generating income,
We plan to set up flower beds which would be more durable than flower pots.
We would like to hold activities which would get the residents of the ALM to come together as they did for the Celebrate Bandra Festival

And remember, you can help us to achieve all this. The ALM meets on the second Monday of each month. Only if each building co-operates actively , and members share their ideas and time can our road improve, so we invite you to attend and learn for yourself what our ALM does, and participate in making B.J.Road a clean, green , safe and beautiful place to live in.