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Pilot project sets template for Mumbai’s 300 km plus waterways

PK Das and Associates integrated a 7.5-km-long nullah into the Juhu neighborhood. The idea was to provide multiple amenities and institutions in the precinct through green streets and roads that promoted a walking culture along the nullah, as well as within the Irla precinct.

The project was the result of the combined efforts of the neighbourhood’s stakeholders: architect PK Das and Associates, Javed Akhtar, Gulmohar Area Societies Welfare Group and PUDDI, Mumbai.

The broader vision for the project included conservation of a vital, natural asset, its integration with the neighborhood and the city, expanding public spaces (both in physical and democratic terms), popularizing and demystifying the planning process for effective participation in conceptualization and implementation process, understanding sustainable ecology and building with nature.

Phase 1 of the project included the development of three citizens’ parks namely the Kishore Kumar Baug, Kaifi Azmi Park and the Childrens’ Forest Park.

A public, open air amphitheater, the Vijay Tendulkar Rang Manch, walking and cycling tracks along the nullah complete with lighting and landscaping were built.

The design team developed a system for cleaning the water in the nullah; the system comprised several elements that included a floating matter filtration gate, silt trap beds, compact treatment units and floating beds of phytorid plants.

The project is a unique example of the power of citizens who exercise their rights to the city, script its current and future growth and claim it as their own.