January 8, 2026: Stretching from high-rise residential towers and commercial pockets to the green expanse of the Aarey forest colony, Mumbai’s P South ward presents a contrasting urban landscape. Covering much of Goregaon in the western suburbs, the ward comprises nine corporator seats and has traditionally been a stronghold of the BJP. Despite its gated communities and upscale housing, the area also has sizeable slum clusters and continues to grapple with persistent civic challenges.
Key among these are incomplete road projects and widespread encroachments. The ward is currently affected by two major infrastructure works—the Mumbai Coastal Road (Phase 2) and the Goregaon Mulund Link Road (GMLR)—both being executed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Long-pending road links have worsened traffic congestion in the surrounding areas.
“One of the key issues that I want to resolve within a short period of time is complete the construction of the pending missing link to the Mrunaltai Gore flyover. This project has been pending for many years and is the reason behind traffic choking not only at Goregaon but also at the nearby Ram Mandir and Andheri areas,” said Sandeep Patel, former BJP corporator and candidate from ward number 58.
Encroachment of footpaths by illegal hawkers remains another pressing issue. With most localities being residential, pedestrian movement is severely affected. Although the BMC conducted a survey last year to identify legal hawkers, the long-pending formation of a town vending committee (TVC) has delayed effective regulation.
“Another primary area that I want to focus on is formulating a uniform hawker policy to ensure the roads are free for pedestrians to walk. In the next two years, my target is to make two of the most encroached areas in Mumbai, Siddharth Nagar as well as Gajanan Marg, entirely hawker-free,” Patel said.
Politically, six of the nine seats were held by the BJP in the previous term, with the remaining going to the then-undivided Shiv Sena. Following the Sena split, two former corporators joined the Shinde-led faction. While the BJP-Sena alliance is confident of retaining most seats, the Opposition has alleged coercion and intimidation during the polls.
“The ruling alliance is not asking for votes based on merit; they are trying to bring down the competition by threatening the candidates from the opposing sides,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Amol Kirtikar, adding that defectors would be “given a befitting reply during the polls.”
Residents have also flagged environmental concerns. “Two rivers, Oshiwara and Dahisar, flow from Goregaon and these rivers are so polluted that the water is filled with sewage,” said resident Manisha Jain, calling for river rejuvenation and stricter action against encroachments in the Aarey forest.
Source: The Indian Express
