December 20, 2025: Mumbai’s B and C wards—among the smallest municipal wards in the island city—are home to some of its most congested yet commercially significant neighbourhoods, including Bhindi Bazar, Dongri, Minara Masjid, Kalbadevi and Chirabazar. These areas house century-old ‘pagdi’ system buildings and Mumbai’s oldest clothes and jewellery markets, making them vital to both the city’s heritage and economy.
Despite their prominence, the wards face persistent civic challenges. Narrow, poorly lit lanes and ageing multi-storey structures define much of the urban landscape. One of the most pressing concerns is solid waste management. Due to congestion, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) garbage vans are unable to access several inner lanes, leading residents to dump waste in public spaces. Inadequate water supply is another recurring issue.
The wards also reflect Mumbai’s social diversity. B ward has a predominantly Muslim population, while C ward is largely home to Hindu residents, particularly from the Marwari and Jain communities. A significant proportion of residents are engaged in the clothing and jewellery trade concentrated in the local markets.
Between 2017 and 2022, B ward was represented by Congress corporators Afreen Shaikh and Nikita Nikam, while C ward elected BJP corporators Atul Shah, Akash Purohit and Rita Makwana. With civic elections due early next year, decongesting traffic and removing encroachments have emerged as key electoral promises.
“This year, there is a serious competition among party workers to finalise their candidates for the two seats in B ward. Since the two electoral constituencies house a large number of minority population, it’s likely that Congress will have a clear majority. I am not yet sure whether I will get a ticket this time as well, but if I am re-elected, I will solely focus on improving the water supply system in the area,” Afreen Shaikh told The Indian Express.
Redevelopment of old and unsafe buildings is another major concern, particularly in Dongri and Kalbadevi, where many privately owned structures are dilapidated and tied up in legal disputes. “Repairing old houses is not a solution. The only way forward is to redevelop these buildings and our hope will be to push the government to take up a larger cluster development project in this area,” said Atul Shah.
He added, “The B and C wards are common in many aspects and have many common problems in general. One of the key issues that I would like to address is the issue of waste management. Considering the larger portion of these wards comprises narrow lanes, garbage vans are unable to enter them so a door-to-door collection policy could be encouraged.”
The two wards fall under the Mumbadevi assembly constituency, represented by Congress MLA Amin Patel. “Another primary objective is to ensure the old clothing and jewellery markets are revamped. We have already mooted a plan to construct a dedicated shopping plaza for these two sectors. Once the election is over, we will streamline it,” Patel said, adding that resolving these issues requires coordinated, top-down intervention beyond the role of local corporators alone.
