Mumbai. Is it missing a life on the coast?

Mumbai is a coastal city but unfortunately, its citizens have never had access to really enjoy the sea.?The two large beaches in the city at Chowpatty and Juhu are largely for evening walks and bhel puri and other snacks but doesn’t compare with the life in other coastal cities in the world. ?

What Mumbai lacks of course that other coastal cities are able to offer are the typical activities that go with the sea. These include snorkelling, scuba diving, boating and fishing.?It also lacks any beach life, beyond snacking.?Beach umbrellas, swimming and?lifeguards, Which is why I suppose most Mumbaikars are constantly going to other cities with a beach including Goa and Kerala and other spots on the western and eastern coastline of India.

Unfortunately our beaches are filled with filth and garbage and while the BMC does its best to clean our beaches everyday, some filth from the other beaches just comes in with the tide making most beaches not pleasurable to walk on.?The government and the BMC is trying very hard to let citizens have access to the sea. The recently concluded viewing deck at Dadar is one such example.?But we are most of the time using our beaches for waste which is a real pity. It is entirely the Mumbai citizen who is to blame.

But the rich of Mumbai do enjoy the sea. They have their boats and yachts anchored just outside the gateway of India which makes a very pretty sights any time of the day.

A view of the boats at Ferry Wharf from the Roro ferry

I was lucky last week to have one such expedition on a friend’s yacht.?It is so beautiful to see the city when you are out at sea.?The Taj can be seen in all its glory.?And the pretty boats all around ?the Gateway make a beautiful sight.?Mandwa which is just across Mumbai has become the playground of the rich.?Now the RoRo ferry has made Mandwa very accessible because it can carry about 150 cars to and fro.?I am told that most of the Mandwa residents, made Mandwa their first home during the pandemic rarely coming back to their main home in Mumbai.

So which are the best coastal cities in the world? Conde Nast Traveler lists New Orleans, Miami, Hong Kong, Venice, Bangkok, Honolulu,Perth, Dubai, Lisbon, New York, Singapore as some of the top coastal cities in the world.?What do they have that Mumbai doesn’t have? These cities all have a beach life and a sea life.?Going out to sea to enjoy the sea and beautiful views of their city is not only a rich mans sport as it is in Mumbai.?Beaches are filled with swimmers and beach umbrellas where people can relax by the sea.?In contrast our beaches can hardly be used if at all for anything besides walking and our seas are full of the industrial waste that flows from our factories making the sea dangerous for a swim.?

Rowing on the Thames

What are we missing out on as Mumbaikars??Swimming, Diving, Surfing. Waterskiing, Canoeing, Kayaking, Rowing, Fishing and Sailing. ?

So the average Mumbaikar has to make his way to Goa, or Mauritius and Maldives if he truly wants to experience life at sea and on the beach.

We also lack proper jetty’s. While the government is doing its best to build some more. To make matters worse the entire coastline on the east is unaccessible because it belongs to the ports and the Navy. I was delighted to see that the Mahindra Blues Festival was being held at the Princess Dock this year.?Perhaps they have permission for the public to access a part of the dock.?Many years ago I visited Durban in South Africa where they had bands playing on one the ships near the dock and the audience was sitting on the dock watching the bands.?I wondered why we couldn’t do this in Mumbai.?

It is my fervent hope that one day Mumbai will be a true coastal city in its own right and compete with some of the best coastal cities in the world. Jai Maharashtra!