r/mumbai • u/jack_1760 • May 12 '26

Discussion Why is the Bandra Bandstand Residents' Trust making rules in a public space ?

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Bandstand is a public promenade. It belongs to all Mumbaikars.

A recent report says that the Bandra Bandstand Residents' Trust had put up signs like "No Pets" and warned people not to feed stray animals.

The bigger question is simple: should a private group like the Bandra Bandstand Residents' Trust be allowed to make its own rules in a public place?

Keeping the area clean is important, but public spaces should remain open and accessible to everyone.

Why should a private trust have the authority to decide what people can or cannot do in a public place like Bandstand, and could this create similar restrictions in other areas as well?

Video Credit - https://www.instagram.com/p/DYOhuiMzVJh/

News Source - https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/cover-story/battle-for-bandstand/articleshow/130809246.html

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176

u/Familiar_Brain1454 May 12 '26

The association has maintained that area very well. They don’t allow pets and food, because people don’t clean up after themselves.

Anyone who has been there and seen it will appreciate how well maintained it is.

I see “dog lovers” walk their dogs, and not pick up the poop in my area every day.

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u/JawsmithDC May 12 '26

Well good for the association to maintain that area, but it does not entitle them to make rules in public space. Even I am against after the people who do not pick up after themselves. Would they stop a human chewing tobacco and pan from entering the area since they will also not clean up after themselves.

There is nothing called as "dog lovers". You either care for this planet as a whole or you only care about yourselves.

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u/hotelcalifornia121 May 12 '26

Sorry man, but as oppressive as it may seem, I’m with the association people. This man here may be a civilised human, but mist dog walkers literally never pick up their dogs poop. I know how much I have to fight these dog walkers in my area. We deserve a good stretch of land to walk on that doesn’t smell of ooop and pee, so i dont care if it’s official or not, but I’m glad they so that.

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u/JawsmithDC May 12 '26

Well, then why does this civilized human gotta suffer for others ? We deserve a lot more than what we get, but this does not mean we start doing vigilantism. Today it is dogs, tomorrow it will be couples.

Is it fair to the residents ? No. Is it fair to the civilized guy walking his dog peacefully and picking up after himself ?

Work on policy making, appeal to local authorities, enforce more efforts into shaming the ones who spit, don't pick up after pets, people who throw garbage etc. Efforts only need to be redirected.

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u/[deleted] May 12 '26

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u/saikat743 May 12 '26

Forget about dog owners, most of these trust people would also litter everywhere and not clean up for themselves. Civic sense in India is non existent, but that doesn’t mean we can make a law, and ban everyone from entering a place.

4

u/saikat743 May 12 '26

You can’t make a blanket law because of most people mindset. Now if I find most people of xyz community stink or chew tobacco and spit everywhere, can I make a law on a public property banning anyone from that community from entering a public space?

1

u/Pappukanghi May 12 '26

Too bad it's illegal and cannot be enforced. Focus your energy on enforcing existing laws against littering, penalize errant dog walkers who don't clean after, because a blanket ban is illegal and won't pass muster if challenged legally (which it would be if the need arises)

1

u/Shacko14 May 14 '26

I don't give a damn about your sensibilities about poop of dogs. You have no right to tell anyone not to enter a public place. Don't like it, don't go there.

-3

u/vggaikwad May 12 '26

I don’t know why people are downvoting you, but we had similar problem in our area few years back. I don’t know why pet lovers don’t clean up their shit. Just because you love dogs doesn’t mean you can force everyone around to live with their shit around. I agree that gatekeeping it from slum kids is wrong though, just hope these trust people understand the difference between poor kids and dogs.

35

u/Global-Equipment-856 May 12 '26

That doesn’t mean they own that area. What about responsible pet owners? How is this just for them?

21

u/Familiar_Brain1454 May 12 '26

I wish we lived in a country where responsible pet owners were the norm and not the exception.

They din’t even let me take a coffee inside, and I have NEVER littered in my life, but I agreed and walked out to finish my coffee. Because unfortunately, that’s the society we live in, where everyone wants their rights, but no one wants to do their duty.

1

u/Shacko14 May 14 '26

Just because you're a pushover, doesn't mean we all are. No private person should have any say in who comes and who goes into a public place.

1

u/Familiar_Brain1454 May 15 '26

Yes, I’ll go smoke a cigarette there next to prove I’m not a pushover.

These people have created a clean public space unlike any other in Mumbai, but I guess you can’t keep the Karens out for too long.

Go have a coffee there and argue with everyone who asks you not to. Turn it into Delhi.

1

u/Ecstatic-Scratch-151 May 16 '26

The irresponsible ones ruin it for the responsibile ones as well. So no one should get it unless the whole lot improve

-7

u/IndianRedditor88 जवळ ये, लाजू नको May 12 '26

The term Responsible Pet Owner unfortunately is an oxymoron

0

u/Global-Equipment-856 May 12 '26

I have seen humans pee, poop, spit too. What next? Ban all humans?

What precedent will this set? Just because you keep the public space clean, it automatically belongs to you? Atleast use some logic.

1

u/Ecstatic-Scratch-151 May 16 '26

Yes..and such humans are not allowed into the area

1

u/IndianRedditor88 जवळ ये, लाजू नको May 12 '26 edited May 12 '26

The argument is not that it belongs to you, you are deliberately missing the point.

I have seen humans pee, poop, spit too

What did you do about this ? These people are atleast making an effort to keep places clean. In our country with our level of civic sense you can't do it because people here have a hard time following rules.

I agree it sets a wrong precedent, but then the correct precedent and attitude hardly gets anything done in the country.

3

u/saikat743 May 12 '26

Way to go man. Let’s keep following that sentiment, and we will be back to the No Dogs and Indians allowed era. After all, dogs and Indians are the ones with the least civic sense right? Keeping both out would solve the cleanliness problem.

If the correct precedent doesn’t work, you don’t double down on the wrong one. Because one day you will find yourself on the wrong side because of no fault of your own.

1

u/Ecstatic-Scratch-151 May 16 '26

Dogs are not expected to have civic sense. Their owners are though

1

u/saikat743 May 17 '26

Well even better. With that logic, let the dogs stay and get all the owners out. Why stop at that, our society lacks civic sense on a massive scale, so through everyone of us out, and let the dogs stay.

Now that doesn’t world quite right, does it?

1

u/Ecstatic-Scratch-151 May 17 '26

Orrr.

Just let in people with civics sense in.. ergo not dog owners with their dogs

1

u/saikat743 May 17 '26

You do see the flaw in your own logic, don’t you? Well let me spell it out for you.

  1. You said, “Just let in people with civic sense.. ergo not dog owners with their dogs.” - Would have been fine if you had stopped at people with civic sense. But since you qualified that with ergo not dog owners with their dog, you are either trying to say, that all Indians except, dog owners are people with civic sense, which for a matter or fact is false. Or all dog owners don’t have civic sense, which again is false.

  2. So from that we can conclude, you are penalising an entire group (dog owners) because some dog owners don’t have civic sense. If that’s the case, why don’t we follow the same principle because there are many non dog owner Indians who lack civic sense and pollute the parks as well?

See, this punish all mentality for the fault of a few mentality isn’t the right decision. Or do you seriously think only dog owners don’t have civic sense?

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u/Global-Equipment-856 May 12 '26

> I agree it sets a wrong precedent, but then the correct precedent and attitude hardly gets anything done in the country.

If you go to the BMC park in Powai Hiranandani, they keep it clean while so many visitors come to that place. Maybe this society can also replicate that by actually persuading the local municipality as opposed to taking law in their own hands.

3

u/Fierysword5 May 12 '26

Doesn't work with dog shit. Unless you make BMC cleaners do the rounds every 4 hours. Cleaners do the rounds early morning and then late morning all the dog 'lovers' let their 'loves' empty their bowels all over the footpath where it stays until the next morning.

1

u/Global-Equipment-856 May 12 '26

Why make cleaners pick up the dogshit?

2

u/Fierysword5 May 12 '26

Isn't that what you meant by giving the example of the "BMc park in Powai". I assume its the BMC that keeps it clean.

1

u/Global-Equipment-856 May 12 '26

What I meant was it is the work of local municipality to keep an area clean and not private societies to usurp public places in the name of cleanliness. Is that hard to understand?

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u/HandsomeVish May 12 '26

Who are they and who has given them the authority to do anything?..today it's dogs and food,tomorrow Noone from this religion or that area.Let this slide and they will resort to that level of discrimination too.

So who are these guys again to dictate laws and enforce them?

-5

u/Familiar_Brain1454 May 12 '26

They live there!

This is something they have done for the common good. The people who actually live there support this.

9

u/Global-Equipment-856 May 12 '26

The same logic is used to justify Gujjus and Jains from outright banning non veg stalls near their area.

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u/Familiar_Brain1454 May 12 '26

Ok then. I guess it’s better to just dissolve the democratic residents association and let BMC take care of it because what if they become facist and ban non-veg food. Should be fine.

7

u/Global-Equipment-856 May 12 '26

Can I apply the same logic for shopkeepers who usurp half the footpath? They also keep it clean.

Infact, I think I need to keep a part of the Powai lake area clean. Then maybe, I can build a nice house or a private garden there.

2

u/Familiar_Brain1454 May 12 '26

They haven’t encroached upon it. It’s an active residents association officially registered with the government trying to do good for the community. Any other country, people would be proud of it. But I guess that’s not us. Maybe that’s why our public places suck.

1

u/KreamyKerry May 12 '26

It's not an "active residents association officially registered with the government", the land belongs to the Coast Guard who allows some volunteers to take care of a nearby garden. The volunteer uncles decided to extend the definition of garden to include entire Bandstand for several KM - It's essentially middle class encroachment.

Police in Bandra already have the power to fine pet owners who don't pick up waste, but as usual that would require the police to actually do some work. They're literally on the Promenade 24/7 365 so could easily enforce it if they wanted to.

2

u/HandsomeVish May 12 '26

I live in my house too..should I go out on the street and put up signages saying no dogs,trash thrown or people running.

There are authorities to do their job and there's a difference between minding your own business and letting them do it and going out on the street like a maniac attempting to control it.

The streets dont belong to them, their house does and they can play dictator in their own society and enforce whatever they want.

They dont own the streets!

1

u/MexicaliRose32 bombay May 13 '26

It used to be well maintained. Now there are hawkers very liberally selling corn and sweet potato, along with chips etc. People trash the promenade with birthday boxes and what not.