“South Mumbai is often known as the residence of riches. Yet in the same location, the only sand beach called ‘Dadar Chowpatty’ was dirty and filthy till early 2013, But now it is one of the most frequented beaches with a beautiful elevated view deck.”
Since 2016, things seem to have improved a little with Swachh Bharat Abhiyan activities. Upon audit and reports from leading news media like the Hindustan Times and other NGOs and activists, it may soon see some good light that may attract more visitors to this unsafe beach.
This Chowpatty beach is a small, less crowded, rocky beach with little sand around. People come here to enjoy the silence, breeze, sunset view, and giant view of the Bandra Worli Sea Link bridge. Dadar The beach is scenic, with a couple of attractions frequently visited by locals, and is walkable distance from Shivaji Park.
Let’s understand the near and arounds of this lonely sandy beach in Mumbai, located near Shivaji Park and Chaityabhoomi locations in Dadar West. Learn more about renovation, beautification, and facelifts planned beginning this year, 2015, and more.
Beach Location
Reaching Dadar Beach is simple, as it is located in the extreme West at about 20 minutes walking distance from the railway station. Get down from the station and walk straight on Ranade Road towards Gokhale Road, and you will get a circle junction. Walk straight towards Veer Savarkar Road, and once you reach the Veer Savarkar Road crossing, you can see the beach entrance connected to Chaityabhoomi.
The beach has two entrances, one from the south and the other from the north. The north-side location is safer to enter in the late evenings as there is a lamppost from ‘Veer Baji Prabhu Udyan’, a garden connected to the beach. Also to note that this beach is not visitor friendly and clean; the seashore is stinky with litter, So visiting it before sunset is preferred, especially for girls and women, even if it’s not isolated and has a police presence around. Yes, and an awesome view of Bandra Worli Sea Link is available with those soothing seashore water sounds that hit the rocks.
Beach Safety
No, unlike Juhu Chowpatty and Girgaon beach, this is not a safe beach when it comes to swimming at sandy shore as there are not alerts or board signs about high or low tides and other dangers and precautions to be taken care of.
As said, there is only one lamppost, so there is a lack of proper lighting and illumination here, which attracts smokers and drinkers, as seen by locals who frequently visit here. The rocky entrance on the south side of the beach is the only place to sit, which is mostly occupied by a group of males. People are found staring at girls, which makes this attraction unsafe for women. There is no lifeguard or proper police patrolling the beach.
Although a police chowky is present in the area. It is said that lighting is put on only during the major two festivals, which are Ganesh Visarjan days and Ambedkar Jayanti. No CCTV makes this beach more vulnerable for illegal activities, and if something happens, one cannot get caught easily.
Beachside Facilities
This is no place for safety, as said; there is no CCTV, no lifeguards, and a low police presence here. Day by day, the garbage is washed towards the seashore; there is no dustbin except one at the entrance, always filled with plastic bottles, old garlands, etc. Also as Mahim Creek is close to this beach, and waste like coconuts, incense sticks, flowers, garlands, plastic wrappers, and other waste that goes to sea is thrown back to this beach.
If you think of relaxing on this beach, then it is not possible, as no proper seating is available except on the rocks, which are not comfortable and family-friendly. People are seen smoking and drinking liquor and smartly hiding it when someone is around. No timing restrictions for such beaches or sign boards of any kind were found. Nature call? Head to the beach-view deck area, where public toilet facilities are available.
On the north side of the beach, some refreshment can be found, like Bhelpuri Wala and Chaat Corner, along with horseback riding options. Parking is available, but at the roadside entrance, which is not a dedicated parking for the beach.
Promenade Renovation and Beautification
See Also: The latest viewing deck at this beach.
This beach, being one of the only recreation options for residents of this area here at Dadar West after the famous open ground of Shivaji Park, still lacks a lot in terms of facelift, beautification (Apart from Viewing deck), security, and the feel-good factor to enjoy the nature gift at this promenade.
The already-passed project of renovating chowpatty In a planned manner, with lots of funds poured into the project by BMC, local MLAs, and others if any, this place has started initial work as MMB (Maharashtra Maritime Board) lays the tetrapods, which save beach sand, soil erosion, and high tide-related problems, etc.
Although currently local residents and most of those having sea views are unhappy with the said unplanned tetrapod installation work, few say it is needed, and few say it is blocking the beautiful view for which they pay such a huge amount. This adds to creating an insecure feeling as anti-social elements use such stones for activities.
One of the major problems with the same is that this beach is heavily used during Ganesh Visarjan, Chhat Pooja, and such festivals apart from regular citizen visits, and no provision has been made for routing crowds as these tetrapods seem to be a major hurdle during such upcoming events.
Apart from BMC, there are Local residents, MLAs, groups, and activists behind the support and planning of this facelift and beautification of the beach area. Active groups like Motley, which have been trying hard for a few years now to convince the government to get the plans on the books and reserve funds for such required renovations,
After such a long try, finally, as the work has begun with properly planned and designed layouts by architects and engineering groups like Exigo, the stretch between Chowpatty promenade starting at Chaitanya Bhoomi till Mahim Fort, which is about 2 kilometres in length, has a ray of hope now and is waiting for the new view to be seen in real life as planned.
The actual renovation will take off anytime this year, starting in 2015, and the tetrapods installation, which is done, is just a glimpse of the new and beautiful-looking Dadar’s own Chowpatty Beach.
Locations to get a facelift are Chowpatty Beach and Kirti College locations, all towards Mahim Fort, with proper nodes planned and to be set up. A few changes for Mahim Creek have also been planned, as it takes in all city waste, and this promenade is very close to it. Yet, as of today, no proper information about the same is available.
The footfalls at this promenade after the renovation is done will see small children playing locations, seating and walking areas for the elderly, a special walking and jogging zone, proper garbage facilities with clean and usable wash rooms, cycling tracks, nice-looking flower and show plans to be placed in the area, along with newly planted palm trees, and some beautification artworks via painting and using natural real resources like fishing nets and boats, which keep the seafront looking natural.
Proper seating and resting points with shades are also planned, which citizens will surely like and will be helpful during monsoon seasons for everyone to benefit from. Floor work and paving will be specially designed so that they will not be slippery during the rainy season, look elegant, and be tough enough to withstand the high, tight waves. Granite and basalt blocks will be used at these locations. For the safety and security of citizens, especially women and girls hanging out alone, proper guards and police patrolling are expected, along with enlightening solar lights and stands.
Other Places to See Near by this Chowpatty
- Bandra Worli Sea Link
- Dadar Market, Near Station
- Worli Seaface
- Worli Koliwada
- Shivaji Park Garden (Just an Open Public Garden and Nothing more).
- Famous Siddhivinayak Temple at Prabhadevi.
- Bandra Reclamation (15 mins in Taxi from Beach).
- See Also other beaches in Mumbai with Maps, Addresses, Specialities, Pictures which is all for best and Safe beaches in Mumbai.
See More in Beaches Attractions Travel Guide
