By: Prasad Patil www.chalomumbai.com May 2,2002The new JJ flyover
runs so close to the Kasam Brothers' Building on Mohammedali Road
that you can jump from it into Faisal Kadar's flat on the second
floor. "In the afternoon, I was standing in the balcony. A boy
passing by asked me to throw him a rope. He said he wanted to come
into our house," Faisal says.

He adds, "Jokes apart, we have become very cautious. People on the
bridge can see very clearly into our house. We have no option, but to
close the balconies. The windows have to be shut all the time, which
means no air or sunlight. We are seriously thinking of installing air-
conditioners."

The four-lane, 2.4-kilometre flyover, which extends from Sir J J
Hospital in Byculla to Crawford Market near CST, was opened to
traffic on Wednesday.

From now on, Faisal and his family will have to get used to
commuters, and dust. "Previously, we cleaned the house twice in a
day. After the flyover work started, we kept cleaning all day. Today,
we have cleaned the house thrice so far."

His father, Abdul Kadar, called a civil contractor earlier this week
to get an estimate for the new windows to be installed in all four
balconies. "For one balcony, the estimate is Rs 40,000. That too if
we go for the cheapest variety. If we go for a better quality
product, we have to shell out more than Rs 50,000 per balcony,"
Faisal says

Life was not easy for Faisal and his family before, because of
traffic jams in the area. Now, it looks like it will be worse. "We
used to feel as if we were staying near a highway. Now it feels like
living near an airport," he says

He muses, "The flyover was built as it was necessary. Now we have to
learn to live with it."