Girgaum Chowpatty

Girgaon Chaupati' (Marathi:गिरगाव चौपाटी), commonly known as Chaupati (pronounced 'chow-patty'), is one of the best known public beaches adjoining Marine Drive in the Girgaon area of Mumbai, India. The beach is noted for its Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations when thousands of people from all over Mumbai come to immerse the idols of Lord Ganapati in the Arabian Sea. It is also one of the many places in the city where the Ramlila is performed on a stage every year. An effigy of Ravan erected on the sand is burnt by the end of the 10-day performance. One can find several bhelpuri, panipuri, ragda patties and pav bhaji vendors on the beach.

On the road running along the beach, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 attacks, Ajmal Kasab, was caught and arrested. A bronze statue of Tukaram Omble, the policeman who helped arrest Kasab, was erected on 26 November 2011.

Etymology

Chowpatty is really Chau-pati (four channels or four creeks) as per (Bombay City Gazetteer, I. 27). This name is analogous to that of Satpaty, a village in the Mahim Taluka of the Thane District, which is approached through a Channel or Creek, containing seven divisions of water.

Pollution

The water surrounding the beach is heavily polluted, and swimming should be avoided. Fecal coliform was recorded in the water in 2013 at levels of 1455 per 100 mL, far above the acceptable standard of 500 per 100 mL. The presence of fecal coliform in the water has been attributed to waste from storm drains, open defecation, and the discharge of raw sewage from sewer pipes not connected to the city mains.