Built in 1875, Sassoon Dock is among the oldest docks in Mumbai and a crucial part of Maharashtra’s seafood supply chain. It serves both domestic and export markets and supports nearly 10 lakh people — from fisherfolk and traders to packers and transporters.
However, the future of this bustling hub is now uncertain. The MPT has already evicted 15 tenants three months ago and is planning to lease the godowns to new occupants at revised, higher rents. The Port Trust claims that the current tenants have not been paying rent as per the ready reckoner rates, resulting in heavy revenue losses.
“We were assured that a three-party agreement would be made and that we would be a part of it. We were assured that we wouldn’t be evicted. MPT and the state government reached an agreement, but none of this happened,” said Krishna Pawle, President of the Sassoon Dock Masemari Bunder Bachao Kruti Samiti and Secretary of the Sassoon Dock Traders’ Association.
This dispute is not new. A similar tussle between the tenants, the Mumbai Port Trust, and the state government took place a decade ago, when a compromise was reportedly reached to safeguard the interests of traders. But traders allege that the promises made then never materialised.
The Port Trust maintains that many tenants have failed to pay rent for years and are unwilling to accept current market-linked rates. Traders, on the other hand, argue that paying commercial-grade rents is unaffordable — especially as the seafood export business has already been hit by the higher tariffs imposed by the United States.
The ongoing rent dispute has left hundreds of workers anxious about their future. Members of the indigenous Kolhi fishing community and daily-wage labourers say eviction would mean an immediate loss of income and threaten the survival of traditional livelihoods that have thrived at Sassoon Dock for nearly 150 years.
With no breakthrough in sight, traders and workers are now pinning their hopes on political intervention. They also want Sassoon Dock’s status as a heritage site — representing the city’s maritime legacy and the continuing contributions of the Kolhi community — to be recognised and protected.