Following stiff resistance from locals and threats of blocking the road, Bandra police requests civic body to stop the drive
The H-East ward office of the BMC demolished illegal second and third floor of 13 structures, 6 stalls and 25 re-erected illegal structures in Bandra East near ticket window just outside railway station.
However, following stiff resistance from residents of Garib Nagar, police requested the civic staff to stop the demolition. Following this, the assistant commissioner gave seven days time to other illegal structures to demolish it on their on or face the music. On Wednesday, assistant commissioner Prashant Gaikwad led the demolition squad and started razing the illegal structures that were given 48 hours notice.
These structures were touching the skywalk of the railway station. Civic sources said that when the demolition squad reached, it noticed that at least 10 of the structures were given to garment manufacturing units on rent. Others were given on rent for residential purposes. Rent of these structures are very high. Few of the residents did request the assistant commissioner not to demolish their homes as it was monsoon, however, the civic officials clarified that it was an on going drive and have nothing to do with monsoon. Also saving second and third floors was too much to ask for. While there was nothing that residents could do to stop the demolition, few of them rushed to the mosque in the vicinity of Garib Nagar and appealed everyone to gather immediately through speaker of the mosque.
This prompted the residents of Garib Nagar to come out and stop the demolition. All of them gathered near the site and threatened the civic staff to stop the action or they will stop the traffic completely outside station road by blocking it indefinitely. "Police staff present at the site at that time requested us to stop the demolition as the situation was tense. However, we have asked the owners of illegal structures to demolish it on their on within seven days or face the hammer," said Gaikwad.
A resident of Bandra East said that this was seventh demolition drive in the past five-six month by the BMC. Five time demolition drive was taken at Behrampada in same area and now it was conducted at Garib Nagar.
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 "Garib Nagar demolition Abhinav P Kocharekar")
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