Thanekar pleads to vacate DDR office soon

While the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has warned police action against those who interfere with the vacation of dangerous buildings, a Thanekar says that one building which needs to be immediately vacated is the office of Deputy District Registrar of Cooperative Societies near Thane station road. He has taken up the matter with the PWD minister and other authorities.

The deputy registrar's office at Vardavat mansion in Thane (west) is frequented by a lot people on a daily basis. There are over 10,000 societies in Thane and this is the office where they have to visit to get their queries addressed. However, this building has been declared as dangerous by the TMC. A notice announcing that the structure can fall any time has also been put up in the building.

"Yet, no action has been taken by the TMC or anybody to vacate this building," said Dayanand Nene, president, Alert Citizens Forum, Thane. "The condition of the building is so dangerous, one fears that some day it may lead to a big accident and tragedy," he added.

In a letter to PWD minister Eknath Shinde, minister of cooperatives Chandrakant Patil, the TMC commissioner and others, Nene said: "In the interest of senior government officials whose offices are in the building and thousands of people who frequent it for work, immediately shift the DDR office to a building which is safe and sound before tragedy strikes."

TMC officials were unavailable for comments.