Colaba residents win back garden

The residents of First Pasta Lane fought hard and when the time came to celebrate the victory it was done with a lot of fanfare as they inaugurated recreation ground, known as the BMC garden  on Friday.

The residents had to fight to acquire the garden for nearly four years. The garden, measuring 9,207 sq ft, was inaugurated by Milind Deora.

The three plots on which the garden now exists were acquired by the BMC in 1974. The plots were encroached upon by Kailash Parbat, a prominent Colaba eatery which had a kitchen there and also a godown and a garage. The residents first made an attempt to remove the illegal structures 24 years ago but there was no response from the authorities.

It was only in 2007 that the new generation revived the fight after a fire broke out. “We got to know through RTI that the BMC had acquired these plots to be used as a recreation ground,” said Rohit Kapoor, treasurer, FPLRA.

At first, the association and their lawyers made nearly 200 appearances in court. “Our first absolute victory was when we got possession of two plots in 2010,” said Vijay Advani.

Residents who used it for the first time said that the garden meant a lot to the area.