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Narrowing of Kandivli drain will cause floods: Residents

Residents of Aarya Chanakya Nagar in Kandivli accuse developers of Kalpataru Towers of reducing nallah width to construct a parking lot.

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With monsoon around the corner, residents of Aarya Chanakya Nagar in Kandivli allege that the thinning of the 20-meter-wide drain in the area to construct a parking lot by the developers of Kalpataru Towers, a group of high-rises allegedly situated on defence land, may lead to floods. They say they have approached the civic authorities and the chief minister’s office (CMO) to complain about the width being reduced to six metres, but to no avail.

“We have repeatedly informed the civic authorities but it has fallen on deaf ears. One heavy spell and the entire area might get flooded,” said Mandar Ranade, a resident of Chanakya Nagar. “How did the BMC allow construction of the parking area on the nullah? It’s ridiculous,” said resident Mandar Velankar.

The locality and its adjoining slums of Durga Nagar and Jai Ambe Niwas, which are densely populated, are a low lying area and were severely affected during the 2005 deluge, when many families had to flee their homes to safety. “Since the last few monsoons, there was no emergency as there wasn’t very heavy rainfall. But if it happens this time, thousands of lives will be at stake because of the thinning of the nullah,” said Sanjay Nirupam, MP, who claims to have taken the matter up with the CMO.

Mufatraj Munot, chairman of Kalpataru Developers, was not available for comment. A company spokesperson said on Friday, “Kalpataru has trained the nullah according to the specifications of the BMC. The company has not violated any rule.” He added that the building is not built on the defence land.

When contacted, Sanjog Kabre, assistant municipal commissioner, said, “I am not aware of this as the permission for such works is given by the storm water drain department and the building proposal department.” Laxaman Vatkar, chief engineer, storm water drain department, declined to comment as he wasn’t well-versed with the facts.

The residents allege that the developer has closed one of the three outlets for drain water, which may cause a bottleneck during heavy rains, leading to flooding. The nullah originates at Borivli’s hills and merges with the nullah in Poisar.

Kalpataru Towers, a 31-storey building near the Western Express Highway in Kandivli, has been in the eye of a storm after allegations surfaced that it was built on defence land, and that permission was reportedly not taken from the authorities. The authorities allege that the building overlooks the high-security Central Ordinance Depot, and is a security hazard.

Southern army commander Lt Gen Pradeep Khanna, who reportedly conducted a preliminary inquiry into the alleged scam, found the involvement of many senior army officials, a few of whom are also accused in the Adarsh society fraud. General VK Singh, the army chief, is conducting an internal probe into the matter.

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