Shiv Sena will have to let Army march past at Shivaji Park

Municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte finally has a valid reason to remove the makeshift structure at the cremation site of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. If the Armed Forces are to celebrate Vijay Diwas like they do every year on December 16, then the BMC will have to clear the ground before December 12, including the structure that has been closely guarded by Shiv Sainiks.

A defence official said that as per a High Court order, the ground will have to be handed over to the Armed Forces on December 12 officially as the rehearsals will be on December 13 and 14. He said that the army will have to take over Shivaji Park for the next one week to make preparations. Army officers visited Shivaji Park on Saturday morning.

“We will have to take charge of the ground on December 12, and we will need the entire ground to be empty,” said the official.

When asked about the makeshift structure at the site, the defence official confirmed that the correspondence with the civic body has been done and that the civic administration has agreed to do the needful.

Meanwhile, top civic officials met Satyapal Singh, commissioner of police, late Saturday evening over the temporary structure at Shivaji Park, say sources. More reports, p2