Residents live on razor’s edge

Come December 6, residents of Shivaji Park in Central Dadar press the panic button. Many alter their work and daily schedules, beef up security in buildings, inform schools that their children will remain absent, and literally barricade themselves inside their homes with heavy-duty locks.

Life comes to a standstill here once lakhs of followers of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar pour onto Chaityabhoomi to pay their respects on his death anniversary.

For the past decade, it has acquired the status of a pilgrimage centre for the Dalit community.

Post-Khairlanji and the subsequent riots throughout Maharashtra, this year’s gathering is expected to attract over 20 lakh Dalits from all over the country. The number is expected to rise even further since it is Dr Ambedkar’s 50th death anniversary.

As the numbers swell, heart beats of Shivaji Park residents will also quicken in anticipation of the “gross” inconvenience caused during the following days.

Prakash Sadarjoshi, a resident of Hari Nivas Building who has been living in the area for the past 40 years, says, “It is only in the last decade that their numbers have increased. Earlier, people used to flock to the area, but they were more disciplined. Shivaji Park becomes completely paralysed during this period.”

Unlike previous years, this time too a huge shamiana has been erected at the Shivaji Park grounds to house the teeming lakhs. Colleges and other places have been rented to accommodate the devotees, says Bhadant Sanghpal, in-charge of Chaityabhoomi.

A majority of hotels and restaurants have decided to down shutters on December 6.

According to a hotel manager, “The crowd is unruly. We expect more trouble this year as the situation is explosive. We will shut down the hotel that day.” 

Neeta Godbole, who lives close to the venue, is one of the “worst affected”. As proprietor of Neeta Godbole Classes, she decries the noise and air pollution. “Politics is responsible for the increasing numbers,” she says.

“There is loud music at night, people barge into buildings and dirty them, bathe in the open on the footpaths, throw food around and make life miserable for us. We cannot go out or take our cars out for fear of hitting someone. We are under house arrest all day.”

According to Godbole, parents of her pupils hound her to suspend classes during this time. “We are really tired of the whole thing,” she says. “Why can’t they do something about it?” The Bal Mohan Vidyalaya has declared a three-day holiday until December 7.

Hemant Kulkarni, a resident of Navalkar Building on the road to Chaityabhoomi, has been taking leave on December 6 for the past few years. “The traffic is a nightmare and it is impossible to reach Dadar station or even travel in trains,” he says.

Bhadant Nagsenji Therav, a priest at Chaityabhoomi, expects 30 lakh devotees this year.

“Last year, about 25 lakh visited, and this year the numbers will be much more,” he says.