The BMC’s attempts to keep Mumbai clean don’t seem to be going down too well with the high and mighty.
MUMBAI: The BMC’s attempts to keep Mumbai clean don’t seem to be going down too well with the high and mighty. The altercation with columnist Tavleen Singh, which DNA reported yesterday, was not the first time a well-known individual resisted the new cleanliness rules.
On Thursday, Singh was fined for not cleaning up her dog’s poo from Marine Drive. When she refused to pay, BMC officials lodged a complaint against her. Singh said she was taking a deliberate stand against an inadequate and lopsided rule.
Officials say this was the third time in a month and a half since the new rules came into effect that a high-profile citizen had resisted paying the fine for dirtying Marine Drive.
One such incident took place on November 26. Raj Purohit, BJP legislator from Mumbadevi, allegedly kicked civic employee Sandeep Ramji in the groin.
Ramji’s fault? He tried to stop Purohit and his supporters from feeding pigeons on Marine Drive. Ramji was admitted to GT Hospital and a police complaint was filed against Purohit and others.
“When I reached the spot the labourer was visibly hurt and terrified,” said RY Kamble, a BMC supervisor. “I explained to Purohit that even if he had problems with the law there was no need for him to resort to such means. I later took Ramji to hospital.”
Purohit denied having ‘manhandled’ any BMC employee. He said he only tried to tell officials that bird-feeding is a religious and sentimental issue for the people.
In another incident at the same spot on November 24, two citizens manhandled civic staff when they were not allowed to feed stray dogs.
But these cases have not deterred the civic body from its intention to fine all offenders. Additional Municipal Commissioner RA Rajeev said that there is a need to implement the rule rigorously, especially in south Mumbai. “It is here that we spent a large portion of our budgetary funds and so obviously we will have to give extra attention to this area. Nobody is bigger than the law,” he said.
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