Mumbai: The residents of Campa Cola society of Mumbai are fighting with the civic teams who have arrived to complex to disconnect water, gas and power supply of illegal floors.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials on Friday faced huge protests from hundreds of residents of the Campa Cola Society when they arrived here to begin the eviction of illegal flats, which are to be demolished as per the Supreme Court order.
According to reports, the residents have formed a human chain to block the BMC officials from the entering the society. They even shouted anti-BMC slogans and pleaded them to go back.
Women have formed the first line of defence in a human barricade to physically block police and civic officials.
Opposition leaders have also arrived to join the protest. “Why single out Campa Cola when there are thousands of illegal buildings in Mumbai? The government is not responsive,” said the BJP’s Shaina NC, targeting Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
Families that own the 100-odd illegal flats say they will do anything to stop police and the civic officials from entering the compound, just as they did during the last confrontation in November last year. They accuse the government of going soft on the builders who constructed the flats in violation of rules.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC, however, says it does not want to use force. It will film the proceedings and if there is violence, the civic agency plans to submit the footage to the Supreme Court.
A BMC official Anil Waghralkar said, “We request residents to cooperate. These are Supreme Court orders.”
Earlier, additional municipal commissioner Mohan Adtani said, “We will be video-recording the entire demolition process, which we will carry out from June 20, so that it can be used as proof against residents in the Supreme Court if they stop us from performing our duties.”
Meanwhile large numbers of policemen have been deployed to ensure the BMC officials execute their work peacefully. The BMC officials have placed two JCB machines outside the Campa Cola Compound.
In June last year, the Supreme Court had ordered families occupying the illegal flats to vacate the building by May 31. Their deadline to hand over the keys ended on June 12, but the residents threatened to pitch tents in the complex and live there.
A resident said, “These people are going to come will destructive instruments. We don’t even have a kitchen knife, they will come with hammers, lathis…We are completely unarmed citizens. I do not know where we are going to stay.”
Seven buildings of Campa Cola Housing Society in south Mumbai were constructed between 1981 and 1989. The builders had permission for only six floors, but one of the buildings ‘Midtown’, has 20 floors and another ‘Orchid’ 17.
Bureau Report
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