Mumbai: Footpath stalls served eviction notice, to get another site

The Mafco outlet in Worli, which will have to go

BMC's Coastal Road project is going to involve the widening of the Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Road at the Worli sea face. And it is for this that three stalls - two Aarey Milk centres and one Mafco outlet will have to be demolished, the stall owners have been told.

After mid-day reported on Monday about the shops getting eviction notices, the civic body collected the paperwork from the shopkeepers for verification and promised them that they will get another space to run their shops from if their papers are genuine.

One of two Aarey Milk centres to be demolished at Worli sea face

During a meeting held with the owners of the two Aarey Sarita milk centres and the Mafco outlet, officers revealed that they want to widen the road for which the shops will have to be demolished.

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'Wrong to issue notice'

Vilas Sawant, who runs one of the Aarey Milk centres, said, "The BMC gave us the shocking notice and told us to vacate in seven days. The officer we met on Monday said that their notices were a procedure they were following to check the authenticity of shops. They said they want to widen the road. They are willing to give us an alternative space and we are ready to move too. But threatening us by calling our shops illegal is wrong."

"The BMC should have approached us with the road widening issue. Without any verification how can they say the three outlets are illegal?," Sawant added.

Vilas Sawant, owner, Aarey Milk centres

Amit Pawaskar, owner of the other Aarey Milk centre, said, "We too have submitted the authenticity of our decades-old shops which is the income source for our family."

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The meeting was held with the chief engineer of the maintenance department of the BMC's G South ward. The officer told shopkeepers that BMC will have more meetings with the Worli Dairy authorities.

G South ward's assistant commissioner Sharad Ughade did not respond to mid-day's calls and messages.

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