19 February,2016 07:22 AM IST | | Faisal Tandel
A few days after the demolition, a new bus stop turned up just a few feet away; local resident alleges the sweet shop owners did it to improve the store's visibility
Bus stops
A few days ago, residents of a Mumbra neighbourhood woke up to find the local bus stop had been demolished and two trees had been brutally trimmed. Yesterday, a new bus stop turned up just a few feet away from the spot and only one thing had changed - it was no longer standing in front of a sweet shop. The shop belongs to the well-known chain called Ajwa Sweets, and will be launched in a week.
The old bus stop was partially obscuring the soon-to-be launched sweet shop, but a few days later, it was replaced by a new bus stop just a few feet away blocking the way of a residential building. Pic/Sameer Markande
One of the local residents has alleged that it was the shop owners who had the Thane Municipal Transport bus stop demolished and the trees trimmed because they were obscuring the store. He alleged that he had complained several times to the authorities but they had turned a deaf ear to him.
The sweet shop is situated on the ground floor of Nausheen Plaza in Kausa and the stop used to stand right in front of it. When mid-day visited the spot, a brand new bus stop had been installed just a few feet away, where it now stands in front of an alleyway, blocking the path of residents of Nausheen Plaza residential society.
Parvez Farmer (42), who has been residing in Kausa since his childhood claims that the bus stop was over three decades old and he had tried to warn the authorities about the demolition.
"The bus stop was installed when Thane Municipal Transport started services in Mumbra. I had heard that a new sweet shop was going to be opened behind the bus stop and that they were going to demolish it. I complained to the municipal authorities, but they ignored me," he said.
He added, "Three days ago, the shop owners demolished the stop and also trimmed two trees at night. I tried to stop them, but they told me they had permission from the authorities. The next day, a PWD official visited the spot and told them it was illegal, but he too left without taking any action."
Farmer said he intends to file a Right to Information application for more details about the demolition. "I will ask the authorities whether the scrap from the bus stop was handed over to them or sold. I also want to know whether there was permission for the demolition work," he added.
This reporter met Faiyaz Sahibole, a relative of one of the sweet shop's owners, as he was outside the store, supervising the work there. However, when he was asked about the demolition, he refused to comment. Repeated efforts to talk to the owners of the store did not meet any response.
Officialspeak
Inspite of repeated calls to Assistant Municipal Commissioner (Kausa division) Dayanand Gore, he was unavailable for comment, but NCP corporator (ward 63) Siraj Dongare confirmed said, "I am aware that someone has complained about the demolition of the bus stop. I was busy in the standing committee meeting for the last two days. I will have a look into the matter," he said.
Sandeep Malvi, Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Mumbra and PRO for Thane Municipal Corporation said, "We are preparing a new model for bus stops and installed the new bus stop on a temporary basis."
