‘Builder has gobbled up our shopping centre entrance in Kandivli’

Shopkeepers at Rughani Arcade say the stall has completely blocked the entrance. Pics/Anurag Ahire

The members of a shopping centre in Kandivli are up in arms against the builder for allegedly blocking the entrance to the arcade by renting out the space to a shopkeeper. They said the BMC had demolished a structure at Rughani Arcade on Mathudas Road last month on their complaint, but the shopkeeper again set up a stall after five to six days.

The ground-plus-one Rughani Arcade, built by Tribhuvan Rughani Raghuvanshi of Raghuvanshi Developers, has 56 shops. Raghuvanshi was in the news in November 2021 over a fire at Hansa Heritage society in Kandivli that left two dead. Raghuvanshi, whose company constructed the building, was booked prompting him to seek anticipatory bail.

The shop owners said the arcade will become a deathtrap in case of a fire as firefighters won't be able to bring in their equipment inside due to the blocked entrance. The stall at the entrance of Rughani Arcade has been made of bamboos and polythene sheets is filled with household goods like buckets, mops and brooms.

In December, the shopkeepers had filed a non-cognisable complaint against the stall owner Ashveshwar Gupta after he built a permanent structure at the entrance. In their complaint, they had named Raghuvanshi, 84, of violating norms and letting Gupta use the space.

Nimesh Joshi, the secretary of the arcade, said, "For many years, builder Raghuvanshi has blocked the main gate of our shopping centre and rented out the space. Only the exit gate is now available for people to access the arcade." Joshi said after they complained to the BMC on December 8, civic officials razed the illegal structure on December 30. "Shockingly, 4-5 days after the demolition, the shopkeeper erected another solid structure with bamboos. We again complained to the BMC, but no action has been taken yet."

Shopkeeper Varsha Khare, a committee member of the shopping centre, said, "Builder Raghuvanshi has not handed over the society to us and due to this we have not been able to renovate it. The building is dilapidated and a tragedy can strike any time. The stall at the main gate should be demolished immediately and the police should also arrest the encroachers."

Another committee member, Pradnya Bandiwadekar, said, "Most of our customers are women and children. In case of a fire, the fire brigade will not be able to enter the arcade." Gupta told mid-day, "Raghuvanshi has given this space to me on rent. I have not encroached on this place. You can speak to him."

Raghuvanshi sought to wash his hand of the matter saying, "I am not involved in this. The society members have encroached space. I have told them to take a consent letter from me but they are not ready to do it. I didn't give this place on rent to anyone." When we asked Gupta's claim that he has been paying rent, Raghuvanshi didn't have an answer. Assistant Municipal Commissioner Sandhya Nandedkar of R-South ward didn't respond to calls and messages from mid-day.

56
No. of shops at Rughani Arcade in Kandivli