Mumbai: For CM Shinde’s men, deep cleaning and defacing go hand-in-hand

A giant banner gate welcoming Shinde Sena MLA to Hiranandani Gardens, Powai on Thursday

It seems that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's party members are dead set against realising his dream of a spotless Mumbai. A profusion of garish banners featuring his faction's leaders was seen on Thursday at two spots picked out for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's ambitious deep cleaning drive.

On December 31, mid-day visited seven of the 10 spots where the civic body kicked off the drive in Shinde's presence. The BMC has successfully managed to keep three spots - Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo, Sadakant Dhavan Maidan in Naigaon and the Shiv Shrushti area of Kurla West - free of illegal hoardings. However, at Hiranandani Gardens, 14 illegal banners were found, and except for three, all featured MLA Dilip Lande, a member of the Shinde Sena. Also, two banner gates had been erected right on the road welcoming Shinde to the township.

A Shiv Sena (UBT) poster at the eastern end of Bandra station. Pics/Prasun Choudhari

At Thakur Village in Kandivali East, mid-day found that three of nine illegal hoardings that had been set up belonged to the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena while two belonged to the Shiv Sena (UBT) and one each to the BJP, NCP, Congress and MNS. At Bangur Nagar, Goregoan, an illegal BJP and Congress banner was seen.

The cleaning drive has begun on the west side of Bandra station, and when mid-day visited the site, no banner was found. However, in the east, there was a Sena (UBT) poster. While this reporter tried to photograph the banner, a resident tried to stop him.

Before the start of the drive, civic chief I S Chahal held a meeting with BMC officials where he ordered that illegal banners be removed. On September 1, 2023, Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde also ordered ward officers to act against the menace. Meanwhile, Lande told mid-day he had taken permission to erect the banner gate from the BMC.

Activist Speak

Civic activist Godfrey Pimenta told mid-day, "Why can't the BMC take concrete action? They only come and remove the banners and hoardings. While the civic body is spending crores of rupees on beautifying the city, these banners are creating a mess." Mandeep Singh Makkar, the founder of the Chandivli Citizens Welfare Association, said Mumbai was being defaced by political banners and hoardings of politicians.

Banners of various political parties at Thakur Village in Kandivli on Thursday

"On the one hand, the CM has announced the deep cleaning of Mumbai but on the other, his party's MLA is defacing Hiranandani with huge hoardings and blocking footpaths by installing permanent iron structures. Lawmakers are violating the law. Traffic signals at the junction of DP Road 9 and Powai are covered with hoardings. A huge iron structure has been put up by the MLA with pictures of himself and the chief minister on the footpaths and divider of Hiranandani. We request the CM to ask his party members to stop defacing Mumbai by putting up hoardings and banners," he said.

14
No of illegal banners at Hiranandani