May actions speak louder in Mahim society case

Staffers of the scrap shop sit along with junk. Pics/Shadab Khan

Residents of a Mahim Housing Society claim they have been troubled by a scrap dealer who has allegedly encroached on a pavement and some part of the society's land. They stated, in a report in this paper, that the dealer has not been evicted despite a High Court order. They say police action does take place at times, but inevitably he is back. The dealer accused the Society of false claims about encroachment and stated that the matter is sub-judice.

While the finger pointing is on, we have to see how pavements are being captured, leaving residents with no option but to take roads on their way home. Material is being broken for scrap and worst of all, perhaps, is what residents claim defecation taking place behind vehicles to take the junk. This means there is no hygiene and obviously a stink all around, making conditions unbearable. They claim that refrigerators and steel cupboards are being broken on the pavement.

The scrap dealer has refuted all allegations but this needs investigation and if true, some action. If the matter is sub-judice, at least some of these problematic issues like the lack of hygiene and breaking material outside the gate of the society can be tackled at once. The BMC needs to take heed of this and see what they can do to ameliorate problems for the residents.

We can also safely vouch for the fact that this is not an isolated case. There have been some who set up stalls literally outside at the gates of residential areas, stealthily expanding their trade till large swathes of the pavement are occupied and building residents are put to utmost hardship but they can simply not be evicted.

Public spaces, pavements are steadily encroached and complaints are in vain. All those proclamations of making Mumbai pedestrian friendly are in vain when space is taken away right outside buildings. Let actions speak, not just words.