Residents of Dahanu are up in arms against a builder, who they claim has illegally encroached upon the 14 feet deep Kankradi river, popularly known as the Kankradi creek, putting the region at the risk of a deluge-like situation during the monsoon
Builder Minu Irani has already reclaimed 15 to 20 metres of Kankradi creek's river bank
Residents of Dahanu are up in arms against a builder, who they claim has illegally encroached upon the 14 feet deep Kankradi river, popularly known as the Kankradi creek, putting the region at the risk of a deluge-like situation during the monsoon.
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With the monsoon barely half a year away, residents and NGOs in Dahanu recently got the municipal council to intervene and stop builder Minu Irani from reclaiming the creek for construction of a building. According to residents, for years, the Kankradi creek, which is located in Ambawadi off Irani Road, has played the role of a reservoir as it collects and stores rainwater. However, they claimed that the rampant illegal construction and reclaiming of the water body has put Dahanu at risk, especially during the monsoon.
“Since the past four years we have been protesting against the encroachment, but the officials at municipal council have repeatedly disregarded our complaints. The officers in the municipal council claimed that they hadn’t given builder any kind of permission, but Irani says that the creek is under his name,” said resident Vijay Parekh, who lives in Anand Sagar Society, which is a stone’s throw away from the creek.
According to residents, of late, Irani has started carrying out construction 15 to 20 metres into the riverbank. “He is not a builder, he is a farmer, who pads up rivers, forges documents, and sells it off to others. There are four other parties involved, who through their contacts have been illegally reclaiming rivers and making buildings,” alleged Vijay.
Apart from residents of Anand Sagar, those living in the societies of Anand Mangal, Vaikunth and Rustom Baug have also upped pressure on the municipal council, forcing authorities to temporary stall construction.
Narendra Patel from the NGO Society for fast Justice, who has joined the agitating residents, said, “In 2014, following a meeting, the collector had asked the municipality to prepare a report on how the builder got permission to encroach the river. But, no report has been made yet.”
The area's corporator says if the river keeps getting encroached, houses will collapse and many people will die
When contacted, Dahanu Municipal Council’s Chief Officer Vinod Dawle said he wasn’t the right person to answer the question and directed us to engineer Tukarambhai Bari. “Investigations are still going on. Action will be taken soon,” Bari said.
Saeed Sheikh, corporator of the area, has promised swift investigations. “This is one of the most important rivers of Dahanu. If it keeps getting encroached, houses will collapse and people will die every year. We have written to the CM about the rampant encroachment.”
In response to the allegations, Minoo Irani said, "I am a horticulturist by profession and I manage my chikoo orchards. It so happens that my chikoo orchards adjoining the Kankradi creek get flooded every monsoon and the land gets eroded, exposing my chikoo and coconut trees, and also the road interconnecting my farm gets flooded. Therefore, in 2013 with the permission of the Dahanu Municipal administration, I had constructed a retaining wall to save my agriculture land from getting washed further and not for any other purpose."
This article was updated on December 23, 2018
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