FPJ Campaign: Neerja Bhanot Chowk Plaque Goes Missing In Mumbai's Ghatkopar East, Corporator Pravin Chheda Promises Swift Action

Mumbai, Feb 24: Senior corporator Pravin Chheda has assured FPJ that he will personally ensure that the name board of “Neerja Bhanot Chowk" in Ghatkopar (East) is restored on a “top priority basis."

He was reacting to a photo caption story in the FPJ edition dated February 24 in which we had highlighted the fact that the name board of the chowk named after Neerja Bhanot, the brave air hostess of Pan Am Airlines who was gunned down by hijackers aboard an airplane at Karachi on September 5, 1986, for saving the lives of several passengers, was missing.

Chowk inaugurated in 1991

The chowk was named by veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan in 1991 at the junction of Barrister Nath Pai (90 ft) Road and Vallabh Baug Lane, Ghatkopar (East), in the presence of thousands of citizens.

The Bhanot family was moved to tears when they heard an emotional Bachchan pay tribute to Neerja. The name “Neerja Bhanot Chowk" was engraved on a black granite slab.

Apparently, during the widening of the chowk, the granite slab was removed. The FPJ noticed the missing slab recently and highlighted the matter, following which Chheda, who is a Ghatkopar resident, has taken up the issue of restoring the slab.

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Another chowk named in Mahim

Meanwhile, it is learnt that actress Sonam Kapoor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray jointly inaugurated another “Neerja Bhanot Chowk" near Bombay Scottish High School, Mahim, in June 2016.

Normally, a person's name cannot be given to two chowks. Apparently, as a special case, the BMC appears to have permitted the naming of the chowk in Mahim. Sonam acted in the biopic “Neerja," which was released in 2016.

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