Mumbai: Ganesh Mandals Object To BMC's ₹15,000 Fine For Potholes Made While Moving Large Idols

Mumbai: The state government recently gave Ganeshotsav the status of a state festival, but the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has announced that it will impose a fine of Rs 15,000 on public bodies if there are potholes. This stance of the municipality is oppressive for the bodies, and public Ganeshotsav bodies in Mumbai have demanded that the fine be cancelled.

In the backdrop of Ganeshotsav, a meeting of the Brihanmumbai Public Ganeshotsav Coordination Committee, which represents public Ganeshotsav bodies in Mumbai, was held in Dadar on Saturday. In this meeting, it was decided that the Public Ganeshotsav Coordination Committee will follow up with the municipality and the state government to cancel the fine for potholes.

Apart from this, the meeting also discussed the issues of excessive guarantee taken by the bodies, immersion of tall POP idols, insurance cover. For the past several years, a fine of Rs 2,000 was being charged per pothole, but two days ago, the municipality issued a circular increasing the fine to Rs 15,000, and the bodies expressed the opinion that this fee is excessive and exorbitant. Small idols are installed in the pavilion along with tall Ganesh idols.

A demand was made at this time to allow these idols to be immersed along with large idols. No guarantee letter now: After the High Court allowed POP idols, the municipality took a stand that it should not take a guarantee letter for POP idols anymore. The mandals also demanded that the government should provide insurance cover to the devotees along with the mandals and provide electricity supply at a concessional rate.

The Ganeshotsav mandals take the responsibility of filling the potholes after the festival, but the municipality still rushes to take action against them. Will the municipality take strict action against the contractor concerned regarding the potholes on the roads in Mumbai? Adv. Naresh Dahibawkar, Chairman Coordination Committee.