Mumbai: MLA Saroj Ahire, carrying 4-month old son, annoyed at dusty Hirkani room at Vidhan Bhawan

Mumbai: Saroj Ahire, the NCP MLA from Deolali, Nashik, once again came to Vidhan Bhavan, this time in Mumbai,for the budget session that began on Monday and naturally, her four-month-old baby was with her.

Just as her arrival with her baby at the legislature session in December 2022 had made a valid point about babyfriendly workplaces, this time too,there was a related issue she raised.

Hirkani room in Vidhan Bhawan was dusty

When she stepped into the Hirkani room, the designated space for all working mothers to nurse their babies, she found that it was fusty, musty and dusty.

Speaking to reporters later, she asked how she could be expected to fulfil her duties, first as a mother, and then as an MLA, in such a situation. “There was dust everywhere. One can’t sit there with a baby. The dust could become a reason for illness. If such is the condition of the unit, how can nursing mothers attend to their duty? Further, how can I discharge my duties as an MLA?” she asked.

Speaker Rahul Narvekar, taking immediate cognizance of the complaint, asked the administration to ensure that the Hirkani room would always be kept clean, henceforth.

Ahire, a first-time legislator, had been the cynosure of all eyes when she had attended the winter sessionof the legislature in Nagpur last December, having brought along her two-month-old son with her.