Mumbai : Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte has ordered the H-west ward officials to demolish the ramp constructed illegally near filmstar Shahrukh Khan’s bungalow, ‘Mannat’.
This ramp has been in the news recently. Khan is said to have blocked off access to the road and constructed a ramp in order to park his vanity van. Local activists Godfrey Pimenta and Nicolas Almeida were opposed to this illegal ramp and took up the matter with the municipal commissioner.
Pimenta said that the road was a public road, with people using it to go to church, but because Khan had the ramp built, it was no longer available for public use.
Last week, after complaints from the residents, MP Poonam Mahajan intervened in the matter and wrote a letter to BMC chief Kunte and asked him to do the needful.
On Thursday, Kunte ordered officials from the H West ward to swing into action and reopen the road to the public. The ward office has sent a notice to Khan and asked him to demolish it within a week, or else, the BMC will move in to do so.
The existence of this ramp has been a long-standing irritant for Bandra residents, who have been fighting to reclaim this patch of the road. Particularly during the Mount Mary Fair, this ramp was an obstacle, blocking the way to the stairs that lead to the church.
Almeida said that he had been approaching various authorities for the demolition of the ramp, and had finally succeeded in his efforts. “It’s a victory for all the residents of Bandra (W). Now we can take this short cut to the church,” he said.
