Navi Mumbai: Alleging that the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s pre-monsoon drain cleaning drive exists only on paper, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers staged a unique pol khol (expose) protest in Nerul.
Party leaders and workers entered a silt-filled drain in Sector 19, Nerul (East), to highlight what they claimed was the poor condition of stormwater drains despite civic claims that desilting work had been completed before the monsoon.
The protest was led by MNS city secretary Sachin Kadam and division president Umesh Gaikwad. Party workers demonstrated that nearly three to four feet of silt had accumulated inside the drain. They also pointed out that five major outlet pipes meant for water discharge were located at the end of the drain, of which four were allegedly completely clogged with silt.
Questioning the civic administration’s claims, Kadam alleged that the drain-cleaning work was being carried out only on paper and accused officials of issuing tenders merely to benefit contractors.
In a symbolic act during the protest, Gaikwad used binoculars to “inspect” whether the drains had actually been cleaned, claiming that the cleaning work was invisible to the common eye. “Even through binoculars, no cleaning work could be seen,” MNS workers remarked sarcastically.
Those present during the agitation included MNS office-bearers Nilesh Saindane, Pranit Dongre, Balaji Landge, Amol Sarde, Shankar Ghongde-Patil, Shiva Giri, Akash Gaikwad, Bharat Gaikwad, Arbaz Khan, Sunny Ganeshpure and senior citizen Deepak Katkar.
The party warned that if the drain-cleaning work is not completed within the next seven days, the accumulated silt from the drain would be dumped inside the offices of civic officials as a mark of protest.
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