Mumbai: An altercation between Mumbai mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar and a BMC engineer on Tuesday allegedly turned ugly. It is alleged that the mayor abused and assaulted the engineer. It is also alleged that besides the mayor, other Shiv Sena party workers also assaulted the engineer. After the altercation, engineers gathered at the BMC commissioner's office to complain about the incident. The mayor has denied that any such incident happened in the corporation on Tuesday. The incident occurred after the BMC started some repair work on the Kharnullah which is adjacent to Matoshree, the residence of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.
After the closure of a part of the nullah due to the concrete work, rain water has begun accumulating near Matoshree. Mayor Mahadeshwar, storm water department engineer Vidhyadhar Khandkar and other BMC officials visited the spot. After visiting the site, the mayor ordered engineer Khandkar to remove the concrete work, so that the accumulated water gets drained out. According to the engineer, when he told the mayor that it was not possible, the latter got annoyed; he started abusing him and even allegedly slapped him.
Not just the mayor, other Shiv Sena party workers also beat Khandkar. After the spat, a group of engineers called on the BMC commissioner and recounted the incident. They were finally assured that a proper decision on the issue will be taken. The mayor, however, said, "I visited the site on Tuesday as the work was not complete. It was creating problems for the residents. I have no idea of any assault on the engineer. I have not witnessed any such incident."
