87 khataras that led to mosquito menace seized; 10,000 sqft freed in Lower Parel
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday seized 87 abandoned vehicles, also called khataras, that had piled up along roads and pedestrian walkways in Lower Parel, freeing up more than 10,000 square feet of space. Apart from eating up roads and footpaths, the vehicles were serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rodents as well as potential shelters for anti-social elements. Fifty-six of the 87 vehicles have already been sent to the scrapyard, and all the vehicles would be auctioned following due procedure, said officials.
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday seized 87 abandoned vehicles, also called khataras, that had piled up along roads and pedestrian walkways in Lower Parel, freeing up more than 10,000 square feet of space. Apart from eating up roads and footpaths, the vehicles were serving as breeding grounds for mosquitoes and rodents as well as potential shelters for anti-social elements. Fifty-six of the 87 vehicles have already been sent to the scrapyard, and all the vehicles would be auctioned following due procedure, said officials.
Santosh Kumar Dhonde, assistant commissioner, G (south) ward led the joint operation with the traffic police following BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal’s instructions. The operation was conducted in the area around the Lower Parel railway station including along the Sitaram Jadhav Marg, the GM Bhosle Marg, the NM Joshi Marg. One JCB machine, three lorries, two dumpers, two utility vehicles, machinery and more than 50 officers and workers participated in the operation, said officials. Notices under section 314 (power to remove without notice) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act were issued for all 87 vehicles, they added.
“We have already taken action against 56 of the 87 derelict vehicles by sending them to scrapyard. We also demolished 21 unauthorised sheds, 36 wooden sheds and 4 unauthorised stalls during the operation,” said Dhonde.
Each ward has designated spaces for storing abandoned vehicles, and the seizure of such vehicles is also organized at the ward level. Once abandoned vehicles are identified, notices are pasted on them and a period of 40 days is given for people to make claims, said officials. If no claimant comes forward, the BMC sends a letter to the police station to follow the due processes of law and proceed with the auction.
“We issue a notice in newspapers saying we want to auction the vehicle as scrap. The buyer who wins the auction de-registers the vehicle,” said an official from the civic body. No objection certificates also need to be obtained from the regional transport office before a vehicle is auctioned, the official said, adding, ““Lifting the vehicles isn’t a challenge but auctioning is.”
Abandoned vehicles are seized and auctioned to free up space for other such vehicles in the scrapyard. As per estimates of the regional transport office, each abandoned vehicle occupies approximately 124 square feet space.