Day after Shinde’s rally, student group raise a stink over garbage left behind

Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar said liquor bottles were found at the venue of Shinde’s rally as well as University of Mumbai’s Kalina campus

MUMBAI: Shiv Sena-affiliated student group Yuva Sena on Thursday renewed their attack on the University of Mumbai administration for its decision to allow people who came for chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Dusshera rally to park their cars.

University officials, however, insisted that the campus grounds were loaned on a written request by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). (HT Photo)

Members of Yuva Sena, which was among the bunch of student groups to oppose the decision to loan the campus for parking vehicles, visited the Kalina campus to find large parts of the grounds and roads inside littered with plastic bottles, food packets and empty bottles of alcohol.

“The fact that university grounds were cleared and used for parking random vehicles, despite knowing that staff, as well as students, stay on campus was a big security lapse. To make matters worse, the people who were allowed to enter the campus on Wednesday have not only left the campus in shambles but also damaged the main gate of the varsity (BKC-entrance),” said Pradip Sawant, MU senate member for Yuva Sena.

“Liquor bottles were found at the venue of Shinde’s rally as well as MU Kalina campus, where vehicles of those attending the rally were parked. This is unacceptable,” said Mumbai mayor and Shiv Sena leader Kishori Pednekar.

University officials, however, insisted that the campus grounds were loaned on a written request by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and will be restored by the civic agency. “The grounds are being cleared by the BMC to ensure no garbage is left behind,” a university official said.

The BMC deployed several garbage trucks at the Kalina campus on Thursday for the task.

Last week, spokespersons of student groups affiliated to opposition parties - Yuva Sena of the Shiv Sena, the Youth Congress of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Chhatra Bharti Vidyarthi Sanghatana - registered their opposition to allowing use of the campus for the rival Sena faction’s rally.

On October 1, the three groups approached the university administration to deny permission for use of three university grounds for parking vehicles on Dusshera rally day.

Rohit Dhale, president, Chhatra Bharti Vidyarthi Sanghatana, had also underlined the risk to staffers and students living on the campus. “There are several student hostels inside the Kalina campus, including at least two girls’ hostels,” he had said.