Mumbai: Over 150 women from the East Indian settlements of Gorai and Culvem under the Borivali assembly constituency, held a sit-in at Culvem Lake on Tuesday against the ongoing ‘beautification’ works allegedly being carried out at the behest of local MLA Sunil Rane.
The work will pave over large parts of the natural waterbody, which the locals currently use to irrigate small farms, wash clothes, catch fish, bathe livestock, and wash fishing nets among others.
The protest began at 3pm and a crowd of around 600 people gathered by 8pm, according to a police officer present on the site.
“We are only here to maintain law and order. The collector’s office has been informed of the protest and they will take up the matter with the villagers,” the officer said.
R/Central Ward officer Sandhya Nandekar also declined to comment in detail, saying that the work is not being executed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), but the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
“Gorai and Culvem residents have not asked for any such beautification. We want the lake to remain as it is. It is our ancestral talao and is well taken care of by the local farmers, fishers and tribals. The Dharavi Beth Bachao Samiti has written multiple letters to the MLA, local police, the collector’s office and even the BMC asking for the work to be stopped. We have not received any reply and not a single work order has been shown to us. The contractor is simply saying that he is working on the orders of the MLA,” Lourdes D’Souza, a Gorai resident, said.
{{/usCountry}}“Gorai and Culvem residents have not asked for any such beautification. We want the lake to remain as it is. It is our ancestral talao and is well taken care of by the local farmers, fishers and tribals. The Dharavi Beth Bachao Samiti has written multiple letters to the MLA, local police, the collector’s office and even the BMC asking for the work to be stopped. We have not received any reply and not a single work order has been shown to us. The contractor is simply saying that he is working on the orders of the MLA,” Lourdes D’Souza, a Gorai resident, said.
{{/usCountry}}Godfrey Pimenta, advocate and head of Watchdog Foundation, said, “The villagers want a gram sabha to be held in presence of the MLA, so he can explain why this project is being pursued. It will benefit nearby resort owners, not the locals. Till date, there is no clarity on who is funding the project and at whose request, but two excavators are working on the site day and night. Large amounts of mud have been dredged from the lakebed and it should be restored.”
Rupesh Palve, naib tehsildar, who arrived at the spot at around 9pm, declined to comment. Sunil Rane did not respond to calls for comment.
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