Airoli auditorium site gets safety barricades

The site of the much delayed project of Airoli auditorium, which was posing danger to the local residents, has finally been enclosed. NMMC has erected iron sheets

The site of the much delayed project of Airoli auditorium, which was posing danger to the local residents, has finally been enclosed. NMMC has erected iron sheets around the site to prevent any access.

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For the past three years, the site located at Sector 5 in Airoli has been dug up for construction. The residents had long been demanding safety measures here.

Work on the second civic-owned auditorium had begun in 2014. Despite five years since the bhoomipujan of the project, there has been no construction of the auditorium. For the past three years, the site has been dug up which has led to it being filled up with water in the monsoon.

Rajesh Patil, 48, a resident of Airoli, said, “On January 1, last year, a woman committed suicide by jumping into the artificial pond along with her child. This incident shocked residents of the area.”

Following an uproar, NMMC covered the area with barbed fence. It also put up sign boards warning people from descending in the pond. The fence did not last long as some people broke them and stole them.

Patil said, “Two months ago, another woman committed suicide in the pond. There was renewed demand by the residents for the civic body to take concrete steps to secure the area.”

NMMC executive engineer, Airoli, Girish Gumaste, said, “We had earlier enclosed the pit area with wire boundary and barricades. However, some anti-social elements had cut the wires. We have now covered the area with iron sheets .”