The “Satyagraha for Toilet” launched by the local Congress unit led by Deep Kakde and Saheblal Yadav in the form of an indefinite hunger strike in Bhayandar, ended on a victory note after the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) finally bowed to the demands and installed prefabricated toilet blocks in the Jai Bajrang Nagar area of Bhayandar (west) late on Saturday night.
The Congress leaders and workers under the guidance of former legislator- Muzaffar Hussain have been agitating since August 4, protesting the demolition of the lone community toilet block in the area which had left around 1200 slum dwellers with no other option but to defecate in the open, on a daily basis for the past more than a month.
“Although the civic administration has made this temporary arrangement and we have withdrawn our agitation, the fight is not over yet. We will follow up with the administration till a permanent solution is chalked out and other difficulties faced by citizens are not solved”, said Kakde.
While the ward is represented by all four BJP members-including two women, it was the Congress which took up the mantle and launched the agitation on behalf of the residents in the sprawling slum cluster.
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"We are thankful to the Congress party-especially youth leader-Deep Kakde who fought for our right to dignity, even as elected representatives for whom we voted for were least cared", said a resident of Jai Bajrang Nagar.
The toilet blocks were razed as the land on which it stood was amongst 1036 hectares which fell under the reserved forest area, even as the civic and district authorities expressed their helplessness in restoring the much needed facility.
