Mumbai: Despite the BMC penning two letters to the Sakinaka police, urging them to act as a fun fair has been illegally held at a civic ground, the plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Notably, the fair, which will go on till May 6, has been held at the Meenatai Thackeray ground in Chandivali by local BJP leaders Prashant Maurya and Prajakta Sane Maurya.
Advocate Ujjwal Nikam, who unsuccessfully contested from the Mumbai North Central Lok Sabha seat (which includes Chandivali), also attended the fair.
“The 1,200-sq m ground is reserved as a playground and as per the BMC rules, it cannot be used for commercial activities from April 15 to June 15 (summer vacations),” said Mandeep Singh Makkar, founder of Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA).
On April 28, the L ward wrote to the senior inspector of the Sakinaka police station. As per the letter, Maurya had sought permission, but the ward office denied it. The communication reminded the police about the inaction despite an earlier letter.
Taking to X on Friday, local MP Varsha Gaikwad from Congress said, “An open public space meant exclusively for children has been illegally and forcefully encroached upon by the BJP. ”
She added, “The city BJP minority morcha wing president even admitted that although permission was denied, they proceeded because everything was already set up.”
Meanwhile, CCWA pointed out that the fair is seeing high footfall, but there is no police security. L ward's assistant municipal commissioner and the senior inspector were not available for comments.
