Mumbai: Non-operational police chowki stirs up a political storm

The structure built around six months ago using donor funds. Pic/Shadab Khan

A police chowki at Bandra Bandstand that has been non-operational for six months after the structure was built has created a political storm on social media. Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad raised the issue after receiving a letter from Bandra residents to start the chowki before the fair of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount (Mount Mary), alleging that BJP MLA Ashish Shelar was to blame for stalling the inauguration. Shelar reacted by saying he too has demanded that the chowki be opened while NCP and Shinde Sena leaders also jumped on the bandwagon.

On August 28, there was a meeting at the BMC H West ward office regarding arrangements for the Mount Mary fair which is set to start on September 8. The issue of the non-operational Bandra Bandstand police chowki in front of the Mannat bungalow was also raised during the meeting. The Bandra Bandstand Residents Trust (BBRT) had also written a letter to MP Varsha Gaikwad to raise concerns over non-operational chowki.

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BBRT has been maintaining the Bandstand promenade for 20 years and with the permission from Maharashtra Maritime Board, BBRT found a donor to erect a police chowki at the southern end of the promenade. In a letter, BBRT requested Gaikwad to persuade the Bandra police to allocate the required manpower and occupy this chowki on a 24x7 basis to ensure law and order, and crowd control during the forthcoming Mount Mary festival. They also requested regular police patrolling, particularly from 6 pm through the night, to ensure that all the visitors are removed from the area by 11 pm and the place is not used by anti-social elements.

On August 30, Gaikwad wrote to Satyanarayan Chaudhary, joint commissioner of police (law & order), requesting that the chowki be opened for patrolling and enhanced vigilance by the Bandra police station. On Wednesday (September 4), she posted on ‘X' that after the horrific murder of a girl at Bandra Bandstand, the BBRT convinced a donor and got a police chowki constructed. "But six months later, the police chowki is yet to become operational, because the local BJP MLA has stalled the inauguration! The citizens continue to write several letters asking for it to be opened but to no avail. My colleague Asif Zakaria has also been following up on the issue. This is the commitment to women's safety shown by this Khokhe Sarkar!"

In response, Ashish Shelar posted a message saying, "False news is being shared by MP Varsha Gaikwad-ji. I have not stalled the opening of the chowki. Rather, I have demanded that it be functional immediately and this is on record. The Congress MP should stop using the tragic murder of a girl for cheap politics!"

NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto replied to Shelar's post saying, "You say that you are supporting the chowki proposed by the residents at Bandra Bandstand and you have it on record that you want it functional immediately. Does this mean that the Maharashtra government headed by your party is not paying heed to your request? Are you not a MLA from their party and the president of BJP Mumbai? If your government is not listening to you then one can understand the plight of the common citizens whose problems go unheard."

Shinde Sena social media chief Rahul Kanal also jumped into the political storm, replying to Gaikwad that the donor is his family and they are local residents. "How do you get here? When this chowki came up or even the work started you had never even visited Bandra West. Our MLA has given his day in and day out to make this patch one of the best patches in Mumbai. Rise up and think about something constructive," he said.
Meanwhile, joint CP Satyanarayan Chaudhary didn't respond to queries regarding the status of the police chowki.