‘We want Aaditya Thackeray to visit us every day!’

The lane cleared of illegal encroachments at Prarthana Samaj at Girgaon

Residents of Girgaon's Prathana Samaj area cannot thank Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray enough for his visit to their locality. They say it was because of his visit that it was spruced up and cleared of illegal parking, illegal hawkers and traffic jams from Wednesday night, before his arrival on Thursday. The minister was there for Rajarshi Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj's death anniversary.

Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj died on May 6, 1922 in Panhala Lodge in the area. The lodge has been replaced by a building. A statue of Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj was inaugurated by Thackeray Jr in the society. Sadly, residents said after this function, the illegal hawkers and other issues were back. They say they want netas to keep visiting their locality if these issues are resolved when they visit.

Before Thackeray's visit, the traffic cops cleared the traffic and removed illegal hawkers and vehicles parked in no parking areas. In just 24 hours the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) took action and cleaned up the place.

Aaditya Thackeray at the function to inaugurate the statue of Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj

Speaking to mid-day, a local resident, 70-year-old Ashwin Goradia said, "Usually there are trucks, tempos and many other vehicles parked here park illegally. Due to this there is always a heavy traffic jam. We also complained to BMC many times about the garbage but no action was been taken."

Neta ke swagat ke liye

"On Wednesday night everything changed and the BMC started removing vehicles and decorated the entire area. Traffic cops were also deployed the entire night and they did not allow anyone to park their vehicles here. There were no hawkers and no voices and we got a good night's sleep. But sadly, after the programme finished on Thursday evening all the hawkers were back and the noise started again," he added.

Local shopkeeper Ramesh Doshi said, "The Mumbai Commissioner of Police, Sanjay Pandey, has ordered a stop to construction work from 10 pm to 6 am, but in our area the noises by illegal hawkers, etc. continue even at night. Many senior citizens face problems due to this and are not able to sleep at night. Many cases of blood pressure and diabetes have increased in our area due to this reason. A few days back residents and shopkeepers decided to hold a meeting regarding this issue."

Jyoti Modi, another resident said, "Last time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Reliance Hospital, all nearby buildings were painted overnight. The Environment Minister should listen to us and help us. In fact, politicians should keep visiting our locality, then all our issues of garbage, illegal hawkers, etc. will be resolved." Ward officer Prashant Gaikwad did not respond. mid-day also tried to contact Aaditya Thackeray but he was unable for comment.