Thane Mayor stalls demolition

June 27: In an unprecedented move Thane Mayor Vijaya Deshmukh took to the streets on Wednesday and stalled the demolition of unauthorised s...

June 27: In an unprecedented move Thane Mayor Vijaya Deshmukh took to the streets on Wednesday and stalled the demolition of unauthorised stalls being carried out by her own administration.

Unmindful of the declarations by the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Chief Minister Manohar Joshi that interference of any kind will not be tolerated, the Mayor accompanied by a corporator and over 300 activists marched to the demolition site opposite Anand talkies in Thane east and ordered that the demolitions be stopped immediately.

Some political heavyweights were allegedly involved in the construction of the unauthorised stalls and lakhs of rupees had been collected from the allottees. The demolition would have embarrassed these leaders since the stakes were high and the occupants were likely to demand refund of their payments. To save their skin they allegedly pleaded with the Mayor.

Meanwhile, the Mayor had declared that she interfered on humanitarian grounds8217;. Justifying her act she stated that if she had not acted the stall owners will be thrown on the streets8217;.

However, Deshmukh8217;s action has demoralised the officers of the Thane Municipal Corporation, especially from the demolition squad whose members are now in a fix. They fear that other corporators may take a cue from the Mayor.

According to reports the demolition squad led by deputy municipal commissioner Prafulla Raje had reached the stalls near the station on the eastern side and had just begun their operation when Deshmukh arrived on the scene. The squad was in a dilemma since they were issued the demolition order by the Commissioner T. Chandrashekhar. The recently appointed civic chief officer had launched a massive demolition drive unmindful of the interference by the civic leaders.

In the following confusion the squad beat a hasty retreat and returned to the TMC without their mission being achieved.

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The Thane police on Friday registered an offence against the Mayor, local corporator Balchandra Patil and 300 others for stopping government officers from carrying out their duties. This move by the police has sent shock waves among the Sainiks.