MUMBAI, July 26: Nearly 500 residents of Versova today got together under the banner of the Save Versova Beach Association and, after highlighting their civic woes, pledged to fight a joint battle against encroachments and the apathetic attitude of the municipal authorities.In the presence of Mayor Nandu Satam, who arrived for the programme ninety minutes late, the residents, braving pouring rain, recited in unison: ``We hereby pledge to raise our voice against problems fearlessly and not rest in our efforts till these problems are solved and our area made beautiful and livable again.''One resident after another went up to the podium built inside the Embassy Towers compound on Seven Bungalows Road for the meeting, and aired his grievances. Before the mayor arrived, K ward officer A N Khaire and senior inspector Subhash Salvi faced a barrage of questions and complaints about broken pavements and piles of garbage.The mayor was later handed over a `memorandum' listing the residents' most urgent demands.For the Save Versova Beach Association, which cleared Versova beach of methi plantations last year, today's meet was a high watermark.The association has now set its eyes on converting a 600-metre open plot of land owned by the BMC into a jogger's park. ``Usually, we return from the ward office with a lot of promises (meant to be broken of course), but with the mayor scheduled to visit the area, the piled-up garbage on this patch of land was hastily cleared yesterday,'' said Usha Kiran, convener of the programme.Another member of the association, Raju Gandhi, described how the BMC took no action even after they submitted a beautification plan for the park a year ago. ``We have now been told the plan (for which we spent Rs 10,000) is stuck somewhere between the ward office and the BMC headquarters,'' she pointed out.Despite the encroachments in other parts of Versova, this plot of land has remained vacant largely due to the efforts of 79-year-old Dhun Talati, whom Gandhi described as ``the queen ofthe agitation.'' Having lived at Seven Bungalows all her life, Talati has been maintaining a strict vigil over land-grabbers.A regular at the ward office and the police station, Talati said her age and walking stick ensured the authorities treated her with respect. Any signs of tin-sheds or illegal huts, and Talati is known to promptly inform the ward office. But according to her, the best tool was her booming voice. She said: ``Once I saw a builder unloading Mangalorean tiles from a lorry on to the plot of land wanting to use it for storage. I simply shouted out to my neighbours that they note down the number of the lorry. The poor men loaded the lorry and escaped!''
