No Space For Kohli's In Mumbai

Afternoon Voice

The Kohli and Aagri fisherman’s are upset with the actions taken by the BMC every month to evacuate the stall to make a free moving road under the upcoming metro station alleges the stall owners. Very few people of today’s generation are aware about the fact that the Kohli samaj is the first community of India’s economic capital Mumbai but after protecting their work place for last ten years there voices are unheard yet.

The kohli’s and the Aagri’s who are selling their fish for last 35 years in Asalpha village near Ghatkopar are worried about their children’s future because of the regular action taken by the BMC to evacuate these stalls. By this 32 stall more than 350 lives are dependent on it as well as these stalls are only one which supplies fishes everyday to whole Asalpha residents. In a document given to AV by these fisherman’s of PWD dated-15-07-2000, which stated that PWD has given these stall owner’s a permission to align a stall at Andheri-Kurla link road of 160ft in length and 6ft in width. Also the PWD letter of year 2000 stated that Maharashtra Government and the BMC will replace them somewhere else, on the basis of which these stall owners are fighting.

Also these fishermen accuse Khanna Society which is just behind their stall for not co-operating with them and filing regular complaints Police and BMC against their stalls. Though these stalls lie just opposite to the constructed pillars of Metro from where Metro train will move one day when the work is over. Vinod Nishad who is fighting for these stalls accuses MMRDA for not co-operating and not providing anything in written as he said “senior officials have verbally promised us to provide stalls under the shade of metro but they have never given this on written”. “After these promises made by MMRDA, BMC with the help of Police and on the basis of complaints made by Khanna Apartment comes with bulldozers to demolish our forefathers business” said Vinod.

After writing several letters to BMC, Ministry and Fishing Community these Fishermen’s are still waiting for a positive response but many fishermen’s believe that they have turned their eye from them. A senior member of the kohli family Motiram Mhatre stated the reason due to which their problem is being ignored is the line which divides their constituencies. Which means that the area where they work and where they live is just a few meters away but the constituencies of Corporation’s, MLA’s and even MP’s are divided between these lines due to which they are stuck between the vote bank policies. Motiram said that even if their Corporator or MLA will helps us their vote will go to someone else which has become the main reason of negligence.

When AV contacted Harish Chandan Shukla corporator of ward-123 he said “that PWD has promised them to allot a space they should approach MMRDA for that” when asked about the regular threat of demolition he stated that “I am not the one who is interested in throwing up these stalls, after all they are working there since last 35 years and I am always there to stop BMC whenever they are demolishing these stalls”. When AV tried to contact Arif Naseem Khan MLA of Kurla was unavailable for his comment.