Mahim fisherfolk panic as fake letter seeks demolition
By Alka Dhupkar
A fraudulent letter of complaint created panic among the fish erfolk of Mahim Causeway, who received notices pertaining to demolition of the homes they have occupied for generations. While the letter turned out to be fake and the community's tension has eased, the perpetrator of the mischief has yet to be brought to book. Last week, the deputy collector (encroachment) issued a show cause notice to the Mahim Nakhava Sangh, informing them that a letter had been received on March 20 from one Daryasagar Cooperative Housing Society (proposed) at Sudam Nagar in Colaba, complaining that residential structures of the fisherfolk at Mahim are illegal, and hence action should be taken as they pose a danger to sea security. The letter was addressed to the Governor of Maharashtra, and was supposedly signed by the chairman of Daryasagar CHS. Copies of the com plaint were sent to the chief justice of Bombay High Court, the collector of Mumbai city and others, due to which cognizance of it was taken immediately. The deputy collector (encroachment) also ordered an inquiry into why these structures should not be demolished if they violated CRZ rules.
However, the fisher folk approached Yashwant Nijai, the chief promoter of the proposed Daryasagar CHS, who denied that any such letter had been written by them. When Mumbai Mirror contacted Nijai, he said, “After cross-checking this complaint, we found it was possibly sent to malign us. The serial number of the letter does not exist, so someone has obviously been up to some mischief and used our society's letterhead logo to file the complaint.Even the signature of the chairman is fake. We need an investigation into this, as it will otherwise affect the livelihood of the fishermen.“
The city collector did not respond to repeated calls from Mumbai Mirror, but a local revenue department official said on condition of anonymity, “A report is being made about the structures. If they turn out to be illegal constructions, action will be taken.“
A fraudulent letter of complaint created panic among the fish erfolk of Mahim Causeway, who received notices pertaining to demolition of the homes they have occupied for generations. While the letter turned out to be fake and the community's tension has eased, the perpetrator of the mischief has yet to be brought to book. Last week, the deputy collector (encroachment) issued a show cause notice to the Mahim Nakhava Sangh, informing them that a letter had been received on March 20 from one Daryasagar Cooperative Housing Society (proposed) at Sudam Nagar in Colaba, complaining that residential structures of the fisherfolk at Mahim are illegal, and hence action should be taken as they pose a danger to sea security. The letter was addressed to the Governor of Maharashtra, and was supposedly signed by the chairman of Daryasagar CHS. Copies of the com plaint were sent to the chief justice of Bombay High Court, the collector of Mumbai city and others, due to which cognizance of it was taken immediately. The deputy collector (encroachment) also ordered an inquiry into why these structures should not be demolished if they violated CRZ rules.
However, the fisher folk approached Yashwant Nijai, the chief promoter of the proposed Daryasagar CHS, who denied that any such letter had been written by them. When Mumbai Mirror contacted Nijai, he said, “After cross-checking this complaint, we found it was possibly sent to malign us. The serial number of the letter does not exist, so someone has obviously been up to some mischief and used our society's letterhead logo to file the complaint.Even the signature of the chairman is fake. We need an investigation into this, as it will otherwise affect the livelihood of the fishermen.“
Ujwala Patil, community leader of the fisherfolk, said, “Since the 1990s we've been fighting for legal rights.For ages we have lived here, and even the younger generation of our community is dependent on fishing. The government just can't send us notices on the basis of a fraud complaint.“
The city collector did not respond to repeated calls from Mumbai Mirror, but a local revenue department official said on condition of anonymity, “A report is being made about the structures. If they turn out to be illegal constructions, action will be taken.“
