Shopkeepers fined Rs 5 lakh for digging 260 holes

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has levied a fine of Rs 5.20 lakh on the Lokhandwala Vyapari Mandal for digging 260 holes to install lights for its annual Diwali shopping festival. It has demanded that the mandal remove the poles “immediately“ but the merchants are unlikely to comply before the festival ends on November 14, in the absence of a firm deadline.
The mandal has, in fact, set up large advertising columns at the entrance of every lane and put loudspeakers along the main market road.
Assistant municipal commissioner Parag Masurkar said, “The traders had sought permission to install lights but we had no idea they would dig holes in the ground. We have levied a fine of Rs 5.20 lakh on the mandal and directed it to remove the poles immediately . This fine will serve as a deterrent for similar offences.“ The penalty is Rs 2,000 per hole.
Mandal member Raju Manwani, who festooned the area with Lions Club ads, was surprised at being fined for “doing good work“. Spokesman Hemant Nair said, “We will contest the penalty . We did not intend to damage public property . We have only broken some paver blocks and will fit them in after Diwali.“
Nair said, “For years we have been driving bamboo poles into the ground and nobody has complained. Various agencies dig up roads for fitting 4G cables and telephone lines but they do not repave them properly . On the contrary , visitors admire our beautiful lighting.“
Residents of Lokhandwala had complained about the nuisance caused by shopowners after TOI's report (October 25). Environmentalist Sunjoy Monga said the merchants could explore modern ways of lighting. Reader C D'Mello blamed them for the traffic jams in the locality. “Footpaths in Lokhandwala were removed for road-widening.But now double parking is routine, with shop-owners' cars and delivery bikes.“ The traffic police said they had implemented a pay-and-park scheme to decongest Lokhandwala but the mandal used pressure to truncate it fearing loss of business.