Will highlight local issues at Feb 25 protest, says BJP

THANE: BJP workers from Thane will join the statewide protest to beheldonFebruary25.Theywill gather outside the Thane Collector’s office and will highlight the problems of Thane city as well as the issues faced by farmers and lack of women safety across the state.

The party will demand that the local Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government deliver on their promises of property tax waiver on homes less than 500 square feet, exclusion of gaonthans and koliwadas from cluster scheme, proper water supply for residents of Diva and closure of the Diva dumping ground.

Earlier this week, state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil announced that the party will hold protests at 400 places across the state against the MVA government’s failure to resolve the issues.

Niranjan Dawkhare, city president of BJP, said, “The MVA government has failed to deliver on its promises. We will join the statewide protest from Thane. A copy of the letter with our demands will be given to the collector and the Thane civic commissioner.”

He said the protest in Thane will focus on the issues of the city. “The Sena had promised to waive taxes on homes less than 500 sqft, which has not been done even after two and half years of the civic polls. Former CM Devendra Fadnavis had announced that the koliwadas and gaonthans will be excluded from the cluster scheme. But, the present government has not taken steps to take this ahead. The residents of old settlements are forced to register themselves as beneficiaries in the six clusters.”

He said the people affected in the Kalwa-Airoli elevated railway project should be rehabilitatedinthesamearea. “Children have school and college in the same area. Displacing them to other areas will inconvenience them. We will demand shutting of Diva dumping ground.”

Members of BJP Thane unit address the press. PRAFUL GANGURDE/HT