To unclog WEH, Nesco events to get ‘case-by-case approval’
MUMBAI: Three days after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told the Bombay Exhibition Centre (Nesco), Goregaon not to hold any events on its premises from August 29, the civic body and Mumbai traffic police on Monday shifted their stand on the issue. Permissions for events at the Goregaon ground will now be granted on a case-to-case basis.
Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta said, “We have decided to grant permissions on an event basis.” BMC has asked the organisers of events to coordinate with the traffic police before each event to ensure that there are no traffic jams and residents are not bothered.
Amitesh Kumar, joint commissioner of police (traffic) said, “The traffic police does not have a problem with small events that see fewer vehicles. The big events with a large footfall cause traffic jams on the Western Express Highway at peak hours. We will allow small events to take place.”
On Friday, the P South ward office, under whose jurisdiction this area falls, had issued a notice to the business centre disallowing exhibitions at the premises from August 29 until completion of the Metro-7 construction work, owing to congestion on the Western Express Highway and adjoining roads. The congestion was at its peak on days when exhibitions were scheduled, BMC observed in the notice.
As the Metro-7 work is scheduled to be completed only by 2019, this would have hampered business at Nesco for over 15 months. The business centre sees exhibitions planned two years in advance, and presently holds booking up till 2022.
A Nesco spokesperson said, “We have bookings made years in advance. We are working closely with the authorities to sort out the issue. This will not affect events scheduled for August 29.”
Organisers whose events are scheduled for Wednesday have
already begun preparations for the events. Organisers of Tent Decor Asia, one of the two events planned for Wednesday, said, “We are preparing for the event. We are in touch with Nesco, and have been assured the schedule will not be affected.”