AAP to move court if govt does not shift people out of Mahul

MUMBAI: A day after at least 100 residents, resettled near chemical factories in Mahul village, protested for better living conditions, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday called the area a “modern day gas chamber” and demanded that 550 families be shifted to safer locations.

Most of Mahul’s residents were shifted there after their shanties were demolished, or their homes in different parts of Mumbai were affected by infrastructure projects.

These include people who lived around Sion’s Tansa pipeline, which supplies water to Mumbai.

The residents have been protesting as Mahul is surrounded by three refineries and 16 chemical factories.

It came into focus when 45 workers were injured in a major fire at a Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd refinery in August this year.

The residents have been complaining of toxic air and contaminated water because of the pollution from the factories.

They also pointed out the lack of basic facilities, such as poor drainage systems and infrastructure.

On Tuesday, the AAP said the settlement was unfit for human beings to live in, and warned that apart from regular protests, they will also seek judicial intervention to shift people out of Mahul.

“There are no basic facilities, and both the water and air are polluted,” said AAP spokesperson Sashikant Shinde.

“Constant exposure to the toxic fumes have resulted in residents developing respiratory and skin problems. There have been several deaths because of this,” Shinde said.

Vilas Kamble, who has been living in a slum above the pipeline for the past 22 years and recently received a notice from the BMC asking him to shift to Mahul, called the area a “virtual hell”.

“The government needs to ideally enhance our standard of living, but they are sending us to a virtual hell. Mahul is like a tickling time bomb. It is better to stay in a slum in Sion than shift to a building at Mahul,” he said.

On Sunday, some protesters launched a Jeevan Bachao Andolan, claiming the pollution in the area has affected their health.

Some of them also alleged that they were “arrested” by the police during another protest on Monday.