Hookah dens operating out of illegal structures on police radar
The Thane (rural) police and Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) seem to have decided that they will put a permanent end to the notorious hookah joints which operate clandestinely out of unauthorized structures in the twin-city. This became evident when both the agencies teamed up to launch a three-pronged strategy against the illegal joints.
Immediately after Senior Police Inspector of Navghar police station, Ram Bhalsingh, raided, Baithak — a notorious hookah joint — located on the upper floor of a double structure near the flyover in Bhayandar (east), a MBMC team led by ward officer Sunil Yadav razed the illegal staircase leaving no access to the hookah joint, last week.
And now perhaps hammering the final nail into the hookah den’s coffin, a case under the relevant sections of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, (MRTP), 1966, was registered against a duo identified as Dinesh Sikhwal and Shrikant Pandey on Saturday for carrying out unauthorized constructions which apparently facilitating the illegalities. However, no arrests have been made so far.
“While a case has been registered under section 52 of the MRTP Act against two people for unauthorized constructions our efforts were on to weed out the menace from the region.” said Bhalsingh.
Worried over the increasing menace which is destroying the moral fabric of the younger generation, Thane (rural) SP Dr. Mahesh Patil, in an attempt to weed out the anti-social menace, has been continuously following up with the civic administration to launch demolition drives to get rid of unauthorised constructions and alterations including cavities created by bars, lodges and hookah joints in the twin-city.
The MBMC, led by civic chief Naresh Gite, has finally rolled up its sleeves to team up with the police force and provide logistic support in the demolition drive.