Uttankars call for bandh on June 1 over dumping menace

The str ong resentment against the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Cor poration (MBMC) br ewing in the coastal areas of Uttan, o ver the de cade long dumping menace in the r egion, has now taken shape of a unified agitation.

In the first st ep, a dele gation comprising members of local social org anisation’s and heads of fishing societies, under the a egis of the newly f ormed Dharavai Bet Jan Akr osh Morcha, h as called f or a da y-long Uttan Bandh on 1, June.

Irate over the unbeara ble stench and consequent health hazard, villagers had filed a petition in the National G reen Tribunal, see king immediate shift of the waste plant and illegal dump yard in Dhaavgi.

In r esponse to NGT dir ections, the MBMC fil ed an a ffidavit in the Hig h Cour t affirming to shift their defunct solid waste plant to a nearmarked plot i nS ak var near Vasai within a time frame of 18 months.

“Instead of following judicial orders, the civic authorities have brazenly inked a 7year deal to restart the project. This cannot be tolerated. The bandh is a token of our protest which will be intensified, if the MB MC does stop playing mischief.” said fishing community leader Leo Collaso.

“We are committed to ensure that there cycling plant operates in a scientific manners othatpeo plea re not inconvenienced. Moreover a bi o-mining mechanism will soon be adopted to g et rid of the ac cumulated waste ,” said deputy civic chief Dr Sambhaji Panpatte. Interestingly the villagers have flatly refused to send their representatives on-board the monitoring committee mooted by the MBMC.

It maybe recalled a massive agitation was launched in September 2009 by restricting entry of garbage trucks to the facility for several weeks and the same formula is being contemplated by villagers if the authorities failed to end the menace in their region.