UNMESH GUJARATHI
Sprouts Brand Story
There are 33 wells in the park and the park is equipped with a rainwater harvesting system. Rs four crore have been spent for rainwater harvesting in the recent past. Despite this, the water for the maintenance of the park is being brought from outside. If this is the situation then where and how Rs 4 crore were spent in the name of rainwater harvesting is a mute question.
The Shiv Sena, ruling the BMC, has not spared even the Shivaji Park in terms of corruption, where a memorial of Shiv Sena Supremo late Balasaheb Thackeray is located, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad former state Secretary Prakash Belwade-Patil alleged.
Unfortunately, the Shiv Sena is involved in a corrupt deal even in awarding the contract to sprinkle water at Shivaji Park, which is a greener pasture to pocket huge money. This corruption is certain to dig the grave of the Shiv Sena in the ensuing civic elections, Belwade- Patil said.
As per history, Mahim Park was renamed Shivaji Park in 1927 and was dedicated to public sports activities. The local residents have complained to BMC’s G North office about the pollution due to the dust emanating from the Shivaji Park, many times earlier.
They have demanded the measures such as not sprinkling the water on a daily basis, and not adding the soil to resurface the park. The problem of dust pollution remains unresolved despite the meetings the residents held with local officers and now comes the news of Rs one crore being spent on the park, Belwade-Patil said.
The Shivaji Park is reserved for 45 days for different programs in a year. Usually, the soil remains damp between June and October due to the rainy season. This means that no water sprinkling is required for 152 days and the contractor is required to carry out the sprinkling and plant the grass only for 168 days. Besides, during the grass planting, no sports activities are allowed in the park for 15 days.
Despite this, the BMC is spending Rs one crore for water sprinkling in just 168 days. This works out to Rs 60,000 per day. There are 33 wells in the park. Besides, the rainwater harvesting system is also in place. The BMC has made a provision in such a way that although Rs 4 crore is spent, the water supply will be outsourced. In this situation, where the money earmarked for the rainwater harvesting has gone? Belwade- Patil has asked.
“We met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and the BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal but the problem of dust pollution remains unresolved. We requested Aditya Thackeray but he did not give us an appointment. On the contrary, the ruling Shiv Sena has served the notice under section 149 to suppress the matter.”
Prakash Belwade-Patil
Social Activist, Chief of Garjana Pratisthan
