Hundreds of Chandivalikars came out of their houses onto the streets on Sunday, 12 February to protest various demands such as stalled DP roads, partial roads, road encroachment, traffic congestion, footpath encroachment, and pollution. More than 250 people participated in the peaceful protest organised under the leadership of the Chandivali Citizens Welfare Association (CCWA).
A peaceful protest was held on the 90-foot road in Chandivali to attract the attention of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Maharashtra government, as they had been ignored despite repeated complaints.
Chandivali area has been deprived of facilities for many years, and the Citizens of Chandivali and the Citizens Welfare Association, CCWA are constantly following up on this, but the problems remain the same.
Mandeep Singh, a founder of the Chandivali Citizen Welfare Association told ‘Avartan Powai’, “Chandivali is suffering from many problems. DP Road 9 is the only road connecting Chandivali with JVLR, and citizens have encroached on it, building their houses and shops on the footpath. Vehicles are parked on both sides of the road, leaving only space for one vehicle to pass. As a result, residents are suffering from traffic congestion. Additionally, there is a DP road approved in the development plan, but it has been stuck for years”
He further added, “The roads are littered with garbage and many areas do not have garbage bins. Pollution has increased in the area. We have been following up with the BMC and elected representatives, but they have been ignoring us. We have been going from one office to another, but there has been no action. That is why we citizens have come together and decided to take this path of agitation.
The Chandivali Citizen Welfare Association will not stop at simply protesting; soon we will be going to meet the Municipal Joint Commissioner, Commissioner, and Chief Minister of Maharashtra to present our problems. This is just a small warning; if the administration does not solve our problems, they will see a much larger reaction in the future, the association warned the authorities.
Being a senior citizen, it is my earnest appeal to the authorities to pay little attention to our woes due to the pathetic road and dumping of garbage condition in Chandivali.