Below is the story as to how our policemen get demotivated if they are stopped from doing their duty. Earlier I was of the view that it was only politicians that often create hurdles for bureaucracy from performing their duties for the selfish ‘protect voters’ gain, but now I have realized, that many times there are agents too in form of ‘activists’, who often misguide the politicians and get their work done, which the politician without taking the bureaucrats into confidence, orders a diktat, and widens the gap between bureaucrat & politician. Some bureaucrats like Mundhe’s & Joshi’s don’t fall pray for such diktats be it the CM, but then they bear the brunt too for doing so.
The case I’m mentioning here is of Santacruz Station, Mumbai, and how State Congress Chief Nana Patole, ex Speaker, was misguided and how he without understanding the ground reality has indirect helped an illegal activity to flourish. And mind you, once the Speaker (Nanabhau was at Speaker post then) is involved and given his directives, forget the Corporator not even the MLA & the Guardian Minister would dare to cross paths on the diktat. My involvement comes here, as I stay very very near to this station & as I had written earlier, if able bureaucrats are ‘disturbed’ and stopped from doing their duty, I will step-in. After knowing the situation and Nanabhau’s dikat, I fail to understand why Jt CP (Traffic) Yashashvi Yadav even after knowing the whole sitaution decided to keep quiet? He could have asked CP Param Bir Singh to intervene and get the job done.
So if anyone of you anytime have been to Santacruz Station (West) will see a 90 feet road as you get out of the station. No one can miss it… Obviously the road has two sides; the left one and the right one. Both sides have shopping where every individual living be it from Mumbai or New York come here to shop as this road is a hub for wedding shopper’s. The retail stores (legal one’s) are mainly owned & dominated by the Gujarati & Marwari community. Now without any exaggeration, with authentic figures & facts I’m telling just outside this one side of the road is clogged by 300 hawkers who sit with their “thelas” selling clothes, porn cds, and what not…Since years this is happening in Santacruz. One side of the road is BLOCKED and CLOSED For any vehicle movement. (I have pictures to prove my point)
Local Corporator Hetal Gala & MLA Ashish Shelar have tried all their stunts to remove these hawkers but in vain. Now the biggest part of the story… THESE HAWKERS OCCUPY ONE WHOLE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND TRAFFIC COMING OUT OF STATION and every one around has to compulsorily drive only on the other side of the road; a legal road is occupied by hawkers and you might be the CM, but you cannot come on this side with a vehicle. If you come, you will have to forcibly take your car on the wrong side and drive, which here is a routine. Dadagiri hai, and worst it the original shopkeepers are hand-in-glove with these hawkers in spite of their own businesses being affected and sales going down. No wonder, many politicians who once sold porn CD’s to make their living in our area (Sanatcruz-Khar-Bandra) are having construction projects worth hundreds of crores now and getting their next generation in politics to ruin our area, more.
Anyway, It is a nightmare for traffic cops to control the vehicle movement here . But then one day–they decided, enough was enough. What they did, was a brilliant move. They put iron clad dividers along with barricades on the whole road alongside dividers. So, even if there was a small gap for a scooter, it was closed with barricades. Traffic coming from anywhere on this road now did’t have the space to go in the wrong direction; they had to take their cars on the designated road, which was occupied by 300 hawkers. Obviously there was revolt but movement of public and public transport cannot be stopped, isn’t it? Hawkers had to give in…In a month’s time, traffic cops got the number from 300 to only 50 hawkers now sitting on the sideways of the road. All was well; But then, never underestimate these illegal immigrants. They hatched a plan.
What one of them did, is they made a fake fire call to the depot located at Bandra. Immediately, fire brigade’s were on their way. Now due to the traffic police’s master stroke, the road was open to all but there was a divider. Now what happened, when the fire brigade arrived, it had to reverse a few times as the brigade couldn’t take a full-fledged turn at one go & this was already being recorded on a mobile phone. The entire shooting as how “during emergency fire brigade wasn’t able to reach on-time, and what if we loose lives if anything happens” was presented to Speaker Nana Patole via some activists and leader of these illegal immigrant hawkers. Nanabhau, being Nanabhau, (heard he loves to interfere in any department every time) gave strict instructions to the BMC and cops to remove the barricades (without hearing the cops & BMC) and yes now the 300 illegal hawkers are back on the road…Whatever good the cops wanted to do, went down in the drain. Now the cops are shamed regularly, and now they are doing their duties with their heads down. Sad part is Nana resigned the next day after this disastrous decision made from the post of Speaker. And by the way, there has not been a fire in Santacruz station area for past 4 months…It is confirmed with the fire depot!
Krishna Hegde joins Shivsena!
This was bound to happen. If you are getting people from outside and not fulfilling their promises and on top of that keep them on side for a very long time, your party will loose able people. BJP lost on to Krishna Hegde as he joined Shivsena. Hedge is a strong man from Vile Parle, Mumbai, having years of ground work experience since his college days. His connect with all the major parties has been excellent. Shivsena on the other hand has lost Shahsikant Patkar (dead) in Parle, so to fill his shoes Hegde is equally capable. I have told him, after ,moving from Congress & BJP now to Sena, you have to steady your boat in Sena, else even he will be counted in the likes of Hemraj Shah who I heard & read has challenged Amit Shah & PM Modi to change the name of Ahemdabad. I simply smiled, If people like Hemraj Shah (who has been in & out of every major party under the sun) can challenge PM & HM of our country, kaise bhala hoga iss desh ka?
Vikrant Hemant Joshi
