The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the MMRDA to file a reply as to what it pertains to do with regards to a masjid, which is coming in the way of the construction of Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR).

Excerpt from DNA, reported by DNA Correspondent on Jan 19, 2012: Read Full Article 

Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR)

The HC was informed that the masjid trust has been given an alternative masjid, which is 10 times better than the old one, but they are not allowing the old one to be demolished. The advocate for the trust argued that the new masjid, which is on Mhadaland is not being given an NOC and thus the new masjid is not legal.

The bench then directed MMRDA to write to Mhada for granting the NoC.

The HC was hearing a petition filed by a private construction company whose permission has been revoked by MMRDA. The company, Priya Constructions, wants to demolish the masjid situated at Tilak Nagar, as it is coming in way of the Santacruz-Chembur-Link Road and is required to be demolished for the implementation of a Slum Rehabilitation Scheme. According to the petition filed by the company, it was granted Letter of Intent in the year 2010 by MMRDA.

Source: CHEMBUR-GHATKOPAR PLUS dated January 14, 2012 by Sudhakar Anchan. Pix: M.M. Shirodkar.

“I am a resident of building no.51 in Tilak Nagar and ever since I have taken possession of my flat in 2006 there is open gutter flowing outside our building gate. We get contaminated water supply because of this. The building residents have complained many times but no action has been taken yet,” says Olvin Serrao while addressing the problem.

The sewerage line in front of the building Nos. 51 & 53, Tilak Nagar is chocked up, which is overflowing and water alongwith human excrement

The problem is perennial in Tilak Nagar. Since last three years, the sewerage line in front of the building no.51 and 53 has chocked up. This sewerage line runs parallel to the drinking water supply line and has got mixed up with potable water.

Though BMC has, time and again, made efforts to resolve the problem, no fruitful solution has been made yet. The passage is obstructed by new building activities and the builders/developers are not bothered to make proper provisions for the straight flow of sewage water.

James George, another resident laments, “This sewerage line is overflowing throughout the day on the main road to Tilak Nagar railway station. Thousands of people pass through this road to reach the railway station. There is a school in the vicinity of this spot, so school children are also forced to go through this road. Though the Municipal Corporation M-West ward is highly benefitted with the re-development and re-construction and has become rich by property tax collection, no infrastructure development has been made adequately.”

“Hope the authorities will look into the matter and expedite soon,” George adds further.

Raja Chowgule, corporator of the area said, “I am aware of the problem. But the entire Tilak Nagar area comes under MHADA. The water and sewerage lines are 30 to 40 years old. When MHADA is redeveloping the area it should take into consideration these problems also”

“Recently ward officer of M-West ward, Tilak Nagar residents and MHADA officials held a meeting to sort out the issue. Almost 95 percent of the water contamination problem is solved. After obtaining NOC from MHADA, BMC has sorted out water contamination issue. Sewerage line overflowing issue will also be taken care of. But it will take time. The basic problem is MHADA. While redeveloping old buildings MHADA should have taken care of these basic amenities in the beginning itself” added Chowgule.

A ward official on condition of anonymity said, “Of course there is problem. BMC does its best. But main problem is of MHADA. While redeveloping the old buildings, MHADA should have done proper layout in the planning stage itself. Their outlook should be on long term basis.”

Excerpt from TOI, reported by Linah Baliga, TNN on Nov 29, 2011: Read Full Article

Residents of Chembur on Sunday nominated civic activist Dr Neelam Rane as their citizen candidate for the BMC elections slated for February, 2012.

Dr Neelam Rane as their citizen candidate for the BMC elections slated for February, 2012

Popular in her locality–ward 149-for taking up various civic issues, including the closure of the Deonar dumping ground, 51-year-oldR anehas pipped pathologist Dr Indumati Gopinath as the citizen’s choice for the corporators ‘ contest. Currently, the Shiv Sena’s Raja Chaughule is the corporator of ward 149 in Chembur, which comprises Tilak Nagar, Pestom Sagar and Chedda Nagar.

According to residents, Rane has since long been fighting for the citizens ‘ rights. Being a managing committee member of Pestom Sagar Citizens’ Forum, she, along with her doctor husband Sandip Rane, spearheaded the Smoke-Affected Residents’ Relief Forum in Chembur, which was formed to fight against environmental pollution caused by illegal dumping of garbage at the Deonar ground. “We found that the illegal garbage dumping was taking a toll on the environment of Ghatkopar, Chembur, Deonar and even parts of Vashi. We filed a PIL 14 years ago and did not stop our battle against the onslaught on environment till 2010,when thehighcourtordered a scientific closure of the dumping ground. The HC formed a committee and entrusted it with the task of overseeing the shutdown. My husband, Dr Sandeep Rane, is a member of the panel,” said Rane.

HEAD CONSTABLE OF TILAK NAGAR POLICE STATION RAMESH AVHAD TALKS ABOUT HIS PASSION FOR WRITING POETRIES.

In the busy world of policing where crime detection and arresting criminals is the norm there exists a cop Ramesh Avhad, head constable of Tilak Nagar police station who is a poet.

Source: CHEMBUR-GHATKOPAR PLUS, a TOI supplement dated Nov 5, 2011, by Sudhakar Anchan, Photo Courtesy M.M.Shirodkar

Poet head constable Ramesh Avhad , Photo Courtesy M.M. Shirodkar

“Vardeet policeaancha masteet rahato mee, gardeet mansaancha gashteet rahato mee” says Avhad.
Short pieces of poetry like this keep Avhad in good stead in his hectic policing job as well as in his creative skills.
“During the beginning of my policing career I observed the difference between how certain norms in the society is generally perceived and how different it is practically and started writing poetry depicting the dichotomy existing in the society” says Avhad.
His first book ‘Vardit’lya Kavita’ a collection of 92 poems was released in July 2002 by Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya and Sanskruti Mandal, a state government organization.
“I was the first person who wrote poetry on AIDS in the year 1992. The AIDS epidemic started in the year 1989. When I read my poetry on AIDS in Doordarshan’s ‘Kaavya Kunj’ programme everyone liked it. The Times of India too quoted me as the first person to write poetry on AIDS. Ironically, a convict in a jail in Delhi wrote the second poetry as per the available records” states Avhad.
In the year 2004 Avhad founded ‘Brihan Mumbai Police Sahitya Mandal’. Apart from Mumbai police, policemen from Pune, Kalyan and Thane also contribute their literary work to this organization. Avhad is also a representative of Shashakiya Karmachari Sahitya Sammelan.
In the Police Pratibha Sammelan-2004 held in Kalyan, the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and the then deputy chief minster R.R. Patil were present on the occasion which was conducted by Avhad in his capacity as a founder of Brihan Mumbai Police Sahitya Mandal. “Policemen from all over Maharashtra including SRP had participated in it” says Avhad enthusiastically.
Apart from poetry, short stories written by Avhad has been aired in All India Radio and published in several Marathi newspapers. Avhad has a taste for Hindi poetry also. “Writing in Hindi widens my scope to reach out to maximum number of people” informs Avhad.
In his yet to be released three books, Avhad has written a poetry book on children – bringing out the difficulties and dilemmas’ faced by children in their growing up years, another book deals with difference of living in rural and urban areas and third is a collection of short stories. Avhad states, “Once the final print gets ready it will go for publishing”.
Recently Avhad was invited as a guest lecturer at Sahu Shikshan Sanstha’s B.A., B.Ed College in Shahad near Kalyan where he spoke about the language for two hours. “When one writes in his own language it is generally accepted by the readers as writers’ thinking comes straight from the heart. But if one wants to write in other languages other than his own he should write only if he is able to capture the beauty of that language,” informs Avhad.
Avhad thoughtfully says, “Winning awards and trophies are fine. More than that acceptance of my literary work among my readers gives me immense satisfaction. Writing poetry has given me satisfaction.”
“Without the help of my colleagues and my senior officers it would not have been possible for me to balance my work and my passion. Wherever I was posted, I got whole hearted support from all” reveals Avhad.
“My wife, two sons and younger daughter are my biggest critics as well as my fans who give me strength to excel in whatever I do,” maintains Avhad.

Excerpt from Mid-Day, reported by Dazy Verma on 2011-09-01: Read Full Article

150 artisans having worked for 45 days to copy the grand temple-complex in the nation’s capital, the pandal built by Chembur’s Sahyadri Ganesh mandal at Tilak Nagar is sure to be a visual treat

The replica of the Akshardham temple made by Sahyadri Krida Mandal

Make sure you give the pandal built by Chembur’s Sahyadri Ganesh mandal a prominent place in your darshan itinerary this year.

The artisans roped in by the mandal have accomplished a rare feat for their Ganeshotsav celebrations at the Tilak Nagar community hall, refashioning a replica of Akshardham in Delhi.

The air-conditioned hall will be thrown open to devotees seeking darshan today. The magnificent temple was recreated under the aegis of art director Shabana Khanam, the entire project costing the mandal Rs 50 lakh.

Mumbai, Jul 3 (UNI) In a major breakthrough in investigations into the murder of senior journalist J Dey, the crime branch of Mumbai police has arrested a local builder Vinod Chembur, who allegedly financed the killing of Dey. Vinod Asrani alias Chembur was produced before a Magistrate this morning and remanded to police custody till July 7.

Crime branch sources said intensive grilling of sharpshooter Kaliya and Underworld don Chhota Rajan’s key aide D K Rao, who was picked up for questioning yesterday, revealed the involvement of Vinod Chembur.

Vinod, who is allegedly involved in laundering Rajan’s tainted funds in real estate and was once a leading cricket bookie, had handed over money on Rajan’s behalf to Subhash Kaliya, who shot dead Dey on June 11 in Powai.

Kaliya, an ace sharpshooter of Rajan gang, was allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh for the killing in two instaLments of Rs two and three lakhs by Vinod’s men, sources said.

Kaliya, along with six others, had been arrested in connection with the murder of Dey.

Rao, who had gone underground for several days after the killing, resurfaced yesterday and was detained by police. though police officials were tight-lipped, sources said they grilled the aide to ascertain if he had any prior knowledge of Dey’s murder or not.

J Dey met Vinod Chembur for 'mandavli' but killed by shooter!

On friday, a person claiming to be Rajan, called up a private chaanel and claimed he got Dey killed as he had crossed his limits.

Rao was acquitted in two cases, a year ago, and had one case pending against him, involving killing of gangster O P Singh inside Nashik jail in 2003.

Sources said after intensive grilling of Kaliya, police were on the lookout for the builder and some of key aides of Rajan in Tilak nagar to establish the motive and conspiracy behind the killing.

Excerpt from Mid-Day, reported by Shiva Devnath on 2011-01-20 : Read Full Article

Sena volunteer steals gold ring worth R36,000; police catch him as CCTV grab matches person featured on a political banner.

CCTV camera footage of the theft at Kamal Jewellery

Self-proclaimed politicians should not put up promotional posters around town and go about stealing jewellery while they are on public display because of the obvious hazard that poses of being recognised and caught.

That’s the lesson Deepak Ramgopal Bhaise, a volunteer for the Shiv Sena’s Shikshak Kamgar Sena, learnt when cops caught him for stealing a high-value ring from a jewellery store in Tilak Nagar after they realised that the CCTV footage of the theft and the poster he had put up in Shivaji Nagar featured the same person him.

Excerpt from The Times of India , reported by Yogesh Naik, TNN on Dec 6, 2010: Read Full Article
While the FSI for the 56 Mhada colonies in Mumbai has been increased to 2.5 and buildings are undergoing redevelopment, there is hardly any effort to have planned development. In fact, there is very less space for vehicle parking in redeveloped buildings and residents are forced to park on roads.

Vice-president and CEO of Mhada, Gautam Chatterjee, said: ” In one of the meetings, I told municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya that no concessions must be given to builders who want redevelopment by compromising on parking space.”

….

A case in point is Tilak Nagar in Chembur where towers came up in place of Mhada chawls. As parking is an issue, residents now park on the road. At many places in Tilak Nagar, there is angular parking, leading to traffic snarls and only one car can pass on each carriageway. Same is the case at Pantnagar, Motilal Nagar, Bandra (E) and Andheri (W).

Read more: Parking woes dog redeveloped Mhada buildings – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Parking-woes-dog-redeveloped-Mhada-buildings/articleshow/7050330.cms#ixzz17J6f4Ty0

Mumbai, Sep 27 (PTI) City police today filed an over 4,000-page chargesheet against 11 arrested persons, accused in the murder case of Farid Tanasha, suspected aide of gangster Chhota Rajan. The 11 persons have been charged under the stringent provisions of Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), various sections of IPC and Arms Act.

On June 2, Tanasha was shot dead by two sharp shooters at his residence in Tilak Nagar in suburban Chembur. According to the chargesheet, a local builder had approached gangster Bharat Nepali to murder Tanasha as he had a feud with him regarding redevelopment of a building in Tilak Nagar. Nepali and three others have been shown as absconding accused in the chargesheet. The 4,620-page chargesheet also includes the statements of 168 witnesses including eye witnesses.

The arrested accused are Zaffar Khan alias Abbas, Mohammed Saqib Khan, Raviprakash Singh alias Twinkle, Pankaj Singh, Randhir Singh alias Nikhil, Mohammed Rafiq Shaikh alias Shankar, Dattatray Bhakre, Ravindra Warerkar, Vishwanath Shetty, Rajeev Chavan and Laljibhai Bhandari.

Excerpt from mid-day, reported by Shiva Devnath on 2010-09-16 : Read Full Article

D K Rao allegedly loses temper as photographer appointed by Tilak Nagar Ganesh mandal tries to click his picture at the pandal.

Looks can be deceptive. Hair trimmed short and dressed in a black suit, underworld don Chhota Rajan’s aide D K Rao appeared as a thorough gentlemen to onlookers when he visited Chembur’s Tilak Nagar Ganpati on Tuesday night. But his actions spoke otherwise.
….

The mandal organisers confirmed that Rao had visited Tilak Nagar for darshan, but were mum about the incident. Ashok Satardekar, organiser, Sahyadri Krida Mandal, said, “Yes, Rao paid a visit on Tuesday, but I was not present then. There are thousands of people who come to our pandal for darshan, but I cannot keep a track of everyone.”

On Gokulashtami earlier this month, Rao had made his first public appearance at a Worli mandal, after he was acquitted in January by a special MCOCA court in an extortion case.