30 January,2009 06:22 AM IST | | Varun Singh and Shashank Rao
They plan to fight tooth and nail against any attempt to relocate them u00a0to make way u00a0for metro rail
Residents of Linking Road, who fear being shifted to distant Thane and Mankhurd, to make way for the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd metro rail, are gearing up for a big fight. Who, after all, wants to shift from one of the costliest area of real estate, to distant Mankhurd and Thane?
Surprisingly, the MMRDA is not yet clear how many buildings on Linking Road will have to be cleared.
Dilip Kawatkhar, the public relations officer, MMRDA, said, "Not many cases of rehabilitation of people affected by Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd metro rail have come to our notice. If there are any in the future, we will shift them to Mankhurd, Oshiwara or Majas."
Milind Mhaiskar, additional metropolitan commissio- ner, MMRDA said, "The road has a width of 120 feet, and as the metro rail will ply on the centre of the road, very few structures are likely to be displaced."
Dr A K Chandiramani and his wife Dr Devi have been practicing in their clinic on the Khar stretch of Linking Road for the last 50 years. "Our patients are here. I will get a heart attack if I am sent to some place called Mankhurd or Thane. How can the government do such a thing?" asks Devi Chandiramani.
Aftab Siddique, of the Advanced Locality Manage-ment Group 144, Khar, said, "We have decided to fight to save our houses. No one can remove us from here. We have lived here for decades. The MMRDA chief has assured us a meeting on February 4. We will approach the courts to find a solution to the problem if necessary."
Incidentally, the second line of the metro rail will be delayed due to the forthcoming Assembly polls. The MMRDA will be able to decide the bidder for this project but won't be permitted give the work order till the elections are over.
