Mumbai: ‘Now-gutted film studio and turf were built illegally,’ say Goregaon residents

The burnt down studio, besides Bangur Nagar, is seen on Friday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

Residents of Bangur Nagar in Goregaon West have alleged that the film studio where a fire broke out earlier this week was built illegally. Tuesday's incident could have been avoided if our multiple complaints to the authorities over the past two years hadn't fallen on deaf ears, they said.

Residents from Janki Ram CHSL, Jamuna Darshan CHS, Brijdham Nanddham CHS, Kaveri Mahima CHS and Krishna Leela CHS, had written to the BMC, police, collector and tahsildar alleging illegal construction of a turf and the film studio on the plot spread over 20,000 square metre. The plot falls under the Reserved for Open Space (ROS) category. "One cannot do concretisation and land-filling on an ROS plot, which needs to be protected to maintain the ecological system. And no commercial activity is permitted. The plot belongs to Laxmi Asbestos Products Ltd, which illegally allowed construction of the turf and the studio," said Shreyansh Mithare, secretary of Janki Ram CHS.

‘Inflammable materials stored'
"The fire broke out on February 2. But I had written multiple letters to P/South ward assistant commissioner of BMC and Bangur Nagar police regarding the illegal storage of highly inflammable materials adjacent to the boundary walls of housing societies since 2019. We had sent them photos too," he said. "There was a major violation of MRTP (Maharashtra Region Town Planning) Act but our complaints went unheard. Had the authorities acted swiftly then, the fire incident could have been averted," Mithare said. He said police on Thursday recorded his and another person's statement in the matter.

Senior citizen Jhunu Ghosh, who resides in Jamuna Darshan CHS, said, "The studio is next to our boundary wall. I was completely terrified to see the massive fire. All the ACs burst one by one… It was horrible." All the housing societies have a cooking gas pipeline, and "had the security guards not switched off the connection, it would have been a major hazard."

Not a single park
Gyan Chaddha, a consultant architect and resident of Janki Ram CHS, said, "Bangur Nagar area is spread over 6 lakh square yard, but there is neither a playground nor a park here. The 20,000-sqm plot was reserved for public amenities. But the studio and turf construction have deprived us of our civic rights." Pushkar Roje of Janki Ram CHS said, "It is an open land that was illegally levelled 7 ft high in 2019. We had made several calls to the police but nothing happened." Another resident, Sanjeev Agarwal, said, "We face water logging issues during monsoon as our drainage system was obstructed following construction of studio and turf." "We made complaints to Bangur Nagar police and assistant commissioner of P/South ward, but in vain."

The aggrieved residents had also approached local politicians. "What's the responsibility of local representatives and Mumbai police if they cannot protect the rights of taxpayers?" asked R K Ramnathkar, resident of Krishna Leela CHS. "Why an ordinary citizen have to file a complaint? Why can't the police and BMC monitor illegal constructions?" Brij Dham CHS secretary Prasanna Shetty said they made multiple complaints for two years, but the Bangur Nagar police acted only after the fire incident and sent a notice to Laxmi Asbestos Products Ltd under the MRTP Act.

Nothing illegal
"There is nothing illegal done at the private property land. And if they (locals) feel that an illegal work has been done, they can move to court to seek justice," Hemant Bangur, the owner of the land, told mid-day. Mandar Chowdhary, assistant engineer, BMC's Building and Factory Department, said, "They were given permission for the studio, but it was revoked after the fire incident." Chowdhary refused to comment on why the ROS land was being used for commercial activities.

Sanitisation, noise complaints
Residents also complained about sanitisation issues owing to shootings in the studio, and complained about too much noise because of sport events on the turf. Nand Dham CHS resident Vaidehi Mehendali said, "On the turf, they allow cricket and football matches 24X7. Apart from noise, the flood lights are on even at night, and are a nuisance." "Various schools in Malad and Bangur Nagar areas also hold their annual functions or sports activities here." Brij Dham CHS resident Madhuri Nardekar said, "The roads leading to our housing societies are jammed with parked vanity vans. The roads are littered with liquor bottles and cigarette butts." Shobha Pise, senior inspector, Bangur Nagar police station, said, "The illegal encroachment comes under the BMC. There was no such complaint from the BMC, and we cannot act on the complaints from the citizens."

A major fire broke out at a scrapyard in Mankhurd, on Friday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Major fire at Mankhurd scrapyard, no one hurt
A major fire broke out at a scrapyard in Mandala, Mankhurd, on Friday afternoon. Around 15 fire engines were rushed to the site after the incident was reported around 2.45 pm. No injuries were reported. The fire brigade was trying to control the fire till late evening. The cause of the fire is still unknown.