A scrap dealer flouted rules and inconvenienced the residents of Montclair housing society by conducting his business on the pavements adjoining the building gate, despite a Bombay High Court order instructing for his eviction. Calling it encroachment, the residents are upset due to the inaction by Mahim police as well as the civic body. The dealer, Anis Maniar, has refused to vacate the pavement on St Gabriel Road which he had been encroaching upon for years even as the locals claimed his business posed a health and safety concern. 

The dark side

The society’s former chairman Nilkanth Apte said, “The plot the scrap dealer uses is leased land. Apart from encroaching on it, he has spread out his business, making it difficult for us to access the pavement. He is nonchalant about it and does not seem to care. He has also built an extension to his shop which encroaches on our society land. In addition, because of the tempos that are parked to take the junk, people openly defecate behind them. Some people even come and smoke marijuana in the evening and night. Besides, the pavements are really filthy and stink, making the area unlivable.”