PEOPLE'S UPRISING

After the July 26 floods and the subsequent outbreak of epidemic diseases, several citizens' forums are still searching for answers to know what really went wrong. On the eve of Independence Day, AGNI (Action for Good Governance and Networking in India) along with Bombay Catholic Sabha organized a public meeting at Sevadaan hall in Chembur, to protest against the government's inefficiency in dealing with the situation and to plan for the future calamities. This time it was not glib talk, the activists demanded action. The inaugural address by the AGNI core committee Rajkumar Sharma highlighted the specific problems relating to our suburb. He urged the public to unite and stop the proposed site for bio-medical waste in our suburb. He also mentioned some immediate steps that need to be taken like the de-silting and cleaning of all the storm water drains to prevent such disasters in the future.

The meet came down heavily on the unplanned construction and expansion of the city, the builder-politician-slumlord nexus which is running our metro, encroachment of open spaces, the plastic culture clogging our drains and other related factors that led to the flooding on Tuesday. The panel comprising eminent activist like Gerson da Cunha, municipal corporator George Abraham and the members of AGNI Steering Committee all targeted the civic authorities for the lack of administrative acumen in dealing with the deluge.

B G Deshmukh the AGNI Chairman (Ex Cabinet Secretary, Government of India) outlined some solutions to the city's massive civic problems. He also put forth the idea of setting up an enquiry committee on behalf of the citizens to make the government accountable as it was felt without proper governance, little can be done to make the city a better place. D M Sukthankar, the former Municipal Commissioner pointed out that during the Latur earthquake although all communication links were lost, the ham radio service operated between the site of disaster and the Mantralaya. Thinking aloud he wondered why such a service was not pressed into service during the deluge.

Gerson da Cunha, on his part urged the people to join forces and not remain just as passive spectators. George Abraham, the corporator demanded a complete clean-up of the plastic choked Mithi River which is now reduced to a dirty gutter. Yusuf Abhrani, the MLA from Trombay was asked to comment on his role and contribution towards the relief work. After listing his good deeds, he targeted the civic chief Johny Joseph stating that , "He is the man who is the whole and sole authority. Only the BMC has the resources and the man power to tackle the problem on such a massive scale."

In the question answer session, the 200 and odd public who had gathered at the venue wanted to know about the compensation for the middle class - an issue that was raised by the CG Plus in the August 13 issue. The question was addressed to the MLA who replied stating, "Small shop keepers will be compensated but nothing has so far been announced for the middle class residents." The public also wanted to know how it is possible for a common man's voice to be heard in a corrupt set-up where even the influential politicians have failed. People's movement on a massive scale was the clarion call given by the corporator George Abraham, on the occasion. The issue of banning the use of plastic was also discussed at the meeting.

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