Worli Hit And Run Case: BMC Razes Illegal Portions Of Bar Visited By Mihir Shah

A team from the BMC's K-West ward swung into action on Wednesday and demolished a massive 3,500 sqft of illegal construction of Vice Global Tapas Bar on Juhu Tara Road, where Mihir Shah, 24, had alcohol before allegedly fatally knocking down a woman and injuring her husband last Sunday in Worli.

The couple was on a scooter when he rammed his BMW into it from the rear. The accident was marked by extreme cruelty as the accused dragged the woman along with his car for 1.5 km even as her husband was on the vehicle's bonnet, shouting at him to stop the limousine being driven at breakneck speed at 5.30am.

During the demolition drive, portions of the kitchen and the loft located at the front of the bar's entrance were razed. The question being asked is why the K-West ward did not take action against the large-scale illegal construction of the Juhu bar all these months and woke up only when the Worli tragedy took place. It is learnt that local MLA Amit Satam has been complaining about several illegal structures in the area, but in vain. Even Wednesday's demolition was not done by the ward office on its own, but only after instructions were issued from the chief minister's office.

The civic team went to the high-end bar located near Hotel King's International with a measuring tape. It found that the owner had carried out several extensive alterations to the premises. The staff issued a notice under section 351 of the BMC Act and later demolished the illegal portions with a bulldozer. “We found that about 1,500 sqft of open space on the ground floor had been illegally utilised by installing an iron shed. Additionally, about 2,000 sqft of the roof area had been enclosed with another unauthorised iron shed. So, we immediately demolished the illegal alterations in the bar,” said a civic official. A civic team of five engineers, two officials and 20 workers were deployed to carry out the action. Also, equipment such as JCB, electric breakers, gas cutters, etc was used during the demolition drive. The action was taken under police protection and with officials of Maharashtra's excise department on the site.

However, Chakrapani Alle, assistant municipal commissioner of K-West ward, was not available for comment. Alle is the same official who was posted as the assistant commissioner in F-North ward, Matunga, until recently. There, Hotel Radhkrishna, situated close to the ward office on Bhaudaji Road, was operating without a health licence from a building without an occupancy certificate. It was only when the MNS raised the issue that Alle shut it down. The hotel now has a licence, but it is being run from an under-construction building where there is a possibility of debris falling on customers.

In H-West, M-West and several other wards illegal structures galore, but the ward staff concerned is reluctant to take action despite CM Eknath Shinde's order. In M-West, an illegal structure has been built on the mega city nullah because of which there is heavy flooding during monsoon. Several complaints to the ward officer Vishwas Mote have yielded no results. A massive illegal structure has come up close to the Chembur railway station, but no action has been taken. In Dadar, at least two bars and fast food joints have encroached on the compulsory open space with impunity.

Meanwhile, several illegal structures have come up on marshy land and coastal regulations zones in Versova. Prithviraj Chauhan, then assistant municipal commissioner of K-West ward, had started a drive against this construction last month. However, the action halted after he was immediately transferred to F-North ward comprising Wadala, Matunga and Sion areas. Alle took charge of K-West ward on July 1. The civic team of K-West demolished seven illegal buildings in Versova last month. In Lokhandwala complex, Andheri, locals had to move the court to get illegal constructions in an open park demolished. Even now a large structure remains untouched since the ward office is awaiting a nod from the high court.