Bandstand police chowkie awaits inauguration for 6 months

MUMBAI: A newly built police chowkie at Bandra Bandstand has been awaiting inauguration for over six months, ostensibly because the local police are awaiting approval from higher authorities. On Wednesday, the matter took a political turn, with Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad blaming the local BJP MLA Ashish Shelar for the delay.
The chowkie was mooted by the Bandra Bandstand Residents Trust and the Bandra police station in 2021, at the same spot where an MBBS student, Sadichha Sane, was murdered, said Benedict Soares, chief operating officer of the trust.
“The chowkie is necessary for preventing crimes and the hawker menace, especially during Bandra fair, when thousands of people visit the promenade,” said Soares.
As the residents did not know the procedure for establishing a new chowkie, they took a year to send the proposal to the police after getting permission from the Mumbai Maritime Board, said the 78-year-old Soares. In early 2023, after residents sought the intervention of Shelar, work started on the construction of a chowkie measuring 1,000 square feet. The structure was constructed free of cost by a prominent developer over the next one year and was ready in March 2024.
But other problems arose soon after. The developer was keen to put up a plaque with its name on the chowkie, which the police opposed. So, the plaque was erected about 25 metres away from the structure. Windows of the chowkie were subsequently damaged by miscreants on two occasions, which Soares repaired at his own cost.
“The structure did not have an electricity connection either. So I told the police to take an extension from by personal connection till an electric meter was allotted in their name,” said Soares.
But even this did not solve the problem and the chowkie remained inoperative.
“We held several meetings with the police, urging them to inaugurate the chowkie. But every time, they said that they had sent the request to the head office and were awaiting approval,” said Soares.
On Wednesday, Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad took to the social media platform X to slam the delay. “Six months later, the police chowkie is yet to become operational because the local BJP MLA has stalled the inauguration! The citizens continue to write several letters asking for it to be opened, but to no avail,” she wrote.