7-HR NIGHTMARE FOR COMMUTERS

Mhada lottery stir chokes Bandra roads

Mill Workers Demand Flats Free Of Cost

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Mumbai: Thousands of commuters had a harrowing time on Thursday as scores of mill workers led by former Shiv Sena MP Mohan Rawle held a morcha in Bandra on Thursday. 
    The protesters were demanding the cancellation of Mhada's lottery, which was held at the Rang Sharda auditorium to allot 6,925 flats to mill workers. They also wanted the state (through Mhada) to allot flats to 1.1 lakh mill workers free of cost. 
    Nearly 2,000 protesters occupied S V Road around 9am, triggering massive traffic snarls whose effects were felt for almost seven hours on all roads in and around Bandra. Patients, too, had a torrid time as they got stuck in the mess. 
    Traffic police officials said though they had information about the morcha, but were not prepared for a rasta roko. 
    As the protesters blocked Mahim Causeway, south-bound traffic from S V Road was diverted, said the police. Northbound traffic was diverted to Mori Road and Raheja Hospital Marg towards Dharavi and Sion-Dharavi Road. "Around 40 traffic personnel were deployed at places like the Mahim junction, Turner Road junction, Bandra station (W) and Lilavati Hospital junction," said senior inspector Rajendra Chavan, Bandra traffic chowky. 
    DCP (Zone IX) Pratap Dighavkar said: "We will take legal action against those who staged the rasta roko. Traffic was diverted almost immediately to ease the situation." 
    Rawle held a one-hour meeting with Satish Gavai, Mhada vice-president, and Gautam Chatterjee, principal secretary (housing). Both officials, however, refused to stay the lottery. "We have held several meetings with the unions, but there has been no consensus on the issue of giving flats free of cost. It is not possible. We are already giving the flats at Rs 7.5 lakh each as against the cost of Rs 12 lakh," said Chatterjee. 
    Meanwhile, there was anxiety, joy and disappointment for 43,099 workers of the total 1.48 lakh families that had bid for the 6,925 flats. 
    This is the first time a lottery has been conducted to give homes to workers from the 58 erstwhile textile mills. However, the housing board has so far got its share of land from only 18 mills. As a result, only 43,099 workers from these 18 mills got to participate in the lottery. 
    "There was no option but to keep out workers from the other 40 mills. They have to wait till Mhada gets possession of the remaining land," said a senior Mhada official, adding that no additional houses will be available for mill workers for at least two years. One option is to build houses for the workers in their hometowns, the official said. 
    Of the 43,099 eligible applicants, 6,820 were descendants of workers who had died. 
    Pravin Ghag of the Girni Kamgar Sangharsh Samiti said, "A state panel with representatives from our union is looking at options under the ULCA, slum rehabilitation and similar schemes whereby we can provide more houses for mill workers in Mumbai." 
HOUSE THAT 
    6,925 flats put up for sale by Mhada for mill workers 
    1.48 lakh applications received 
    43,099 applicants found eligible 
    Each flat to cost 7.5 lakh and measure 250 sq ft (approx carpet area) 
    Half of the available houses have been built on land given by NTC. The entire New Hind mill has been given to the housing board as part ofMhada's share from mills like Apollo, Elphinstone, Indu 2 & 3, Jupiter, Kohinoor 3, Mumbai Textile Mill and New Hind

SPACE JAM: The effects of the mill workers' morcha were felt on and around Bandra's roads for seven hours on Thursday