Pune Mirror: Pune: Thursday, July
14, 2016.
Flood
rehabilitation activist Mangesh Kharate on his new book, which chronicles his
15 yr-long struggle to get justice for those displaced by the 1961 flood.
Small-scale
entrepreneurturned- activist Mangesh Kharate (43), whose book Kahani Panshet
Purgrastanchi, that highlights the lengthy rehabilitation process of the
victims of the July 1961floods in the city after the Panshet dam breached its
walls and wreaked havoc, claiming thousands of lives and leaving about 4,000
homeless, was inaugurated by former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on
Tuesday. Hailing from a family of flood victims at Narayan Peth, Kharate, who
now lives in Erandwane post rehabilitation and runs a standalone eatery next to
his home, spoke about what prompted him to take to the cause. "Since I
came from a family of flood victims, I was conversant with the struggles of the
sufferers. And, I realised that since most of the victims came from modest and
unlettered backgrounds, they did not know how to steer the cause." A
commerce graduate and diploma holder in business management, Kharate started
researching on the victims' problems in October 2001. He got in touch with victims
from across the 13 rehabilitated colonies spread across eight areas.
The book
highlights some of the major anxieties of the victims, with the problem of
misrepresentation of their status as lessees on their property cards as opposed
to owners, being the most pressing concern. "Though the victims were
granted ownership of their houses, they were unable to undertake any repairs
and renovation work in their properties. Also, they could not engage in any
sale of property leaving them in possession without being able to enjoy the
ownership rights," he said.
For Kharate,
the 15-year long journey involved academic research and sample studies, in
addition to singlehandedly knocking on doors of multiple government bodies and
the court of law. "I did not know how to pull strings and had no money to
bribe officers," he confessed. This meant he had to spend from his own
pocket on filing over 250 RTI applications and making repeated trips to Mumbai
that would cost him at least Rs, 1,000 per journey.
He also
approached collectors, political workers, tehsildars, city survey officers and
the chief minister to explain his demands. However, after eight years of
research and case-building from October 2001 to June 2008, followed by diligent
correspondence with a range of authorities from mid-2008 to June 2014, Kharate
finally resolved to move court and filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in
the Bombay High Court (HC) in October 2014.
The Panshet
Purgrasta Samiti (PPS), an association of all the aggrieved members, was formed
in April 2010 and added to the credibility of his PIL petition that met with a
positive outcome in March 2015.
After this,
Kharate began documenting the entire journey, not just as an archive, but also
to provide a guideline to disaster victims seeking rehabilitation. "I went
through immense difficulty and turbulence while seeking rehabilitation. I have
no control over calamities. But, I can furnish a ready disaster management
reckoner for any unfortunate victims," he signed off.
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