Pune Mirror: Pune: Tuesday, November 27, 2018.
A decade after the horrifying 26/11
attacks on Mumbai, a query made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has
revealed alleged ‘negligence and an insensitive attitude’ towards its martyrs
on part of a city corporator.
A Pune-based organisation has accused
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shrinath Bhimale of seeking popularity from
the fact that his birthday coincides with the day of the terrorist event.
Hundreds of hoardings, flexes and posters can be seen in various areas of the
city, wishing Bhimale for his birthday, even as he has invited celebrities like
Bappi Lahiri and Shilpa Shetty-Kundra for his programme on November 26.
In 2011, Bhimale had decided to set up a
26/11 memorial on an open space at Market Yard, dedicated to those who lost
their lives when terrorists opened fire in the financial capital.
However later, only a stone-laying
ceremony was completed at the hands of then-police commissioner Meeran Chadha
Borwankar. After regular follow-ups from social organisations including the
Republican Matang Sena and Yuva Vikas Kala Krida Pratishthan, the memorial was
completed only in 2017. However, its condition remains poor due to sheer
negligence.
“In January last year, after the memorial
was finally finished, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was supposed to
inaugurate it, along with other facilities like a sports complex,” said
Republican Matang Sena president Amol Tujare, adding that instead, it has
received no attention at all thereafter. “Leaving it in such bad shape is
disrespectful towards brave people who gave their lives for the country.
Besides, it is the only memorial in the city dedicated to 26/11,” said Tujare.
When Mirror reporter visited the spot on,
litter abounded on the unkempt plot, while the approach path was also filled
with mud and construction raw material.
Tujare said an RTI filed to seek
information about the memorial revealed some shocking facts. “We asked if PMC
was involved in the stone-laying ceremony in 2011, whether required permissions
were sought from it for construction and detailed information on the
utilisation plans, sports complex and community hall requested through
Bhimale’s corporator wife, Vandana Bhimale,” Tujare told Mirror.
The response revealed that the PMC
building department had no related records or documents. Furthermore,
information was also sought on if any funds from PMC were ever spent for the
memorial’s construction. But, this data was not included at all in the
response.
“If people’s representatives really want
to show respect, the memorial should have been maintained and every year,
social events organised there to remember the sacrifices made,” said Tujare,
adding that Bhimale’s current plans are purely for publicity.
When quizzed by Mirror, the BJP
corporator defended himself saying, “Construction of the memorial was done
entirely from personal funds, and with PMC money. The remaining work will be
done soon.”
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