Maha MLA gets garbage dumped on contractor over clogged drains
MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MLA Dilip Lande stirred up a controversy on Sunday, after a viral video showed him purportedly forcing a civic contractor to sit on a waterlogged street in Mumbai’s Chandivali area on Saturday and asking workers to dump garbage on him for allegedly not getting the drains cleaned properly.
“You will have to sit in the drain until your boss comes. The streets have been waterlogged for the last eight days, but you have no time to clean the drains. We were forced to clean it up,” Lande is heard saying in the video.
The incident took place on Saturday as heavy rainfall continued to lash Mumbai for eight days, leading to flooding and waterlogging in parts of the city.
In the video, an infuriated Lande, along with his associates, is seen forcing the contractor to sit on the road which was excessively waterlogged due to irreguthe lar cleaning of the drainage system. Later, Lande and his supporters are seen asking workers to dump garbage on the contractor, which they did.
“The people of Sanjay Nagar and Sundarbaug (in Kurla) have been wading through the dirty water and clogged streets for the last few days. I had to resort to street along with party workers and Shiv Sena corporators and get the drains cleaned. I made him sit in the waterlogged drains so that he realized the plight of the people,” he said.
“I did this as the contractor didn’t do his job properly,” Lande was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“I had been calling up the contractor for the last 15 days requesting him to clear the road. He never did that. Shiv Sena people were themselves working on it...,” he added.
The viral incident is being highly condemned, with Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kirit Somaiya terming it hooliganism.
“Mumbai Mayor says 103% garbage removed by BMC & Shiv Sena MLA Dilip Lande assaulting Contractor for not removing Garbage. Actual Gundagardi is for Commission from Contractor. BMC means Nexus of Mafia Contractors & Gundagiri of Shivsena. Is this acceptable to Congress Rahul Gandhi(sic),” Somaiya tweeted.