Bhiwandi: The Bhiwandi-Nizampura Municipal Corporation (BNMC) headquarters has acquired the dubious distinction of becoming an illegal parking lot, all under the eye of security guards. On their part, security guards allege every corporator, civic employee and their relative has been parking their vehicles here with impunity and they are helpless in the matter.
According to Arvind Jaiswar, RTI activist, “Dena Bank, State Bank of India, the tahsildar’s office, the panchayat samiti office and the DCP office are situated around the Bhiwandi corporation headquarters. Since there is no proper parking space, people park their bikes and four-wheelers inside the headquarters and 46 guards on the site can do nothing about it. Among the 46 are four women from the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC). The corporation incurs a total of Rs 10 lakh in salary expenses.”
The security guards do not maintain proper entries of vehicles or visitors in their books, he alleged. Subhash Chavan, the security in-charge of the Bhiwandi corporation said, “We have written a letter to the authorities regarding illegal parking inside the headquarters. We have asked to fine and punish those in violation of rules. We have demanded jammers and barricades but have yet to receive them. Once our demands are fulfilled, lots of problems will end”.
“Corporators, civic employees and their relatives illegally park their vehicles inside the corporation headquarters. Guards cannot question them,” security guards complain. Even at night, vehicles can be spotted, parked inside the headquarters. When this reporter contacted civic chief Manohar Hire, he seemed to be unaware of the issue and avoided questions on the “illegal parking adda”, saying he would order an inquiry in the matter.