Mumbai: The slum-dwellers of Mankhurd Maharashtra Nagar staged a protest on Monday against the proposed Mumbai Metro carshed at Mandale. This depot will cater to Metro 2A (Dahisar to DN Nagar), Metro 2B (DN Nagar, Mandale), Metro 7 (Andheri east to Dahisar east). Since they are going to be affected by the project, they have demanded jobs and alternative accommodation. The protest was led by Rahul Shewale, the local Shiv Sena Member of Parliament (MP). There are around 532 hutments that will be affected by the car depot.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) received a letter from MP Shewale, in which he said since the Mandale land was to be used for the proposed carshed, the youth of the area should be given employment by the authority. He has recommended that around 500 youths be given employment, said an official from the MMRDA. Moreover, the MP also demanded rehabilitation of all affected slum-dwellers. A senior MMRDA official said, “Not all can be rehabilitated, we have identified 532 hutments, of which 22 are commercial and the remaining residential. The eligible Project Affected Persons(PAPs) will be shifted to Vashi Naka, where we already have a few vacant tenements. We also gave them the options of the municipal tenements at Mahul Village and houses by the Shivshahi Punarvasan Prakalp Ltd Mankhurd, but as they have refused to shift there, Vashi Naka is the only option left.”
The proposed carshed at Mandale will be a double-deck structure, to accommodate rakes from all metro lines. Car depots are where the rakes are parked and also undergo maintenance.