MUMBAI: After 14 people died in a horrific warehouse accident in Ghatkopar, the question is: where is the money? Mumbaikars are appalled by the collective negligence of the government officials who made the incident possible.
The GRP gave permission to put up this billboard on its premises without ensuring compliance with civic norms on size and dimensions – the BMC turned a blind eye to its construction and then issued a notice last week after a full two years – at a time when when the destruction occurred on Monday.
On Tuesday, the GRP said it had started reducing stocks following the PMC’s May 2 letter, but the collapse occurred before the process was completed.
On May 2, my district office asked the GRP to withdraw the permission given to the advertising agency Eco Media Pvt Ltd and remove all the hoardings. In April last year, former BJP MP Girit Somaiya was accused of cutting down and poisoning trees blocking his billboards.
“Eco Media was given permission to install billboards on a 10-year lease under the then GRP commissioner Qwaiser Khalid,” the GRP said. Four billboards and a BPCL petrol pump (the billboard has collapsed) are run by the Railway Police Welfare Trust.