Maharaja Casino may have finally cleared the encroachments on the footpath near the jetty, but it left behind a sense of exasperation in the minds of the citizen over our highly porous system. There is a sense of helplessness when the cash-rich casinos collude with the powers that be and use money power to bulldoze their way through. There is a sense of betrayal when law keepers and enforcers turn the other way and ignore all possible laws to allow blatant illegalities. And there is a sense of being cheated when authorities are caught on the wrong foot only to be let off on flimsy grounds.
Maharaja Casino may have demolished the encroachment, but not before it displayed its might of setting up an imposing structure on the footpath. It has proved beyond any reasonable doubt how deeply its powers are rooted and the gamble it can take with the system. The casino owners succeeded in erecting a solid plush structure comprising of passages, tents, tin sheets and iron railings and managed to hold on to it for months together. This itself is enough to explain the entire story.
But beyond that, it was the Captain of Ports which has made a mockery of our entire system by granting permission for such a structure which not only blocks the entire pathway, but has even electrical connections for the entry ticket counters and other facilities. The ease with which the CoP has admitted it as a mistake is bizarre to say the least.
The incident has also exposed CCP’s love for casinos, for they preferred to play mute despite a directive from the division bench of the Mumbai High Court to municipalities to crack down against all encroachments on public ways. This has strongly highlighted a bond which extends from the waters of Mandovi to the jetties and which now threatens to spill over to the footpaths.
CCP’s favouritism also stands clearly exposed in view of the fact that it showed such a tearing hurry in clearing vendors from foothpaths during the 10-day traditional fair of Gokulashtami and Ganesh Chaturti. Despite several pleas, the CCP workers accompanied by police had shown no mercy as they went about their job of demolishing the stalls errected along the DB Marg where even their wares were confiscated. Leave aside granting them four weeks to clear off their stalls which included furniture and other household accessories, they were not even permitted four days.
The collective voices of the people have come out trumps. A contempt plea against the CCP in this connection is the right step forward and every possible partner in this act should be brought to book, not forgetting the CoP who granted permission for such an encroachment. This cannot be passed off as a mistake.
