Meeting of the Rumdamol village Panchayat deliberating on the Ramzan bazaar proposed in the village. Pic Santosh Mirajkar.
Rumdamol village Panchayat remains divided over a proposal to organise a Ramzan bazaar, with an equal number of panch members supporting and opposing the plan, while one member has chosen to remain neutral.
With no clear majority emerging, Panchayat Administrator Pradeep Tamankar has called for a joint inspection of the proposed site on Friday. The inspection will involve Panchayat members as well as officials from various government agencies, including the Police, Health Department and the Housing Board.
The division within the Panchayat became evident during a meeting held on Thursday, where four members supported the proposal while four others opposed it.
Panchayat members Saimulla Faniband, Mubeena Faniband, Murtaza Kuknoor and Vijay Surme are understood to have backed the proposal. However, members Vinayak Volvoikar, Umram Pathan, Zubeda and Mustaffa Sheikh reportedly voiced their opposition, while member Sofia Sheikh chose to remain neutral.
Speaking to the media, panch member Vinayak Volvoikar said the opposition stems from objections raised by residents of the locality to the event being proposed by an event management firm.
“We understand that Ramzan is a holy month for the Muslim community, but there are objections from local residents to the bazaar. If the people are opposed to the event, the Panchayat should not go ahead and impose it,” Volvoikar said.
He also questioned whether the Panchayat members supporting the proposal would take responsibility in the event of any untoward incident at the venue.
Administrator Pradeep Tamankar said that a final decision would be taken after the joint inspection scheduled for Friday.
