Bitter rivals from all political parties have shed their differences and come together to protect unauthorised residential structures from being demolished, by calling a “Thane bandh” on Thursday, April 18.
The shutdown has been called to express their “concern” over the demolition of unauthorised structures, without providing alternative accommodation to residents who will be displaced.
At a press conference on Tuesday at Tip Top Plaza in Thane, political leaders of all parties announced that a march would be taken out from Thane to the Mantralaya demanding rehabilitation of residents of illegal structures, before demolishing their homes.
Leaders of political parties including Balkrishna Purnekar, president of the Congress, Jitendra Awhad, MLA and president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Eknath Shinde, MLA and district chief of the Shiv Sena said that they would participate in the shutdown.
All parties also condemned the state government and the civic body’s move to raze unauthorised structures without providing shelter to lakhs of residents who would be left without shelters. Addressing reporters at the press conference, the Shiv Sena leader said that of about 18 lakh people in Thane, more than 50 per cent lived under extreme fear of the corporation razing their houses.
“Hence, the government should first take a decision to shelter them, before razing their houses,” Mr Shinde said. It may be recalled that the NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who was in the city a couple of days ago, was also of the opinion that people ought to be rehabilitated before demolition is carried out.