Cleaning of nullah work is in full swing to prevent Mumbai from flooding. On the other hand, it has come to light that the houses of these nullah cleaners have been demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The Central Division of the Corporation has demolished the houses of about 70 cleaners in Chikuwadi, Mahavir Nagar, Borivali. All these families belong to the Pardhi community. Have been living here for over 10 years.
All these families of the Pardhi community do "cleaning and pottery" for the BMC contractor throughout the year. These workers are involved in cleaning of drains, construction and cleaning of gutters, solid waste management, construction of Ganpati Immersion Ponds, necessary cleaning during covid pandemic. BMC cannot provide security to this community which gives its labor to this city. However, Homeless Collective has alleged that their houses are being demolished. Sitaram Shelar of the organization said that the financial burden on the already poor workers is increasing as the houses of these workers have been demolished for the last few days. The children of this Pardhi community are deprived of basic amenities like health, education, water and sanitation.
Mumbai Municipal Corporation is currently conducting a survey of homeless citizens. Planning Commissioner Shri Dighavkar has ordered that eviction should not take place anywhere till the completion of this survey. However, Shelar alleged that they were being deliberately evicted by the concerned authorities and that there was a racist mentality of the officials in the administration.