 The eunuchs sought permission for a children's event for which they paid only Rs 21,819.
The BMC says the event should have cost them Rs 85,000 The 17-day national conference of eunuchs (Hijra Maha Sammelan) organised at three Vikhroli Park Site municipal sites from May 5 to May 22 was illegally organised.
MiD DAY has learnt that event organisers, the All Maharashtra Hijra Samaj Seva Sangh, got permission to hold a children cultural programme under the aegis of Bal Gopal Mandal. The BMCs education department (Vikhroli) issued them permission.
The conference at Vikhrolis municipal school no 4, Vani Samaj Hall and Shivaji Maidan saw 5,000 eunuchs from across India and countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Bangkok and Japan.
Acting on a complaint, a BMC security team raided the venue on the evening of May 19. We were startled by the blatant discrepancies. Nothing was as per the rules. The organisers did not have permission for an event for eunuchs, said Deputy Chief Security Officer AB Karande, who led the drive.
Cost cutting?
Event organisers Raju Srivastava and Santosh Shetty allegedly played the trick to reduce expenditure. By faking a childrens event, they paid a mere bare lumpsum of Rs 21,819 to the BMC for 17 days.
They would have had to pay Rs 5,000 a day (Rs 85,000 total) for the eunuch event, said Karande. The BMC lost Rs 63,181 in the process.
When civic officials contacted Santosh Shetty he, shot back, I am the chairman of the state governments cultural board. My designation is equivalent to a state minister. I am also one of four advisors on the BMCs advisory panel. Dont worry about the discrepancies. I will call the commissioner if you get into trouble. Shetty was unavailable for comment.
Discrepancies
Said Karande, Organisers illegally built large shamianas at two sites. Vikhroli school hall was used to prepare food for the eunuchs. Ten to 15 huge vessels and eight wooden stoves were used. This could also have sparked a major fire.
The BMC rules ban cooking inside a school. Karande added, We gave them permission to hold the event for six hours each day (12 pm to 6 pm). But they used the lights and fans for 24 hours.
A BMC team seized the cooking vessels and has sent a report to Municipal Commissioner Johny Joseph, demanding an enquiry into whether there was intentional neglect from officials at the Vikhroli municipal office.
Vikhroli assistant municipal commissioner GP Rathod said, I was unaware about the illicit nature of the event. I will speak to my education officers and let you know.
Different reasons
Restaurateur Raju Srivastava, one of the organisers of the conference, said, If we had asked the BMC for permission for an event for eunuchs, we would never have got it. We tried at eight other places too. But nobody wanted to let his place out to eunuchs. Saving money was not on our agenda.
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