6-year-old's death: BJP corporator lobbied for pony rides at Cooperage ground

In the aftermath of sixyearolds death after falling off a pony it has emerged that corporator Makrand Narvekar forced BMC to renew licences defying HC and state home department ordersRemember Janhavi Sharma 6 a Girgaum resident who died after being thrown off a pony during a ride at Cooperage garden on November 5 Turns out she would have been alive had Colabas BJP corporator Makrand Narvekar not got his way After the state government banned horse rides on citys roads in 2015 following a court order it was Narvekar who had written to the civic body on August 18 this year pushing for the continuance of pony rides in the Churchgate garden stating they had been operating there for 35 yearsA notice by the HC directing that horse rides at Cooperage garden be stopped PicsSneha KharabeThe girls death due to severe head injuries after being thrown off the animal had led to public outrage and questions being raised on why pony rides were still happening at the garden when the Bombay High Court had ordered a ban on all horse carriages in June 2015 Following the accident the police had arrested horse rider Soham Jaiswal for negligence and the BMC had stopped the rides and initiated an inquiry into the matterOn August 18 Narvekar had written to the garden department asking it to renew pony riders licence to operate at Cooperage garden The letter a copy of which is with midday states As discussed in our meeting held in A ward along with deputy superintendent of garden on August 16 regarding the renewal or extension of pony riders licences you are requested to process the application since this activity has been going on in Bandstand garden for over 35 yearsExploiting legal loopholeDocuments show that after the HC order following a petition by PETA People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals state home department had taken a meeting with BMC officials to implement the courts decisionAccording to officials on November 10 2015 the state ordered a ban on all types of horse carriages including pony rides On January 8 2016 the BMC issued a notice to all horse carriage owners to stop the running of Victorias The same notice was sent to pony owners running rides at Cooperage gardenMakrand NarvekarCivic officials claimed that they had put up a board inside the garden informing about the ban on pony rides A garden department official said We had put up a board but somebody removed it in a few days Following the same order we decided not to renew the licence of pony riders given in 2014 till March 2016However early this year the pony riders approached us to renew their licences We refused citing the court order Then local corporator Makrand Narvekar represented them and took a meeting of local ward and garden department officials We told him about the court order but he insisted that it did not ban pony rides and hence the civic body should renew their licences added the official On September 26 2017 the garden department had sought legal advice on the issue which is still awaitedThe other sideNarvekar said The high court order was for Victorias not pony rides Also these rides have been going on there for decades The BMC itself had made a track for the same The activity is not wrongWhen asked about the state home departments decision of banning pony rides he added I was not aware of that But if that was the case why had the BMC kept a board saying pony rides in the garden were on It should have stopped the entry of horses in the garden and removed the boardI have written several letters to the BMC in the last four months to repair the crater that took the childs life but they did not pay heed to it If it was illegal why didnt they take action The civic body itself issued a notice to the contractor to continue the pony rides Action should be taken against the officials concerned Narvekar saidI have told BMC officials to take legal opinion on whether pony rides are covered in the court order or not If yes then stop the activity but if not then renew the licencesAlso view Photos 10 unsolved murders in Mumbai