It's Poonam Mahajan vs Shah Rukh Khan in Bandra

People power may well trump star power in this battle Bandra residentsrsquo fight to reclaim a stretch of road which has allegedly been encroached upon by a ramp constructed by actor Shah Rukh Khan has got an important leg up in the form of support from local MP Poonam Mahajan who has written a letter to the BMC on the issueAlso read Cops barricade road to Bandra Fair so that Shah Rukh Khan is not disturbedShah Rukh Khan andPoonam MahajanAccording to local residents this is the first time that a member of parliament who represents Bandra which is a part of the Mumbai North Central parliamentary constituency has written a letter about the cement ramp next to Mannat which is often used by Khan to park his vanity vanThis cement ramp next to the starrsquos bungalow Mannat is often used to park his vanity van PicsPradeep DhivarMahajan wrote to Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte on January 29 and asked him to get the illegal cement ramp demolished She however mentioned an illegal ramp constructed by a bungalow owner in Bandra and refrained from taking the names of Khan or MannatThe ramp next to MannatResidents say the ramp prevents them from using a portion of an important thoroughfare and blocks the way to the stairs that lead to Mount Mary Church from Bandstand It becomes especially important during the Bandra fair which is held every year in the month of SeptemberAlso read One year later cops stop pilgrims again at MannatBJP MP Poonam Mahajan andShah Rukh KhanHope bolsteredThey say that they have been running from pillar to post to get the ramp removed but to no avail and they are hoping that things change with Mahajan getting involved Advocate Shane Cardoz a resident who has been fighting against the ramp said ldquoA few residents had met Poonam regarding the matter and she wrote a letter to the BMCWith her involvement in the case we are expecting that things will move faster The change in the government has also bolstered our hopes The ramp becomes an issue especially during the Bandra fair when people are stopped from using the road It is a public road why should people be stopped from using itrdquoHe added ldquoIn the last few months we could get many slums demolished because the political interference is decreasing Things are changing and the people of Bandra want to use the road as it belongs to the governmentrdquoPeople above allWhen midday spoke to Mahajan she said she wrote the letter after the residents met her and showed her documents that proved that the road belongs to the government and should be handed over to the public for use ldquoThe roads in Bandra are narrow as it is and no individual or organisation is above the peopleAlso read BMC to conduct inquiry into closed road next to SRKs bungalowThe road belongs to the government and should be given to the public I had promised the residents that I would try to resolve whatever problem they have Justice should be done irrespective of who the person on the other side isrdquo Mahajan said that she didnrsquot take any names in the letter because she didnrsquot feel like dragging in any individualldquoI have written to the commissioner and will follow up with him My only issue is that the road which is meant for the people should be used by them During the Bandra fair the path is used a lot and the ramp leads to chaos The issue needs to be sorted outrdquo she saidPrakkash G Rohiira a realtor who uses the road often said ldquoThis is not the first time that public property has been modified for personal convenience but knowing Shah Rukh we feel he will understand the peoplersquos troubles and sort this issue outrdquoA source close to Shah Rukh Khan said that the road belongs to the actor and has not been taken over by the BMC yet ldquoWe are ready to give the road but the BMC hasnrsquot yet taken it Until the BMC takes it over it is our propertyrdquo Neither Khan nor Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte responded to our calls and messages