50 pledge to help cops shut down pubs

About 50 residents of the western suburbs from between Oshiwara to Bandra have formed a forum mdash Citizens for Free Mumbai mdash with the aim of helping cops in their crackdown on the cityrsquos nightlife which they claim have been causing them sleepless nights mdash the music is too loud and their kids are getting lsquospoiltrsquo by the drug mafiau00a0 In support About 50 residents of the western suburbs have formed a forum mdash Citizens for Free Mumbai mdash with the aim of helping cops in their crackdown on the city39s nightlife This group claimed that they too wanted to stage a rally but decided like lawabiding citizens to tow the copsrsquo line when they were denied permission Some were disgruntled that they were not allowed to stage the rally while their opposing camp the lsquoantiDhoblersquo party managed to pull theirs off smoothly The grouprsquos chief concern is the way in which the youth of the city is being lsquospoiledrsquo by the drug mafia revealed Shamsher Pathan retired ACP Pathan said ldquoWe had more than 2000 residents between Andheri and Bandra and they were all ready to participate in a rally But we were not given permission And since we obey the law we held a small meeting here in the library The drug mafia is supporting the other rally and organising it The organisers are fooling the young kids The youth do not know what the consequences are They are getting spoilt and it will be very difficult for them to get backrdquo Deryk Talker Andheri resident said ldquoWhat the Social Service branch does is absolutely right If you want to see for yourself come to our local area where these pubs and bars operate There is so much nuisance in the area and traffic jams too We canrsquot sleep or walk on our roads when these operate We have sent so many letters to the local police but they donrsquot take any action And now when someone like Dhoble is coming and cleaning the mess what is wrong in itrdquo Yasmin Sheikh another resident said ldquoWhat Dhoble does is not illegal but in keeping with the law If you want to see the real problem then you have to speak to the residents of areas where these pubs operate and see how many problems these residents have to facerdquo Ashok Pandit said ldquoToday we formed a citizenrsquos group for a better Mumbai With the help of the police we will try to shut down the illegal joints and pubs in our area So many bad things happen in the name of nightlife in Mumbai We canrsquot sleep all night thanks to the noise and the trafficrdquo Surender Khubchandani another member said ldquoIt is unfair that the antiDhoble rally took place and we were not given permission They too did not have permission but marched a complete onekm distance and protested No one was arrested or detained Though the police has registered a case against unknown people no action has been taken Everyone there came and went home who will be detained in the rally nowrdquou00a0 Copspeak Asked about the Carter Road protest Additional Commissioner of Police Western region Vishwas Nangre Patil said ldquoWe have booked several people for unlawful assembly We will take action against them We have booked the organiser Rahul Kanal and his associates in the case We are not letting anyone go We will detain all those who were present in the rallyrdquo u00a0 Also read 1000 protest against lsquothe cop with the hockey stickrsquo