MNS wants Dhoble in BMC's anti-encroachment squad

If all goes as planned very soon ACP Vasant Dhoble may be deputed to the BMC and become every hawkerrsquos worst nightmare Days after ACP Vasant Dhoble was transferred to the police main control room from Vakola division after a hawker died during one of his eviction drives there is talk of deputing him to the civic body as a deputy municipal commissioner to handle the encroachment removal section Locals came out in support of ACP Vasant Dhoble after his transfer to the police control room last week PicSayed Sameer Abedi The suggestion comes after MNS chief Raj Thackeray opposed Dhoblersquos transfer and a letter written by MNS Corporator Sandip Deshpande was submitted to Mayor Sunil Prabhu Deshpande said ldquoWhy should we waste Dhoblersquos resources in a control room while we can get him to work in the BMC The government allows any person who has passed the Maharashtra Public Service Commission MPSC examinations to work with the civic body Hence I wrote to the mayor asking him to ask that Dhoble be deputed to the BMC so that he can continue his drive against illegal hawkersrdquo ACP Vasant Dhoble According to BMC figures 3139 hawkers were removed by the civic body with the help of Dhoble from July to December while the BMC alone only managed to remove 2566 hawkers from the H east ward prior to Dhoblersquos transfer ie from January to June lsquoPosterrsquo boy Officials from the Licence department which is responsible for the removal of hawkers and illegal banners also said that there had been a rise in the number of hawkers that were removed from the streets in the H east ward after Dhoblersquos transfer ldquoThere have been thousands of cases booked against illegal hawkers and those who put up illegal banners In the H east ward there was certainly a growth in the removal of hawkers in the later half of the yearrdquo said S B Bande Licence superintendent BMC When MiD DAY approached Mayor Prabhu and asked if the deputation could be possible he said that the decision was up to the state government ldquoIf BMC officials would do their job properly there would be no need to depute himrdquo When asked if he would welcome Dhoble into the civic body the Mayor added ldquoSure we will welcome him if the state government deputes him to the BMCrdquo And while the Mayor said that Dhoble would be welcomed in with open arms some werenrsquot so happy about the news A senior official said ldquoHe cannot be deputed from the police force to the BMC service If he wants to come he should clear the MPSC examrdquo Meanwhile Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte was remained unavailable for comment Locals speak Residents and locals of Santacruz East Khar East and Bandra East feel that he should stay put and continue his work Why move him to the BMC Let him do his job as he is doing right now He is doing a great job Anandini Thakoor chairman of H west federation Appoint anyone to the post but make sure that there is no political interference in this matter as this is an administration duty and this needs to be done by the administration As long as Dhoble is contributing to the city it doesnrsquot matter if he is in the BMC or police Nayana Kathpalia Citispace an NGO fighting for open spaces 15 L The total number of hawkers that were removed from the streets in the city in 2012u00a0