Mumbai’s mayor in row with engineer over clean up outside Thackeray home

Shiv Kumar
Tribune News Service
Mumbai, June 26

Mumbai’s mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar is caught in a storm after he got into a row with an engineer over cleaning up the drains outside the residence of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

According to engineers of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mahadeshwar and his associates roughed up Chief Engineer VH Khandkar of the Storm Water Department over choked drains outside Matoshree, the residence of the Thackerays. The incident happened during an inspection of the storm water drains outside Matoshree on Tuesday, according to the engineers. Mahadeshwar got into a heated argument with Khandkar after finding garbage in the drains outside Matoshree, Shiv Sena sources said.

The engineers say Mahadeshwar shouted at the Chief Engineer who yelled back at the mayor sparking off an argument. Khandkar was then roughed by some Shiv Sena workers accompanying the mayor, the engineers who led a delegation to BMC Commissioner Praveen Pardeshi on Wednesday said.

However Mahadeshwar denied that he was involved in roughing up the Chief Engineer of the SWD department.

“I do not know of anyone being beaten up. I had pulled up the engineers for shoddy work and after that I left for an appointment. I do not know what happened afterwards,” Mahadeshwar said.