Women in Front as Campa Cola Residents Try to Stop Civic Teams

Mumbai: Over 500 residents of Mumbai's Campa Cola society are fighting civic teams that have arrived at the high-rise complex to disconnect water and power supply to 35 illegal floors.

Women have formed the first line of defence in a human barricade to physically block police and civic officials.

"We are definitely not letting them in," a resident told NDTV. "We hope God can help us."

Opposition leaders have also arrived to join the protest. "Why single out Campa Cola when there are thousands of illegal buildings in Mumbai? The government is not responsive," said the BJP's Shaina NC, targeting Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Families that own the 100-odd illegal flats say they will do anything to stop police and the civic officials from entering the compound, just as they did during the last confrontation in November last year. They accuse the government of going soft on the builders who constructed the flats in violation of rules.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC, however, says it does not want to use force. It will film the proceedings and if there is violence, the civic agency plans to submit the footage to the Supreme Court.

"We request residents to cooperate. These are Supreme Court orders," said Anil Waghralkar, a BMC official.

In June last year, the Supreme Court had ordered families occupying the illegal flats to vacate the building by May 31. Their deadline to hand over the keys ended on June 12, but the residents threatened to pitch tents in the complex and live there.

"These people are going to come will destructive instruments. We don't even have a kitchen knife, they will come with hammers, lathis...We are completely unarmed citizens. I do not know where we are going to stay," said Vidaya Srinivasan, a resident.

The flats were built in the early 1980s. After various court hearings and stalled demolition orders, the residents moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension to buy more time to help legalise their home of three decades. (Timeline: Controversy Over Mumbai's Campa Cola Compound)

But the court on June 3 rejected their plea and ordered the residents to vacate their flats.