The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Sunday decided to accord special approval to Shivaji Park, giving it the status of a cremation ground, to make way for the last rites. singer Lata Mangeshkar In the open ground of the campus at Dadar. The last rites were performed at Shivaji Park in November 2012, when Shiv Sena Founder Bal Thackeray’s last rites were performed on the ground.
Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal exercised the powers vested in the BMC through section 440(2) of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (MMC) Act, 1888, which allowed public cremations at Shivaji Park, which was opened in the development plan of Mumbai. The place is designated as
While talking to a TV channel, Chahal said that arrangements were made for Mangeshkar’s funeral at Shivaji Park following the instructions of the state government. The BMC has allowed the use of 2000 square feet of the park for funeral arrangements. The place where the 92-year-old singer was cremated is about 100 meters from the memorial of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, west of the park.
Officials said the decision to allow open cremation was taken as a huge crowd, including dignitaries like the prime minister, was expected to arrive for the last rites.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani told Indian Express“We have given temporary status of cremation ground to Shivaji Park on security grounds.”
BMC Commissioner Chahal, Additional Commissioners Kakani and Sanjeev Kumar and Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police (Law and Order) Vishwas Nangre Patil held a meeting at Shivaji Park to discuss the issue, a senior civic official said.
Earlier in 2012, the then Municipal Commissioner SK Kunte had given the status of cremation ground to Shivaji Park when Bal Thackeray was to be cremated. He was publicly cremated on 18 November the same year near the Ganesh temple at Shivaji Park.
Named after the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s 300th birth anniversary in 1927, the park is spread over 27 acres, making it one of the largest public grounds in the city.
In May 2010, the Bombay High Court declared Shivaji Park a “silence zone” following a PIL filed by the VCOM Trust (led by a group of citizens of the Shivaji Park area). Locals were angered by the increasing number of political rallies and events that allegedly deprived students and citizens of sporting activities. Residents living in buildings around the grounds were also annoyed by the noise pollution caused by non-sporting events organized on the grounds.
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