Chaos in Vasai

Chaos reigned yet again in Vasai as protesters turned violent  stoning public transport busses and lighting rubber tyres on fire. The police had to resort to lathi charge to control the crowd. Vivek Pandit the local MLA was on an indefinite hunger strike from March 2nd to protest against the inclusion of 53 villages in the Virar-Vasai Municipal Corporation (VVMC)

Vivek Pandit was shifted to the Thane Civil Hospital after his condition worsened.

Vasai was brought to a standstill with a curfew like situation and all shops closing down and no vehicles running on the roads in the afternoon today.

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra called in on Vivek Pandit from Kolhapur and said that he would convene an all-party meeting within 15 days to sort out the issue of delinking the 53 villages from the Virar-Vasai Municipal Corporation.

The agitation has since been called off and normalcy has returned to Vasai.

Gear up for Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation

So 53 villages along with four municipal councils of Vasai, Navghar-Manickpur, Virar and Nallasopara from the Vasai-Virar subsection are all set to be merged as a Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC).

Here is the notification: http://maharashtra.gov.in/data/gr/marathi/2009/07/03/20090707181255001.pdf

Formed nearly three years after it issued a notification announcing its intent to form such a civic body, the VVMC is the 23rd municipal corporation in Maharashtra.

Kishor Barde has been appointed as the first Municipal Commissioner of the VVMC. The VVMC is expected to be headquartered at Virar.

The state had issued a notification on July 3, 2009 that the municipal councils of Nallasopara, Virar, Navghar-Manickpur and Vasai along with 53 adjoining villages would be merged to create the new municipal corporation of Vasai-Virar.

Forty-nine of the 53 village panchayats that have unanimously objected to the merger, have now launched an agitation for their villages to be left alone. Regional leaders of Vasai-Virar cutting across all party lines have joined the campaign to save the villages, last remaining green belts of the Vasai, from urbanisation that is eminent after being merged into the municipal corporation.