Aaditya Thackeray has alleged that trees are being chopped down within the premises of the Maharana Pratap Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Kurla to build a swimming pool.
Responding sharply, Cabinet Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha rebutted the claim, stating:
“It is not a swimming pool being built there, but a playground for indigenous sports rooted in Maharashtrian culture since the era of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Is Aaditya Thackeray’s real concern to protect the unauthorized Rohingya-Bangladeshi slums in that area?”
For the past two months, a playground named after Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar has been under construction on the ITI premises. On the occasion of her death anniversary on August 13, a grand event featuring indigenous and traditional sports has been planned at the site. To avoid disturbing ITI students and to provide easy access for other players, a pathway and a gate are being built at the rear of the campus.
“Perhaps Aaditya Thackeray fears that this pathway might obstruct the unauthorized Rohingya-Bangladeshi slums that have sprung up outside the ITI premises. Instead of welcoming Mumbai’s first-ever playground for indigenous sports rooted in Maharashtrian culture, why make this desperate attempt to protect illegal slums?” Minister Lodha asked firmly.