Amid the growing prospect of civic polls, former BJP corporator from South Mumbai, Makarand Narvekar, on Sunday revived his demand to reserve a garden at Colaba’s Deepak Jog Chowk as a ‘women only’ space. Writing a letter to the city chief Bhushan Gagarani, Narvekar has demanded that the reserved garden be kept as ‘Majhi Ladki Bahin Bagaicha’.
Writing to the municipal commissioner on Thursday, Narvekar said there is an urgent need to designate open spaces in the city to ensure the welfare of women. “We should start by giving Colaba a garden dedicated to women and naming it after a scheme to empower more women,” he wrote, adding that the garden would be named after the Chief Minister’s Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana.
This is Narvekar’s fourth letter to the BMC on the issue, with her first appeal for reservation of the Colaba garden as ‘women-only’ in October 2023. He added, “I fail to understand why the civic body is so adamant. The garden is not reserved for women only. Even though Mumbai is an international city, inaction on such matters gives a false impression of gender neutrality. I hope this time the BMC will understand the sensitivity of the issue and act soon.” will take action.”
Referring to the reserved bogies for women in local trains and seats reserved for women in BEST buses, the letter said there are no designated open spaces (gardens/parks) for women in the city. “The city of Mumbai, reputed to be the safest city in the nation, needs a dedicated space for women,” the letter said.