Mumbai Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad led a protest on Sunday (June 8, 2025) against handing over the Mother Dairy land parcel in Mumbai’s Kurla to the Adani group for Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL).
She demanded to use the land for a botanical garden instead of a rehabilitation project, saying, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi surrenders when American president Donald Trump calls, why CM Devender Fadnavis surrenders when Modi calls for Adani.”
Former Minister Ms. Gaikwad alleged the BJP government is constantly ignoring the opposition of the locals and letting Adani swallow the whole of Mumbai during the protest.
“The Kurla Mother Dairyland is environmentally sensitive. Kurla Mother Dairy houses hundred-year-old trees, locals are demanding a botanical garden to protect them, yet it is transferred to Adani for infrastructure purposes at a nominal rate,” she added.
Days ago, the Maharashtra Cabinet’s decision to transfer an 8.05-hectare Mother Dairy land parcel to the DRPPL triggered opposition from locals and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders. Kurla Dairy is among the three dairies of Mumbai, where milk production stopped over the years, and the land was made available for other projects.
Many Congress leaders and party functionaries, including MLA Jyoti Gaikwad, Congress spokesperson Suresh Chandra Rajhans, and Mumbai General Secretary Mahendra Mungekar, along with their supporters and activists, staged the peaceful protest in Kurla.
Ms. Gaikwad said, “While we were peacefully protesting, once again the Modani (Modi and Adani) government had sent a large police force to suppress the voice of the people. What justice is it that the police stopped the peaceful protest with the force of police force? The government is providing security to thieves, but we will not be swayed by this oppression. We will continue to fight against this Adani government for the rights of Mumbai.”
She called the transfer of land a part of a “conspiracy” wherein the plan is to destroy the lives of lakhs of Dharavikars and acquire 600 acres of land in Dharavi, along with Kurla Mother Dairy, saltpans, and Deonar dumping ground land. She alleged government will also seize land parcels in Air India Colony, Bandra Reclamation, Behrampada, and Motilal Nagar without taking the locals into confidence.
Published – June 09, 2025 06:03 am IST
