Sena (UBT) leader slams Diva ROB building demolition just before Diwali, demands inquiry

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) deputy district chief Adv. Rohidas Munde has accused the municipal corporation's administration of injustice to ordinary farmers and citizens in the name of the ROB, or railway overbridge, project in Diva.

According to Munde, just before Diwali, on November 5, 2026, the municipal corporation brought down a building next to the ROB with a bulldozer. The people living in the building now face homelessness, and their families' belongings have been left out in the open. He recalled that on October 28, 2021, too, some buildings were demolished for the Diva ROB project at Diwali time. The same thing, he said, has been repeated today.

The question of compensation to farmers is also linked to this matter. The complaint is that Pandurang Hari Bhoir and other farmers affected by the project have still not received proper compensation for their land. The compensation issue is stuck, and for this reason these farmers are opposing the ROB project. Adv. Munde alleged that instead of holding talks and doing justice on the issue, the administration is going straight to demolition.

Munde also asked why no action is taken against the buildings and properties of several political leaders, which are reportedly affected by the project. He asked why the municipal corporation's hammer falls only on buildings standing on ordinary farmers' land, and whether the law is only for the poor and ordinary citizens.

He asked what the administration had been doing for the past five years. Why were the rehabilitation and compensation of affected people not settled when the project was being planned, and why does the administration suddenly remember to bulldoze people's homes just before Diwali? Munde said the role of municipal officials in the whole matter is suspect, and demanded an impartial inquiry into the decision behind the action.

The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party is strongly protesting this injustice. According to Munde, various political parties in Diva and social groups are also expressing their opposition. He expressed hope that the local representatives of the ruling Shinde faction would take a firm stand on this serious issue.

Rohidas Bama Munde warned: "Making ordinary people homeless in the name of development is not development. We want the ROB too, but we will never tolerate the hammer falling only on common people's homes, without compensating farmers, without arranging rehabilitation for citizens and while sparing the properties of political leaders. Development should be for everyone, so why is destruction only for poor farmers? We will stand firmly with the citizens against this injustice."