- Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi requested official housing near BMC HQ to cut his 40 km commute
- He cited mental and physical distress due to heavy traffic and worsening monsoon travel conditions
- Ghadi’s letter asked for a vacant bungalow near Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan in Byculla
Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi recently drew social media attention after he sought official accommodation closer to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters. The request, aimed at cutting his commute from Dahisar, has triggered a debate online, with users saying, 'Welcome to our world'.
Ghadi, a Shiv Sena corporator from Ward 5, currently lives in the suburb of Dahisar (East) in North Mumbai, which is around 40 km from the BMC headquarters, news agency PTI reported.
To reduce his commute time, he wrote a letter to BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide, requesting the allotment of a vacant official bungalow within the Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Udyan premises (near the zoo) in Byculla, South Central Mumbai. It is around 5 km from his workplace.
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"I spend a lot of time commuting from Dahisar to the Municipal Headquarters by car every day. Also, due to traffic congestion during the journey, I face mental and physical distress," he wrote in the letter on June 24.
He noted that traveling every day from his current residence to the office takes considerable time and subjects him to heavy traffic congestion. He also stated that travel conditions worsen during the monsoon.
"As a result, it is not possible to reach the municipal corporation headquarters on time. Now that the rainy season has begun, travel is going to be even more difficult," Ghadi wrote.
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Social media reaction
The request quickly made it to X (formerly Twitter), leaving users divided. Some users felt the demand was reasonable, as one wrote: "If we expect 24x7 availability during monsoon or emergencies, the Deputy Mayor should live close. Even corporate jobs give relocation."
Meanwhile, other users criticised it. "Every single citizen of Mumbai travels like this, and almost every one of them leaves their home early in order to reach on time coz of the traffic which is mainly caused by construction work going on. So if he can't solve his own problem, janta che problems kay solve karnar he?" one user wrote.
"Perfect - why should he have the stress, stress is only for common man.. who pays taxes for bmc to have such a big budget and Maharashtra government to have the city mayors," another user added.
"Why can't he travel via local train? It will take him not more than 45 minutes if he takes a fast local from Borivali. Like lakhs of Mumbaikars do enduring the very first class travel experience that they have on a daily basis. Everyone should enjoy world class infrastructure," a third user said.
