MASS to protest Nilesh Rane attack

Mumbai: Days after Congress MLA Nilesh Rane assaulted a Public Works Department official in public for allegedly neglecting the potholes on roads, the Maharashtra Abhiy-antriki Seva Mahasangh (MASS) will organise ‘pen down’ protest on Monday to protest against the unacceptable behaviour of elected representatives of the people. The engineers of irrigation, water resource department and water conservation department will participate in the protest.

The outfit has written a letter — a copy of which is with The Asian Age — to additional chief secretary Manoj Kumar Suanik of the public works department.

MASS secretary, Ashok Sasane, blamed the contractors for not carrying out quality work and added that engineers are not the only ones responsible for the poor quality of roads. Mr Sasane said that despite registering complaints with the authorities and public representatives, no action has been initiated against the contractors.
He said that those working in offices would observe a ‘pen down’ protest, while the engineers working on the ground will not supervise any kind of work for the day.

This untoward and ugly instance is to insult, harass and blackmail the engineering fraternity. It is a cause of concern for engineers, said the outfit.“We are facing problems while filling potholes on the roads and maintaining dams and canals because of paucity of resources. Since long, recruitments have not been completed. The vacant posts also create problem while maintaining roads and canals across the state,” an advisor associated with MASS said.

According to the letter, there has been a rise in attacks and use of foul language against engineers. The letter noted that there is growing fear among engineers because of attacks by public representatives.