Mantralaya dotted with safety nets

Mumbai: The Public Works Department (PWD) on Monday started the work for installing safety net at Mantralaya. After the death of  45-year-old murder convict Harshal Raote, who committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor of the Mantralaya building on Thursday, security arrangements have been beefed up to avoid such incidents in future. It was the fifth incident of a suicide attempt at Mantralaya or outside it in the last few months.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had reviewed the security measures and held a meeting with senior ministers and officials of the home department and PWD after the incident. Chief secretary Sumit Mullick and other senior officials were of the view that installation of a net in Mantralaya would give the wrong message to the public and the move might be criticised. They said that the government can’t cover all the points by installing grills and nets.

Instead, senior officers wanted entry of general public to be restricted. They believed that visitors should be allowed only at ground floor and all departments must make arrangement to accept representations and applications at ground floor. Senior officials also wanted ministers to meet the public at ground floor and also arrange initiatives like Janata Darbar there.

However, CM Fadnavis was against the restricting the entry of public in Mantralaya as it could have become a political embarrassment for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Hence, the government decided to install safety nets. The net will be installed on the second floor as if someone jumps from six or seven floor, then due to velocity, the weight of a person increases by four to five times. Hence after considering all the angles, the height of the net was decided, said sources from PWD. The work is expected to complete within 2-3 days, sources added.

Meanwhile, police personnel were deputed on each floor of the Mantralaya building. The visitors were allowed to enter the building after strict scrutiny by police personnel, and the entry was restricted to the public. They were not allowing the people to stand or talk in the corridors of main buildings. The leader of opposition Dhananjay Munde has criticised the government and said that Mantralaya has turned into a circus. He said the government should take preventive measures. Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil also criticised the CM Fadnavis government.