Mumbai: Dressed in black and holding up red cards, hundreds of footballers, coaches, parents, students and citizens gathered at Neville D’Souza Football Ground in Bandra West on Sunday evening to oppose the recent change in the reservation of the open space from a playground to an exhibition-and-convention centre by BMC. This wasn’t just about one open space, said organisers, but for over a dozen in the city whose reservation had been changed over the past four years.The peaceful protest, organised under the banner ‘Tiranga Andolan’, was led by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who is also president of Mumbai Football Association (MFA). His younger brother, Tejas, joined the protest, but stood below the stage. Many were also seen carrying the national flag.Expressing his gratitude to those supporting the campaign to save the ground, Nigel D’Souza, son of the late footballer Neville D’Souza after whom the ground is named, said: “Thank you to the legal team and all the students. I can see some of you playing football over there.”Aaditya said the issue was not about which political party had developed or named the ground, but about protecting Mumbai’s open spaces. “This is not a govt versus opposition issue. This is a Mumbai issue and we have to fight for it,” he said, displaying slides highlighting changes to reservations of open spaces across the city, including an open space in Bandra’s Pali Hill and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krida Sankul in Andheri.“In 2017, we made the football turf and built a compound wall. I am not here to say who made this ground — whether Shiv Sena, Congress or BJP. I am here today, because this is for football.”Pointing out that development should be sustainable and should not come at the cost of existing playgrounds and open spaces, Aaditya added: “There are more than 15 open spaces whose reservations have been changed to residential or commercial use. When the Development Plan 2034 was released, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had strictly told corporators that reservations of open spaces, especially playgrounds, should not be changed.”“Those claiming that they gave this plot to the Mumbai Football Association, I want to ask them why the entire 2.8 hectares of open plot around here was not given for open space,” he said, reiterating that MFA had used the ground only for football and had not held political programmes there. “Development should happen, but maidans which are in our hands at least should not be taken away.”“This is only and only for football.” he said, amid slogans like, “Maidan amchya hakkacha, nahi konachya bappacha (The ground is our right, not anyone’s paternal property)” and “Kon bolta denar nahi, ghetlya shivay rahnar nahi (Who says they won’t give it? We won’t rest until we take)”.Aaditya was joined on stage by Versova MLA Haroon Khan, who spoke against the proposed development of the Andheri sports complex. “This is a fight not just for one ground, but for open spaces across Mumbai being handed over to private entities,” Khan said. He also sought to mobilise the youth, saying “How are you, GenZ and Gen Alpha? Where is your voice? No one can try to suppress your voice.”Khan alleged that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krida Sankul, which has facilities for cricket, cycling, walking, tennis and an open gym, was being handed over to a private trust. “Till the time Neville D’Souza football ground and the Andheri ground come into public hands, we should not stay quiet,” he said.Earlier in the day, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena functionary Rahool N Kanal posted on his X handle a poster that read: “Questions to Yuvraj” in a dig at Aaditya.The poster raised questions like, “Who is Dinesh Nair, why was the turf allotted to him? Where is the cost sheet of the ground made? Who cleared the human waste etc with more than 600 dumping trucks? Where did the trucks dump the waste when you were environment minister? Who made the boundary wall? Who gave the cheque to National plastics?” The post added: “This ground belongs to every Mumbaikar and not to any individual claiming ownership of it.”
