Bldg residents engage in spats over delivery rules, shut lifts – Times of India

Mumbai: On Thursday evening, several residents of an upscale housing complex in Pali Hill, Bandra, were at loggerheads over rules to be followed for delivery agents and other service personnel during the lockdown. Local police had to intervene. With everyone in lockdown in their homes for over a month now, such fights have become common in societies across the city.
“We had been allowing essential commodities to be delivered at the building lobby until recently. On instructions of the police, though, we had to change that and allow delivery services only till the main gate. Although blocks B, C, D and E are farther from the gate and on a slope, residents of Block A objected to the change and wanted deliveries till the lobby,” said the wife of the chairman at Cozy Homes, a complex of 160 flats.
The two groups of around 50 residents gathered at the society premises on Thursday and an argument ensued. Meanwhile, someone informed the police and a team visited the complex. “It was a verbal feud between two groups in a complex. One group was demanding that delivery boys should be allowed up to the building and the other that they should be allowed only till the gate,” said Khar police senior inspector Gajanan Kabdule. No case was registered in the matter.
The chairman resigned on Friday evening. “Police read out and interpreted the directives which were in complete consonance with what I have been seeking to implement for the safety of the society,” he said in his letter.
The other group denied the allegations. “It was only a discussion because the chairperson had not consulted others. The building has a steep slope and the decision would impact senior citizens as well. The law too permits delivery of essential services,” said a member.
Similarly, in a Borivli society, time-bound use of the elevator has sparked a war of words among residents. Seven- storey Sita Society at Ashokvan houses 85 residents. From March 30, its elevator is not operational from 9am to 6pm every day, which has forced all, including the elderly, to trek up and down the stairs.
“We are concerned about what will happen in case of a medical emergency,” said Anand Kamble (62), president of the society and a former BMC employee. He has dashed off a complaint to Dahisar police station now.
Fights over what is essential and what is not are also common among members. At a Kandivli housing complex, a fight broke out after one of its residents called for an internet service provider. Then there was a spat in a society on Ambedkar Road in Mulund West on Friday over a shop owner who had put up shutters but was delivering goods from the society back gate.

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