Chimbel villagers celebrate after success of Unity Mall agitation

Villagers of Chimbel celebrated the success of the Unity Mall agitation with cake-cutting and firecrackers. Several women joined the festivities, alongside a resident Ajay Kholkar and Govind Shirodkar, chairman of the Chimbel Biodiversity Management Committee, both of whom had played an active role in the protest.

Villagers of Chimbel had been protesting for over a month, including staging a hunger strike, to protect their village and its lifeline, Toyyar Lake. In response to the sustained agitation, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant ordered a detailed mapping of the wetland and its surrounding zone of influence. The study involved hydrologists and scientists from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), working alongside officials from the state wetland authority, the Directorate of Settlement and Land Records (DSLR), and the tourism department.

On Monday, Chimbelkars formally called off their protest after the Tourism and General Administration Departments (GAD) provided written assurances that both projects – Unity Mall and Prashasan Stambh – would be relocated.