Twin suicides at Mantralaya trigger crowd-thinning measures

Mumbai Following two deaths by suicide outside Mantralaya last month, the state government has decided to drastically curtail the number of visitors that can enter the seat of government.

On an average, 15,000 visitors come to Matralaya on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays because the cabinet is held on Tuesdays and all ministers are present there in the first half of the week. For the rest of the week, the number of visitors thins down to about 10,000 per day, say state secretariat officials.

But the death of two women, Sheetal Gadekar and Sangeeta Davare, both of whom had consumed poison inside Mantralaya on March 27th, despite substantial police presence, has sent alarm bells ringing. A few years ago, a net had been installed in the building’s foyer as several people, desperate for the government’s remedial measures, tried to jump to their deaths at Mantralaya.

The twin suicides have now persuaded the government to regulate and restrict access inside the premises. A central registry unit is being set up so that petitioners can submit their applications at one spot outside Mantralaya building but which is still within the building’s perimeter. An online follow through system is being created so that petitioners can be apprised of the progress of their application online without being physically present, said additional chief secretary (administrative reforms) of the general administration department, Sujata Saunik. Prashant Pardeshi, deputy commissioner of Mantralaya security, disclosed that plans were afoot to reduce visiting hours which are now between 2 pm and 5.30 pm.

A similar plan to curtail the number of visitors had been undertaken after the 2012 inferno that had destroyed the top three floors of the building. The-then chief secretary Jayant Banthia had suggested access-controlled offices and a designated area for visitors. The idea was to create an open office seating for the staff and a separate designated area for visitors but it was scotched by the staff. In the pandemic, Mantralaya was completely out-of-bounds for visitors. But that changed once the pandemic abated. Unlike his predecessor, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had especially given free access to people who come to meet him.

In addition to petitioners from across the state who approach ministers for their works, people come to Mantralya to file applications, pay for and collect information under RTI. Builders are often at Mantralya seeking concessions for their projects, as are farmers for their various issues. Home department, urban development, revenue and housing are some of the departments with the maximum number of visitors.

However, as in the rest of Mumbai, space too has become a big constraint for Mantralaya which was built in 1955. Until 5 years ago there used to a gate in the building called the Janta Janardan Gate where physical passes were issued to whoever wanted entry. It was closed to facilitate the construction of a subway between Mantralaya and Vidhan Bhavan which is still not ready and makes accessing Mantralaya for common folk anyway difficult.

Several activists are critical of the move to thin out the crowds further. Leading transparency activist and former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said it would make it bureaucratically difficult for the citizens to approach the government. “They don’t seem to understand the basics of democracy that the citizens are the rulers and they have elected the rulers of the nation. Stopping citizens from entering Mantralaya is no solution,” he said. “They should instead figure out why people are committing suicides. The fact that people are willing to lose their lives at their door is a cause that must be understood.”

“A person tries to commit suicide when there is no option left and the government should realize it is time for them to reach out to the people but they are doing the opposite by keeping them out,” said activist Ulka Mahajani. “After all, Mantralaya is made to serve whom?”