Hundreds of CIDCO lottery winners, promised affordable homes but instead offered overpriced properties, staged a protest in Belapur, dubbing it the “Injection Morcha” against the planning agency. Their demand: a price reduction for 26,000 recently allotted homes. The agitation was backed by the Navi Mumbai unit of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
The protest gained momentum as thousands of frustrated citizens, including senior citizens, women, and families, marched under the scorching sun, symbolically carrying syringes to signal that CIDCO needed a wake-up call. Anger had been mounting after the planning agency repeatedly refused to lower prices in prior discussions. Protesters accused CIDCO of misleading citizens by advertising affordable housing, only to set prices beyond the reach of the common man.
As tensions rose, demonstrators built a symbolic small house at the protest site, while women set up makeshift stoves, cooking meals on the streets, sending a powerful message that if CIDCO failed to provide affordable homes, they would be forced to live there. With no response from CIDCO for hours, frustration boiled over. At 2 PM, MNS leader Gajanan Kale announced a “Jail Bharo” movement, urging protesters to voluntarily surrender for arrest. Thousands responded instantly, throwing police and CIDCO officials into disarray.
Following negotiations, CIDCO announced a 28-day extension for the confirmation payment deadline, offering temporary relief while lottery winners vowed to continue their fight for fair pricing.
