Ambarish Mishra (THE TIMES OF INDIA; February 12, 2022)

Mumbai: Lata Mangeshkar’s family is not in favour of a memorial to the legendary singer at Shivaji Park. In a statement, her brother and noted music director, Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar, said the family was opposed to any memorial on the ground and urged ‘netas’ not to drag his sister into an unsavoury row.

In another development on Friday, a local resident filed a PIL before the Bombay high court, seeking directions to the state to not construct any further memorials at Shivaji Park or use the ground as a cremation site. The petition sought that the state be directed to issue “guidelines on public funerals and erection of memorials at alternate place and making necessary arrangements in advance’’.

Observers said Pandit Hridaynath’s statement opposing the proposal for a memorial at the park will offer some comfort to Shivaji Park residents, who plan to start a signature campaign to stall any such move.

The memorial issue has assumed political overtones, much to the discomfiture of the Mangeshkars. The BJP has been vocal about a Lata memorial in the park, where the singer was cremated with full state honours last Sunday.

BJP MLA Ram Kadam, who floated the idea, has written to Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray.
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Mumbai: Even as political heat builds up over the proposal to construct a memorial to the late Lata Mangeshkar at Shivaji Park, her family has made it clear that they are opposed to the idea. In a statement, Lata Mangeshkar’s brother and music director, Pandit Hridaynath, expressed the family’s discomfort over politicians dragging his sister’s name into contro versy and said they did not want any memorial on the park grounds.

While the BJP floated the idea, the Congress party, too, is said to be amenable to the proposal. However, the MNS and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) have opposed the proposal. MNS’s Sandip Deshpande, in a recent tweet, urged civic authorities to ensure that the ground was not sacrificed for “petty party politics ”.

“Shivaji Park shouldn’t be turned into a cremation ground,” said VBA chief Prakash Ambedkar, a dding, “ Let it retain its distinct identity and remain an open ground.”

The Maidan Bachao Samiti has been distributing pamphlets in the area about the issue. “The park is not the place to erect memorials. There are hardly any open grounds where children can play and senior citizens can take a walk. There shouldn’t be any encroachment on the park,” said Eknath Mane, Samiti chief.

Many residents are miffed with political parties for raking up a controversy in the name of the iconic singer. “It appears that there is an attempt to appropriate memories of the singer, who was beyond religious, creed and credo differences,” said a local.

Political analysts said the BJP could well be tapping the Lata legend to take on Sena, with Shivaji Park as the political proscenium, ahead of the BMC elections. Meanwhile, Sena MLA from Thane, Pratap Sarnaik, has requested allocation of Rs 5 crore for a state-of-the-art music academy and museum in memory of the late singer. The 1,700 sqm plot was initially earmarked for an electric crematorium, which has been shelved, he said.