The Brave Pedestrian

  In a brand-new flat of Palava City, Mr Venkatraman's daughter received a huge electric shock from a switch during the house warming. Mr Venkatraman found the Palava City Management Association (PCMA) personnel unresponsive. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  Flat-buyers who book flats in Lodha New Cuffe Parade, at Wadala, are not allowed to visit their under-construction or under-repair flats "for safety reasons". But the real reason is not safety. The real reason is, Lodha does not want its customers to know the soft and fragile material with which the walls are made. How soft? How fragile? How vulnerable to moisture? Take a look! Roughly 70% of the walls are made of gypsum board or plaster-of-paris (POP). An entire wall of your house at Lodha NCP can be destroyed by accidental spillage of a cup of tea! It does not take more than a tiny pencil-sharpening blade to cut into the material that its walls are made from. And to think that this is what people have paid crores of rupees for! ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

This video shows the bathroom of a resident of Muriel CHS, with the water from the upstairs neighbour's bathroom drainage pouring down, after a breakage in the PVC pipeline. The issue with the bathrooms is that, rather than the drainpipes being routed out of the building directly from the bathroom of a flat, they are routed into the gap between the false ceiling and the RCC ceiling of the flat downstairs. In the event of a joint leakage or pipeline rupture, the water will pollute the downstairs neighbour's house, and makes it unlivable. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com Mumbai

Led by Ramdas Kalan and Baban Tetme, the farmers who live in the villages of Lodha Palava City project area are planning agitations against Lodha Developers and Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a BJP MLA, who they allege has unjustly taken away their lands with little or no payment.

  All is not well in the backyard of Lodha Palava City, where the builder is waging war on the local farmers. In 27 villages in various districts and tehsils in that region, Lodha has taken over land by questionable means, and has cordoned off the farmland, cutting off the right-of-way of local farmers, fishermen, etc, who live in those villages. Military-style concertina wire fencing, of the kind that is deployed on a nation's borders, has been used over hundreds of square kilometres, in ways that can prove deadly to humans, livestock and stray animals. In many areas, the concertina wire fencing is a death-trap. A person can be ensnared in the concertina wire fencing for days before being discovered and rescued. All this is well-known to Maharashtra government and Thane Police. Their silence is complicity in this matter. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  Those who book flats with Lodha are bullied every step of the way. Here is the story of two couples -- one aged and one young -- who booked flats at Lodha Palava and Lodha New Cuffe Parade. Although they paid the bulk of the flat consideration, or even the entire consideration, they are humiliated by watchmen who prevent them from going into the building compound or the tower. Why? Because they refuse to sign a waiver without inspecting their flat. Lodha is using such arm-twisting tactics to force flat-buyers to sign the waiver that gives him a clean chit, saying that they have inspected the flat, are completely satisfied with it, and have no further claims against the builder. If they later discover defects and go to National Consumer Forum, RERA or civil court, Lodha's legal team will use this waiver to discredit their claims and have their case dismissed! The shameful part is that by such tactics, Lodha manages to cow down even the rich and powerful flat buyers, and give t...

  The river that flows past Casa Rio at Lodha Palava City has been illegally landfilled and is a disaster waiting to happen. In the event of even slightly heavy rains during the monsoons, this river can overflow and cause great damage in vast areas of the surrounding township of Lodha Palava City. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com Mumbai

  This is a bird's eye view of the sewage treatment plant (STP) that obscured Persiana society's promised view. This video shows the view from the terrace of Persiana, in Casa Rio, which is part of Lodha's Palava City township in Dombivli. The STP that serves the whole of Lodha Casa Rio -- roughly 150 buildings -- now stands in Persiana's front yard. Roughly 40 residents have objected to its smelly, obnoxious presence, specifically because they paid a premium for a view of a cricket stadium. Kirtivardhan Jaiswar, who filed a case in the Consumer Forum for this deficiency in his first floor flat, shows us the view he was falsely promised. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 Krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  A leading member of Persiana Cooperative Housing Society in Casa Rio, Lodha Palava City, talks about the builder's discriminatory, monopolistic dealings and interference in their daily life. Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who is a long-time MLA of the ruling party BJP, is at the helm of affairs, and voters of Mangal Prabhat would be well advised to consider these facts before casting their precious vote. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  Sambhunath Nishad, the contractor who performed the application of tiles in five buildings at Lodha Casa Rio in Palava City, discloses serious quality control issues at the site. Between 2013 and 1016, contractor Sambhunath and his team of around 35 workers applied all the flooring and wall tiles in Mediterranea B and C, and Atlantica B, C and D of Casa Rio. Sambhunath now reveals that quality control was seriously lacking at the construction site, and that the procedures mentioned in Lodha's work order existed only on paper, but were not actually put into practice. For instance, cement slurry and waterproofing that should have been applied to the slabs before application of tiles was not done. As a result, these and other Casa Rio buildings have serious shortcomings which cannot now be remedied. Flat buyers, please note. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 98215 88114 and 81694 71229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  Maruti Panchal is a civil contractor who has done the tiles application work in Lodha Casa Rio, in Arctica B, Pacifica C and E of Palava City. He says he has not been paid till date for a large chunk of the work that he did in 2013 on this project, with around 25 workers. Maruti speaks candidly of issues in quality, financial terms and working conditions at the Casa Rio project site. For recovery of lakhs of rupees, he has approached Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME). ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  I was invited by a media journalist & photographer, and other residents of Dioro tower to punch and rip into the wall of Shilpi Thard's flat. A big thank you to Shilpi Thard for inviting & facilitating me to demonstrate Lodha's flimsy gypsum board wall construction at her flat. This demonstration of the wall's weakness was performed in the presence of a journalist and a photographer from Mid-Day, a prominent tabloid newspaper. This video was taken from my phone, but the Mid-Day journalist and photographer are also seen taking videos and photos independently. #LodhaNCP #Lodha #ComeHomeToTheBest The article in Mid-Day is available at this link: https://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-walls-of-rs-3-crore-lodha-complex-home-in-wadala-crack-in-a-single-punch/404909 ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish,kkphoto@gmail.com

  By depriving customers of genuine information and creating a false urgency (Gudi Padwa discount etc) and fake information about scarcity of flats (e.g. last three flats remaining in this project, rest all are sold out!), Lodha's sales team and CRM team cause their customers to take terrible financial decisions that they will regret in the years to come. No matter which project you are tempted to buy a flat in -- Whether it is Lodha Amara, Splendora, Palava, or New Cuffe Parade, please remember that the Sales Team members are NOT your friends, and the Customer Relationship Managers are NOT your friends. They are there to coax, mislead and bully you into paying the first installment, and after that, bully you into paying more and more installments. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

In Lodha Palava City, in Muriel Cooperative Housing Society, flimsy false ceilings are provided by the builder in the bathroom and common passage. One of the two bathrooms is without a window, and an exhaust fan and vent are provided in the attic, which is not a substitute for a window. The ducting for the exhaust vent is made of flimsy material, and the false ceiling is practically waiting to collapse. The upstairs neighbour's drainpipe passes through your house. It comes out through your ceiling slab, and passes through your house to the drainage duct. If your upstair's neighbour's drainpipe has breakage, blockage or leakage, the plumbers will have to come and repair it in your house. Are you OK with this? ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  Edrea Dcosta, a citizen of UK residing in London, speaks about how she bought a flat in Wadala New Cuffe Parade guided by the Lodha brand. She talks about her experience with gypsum board walls, which don't support shelves. (This video was recorded by Mirror Now on my mobile, and reportedly scheduled to be telecast at 3 pm Friday, 18 January 2019. Later on, however, the story was put on hold indefinitely, for reasons best known to the staff & management of Mirror Now. And so, we have released the video after informing the channel.) Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com Mumbai

  in this viral video, security of Lodha New Cuffe Parade at Wadala tell a journalist from a prominent tabloid newspaper (lady in pink) that she should not enter the premises with her photographer, or the photographer should leave his backpack containing camera in the security booth at the entrance, as photography etc. is forbidden. The residents and flat-owners are seen arguing with the security personnel. Later, a lady working for Lodha tries to convey the same thing in a nice way, citing that they have rules. However, no such written rules are shown to the residents. Later, the security men try to prevent me from taking a video of the proceedings on mobile phone, on behalf of the residents. (I am a journalist and activist, entering the premises along with the residents, as their guest. The security men say that residents are under video surveillance, and also that the guests are being photographed by the gate security on their mobile phone. All this high-handedness provokes...

  Mahendra Yadav is a civil contractor who has done the tiles application work at several 19-storey towers of Casa Bella Gold, at Palava City. He says that the setback he received while working on this construction site with around 35 workers, effectively put him out of business. Yadav speaks of unfair trade practices and corruption on the Lodha project site. He is still struggling to recover lakhs of rupees from Lodha through MSME proceedings. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

  Vipul Sanghvi shows his brand-new flat in Dioro tower of Lodha new Cuffe Parade. His balcony has a gap through which a full grown man can fall down to the flat below. Children and pets are especially at risk, not only in your flat, but in the entire building. Vipul also shows us how his flat is broken already, even though it is brand new and has never been used. ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com

Many flat buyers of Persiana housing society of Lodha Casa Rio paid a premium for flats that the builder promised would be directly facing a cricket stadium. What Persiana residents got instead was a smelly, sewage treatment plant (STP) right in its front yard. Lodha builders claimed that a change of plans forced them to plonk the massive STP (which recycles the drainage water of the entire Casa Rio complex consisting of roughly 150 buildings) right in front of Persiana. Did Lodha apologize to these flat buyers and offer to take back their flats and refund their money? No. Far from it. Lodha builder continues to abuse his dominant position here in Persiana, as he does everywhere else. He dictates terms to them in all aspects of their lives, including who they hire as their service providers. Flat buyers are expected to be submissive and accept whatever is dished out to them. A small number of flat buyers, however, are not taking things lying down. They have decided to fight for their ...

  This viral video shows how Lodha security tries to physically bar the entry of activist-journalist Krishnaraj Rao (who is taking this video) into Lodha New Cuffe Parade, Wadala. Shilpi Thard takes him to her flat, breaking the human barrier and human chain that they formed to obstruct him. #LodhaNCP #Lodha #ComeHomeToTheBest ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY Krishnaraj Rao 9821588114 and 8169471229 krish.kkphoto@gmail.com