Save Campa Cola video screened at theatres in Mumbai

From human chains to digital campaigns, some 15-20 young residents of the Campa Cola Society in Mumbai have left no stone unturned  garner support for their cause. Apart from active campaigns of Facebook and Twitter, marches to the CM’s office and big hoardings in strategic locations in South Mumbai,  three residents of the society have also made a short film in an attempt to give the public a peek into the lives of the residents. The story of the residents of the Campa Cola Compound residential society in South Mumbai’s posh Worli area, who have been fighting a long battle to save their homes, became national headlines when the civic authorities began the process of demolishing illegal apartments recently. The builders had permission for only five floors but seven high-rises were constructed at the Campa Cola Compound between 1981 and 1989. One of the buildings, Midtown, has 20 floors. Another building, Orchid, has 17 and there is one building with 8, one with 7 and there with 6 floors.However, the Supreme Court came to their rescue and gave them interim relief. The apex court stayed the demolition but at the same time ordered that residents of unauthorised flats in Campa Cola compound would have to vacate their premises by 31 May, 2014. [caption id=“attachment_1250321” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Screengrab from the video[/caption] But their ’ fight for justice’ created waves on social media. A Facebook page for ‘ Save Campa Cola Compound’ has got over 17,000 ’likes’ and shares details on how saving Campa Cola will help law abiding citizens fight the builder-corporation nexus that is so prevalent in the real estate industry in Mumbai. Ever since the demolition date, the cause has snowballed into a hot debate on which side is correct, as well as on the state of Mumbai’s illegal buildings. Twitter has seen the rise of many hashtags related to the cause like #CampaCola, #SaveCampaCola, #BMC, etc. Now Firstpost has also learned that Niall, a resident living in Orchid Tower along with Ankit Garg (who is also being forced to vacate his flat) shot a 90-second short film and managed to get it screened at PVR, Fun Cinemas  screens for two weeks and that too free of charge. While Inox and PVR have now stopped screening the video, it is still being shown at the screens of Fun Cinemas across Mumbai. Watch the video below:

The entire video has been shot at the Compound and in the houses of the residents. Apart from the one screened at the theatres, the society has uploaded two more videos on Youtube detailing the their tragedy.