Lata Mangeshkar,
one of the foremost voices in Indian music, died at 92 on Sunday. Mangeshkar
was a prolific singer who performed in Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and several
other Indian languages. In her career spanning seven decades, Mangeshkar found
immense appreciation from all quarters of Indian society and several honours
and awards, including the Bharat Ratna.

But in the year
2000, the music legend had a run-in with the Maharashtra government that led to
a major controversy.

Lata Mangeshkar
lived in south Mumbai. At the end of the millennium, when India was only on the
cusp of the information technology boom, the Maharashtra government was making
major investments in building road infrastructure.

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One such project,
critical for the government, was the Pedder Road flyover. The 4.1km-long flyover
would go from Girgaum Chowpatty to Haji Ali Junction. The government’s plan was
to bypass the several traffic signals on the route and reduce travel time by
nearly 45 minutes, the Hindustan Times reported.

Residents,
however, were not happy. South Mumbai, inhabited by the rich and influential of
India’s financial capital, put up a strong opposition to the project. Amid the simmering
outrage, Lata Mangeshkar and her sister Asha Bhonsle met then chief minister of
Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh.

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Soon after, Mangeshkar
and Bhonsle called a press conference where the two sisters said they would
quit Mumbai if the project was to go through and settle in Pune or Kolhapur,
PTI reported. The will “quit Mumbai” comment drew a lot of criticism with
people saying ordinary residents were not usually heard when they opposed
flyovers in their localities.

The project was shelved
years later when it was no longer considered viable.

Lata Mangeshkar
began her musical career in 1942 after her father Deenanath Mangeshkar, a
thespian and classical singer, passed away. Mangeshkar’s first major project
was the song “Dil Mera Toda” from the film “Majboor” released in 1948.