Civic chief visits proposed Vishrantwadi graveyard site; commits to completion soon

PUNE Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar, on Thursday, visited a site allotted as a graveyard for the Muslim and Christian communities, in Vishrantwadi

PUNE Pune municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar, on Thursday, visited a site allotted as a graveyard for the Muslim and Christian communities, in Vishrantwadi.

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The said graveyard site has been awaiting final approval from the civic body for two decades. As it is situated within in the blue line of the riverbed, there have been restrictions on development.

Kumar has now promised a final sanction at the earliest. Former deputy mayor Siddhartha Dhende was also present during the visit, along with representatives from both the communities.

The property is located on survey number 115.

Commissioner Kumar said that a special meeting with government officials will be held in Mumbai, seeking permission for the graveyard and following that, the site will be developed.

Dhende said, “The total population of Wadgaonsheri is 0.750 million, and Muslims and Christians together account for 0.150 million in the area. The Muslims have two graveyards in Yerawada and the Christians have one cemetery here. Often, Christians have to go as far as Hadapsar to bury their dead. The areas of Tingarenagar, Kalas, Viman nagar, Lohegaon, Kharadi, Wagholi, Vishrantwadi, Dighi, Mhaskevasti and Dhanori, have shown a significant increase in population of minorities. Since 2001, citizens have been agitating for their graveyard here.”

“In the 2011 , the revised PMC development plan (DP) has the graveyard on the map. However, the area is in the blue line of the riverbed. The issue will be solved in the next few days,” Dhende added.