Ahead of monsoon, PMC identifies 136 dangerous structures; 77 still inhabited
Most of the wadas are in a dilapidated state due to a lack of maintenance over decades that has left many in a state of disrepair
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has identified 136 old wadas and buildings across the city as dangerous, following its annual pre-monsoon structural survey conducted in April this year. Of these, 103 wadas have been marked as highly dangerous, and 77 of these structures are still occupied by residents.
These structures are predominantly located in Pune’s peth areas, including Kasba, Shukrawar, Raviwar, Sadashiv, Navi, Shanivar, Narayan, Somwar, Mangalwar, Budhwar, Rasta, Bhawani, Ghorpade, Guruwar, Ganj, Nana, and Ganesh Peth. Most of these wadas are in a dilapidated state due to a lack of maintenance over decades that has left many in a state of disrepair.
Supriya Walse-Patil, executive engineer, PMC building permission department, said, “We have the last option to use police protection and vacate wadas. However, we are trying to convince them to vacate wada. Most of the tenants are living in the old wadas.”
With no recent structural repairs, these wadas pose a serious risk of collapse during heavy rains. To mitigate this risk, the civic body categorises such structures into three categories: dangerous, highly dangerous, and repairable. Based on the classification, notices are issued to residents urging immediate repair or demolition.
In cases where residents fail to act, PMC proceeds with demolition and recovers the cost from the property owners. According to officials, five such wadas have already been demolished this year. In 23 other locations, urgent repair work has been ordered, with a directive to submit progress reports.
