Bhide Wada demolished; PMC to finalise memorial design in 8 days

Civic body had earlier made a plan for the national memorial comprising a two-storey building with the first floor earmarked for a museum

After the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) demolished the dilapidated structure at Bhide Wada forcefully on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, the civic body now plans to build a grand national memorial without wasting time. The municipal corporation plans to finalise the design within eight days, following which work will begin at the site, officials said.

Bhide Wada is located at the Budhwar Peth area of Pune. (HT PHOTO)

PMC has already started preparations to build the national memorial at Bhide Wada where India’s first school for girls was started by Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule in 1848.

PMC had earlier made a plan for the national memorial comprising a two-storey building with the first floor earmarked for a museum and a school and an auditorium proposed on the second floor. However, considering the national importance of the site, PMC recently invited suggestions from architects from the city regarding the memorial.

Vikram Kumar, Pune municipal commissioner, said, “We have received various proposals and will take a decision soon.”

Bhide Wada is located at the Budhwar Peth area of Pune. The Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court had recently cleared the way for PMC to build the national memorial at the site and ordered shop owners and tenants residing around the dilapidated structure to vacate the premises.

Harshada Shinde, chief superintendent, PMC building construction department and incharge of the proposed memorial, said, “We have received four proposals with concept design. The municipal commissioner and other senior officials will take a call on it. Mostly within the next eight days, a decision on the design will be taken and work will begin thereafter.”

Sources said that the Maharashtra government, including chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and other ministers are personally involved on the memorial’s design.

On Bhide Wada demolition, Maharashtra cabinet minister and senior OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal said, “We have received a good news in the morning as all the hurdles have now been cleared to make way for national memorial at historically important Bhide Wada. It was a long legal battle and finally PMC has demolished the old structure to set up a new one.”

The structure was brought down amid heavy police presence and civic staff. While the action began by midnight, it was razed in four hours as the police had blocked the road from both ends to prevent any untoward incident.

Sandip Singh Gill, deputy commissioner of police (zone 1), said that since PMC did not get possession of the property despite issuing notices to tenants and shop owners, it had written to the police for personnel to be deployed during the action.

Bhujbal along with Chandrakant Patil was following up the memorial case. Civic officials said that they would change its original plan and accommodate suggestions while building the memorial.