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Hinjewadi residents take to streets, give govt three months to fix infrastructure
Apart from roads and traffic, residents flagged waterlogging, erratic water supply, poor garbage collection, inadequate footpaths and the lack of proper bus shelters as major concerns
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Hundreds of IT employees and residents, including women and schoolchildren, took to the streets of Hinjewadi on Sunday in a silent protest against crumbling roads, crippling traffic congestion, and poor civic amenities in the IT hub.
The protest, organised by the Forum of IT Employees (FITE), came days after the state government announced a ₹426-crore plan to improve infrastructure in Hinjewadi and adjoining Maan and Marunji areas. Protesters said they would closely monitor the plan’s implementation and warned of fresh agitation if there was no visible improvement within the next three months.
Apart from roads and traffic, residents flagged waterlogging, erratic water supply, poor garbage collection, inadequate footpaths and the lack of proper bus shelters as major concerns.
The silent march began at Infosys Circle in Phase I, proceeded to Shivaji Chowk and returned to the starting point.
Pavanjit Mane, FITE state president, said the turnout reflected the growing frustration among employees and residents over the worsening infrastructure.
“People are really irked by the condition of roads, traffic congestion and other civic issues. That is why IT employees and residents came forward in large numbers to participate in the protest,” Mane said.
He said the organisation was hopeful that the special task force headed by Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi would ensure that the long-pending issues were addressed. “We have assured the collector that FITE will extend all possible assistance to the task force,” he said.
Harshal B, a FITE member, said the area’s infrastructure had steadily deteriorated over the past two decades despite repeated promises by successive authorities.
“IT employees spend hours every day travelling to and from their workplaces because of massive traffic jams. Roads are riddled with potholes and basic civic facilities remain inadequate,” he said.
He said residents of more than 80 housing societies and thousands of employees working in the IT hub expected infrastructure befitting an area that houses some of the world’s leading technology companies.
“In the past year, several deaths have also been reported in the Hinjewadi area in accidents linked to poor road conditions,” he claimed.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray also joined the protest along with local political representatives. “I have come here to support the demands of residents and those working in the IT sector here through the protest march. The demands are very basic, and if the administration can not even provide that in 2026, it is a great apathy,” said Thackeray.
He said the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, during his recent visit to the area, should have interacted directly with residents and IT employees to understand their concerns.
Thackeray also demanded the immediate start of Metro services on the Hinjewadi-Shivajinagar corridor, saying it could provide major relief to thousands of commuters.
“Despite the infrastructure being in place, I fail to understand why Metro operations have not started. It will provide significant relief to IT employees and other commuters,” he said.
The state government has prepared a ₹426-crore plan for infrastructure works in Hinjewadi and the adjoining Maan and Marunji areas, while Dudi has directed the agencies concerned to begin work on priority.
During his recent visit to Pune, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had also promised that Hinjewadi’s infrastructure problems would be resolved in a time-bound manner.
However, protesters said years of assurances had done little to improve conditions on the ground.
Dudi, who chaired the maiden meeting of the special task force on September 4 has instructed the authorities of the different agencies to begin the works to improve the condition of the infrastructure of Hinjewadi. He will conduct on the spot inspection of the work some time next week.
