While the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) claims to have repaired 8,000 potholes in the city from June till date due to the rainy season, it has to now repair the holes punched by Ganesh mandals to erect pandals ahead of the Ganesh festival.
Every year, the PMC appeals to Ganesh mandals to erect pandals without punching holes in the ground but the mandals do not take cognisance. In 2016, the PMC had decided to take a deposit from Ganesh mandals towards the repair of these holes but in 2019, the PMC general body scrapped the decision. There are around 2,300 Ganesh mandals in the city that take permission from the PMC anti-encroachment department to erect Ganesh pandals ahead of the Ganpati festival.
Madhav Jagtap, head of the anti-encroachment department of the PMC, said, “Every year, we give permissions to around 2,300 Ganesh mandals to erect pandals. We have observed that each mandal punches a minimum of 20 holes in the ground. Earlier, we used to take deposit from the mandals but we later stopped that practice. Now we can only appeal to the mandals to repair the holes that they punch in the ground while erecting the pandals. There are mandals who erect pandals without punching holes in the ground but the number of such mandals is very less.”
“There is no special period to erect pandals before the Ganesh festival. Normally, mandals erect pandals eight to ten days prior to the festival. However, some mandals, especially those located in suburban areas, erect pandals much earlier,” Jagtap said.
{{/usCountry}}“There is no special period to erect pandals before the Ganesh festival. Normally, mandals erect pandals eight to ten days prior to the festival. However, some mandals, especially those located in suburban areas, erect pandals much earlier,” Jagtap said.
{{/usCountry}}V G Kulkarni, chief superintendent engineer of the PMC road department, said, “We repaired around 8,000 potholes from the month of June till date. We spent around ₹7 crores on the same. Now, we have to spend money to repair the pandal holes. Every year, we appeal to the mandals to repair the holes…”
Prashant Guhagarkar, who stays in the central part of the city, said, “Ganesh mandals must take care not to inconvenience the public during the festival. The roads become narrow due to the pandals and create traffic jams across the city.”