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Khau gallies near college campuses in Pune leave bitter taste for residents
Residents living in the neighbourhood of Bharati Vidyapeeth, MIT Kothrud campus or Vimannagar near Symbiosis claim they find it difficult to take out vehicles during evenings
Illegally occupied footpaths, reckless parking by students and others, and bustling crowd on streets have become a public inconvenience for residents living near educational institutes where “khau gallies” (lane with multiple street food stalls) have flourished in the past few years.
Residents living in the neighbourhood of Bharati Vidyapeeth, MIT Kothrud campus or Vimannagar near Symbiosis claim they find it difficult to take out vehicles during evenings.
Locals blame authorities for not taking action against speeding, illegal vehicle parking and footpath encroachment by eateries despite filing many complaints.
The 300-metre stretch behind Bharati Vidyapeeth and close to Pune Institute of Computer Technology (PICT) college has turned into “khau galli” with visitors eating up road space.
A resident said illegally occupied footpaths, badly parked vehicles, college students in groups walking on the stretch, ongoing road construction, autorickshaws and crowd at different roadside outlets add to traffic woes in the area. Housing societies also complain of strong odour coming from these food outlets and late night noise pollution. Residents of Bharati Vihar Society, located near the “khau galli”, said that though civic action is carried out against encroachments, most of the issues remain unresolved.
Pranav Pansare, chairman, Bharati Vihar Society, said, “There have been 1-2 minor accident cases due to rash driving and traffic in the area as many roadside stalls are located near our front gate. Society members are disturbed by constant traffic noise and people hanging out and celebrating till late night. Post lockdown, the situation has worsened.”
“The lanes are always congested due to encroachment and construction making it difficult for pedestrians,” said Sangeeta Naik, a resident.
A student from Bhartiya Vidyapeeth’s engineering college claimed traffic is heavy only during evenings.
“It happens between 12pm and 2pm when their classes end and students drive rashly and park vehicles haphazardly on roads. It has become a public nuisance,” said Jayashree who lives near the Maharashtra Institute of Technology-World Peace University (MIT- WPU) and preferred to go by first name.
“We have formed an association and plan to meet MIT authorities soon,” she said.
“We are well within our limits when it comes to doing business. We do not come on the roads,” stated a vegetable street vendor near MIT college.
“A notice has been sent to MIT to provide parking for students inside the campus within two months,” said Vijay Magar, deputy commissioner of police, traffic.
According to Sandeep Bhadkamkar, founder, Citizens Forum@11, “We have made progress in our efforts since past six months. Recently, the MIT administration has appointed wardens to check traffic violations.”
Parking of vehicles is a major concern in Kalyaninagar. School buses, private vehicles near restaurants and pubs always park haphazardly on roads despite having P1 and P2 lanes. There is no parking available for residents post 7pm. Neither the Pune Municipal Corporation nor traffic police are taking any step to ensure smooth traffic,” said Rachna Aggarwal, chairperson, Swachh Kalyaninagar.
