Pune
A protest march was organised on Saturday evening by residents and others to oppose the proposed Balbharati-Paud Phata link road, describing the proposal as an example of bad governance and damage to ecologically rich Vetal Tekdi.
At the same time, many people including the PMC administration feel the road is crucial for commuters considering the traffic situation on Law College Road.
Deccan Gymkhana Parisar samiti and residents under the Vetal Tekdi Bachav campaign gathered at Vetal Baba temple Chowk on Senapati Bapat Road to take out the Save Hill walk that concluded near NCC grounds on SB road.
Even amid persistent rain, a significant number of residents and members of several political parties took part in the walk, including former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Kothrud Medha Kulkarni and former corporator Jayant Bhave.
Congress leaders Mohan Joshi, Abhay Chajjed, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vandana Chavan, NCP city unit chief Prashant Jagtap, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) Ranjit Shirole, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Abhijit More also participated in the march.
Speaking after the march, Dr Sushma Date, a member of Deccan Gymkhana Parisar Samiti said, “We got a good response from residents and all political party leaders. They were present and supported our Vetal Tekdi Bachav campaign. Now, we will not stop our campaign till the project is scrapped. We have demanded to declare Vetal Tekdi a ‘No Development Zone’ and a ‘Natural Heritage Site’ and invest in a robust public transport system instead of building more roads and flyovers. Now, we will make it an election issue.”
{{/usCountry}}Speaking after the march, Dr Sushma Date, a member of Deccan Gymkhana Parisar Samiti said, “We got a good response from residents and all political party leaders. They were present and supported our Vetal Tekdi Bachav campaign. Now, we will not stop our campaign till the project is scrapped. We have demanded to declare Vetal Tekdi a ‘No Development Zone’ and a ‘Natural Heritage Site’ and invest in a robust public transport system instead of building more roads and flyovers. Now, we will make it an election issue.”
{{/usCountry}}Ajinkya Kale, another resident, however, spoke in favour of the road. He suggested people who do not reside on Law College Road don’t feel that this road is necessary since they don’t go through the traffic congestion struggles every day.
He further said that many people who support this road are original residents of Law College Road.
“Our families have been staying here since before many of the buildings in the Deccan Gymkhana area even existed. People came here, bought plots, and chopped down hundreds of trees to build their houses and connect roads to the buildings. During that time, nobody protested, and nobody objected. As this area developed, naturally, traffic started increasing, and whether many people here accept it or not, Law College Road became the busiest road in the area, and we started countering regular traffic congestions,” he stated.
According to Nikhil Mijar, PMC Traffic Planner, “The road was proposed in the Development Plan (DP) in 1987 by projecting the traffic problem at the time. The route is also featured in the Pune City Comprehensive Traffic Plan (CMP) prepared by PMC. Every problem was well discussed during the CMP preparation. Following the preparation and approval of the strategy, several stakeholders participated in the discussion. People are now protesting for BBPP. We have provided everyone with all of the essential information. PMC is pursuing the initiative because it will benefit people in the long run. Improving public transit will not fix the traffic problem.”