Road widening project: PMC razes Jaihind theatre at Khadki

The court accepted the remuneration sought by the owners and instructed the civic body to deposit the amount before taking possession of the land. While PMC won the case in April, the administrative process took one month to complete

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Friday night razed Jaihind, one of the oldest single-screen theatres of the city, and Punjab Hotel as part of road widening project after winning the case at Bombay High Court.

The overhead Pune metro line from PCMC to Swargate had narrowed the road. With the Ministry of Defence handing over land near Khadki area for road widening project last year, PMC started the project. (HT PHOTO)

The owners of two properties, located at Khadki on the Pune-Mumbai highway, had approached the court over compensation. The court accepted the remuneration sought by the owners and instructed the civic body to deposit the amount before taking possession of the land. While PMC won the case in April, the administrative process took one month to complete.

PMC legal department head Nisha Chavan and road department head Aniruddha Pawaskar said, “PMC has won the case. The two properties, leased to the owners by Pune Cantonment, were hurdle to road widening project.”

The overhead Pune metro line from PCMC to Swargate had narrowed the road. With the Ministry of Defence handing over land near Khadki area for road widening project last year, PMC started the project.

The buildings were demolished in the presence of Pawaskar and PMC executive engineer Amar Shinde.