Kausarbaug residents protest against leasing amenity plot

A large number of Kausarbaug residents, including young children, staged a protest on Friday against Kausarbaug co-operative housing society management in Kondhwa

A large number of Kausarbaug residents, including young children, staged a protest on Friday against Kausarbaug co-operative housing society management in Kondhwa for allotting a reserved plot meant for sports activity for children to a private person for carrying out commercial sports and marriage functions.

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The residents raised slogans against the management stating that the 40,000 square feet open plot was meant exclusively for sports activities for society children and should not have been leased to a private person for profiteering.

The protests began just before the start of Friday prayers when the citizens distributed pamphlets condemning privatisation of the public plot by the society management committee.

Some skirmishes took place during the protest after which the Kondhwa police were summoned to defuse the situation.

Nisar Attar, a society resident, said, “The society has illegally allotted the plot to a private person who is developing the space for profit. Our children don’t have any place to play and it will be a very costly exercise if our children decide to opt for playing in the said plot. Parking issues and women’s security are of serious concern before the residents. We demand strict action against the committee members and an immediate end to the commercialisation of amenity space of our society.”

Kausarbaug society chairman advocate Rahman, said, “We have given the plot to develop a sports ground and false allegations are being levelled that we have given it for marriage functions. We have named it, Kausarbaug sports academy, where society children will get an opportunity to play sports. We have informed the police that we have given the ground for sports for children both inside and outside the society. We have passed a general resolution regarding the same, where everybody was taken into confidence, before we went ahead with the allotment. The person who has taken over the ground has spent lots of money for its development. We have not constructed any shed.”

Mohammad Zia, another protesting resident, said, “It is a major scam being perpetrated by the committee members for purely profit motives. This commercial project has disturbed peace in the area and leading to problems like traffic jams and no space for parking during prayer times. The managing committee acted dishonestly and cheated the society residents and executed the project during the quietude of pandemic. It has illegally changed the status of the plot to commercial one and deserves strictest penal action as per the law.”

Another resident Mohammad Anas Qureshi described the managing committee’s act as treachery and said, “An amenity plot cannot be commercialised and it has been reserved for sports recreation purpose exclusively for the society. We have petitioned to the police and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and will ensure that culprits are punished.”

Kausarbaug residential society has over 1,200 members and also houses the biggest mosque of Kondhwa.