E-Paper
Residents sceptical about road widening in Wagholi
Say they do not want project to be another political gimmick ahead of 2019 elections; want work to be completed soon to solve traffic woes
The residents in Wagholi area are both pleased as well as wary about the road widening on Ahmednagar road that began on September 15. The Ahmednagar road towards Wagholi is currently very narrow and often becomes a bottle neck. Residents had protested against the Pune metropolitan regional development authority (PMRDA) asking for a wider road.
It has taken a year for PMRDA to realise that the roads were indeed a bottle neck and creating massive traffic snarls. The roads in question are Wageshwar, Kesnand and Avhalwadi which needed widening as these were the entry point into the city from Ahmednagar.
It is a four-lane road and PMRDA plans to extend one more lane on each side, thus extending the road from 60 feet to 90 feet. Several residents were sceptical about the current road widening project which was inaugurated by gram panchayat deputy sarpanch Sandip Satav.
Nitin Kumar Jain, resident and member of Wagholi housing societies association (WHSA), said, “The road widening work seems to have been started by the PMRDA from Shreyas Mangal karyalay on Ahmednagar road, to Wagholi. We really hope that the road widening does not end up becoming a political gimmick ahead if the elections with pressure from leaders looking to bank on our votes.”
According to Ajay Pardesh, another resident of Sai Sanskruti, “They have a JCB at the spot, but we are still unsure of how many days it will take to complete the project. Hope they realise it is an important road and finish the work soon.”
However, some residents were elated that finally their efforts had paid off. Gitesh Porwal, a resident, said, “I guess this is all happening due to the WHSA unity and its endless efforts. Hopefully this time we see execution of the work and not just a political gimmick.”
Sandesh Lokhande, another resident, added, “So far, all the development in Wagholi has been on papers. It is good to know that finally some actual ground work has started. We just hope that it is not a gimmick for the upcoming 2019 elections, as all the parties have started taking credit for the same.”
He added, “The road extension work will have a very positive impact on all residents of Wagholi as the travel time will be reduced drastically.”
