Pune: It’s been eight years since residents of Baner-Pashan Link Road started complaining about the work on the 1.4-km stretch of road, which is yet to start because of land acquisition issues in that patch.
The residents of Baner-Pashan Link Road - especially the 62 housing societies there - are irked by the incomplete work of the link road, as they have to travel through the old link road which is congested during peak hours.
Rajendra Chuttar, President of Baner-Pashan Link Road Vikas Samiti (BPLRVS), said, “It has been eight years that the work of 120 feet wide and 1.4-km long stretch has not been completed. We had a discussion with the corporator and PMC officials. We would stage another protest again if the construction of the road is not complete.”
Ravindra Sinha, Secretary of BPLRVS, said, “After the last silent protest conducted on October 2017 at Baner-Pashan Link Road, only the construction of 700-metre road has been completed. Two landowners have handed over part of the land for road construction. But PMC is working slowly on land acquisition.”
Rahul Kokate, Baner’s corporator, admitted the land acquisition problem was causing a delay in work. “Only two out of 10 landowners are ready to hand over the land. We are trying to make the link road operational within six months.”
Manish Mishra, a resident of Felicita society in the area, said, “We suffer daily because of congestion in peak hours on Old Link Road.
“Also, there is insufficient water supply for over 20 societies in this area. All these societies have to order 150 water tankers per society monthly.”
Expect more delay
Rajendra Raut, PMC Road Department, however, claimed that five landowners out of the 10 have handed over their land to PMC for road construction - not two as claimed by the residents there. “We have sent the proposal to land acquisition department to acquire the remaining five pieces of land soon. Within six months the work will be completed, or it will take another year if the landowners are not agreeing to our terms,” he said.
