The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has stopped the demolition of a 70-year-old wada in Somwar Peth on Wednesday following directives from the PMC standing committee chairman and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) corporator, Ganesh Bidkar.
The civic administration had issued orders on September 21 to bring down the structure following complaints made by its owner, Rushik Gopal Kumbhare, who resides in a nearby wada.
Kumbhare had approached the PMC following a wall collapse on September 5. A wall from the third floor of the wada had collapsed two years ago.
He wanted to construct a wall along the side of the structure to protect the crumbling structure as an aged couple, Sharad Mali and his wife, was not willing to vacate the wada. But the engineer hired by the Kumbhares refused to undertake the job since it would jeopardise the existing structure as well as the lives of workers involved.
Hence, Kumbhare wrote to the PMC on September 19 and a demolition notice was issued after two days. However, the PMC workers were not allowed to demolish the structure on September 29 after they received a call from Bidkar to stall the action.
“It poses a risk to our lives. How can the PMC stop action after issuing notice,” said a visibly upset Kumbhare, a banker who has not attended office for the past three weeks trying to resolve this life-threatening matter.
PMC executive engineer Jayant Wagh, who met both the parties, told Kumbhare to resolve the issue by undertaking repairs on the ageing wada, but refused to elaborate on who should pay for it. He also refused to comment on why his officials did not take action in spite of being authorised to do so.
