Pune turns blind eye to illegal godown

Residents of some housing societies in Sahakarnagar on Friday alleged that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has not taken action against those involved in land grabbing and illegal construction of a godown on public space.

They said this has happened despite such instructions by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak. The problem relates to a plot measuring 11,000 square feet in Sahakarnagar.

Residents of nearby residential societies like Digwijay Society, Nirmal Samruddhi, Shubham Apartment and Jeevan Prakash have been at the receiving end due to the illegal commercial activity in the godown, built on the open space in the area.

The residents alleged that the transporter has grabbed the plot and built a godown and is using it to conduct business in the residential area, which is not allowed.

They said they have been pursuing the matter with the PMC for two decades, but no decisive action has been taken by the civic body.

The residents — who are too terrorised to reveal their names — requested media persons not to reveal their names. They said they had appealed to Ajit Pawar to help in the matter.

In a meeting on September 3, Pawar had asked Mahesh Pathak to take action, but no action has been taken by the civic body till date.

In August, 2011, activists had beaten up some civic officials in the ante-chamber of standing committee chairman for favouring the transporter and ignoring the residents.

Apart from living in fear, the residents of the housing society have to bear the noisy movement of heavy trucks.

An aggrieved resident alleged that a senior citizen had also died in an accident involving one of the trucks.