Pune Here’s the Vimannagar we didn’t know

Pune: Vimannagar is considered to be one of the most developed areas of the city but when it comes to basic amenities like proper footpaths, roads free from encroachments and street lights, residents of Vimannagar claim that they are not getting them. 
The residents have been complaining that despite paying high property tax and even buying property at a high rate, they are not getting the kind of amenities the Pune Municipal Corporation is expected to provide. 
Residents claim that due to inadequate facilities, it has become dangerous for residents to even walk on the streets of Vimannagar. 
Qaneez Sukhrani, convener of Vimannagar Residents Forum, said, “The area is considered to be one of the most posh areas where elite citizens live. But when it comes to providing facilities, we are deprived. If anybody takes a round of the area, they will find broken and discontinued footpaths, encroachment and no street lights which add to the misery of the citizens.”
“We have been reading about incidents of chain snatchings which make it difficult for citizens, especially for women to walk on the road,” said Sukhrani. 
Not just the footpaths and street lights, citizens of Vimannagar are also complaining about the traffic chaos they have to go through on a daily basis. 
Jaydev Naik, secretary of Vimannagar senior citizens forum, told dna, “There is rampant violation of traffic rules in whole of Vimannagar area but when it comes to law enforcement, traffic police is not paying enough attention towards traffic rules violators due to which it has become extremely dangerous to even walk on the roads of Vimannagar.”
The Vimannagar residents forum had submitted various suggestions to the PMC through participatory budget but only part of the suggestions were approved by the civic body.
Sukhrani said, “We had suggested pedestrian crossings under existing street lights of which eight have been installed but four are still remaining. We had also demanded high mast lights on all the main chowks which were accepted. But the demand of such lights on roads from Vimannagar to VIP road towards Airport seems to have fallen to deaf ears.”
When contacted sub inspector P Katkar of Vimannagar traffic division, he said, “We have increased vigilance in the area and we are also conducting surprise checks to curb traffic violations.”